What is
your favorite genre to read?
S.A.G: That is a tough question since I read many
different genres. Right now I am into what I guess is regarded as speculative
fiction, novels by China Meville, Caitlin Kiernin and others.
What is one of your all time favorite
books?
S.A.G: Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and
Neil Gaiman. What an amazing book. I can only aspire to write such a hilarious,
intense book. I read the wonderful words once a year just to put me in my
place.
What
influences you when you write?
S.A.G: My mood. When I am cranky, my muse Diva Faboo
sulks and sometimes refuses to help me out.
When you
have writer's block, how do you solve the problem?
S.A.G: Read a challenging book. Seeing someone paint
with words can kick me out of my own blockage.
What can
also break you free? What also works for inspiration?
S.A.G: I hate saying read all the time but I like to
flip through art books, history books or look at material online to kick around
ideas.
In your mind, what is the best part of being
a writer?
S.A.G: That is a difficult question. The
wonder of putting words together to create something that others enjoy is
always a grand experience. I am the cliché scribbler, the person who has
written romance stories for years and never owned the nerve to publish. Like so
many m/m writers, when I discovered fan fiction, I was over the moon in joy. I
call that my training wheel phase. It was great to float out ideas, receive
feedback and understand what readers enjoyed. Unfortunately once I left the FF
realm, instead of taking off the training wheels and trying to ride on my own,
I let the bike sit and rust. It took plenty of effort to clean off the bike and
begin the new road trip. I owe fan fic a great inspirational debt and wish I
still had time for the fun it created in my life.
What genre of book would you like to tackle
in the future?
S.A.G: I want to
write an old fashioned gay romantic gothic. There’s a gay-themed Bronte funfest
lurking inside me. I have started one or two but somehow they manage to ride
off the rails and become fantastical.
You have
written fantasy, paranormal and sci-fi. Why no contemporaries?
S.A.G: Hurrah, I have finally written a
contemporary! Dreamspinner Press just contracted my m/m romance Cupid
Knows Best. There’s not a lick of any fantastic or threatening
creatures, well, Cupid is a bit of a fantasy character but he’s a good guy.
Which
genre do you find yourself drawn to writing?
S.A.G: Fantasy really appeals to me. I love setting
up a world and being able to control every aspect of it.
Is there a genre that refuses to play nice
for you?
S.A.G: Werewolves give me hairy fits. I
think it is because all the horror movies I watched as a tot reinforced the
werewolf as the baddie. He grew hairy, nasty and romped about killing people
until he was shot. To me, werewolves are not very romantic.
What kind
of research do you do for your books? Do you enjoy the research process?
S.A.G: I perform tons of research. In a novel that
is currently in the proofing stage, part of it is set in 1703. In that
storyline, a character is slashed in the face. I was like “ooo, how did a
doctor handle wounds back then?” I like to show enough detail to let the reader
know I cared enough to do my homework. I know there is someone out there who
has a masters in 18th wound care who will shudder and stop reading
the second I misstep.
Which of
your characters would you like to be?
S.A.G: Yikes, that is a challenging question. Too
many of my characters suffer pain and mental and physical beyond what I would
ever endure. I have to say my character Armando, from my novel <i>Temptation of the
Incubus</>, since although he’s an incubus (who has stolen human form)
and suffered Hell in a terribly real manner, he’s sexy, cheerful and positive about
what he is since he’s so confident. He’s the anti-me!
Shameless Promo Moment: My next m/m
romantic comedy, An Elf for All Centuries, is available for
pre-sale at Silver Publishing.
Elven model Fabion’s day is perfect until
wizard Matradorian kidnaps him. Surprise, Fabion is a spiritual match for elf
king Henda’s dead lover. Only he can save the dying Henda. Fabion controls
himself from punching Matradorian, saves Henda and falls in instant lust with
his romantic fantasy.
Fabion realizes his polluted, on the verge
of ruin thirty-ninth century is gone. The Prince pitches the temper tantrum of
any century until he realizes sexy Henda accepts him as his true lover. Being
the virile, handsome Henda’s lover fills Fabion’s emotional gap. The former
super model decides to accept life in the backwards century.
Soon Fabion learns the nineteenth century
is more dangerous than his vanished thirty-ninth century. Who wants to kill him
now? And why?
EXCERPT:
The limo halted next to a faded grass expanse. A century ago, the
grass lawn may have looked green, but these days not enough sunlight helped its
feeble struggle. Now the grass had given up trying for the green. Even the
spiky weeds littering the plot drooped in despair. Across the ragged approach,
a tattered tree line listlessly soared into the yellowish mist obscuring the
sun's rays. A shabby sign topping the copper gate announced, "Welcome to
Park Haven."
The driver glanced back at the three passengers. "Are you sure
you want to stop here, Prince Fabion? This lonely spot always worries me. I
hate leaving you here."
Fabion waved his right hand in agreement. "Yep, Matt, we need
the exercise."
Hestran whined in annoyance before Fabion could even count to one.
The quick reaction set a new fine whine record. "Ooooo come on, Fabion,
sweeeetie. Damn, you want to walk through horrid, old Park Haven to reach the
Sequoia? Are you insane? That's toooo faaaaar."
His sulky boyfriend's high-pitched complaint made Fabion want to jam
his fingers in his ears. Naw, the act seemed too rude even for Fabion's selfish
sensibilities. Instead he managed to smile at his bratty Hestran. "Come
on, look at the weather! This afternoon the air quality is almost pretty. I can
nearly see blue, well, all right, no, but I can imagine the color ruling the
sky like in times past. Today I want to enjoy a walk through the park."
Fabion hadn't strolled through Park Haven in over a month. How sad.
He needed to commune with the remaining nature on a more regular basis.
Lanaro leaned around the pouting Hestran and scowled in displeasure.
"Fuck, you always need to act different, dude. Everyone knows that no
well-bred elf walks into Park Haven from the east gate. This is the common,
human gate."
Fabion saw Matt's professional face slip for a second. Why did
Lanaro always act like such a prick? It was one thing to dislike humans, but
insulting them to their face defined rudeness.
Lanaro deserved a tongue lashing and not a fun one. Hestran's
tiresome pouting had forced Fabion to agree to provide Lanaro a free ride from
New Yorkshire's snooty Shadyside district. Just his bad luck that Lanaro's
agent occupied the same building as Fabion's. Fabion's agent owned two floors,
Lanaro's agent owned a closet-size space. How dare the pedestrian elf think that
he occupied Fabion's regal league? Duh, Fabion was a well-bred prince, so
there.
As he sniffed in disdain, Fabion tossed his red mane in practiced
dismissal. "Hey, I don't need to act different. I am different, because I
am exceptionally special. I enter where I want, got it?" He pretended to
ring a bell at the slackers. "Ding, ding, ding, this is the end of the
line. Move your pretty asses from the limo. My man Matt is going home for the
day."
Fabion leaned forward. He flashed a massive bonus into his driver's
hand. Behind him Lanaro's gasp added the perfect spice. Matt deserved the bonus
for enduring those insults.
"Go have fun, dude."
"Thanks, Prince Fabion!" Matt saluted Fabion. "As
usual I'll wait until you enter the park before I pull away."
"As usual I commend your wise idea. Catch ya later."
Fabion exited into the ocher afternoon. Today even the air celebrated for him.
At that moment, he doubted if anyone else in New Yorkshire acted giddier. His
life embraced triumphant coolness, well, except for Lanaro's presence.
Fabion leaned down to see what was happening inside the limo.
Hestran and Lanaro remained sprawled on the seats like sullen children
overdosed on pixie dust. Fabion almost slammed the door and told Matt to drive
on and drop the ornery duo somewhere nasty like Dog End Quay.
"Will you two move your pretty asses? Exit on this side. We
need to hustle into the park."
Hestran's wide eyes conveyed panic. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, we run for protection, because someone might take a
shot at us. Get out but remain low."
Fabion crouched and watched the other elves huddle beside him. He
adored this dare. "On my count. One. Two. Three. Run!"
The trio darted across the grass toward the gate. Before they
reached the protection offered by the remaining trees, a shot disturbed leaves
from an overhead oak branch. Hestran shrieked in alarm.
No surprise, the elf-hating lunatic who roamed the hill opposite the
entrance had shot at them. Inside the park, the limp, half-moldy leaves and
runes deterred any further shooting.
Safe again! Fabion turned and shouted in glee. "Up yours, you
sorry asshole! You missed me again. Ever think about taking lessons?"
Fabion turned back to his companions and snickered. "See,
that's why I told you to run. The nut-bunny hasn't hit me yet, but someday he
might get lucky. Don't worry, his bullets are useless in here."
S.A.G’s Bio: I can never decide between red
or white wine. The same goes for my art: creating visual art and word art
occupied my professional life until word art triumphed.
Reading Gordon Merrick at age nineteen
sounded a wake-up call about gay fiction but didn’t encourage me to test the
publishing waters. My stories did not deserve any notice. Running B-Side, an indie music magazine, helped
to develop my dialogue and description skills. While traveling to interview
bands, writing gay romantic fiction percolated in the background. Thirty years
of gay romance lurks in notebooks and the computer. I just started tapping into
my ideas and do not plan to stop.
When not obsessing over unique ways to
describe erotic encounters, I enjoy reading, gardening or more like trying not
to kill everything, traveling, arguing politics and teaching my house bunnies
tricks. Unfortunately, the furry furies refuse to answer e-mails or blog posts.
They also refuse to clean their own litter boxes. Brats. I also enjoy cooking
for my beloved partner because she endures the
endless experiments with grace.
I hope my manic devotion to words and
romance connects with my readers. Is that a sincere enough ending? Drat, the
sentiment needs work. Blame my sloppy muse.
Now for my bio’s promo section:
In 2011 Dreamspinner Press released the
romantic fantasy Canes and Scales, the dark comedy To Save A Shining Soul, sad short Baron’s Last
Hunt and the sci-fi dramedy Divine Devine’s Love Song,
although I don’t think readers know about Divine. My next
short novella, “Love in Focus,” is due in June as part of DPS’s Time
is Eternity. anthology. My first contemporary m/m romance, Cupid Knows Best, will be released in October 2012. Wheee!
Silver Publishing unleashed sexy incubus
Amando and his story Temptation of the Incubus in October
2011. Amando fights with brat Prince Fabion over their sexual ranking in my
writing pantheon. Ah, the boys need their exercise.
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