To get us started can you tell us a little about what you are working on or have coming out?
I’m currently finishing up – I keep finishing it up and it returns – a story about a punk band from the ‘70s. And I’m starting a sequel to my story Maxxed Out about two guys who are in love but keep doing their best to mess a good thing up.
Do you have any guilty pleasures?
Do you have any guilty pleasures?
Sleep. And chocolate.
What is the hardest scene you have had to write (published or not)? Why?
I don’t have any one. Every book has this terrible stopping point and I don’t know when or where or why until I think about it. It usually means that somewhere I’ve gone in the wrong direction and I have to backtrack and redo.
If you had a reporter follow you around for the day, what would the readers get to see in your daily schedule?
Probably a blur while I deal with the family daily crises—they all happen at once--and then long hours of me just sitting at the computer. I don’t think reality television is ready for my day.
When you begin your stories, do you go with the flow, or go with an outline?
I hope there is a flow. Sometimes there is just an ooze. But I know there is rarely an outline.
Is it hard coming up with titles or characters names?
Not really. Sometimes I start thinking of a story just based on a title or name that I like.
What does your workstation look like?
Actually right now it’s relatively clean. I had to dump a lot of things because a computer tech was coming to fix my computer a few weeks ago. This is not a normal state, though.
When you're not writing, what do you like to do to just kick back and have fun?
What is this “kick back and have fun” of which you speak? I like going out to eat with the family or friends. That’s about as wild as I’ve gotten recently. I need to look into that problem.
Do you ever experience writer's block? If you do, how do you cope with it?
Do you ever experience writer's block? If you do, how do you cope with it?
My writer’s block comes, as I said, when I try to force the story to do something it shouldn’t be doing. I have to go back and redo.
Were you an avid reader as a child? What type of books did you enjoy reading?
Yes. Absolutely. I read everything. I lived in an old Victorian house where my great-great aunts, who were schoolteachers, had bookcases filled with books. So I mean I read EVERYTHING.
Tell us a bit about your latest book, and what inspired you to write such a story.
My latest book came about because I loved the guys in Maxxed Out and readers had lots of questions about the secrets they still had by the end of the story. I always had in mind a sequel but I wasn’t going to do it unless readers liked the first story. So this is my chance to explain the boys better.
Is there any books coming that you are itching to read (either electronic or print) from your favorite authors?
I probably can’t say what books because all my LI authors are my favorites.
If you were to replenish your cabinets with one junk food, what would it be?
Chocolate. Lots of chocolate. Something along the line of popcorn cakes with salsa is good, too.
What is one thing scientists should invent?
I’m not sure they can invent this – it’s more a superhero thing—but the ability to sleep and continue work would be really cool.
Are you a morning person or a night person?
Morning. My DH, who is a night person, thinks there is something seriously wrong with me.
Where can readers find you on the ‘Net?
Lots of places. The two easiest are:
Thanks so much for the interview!
Sneak peek into Maxxed Out, available at Loose Id Publishing
LGBT Contemporary
| Max knows his family and friends aren’t sure what to make of his moods and impulses. But he’s in college now and ready to show them he’s grown up and ready to make mature choices. At least he’s ready for a serious relationship and almost ready to tell his family he’s gay. He could use a little help, though. With his loving big brother gone forever, who is left to ask for help? Daniel Rocco, his brother’s best friend and his longtime crush, of course. Daniel is solid and reliable--the opposite of Max. But for some reason, Daniel seems terrified of what Max might do next. | |
| Publisher's Note: This book contains explicit sexual content, graphic language, and situations that some readers may find objectionable: male/male sexual practices. |
| Go, Max! Go, go, go! Instead of obeying the voice screaming in my head, I ran my hand through my hair. The still-damp tips of it clung to my fingers. The shower had helped. The coffee had helped. I still felt like shit, but I was hoping—God, I was hoping really hard—that this visit would help the most. I went through names on the apartment mailboxes—Andrews, Wilson, Sullivan…Rocco. Funny that I didn’t know exactly where Daniel lived nowadays. I suppose it was funny that I thought I should. It wasn’t like we hung out all the time. I hadn’t seen him for years, except sometimes at the tail end of Christmas, when he’d show up to see Mom and Dad. After all, he wasn’t my friend. Well, not exactly. I hesitated before I pressed on the buzzer. Should I forget it? Naw. Go, Max. Go on. All that didn’t matter. Daniel would help if I needed it. And fuck. I needed him to help. I pressed down hard on the button, telling myself I was ready to take the first step. Anything had to be better than what I’d been doing—not doing—for years. “Yeah?” “Daniel? It’s Max. Max Richards.” “Yeah?” There was a slight pause. He had to remember me, right? I shuffled my feet, trying to think of how to identify myself to my brother’s best friend. It had never occurred to me that he might not know who I was. Damn it, there was a good reason why I never planned ahead. Things never worked according to plan. “Well, hell. Come on up.” My breath whooshed out. If Daniel really hadn’t remembered me, I’d—I don’t know what I’d have done or felt, because it hadn’t happened, thank God—but it wouldn’t have been good. My legs were shaking as I headed up the stairs to 2C. There he was—one arm curled over the door, one on the door frame—big, wide, with a scowl on his face. He looked even larger than I remembered, which was weird. Didn’t you usually discover people and places were smaller in real life than in your memory? Just my luck that Daniel was even more imposing now than he’d been when I was twelve and first really noticed him. I would have laughed but kept it in since it would have come out as more of a terrified giggle. In a way, this visit was all Daniel’s fault for being larger-than-life. Then I realized something strange had happened. The adrenaline that usually buzzed in my body slowed down at the sight of him. I think I stopped breathing when reality finally met up with my plan. Here I go. This is it. The moment stretched out, stilled, froze. All I could see was Daniel looming over me. For once in my life everything was settled and calm. Perfect. Then I took a deep breath, and time hummed back to normal speed. Go, go, go. “Can I come in?” |
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