The Questions
1) You’re
marooned on a small island with one person and one item of your choice—who is
that person and what item do you have?
The person is my husband, who besides
being great company is also the best person I know. Nobody else would be able
to stand being around me when I was freaking out like I surely would be when
stranded away from air-conditioning and wifi, two of my great technological
loves.
I mean, assuming that we really are just
tragically out of range of signal: I am so unhappy at just the thought of this
(seriously: where are my kids? these are things I am thinking about) that I’m
going to be very practical and say that I have one of those giant, fuck-off
Swiss Army Knives, because between all of those tools, surely I can McGyver my
way out of this situation. (THIS IS NOT COOL.)
2) Which
musical would you say best exemplifies your life – and which character in that
musical are you?
Okay, my secret shame is that I don’t
generally see a lot of musicals - I’m a theatre person, but I prefer plays. So
I’m going to take a little liberty with this question, and say that movies made
in Bollywood traditions with a lot of music in them TOTALLY COUNT, especially
when a musical has apparently been made of them. (Which I didn’t even know
until I googled it, so bonus!)
I love love love the movie Monsoon
Wedding. I am not Indian and my marriage was not arranged, but I do have a big
family that’s kind of bananas, so there’s that. And the character of Ria is
very familiar to me - smart, wary, intellectual, passionate. I’m totally her,
only she has AMAZING hair. OK, yeah, that’s me, amazing hair and all.
3) Take
these three words and give me a 100 word or less scene using them: kiss, tragedy, road sign
The last kiss was spectacular, filled
with heat they hadn’t generated in months. It was all the other kisses over the
last few months that should have been the clue. Now each thoughtless one felt
like a warning, a road sign she could only read in her rear-view mirror, giving
her some indication of the emergency detour that was looming.
It’s what she was thinking when she
dropped her bag on the table: the tragedy of two weeks of lukewarm, distracted
kisses. Papers went flying and her two best friends scowled up at her until she
said, “Ivy dumped me.”
4) You’ve
just been let loose in the world of fiction, with permission to do anyone you
want. Who do you fuck first and why?
Fitzwilliam Darcy. Easy-peasy.
Oh you want to know WHY? Have you not
seen any of those adaptations? Even the ones that don’t feature wet white
shirts?
He’s cranky and hot and repressed as
fuck. Also he looks like either Colin Firth or Matthew Macfadyen. So there’s
that.
5) What
is your idea of how to spend romantic time with your significant other?
Ha. Well, we’ve been married 22 years and
we have two teen-aged kids, so “romance” takes on a very different tint. I was
pretty sick last year and spent a lot of time in the hospital, and it was
honestly very romantic in its own very grownup way - we spent so much more time
talking in those weeks than we had in years, and I felt so close to him after
it was over. I mean, in terms of time that does not involve a hospital gown, my
idea of quality romantic time with him is really very similar - just a little
extra time with no real scheduled end to it, because besides loving him I still
like him very, very much. There is never enough time to spend doing nothing
with somebody you like that much.
6) When
you start a new story, do you begin with a character, or a plot?
Of those two: a character. Really: I
start with a moment, either a single image or a perfectly delivered line. That
will usually tell me a lot about the kind of character(s) involved, and plot
goes from there. I write because of characters; plots to me are just things
that characters got themselves into because of their intense characteriness.
7) If
they were to make the story of your life into a movie, who should play you?
I have no idea. Let’s say Sarah Jessica
Parker, because a million years ago, people used to tell me I looked like her.
(I didn’t, but more than one person said it, so let’s go with that. Also, my
life isn’t particularly dramatic so I’m pretty sure she can carry it off.)
8) Who’s
your favorite horror villain and why?
Oh god, I hate horror movies so much!
Let’s say Hannibal Lecter, particularly as reinterpreted by Mads Mikkelsen,
because he is charismatic as fuck. (Although my first thought was Freddy
Krueger, because I was a child of the 80s and he scared the piss out of me.
Take your pick.)
9) Do
you have an historical crush and if so, who is it?
I really, really don’t; I like modern
masculinity, with a little more softness and tolerance for women who like to make
their own noise, thanks. However I am a big fan of crushes in every possible
port, so if readers want to use the comments to make suggestions, I am
currently advertising for an historical crush. Hit me!
10)Is
there a story that you’d like to tell but you think the world isn’t ready to
receive it?
Honestly? This is probably that story.
Look, there’s nothing revolutionary about
this story. It’s just two people sort of easing back into each other. But I
like my love stories a little quiet and largely internal, because I think it’s
the way so many of us fall in love - one elegant slide or clumsy tumble at a
time. But I do worry, because there’s no great dramatic turn in the story, and
we do love some great drama, don’t we? (I do too; drama is AWESOME. But so is
reality. OK I am still scarred by the first question.) We’ll see how it’s
received - I like it, it’s what I wanted to read and it’s what I wanted to
make, and I hope the world is ready for it!
This was really fun - thanks for having
me!
Book Name: The Luckiest
Release
Date: July 7, 2015
Blurb:
When New
York-based memoirist Aaron Wilkinson gathers with his high school friends to
marry off two of their own, he is forced to spend a week with Nik, the boy who broke
his heart.
As they settle
into the Texas beach house where the nuptials will be performed, Nik quickly
makes his intentions clear: he wants Aaron back. "He's coming hard,
baby," a friend warns, setting the tone for a week of transition where
Aaron and Nik must decide if they are playing for keeps.
Pages or Words: 256 pages
Categories: Contemporary, Gay fiction, M/M Romance, New
Adult, Romance
Excerpt:
Aaron finishes the song and Stephanie snatches the
mic out of his hand, crooks her finger at Nik and launches them into a reprise
of their performance of "Dancing on My Own" from the homecoming
weekend they all spent here at the house back in senior year. Stephanie still
has questionable rhythm and tragic pitch—she loves to sing, which is why they
have a karaoke machine in this house, but it's one thing she will admit she
doesn't have much of a gift for—but there's a reason Nik majored in music at The
University of Texas, and his voice has come a long way.
Somehow, this deliberate throwback to a memory that
was never anything but happy seems different than what Aaron has just done. He
sits on the sofa, flanked by Alex and Jasmine, hating them both a little for
participating in it even while he smiles. Nik dances—how can you not, with this song—but he still watches
Aaron, gives him a little head-tilt during the chorus, and it's charming and
devastating and infuriating.
Jasmine leans to murmur, "Oh, I see how it
is."
"Oh, shut up."
"You
might not be desperate, but I'm not sure about him. He's coming hard,
baby."
Sales Links:
About the
author:
Mila McWarren
grew up in Texas, but has happily made her home on the East Coast for the last
decade. In her day job she works as a social scientist and has spent the last
10 years developing her fiction writing online. She lives with her husband and
their two kids. When she isn't using working, writing, or hanging out with her
family, she likes knitting and watching television, because they go together
like peanut butter and chocolate, two of her other great loves.
Where to find the author:
Twitter:
@milamcwarren
Tumblr:
milamcwarren.tumblr.com
Publisher: Interlude Press
Cover
Artist: C.B. Messer
Tour Dates & Stops: July 7 – July 20, 2015
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Prize: One $25 Interlude Press gift card. Five e-book copies of ‘The Luckiest’
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Thanks for having me here today, and letting me talk about Ria and Fitzwilliam Darcy (for the record: he would have no idea what to do with her). I'll check back in later today in case any of your readers have any questions.
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