- 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?
Hugh Jackman, and a
large tube of lubricant. Need I say more?
- 2) Which
musical would you say best exemplifies your life – and which character in
that musical are you?
‘Love Never Dies,’
I am the Phantom, always loving the unobtainable. You should hear me singing
when I’m cooking, that’s a tragedy in itself.
- 3) Take
these three words and give me a 100 word or less scene using them: galaxy, jet, cream
I squeezed into my
jet pack, after first lathering my slightly overweight frame with as much
lubricating cream as I dared. The port hole opened before me in a kaleidoscope
of glittering light, a promise of the unexplored galaxy that lay beyond its
swirling vortex. I had to rescue Hugh Jackman at all costs.
- 4)
You’ve just been let loose in the world of fiction, with permission to do
anything you want. What’s the first thing you do and why?
I search out Hugh
Jackman, get down on my knees and ask him to marry me. Hugh Jackman has
enormous…arms, and I am gay, do I need to elaborate? So we get married, and
live happily ever after, in bed, for the rest of our lives. Occasionally,
Deadpool pays us a visit, and…. stays over…. but we won’t go there.
- 5) What
is your idea of how to spend romantic time with your significant other?
Going to a
nightclub, seeing Hugh Jackman at the bar, and inviting him home for a man
sandwich. My husband and I have been together for 27 years, so what can I say?
- 6) When
you start a new story, do you begin with a character, or a plot?
Plot. The
characters have to develop from the plot. But, to contradict myself, as you
write, very often the characters start to dictate the plot. How rude. I am
writing Dead Camp 3 at the moment, and I had it planned, and plotted to within
an inch of its life, and then the characters changed it. Scenes that existed in
my head since the very beginning, thrown out at the whim of a defiant
protagonist. I am not amused, and someone will have to die because of it. That
will teach them. Plot and character go hand in hand and you cannot have one
without the other.
- 7) If
they were to make the story of your life into a movie, who should play
you?
Michael Fassbender.
He can go from funny, to dark, to twisted, to sexy in the blink of an eye, and
in my head that is exactly like me. Who wants to see a film about a boring,
middle aged, slightly overweight Interior Designer who writes books on the
side? Na! Now, a gorgeous, sexy Interior designer who seduces his male
customers in the shop, and then murders them and uses their skin to make
upholstery, and yet still maintains that cool air of charming aloofness, now
that’s more like it. No? Well I tried.
- 8) Who’s
your favorite horror villain and why?
In literature, it
has to be Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Charming, cunning, lonely, monstrous. It all
started with Dracula, he is possibly the best literary monster ever conceived.
He is a creature desperate to be loved, but at the same time, his inner monster
is incapable of love. It is a sadness he carries on his shoulders, together
with the weight of his own tumultuous history.
In Film, the Alien.
That thing scared the bloody crap out of me. I don’t think there is a single
monster that has been realised on the screen that is so believable and so very
terrifying. Yet, at the same time, the Alien is both fascinating, and
stunningly beautiful, in a phallic kind of way. It is still my favourite film,
and the one I have watched the most. It obsesses me. As a slice of sci-fi
horror, it is so well realised, so completely ruthless, so unapologetic for
killing, it is a true monster that does not need an excuse for being a monster.
- 9) Do
you have an historical crush and if so, who is it?
Am I allowed to say
High Jackman? No? That’s a shame. Okay, I will have to go with James Dean. He
was so beautiful, and so very talented, yet so very tragic. His life ended way
too early, and we can only wonder what he could have achieved if he had not
been killed in that car crash. Did I say he was beautiful?
- 10) Is
there a story that you’d like to tell but you think the world isn’t ready
to receive it?
Too late, I’m
writing it now. Dead Camp book 3. I will admit that I am truly terrified by the
reaction this instalment may cause. Controversial, oh yes dear heart. I nearly
shied away from this story, but the replacement idea was nowhere near as
powerful or pertinent to the story arc as my original idea so I jumped in and
went with it. This book is vital to the series, because it explains so many of
the ‘who is who’ and the ‘why’s’ of books 1 and 2. It has been planned from the
beginning, and yes it really makes me nervous. This series of books is
ultimately about a father’s forgiveness, and without this story, the books
would not work, and the emotional impact that it is heading for would not pay
off. So, in for a penny, in for a pound. Too late now, it’s done.
.
Why do you write?
I love to create stories and
characters, it’s a fantastic escape from every- day living. I love to take an
idea and start developing a story and characters around it, and I love to see
where it takes me! If I am lucky enough that an audience likes it and reads it,
then that really is the ultimate thrill!
When did you decide to become a writer?
It was not a conscious decision. I have
written since I was a child, and I am now 46! But when I decided to write Dead
Camp, when the idea became so powerful and would not let me sleep, I decided
that I would do everything in my power to get a publisher and get the work into
as good a situation as possible. And it worked! Extasy books have been
fabulous.
What genre are your books?
Supernatural, paranormal, horror, gay, a general sprinkling
of erotica, conspiracy, history. Have I left anything out?
What draws you to this genre?
I have always loved supernatural/paranormal books, LOVED
Twilight, LOVED the True Blood books, and that sent me off wanting to do my own
spin on that genre. Plus I have always wanted to write a Vampire story, but one
that changed the conventions, and hopefully does something a bit different with
the genre.
What made you decide to sit down and
actually start something?
I had an idea and it would not let me
sleep. The idea grew and grew and I knew it would take a number of books to see
it through, so I had to write it. I started Dead Camp to see where it would
lead me, and now I know exactly where it is going and how the very last page of
the series will look. I’m so excited about it that it stops me from sleeping
because I keep seeing bits of it in my head. It’s an obsession, as is writing
in general I think.
Do you write full-time or part-time?
Part time. I have an Interior Design
business in Cardiff called Home Zone Design, with my fabulous business partner
Jayne, so that takes up all my working days sadly. If I could walk away from
that and write all day I would, but sadly we cannot afford to hire anyone so
that isn’t going to happen lol!
Do you have a special time to write or
how is your day structured?
I try to do a couple of hours a night
and I try to do as much as I can on days off. However, my debut novel Dead Camp
has just gone live on extasy books and Amazon and all my time has been spent
doing social media stuff and trying to get the book out there, so I have been a
bit lack of late!
How do you think
you’ve evolved creatively?
Not sure about that.
I do think my writing has improved dramatically over this process, my editors
at extasy have been fantastic! I’ve always had a pretty active imagination, and
this series is pushing that to the limits and I love it. The one thing that
does happen when you write it that the more you do it, the better you become,
and the more ideas you have!
What have you written?
Dead Camp is my first published work. I have written loads
over the years, lots of bad stuff, lots of screen plays. I have a file full of
half-finished things and ideas that I am looking forward to getting back to
once the Dead Camp series is finished. While to go there yet though lol.
Do you work to an outline or plot or do you
prefer just seeing where an idea takes you?
I start from a rough outline, and before I start writing I
always know where I need each character to go and where the story needs to go.
Dead Camp is going to be a big series, possibly 6 books, and I know exactly
where each one will be, start, end, and how each one affects the next, and I
know exactly how it ends.
How do you market your books?
Facebook, twitter, Goodreads, yahoo groups. That is my main
thrust at the moment and believe me it all takes a lot of doing. How effective
it is I don’t know yet, I am a very small fish in a very, very large sea.
Is there any marketing technique you used that
had an immediate impact on your sales figures?
Facebook. As soon as I announced the publication of the
book, people were buying it. Also, because I am lucky enough to have a
fantastic publisher in extasy books, they also sell it from their website, and
they have a huge following, so hopefully at some point that will kick in.
What advice would you give to aspiring authors?
Never give up. Keep writing, even if it’s bad, because you
will improve. If you have an idea, go with it. Don’t get sidetracked either, as
I am now lol. You have to write all the time, to develop your style and your
skills. Never take ‘NO’ as the final answer. I was refused by every agent in
the Readers & Writers Handbook, but just when I thought there was no point
in going on, I approached six publishers directly and within three weeks I had
three offers.
Sadly, no-one is going to do it for you, so you have to do
it for yourself!
Give us an insight into your main character.
What does he do that is so special?
Eli is so arrogant and so self-assured, that you can’t help
but love him. It’s not so much what he does that is special, it’s the horror he
has been through. He has been through so much that you would think it could not
get any worse. But as Dead Camp begins, it does get worse, and his history
unfolds through the books to the point where you really need something good to
happen to him. He thinks his arrogance and his sexy attitude can get him
through it all, but he discovers that nothing is further from the truth.
Where do your ideas come from?
The strangest of places. Dead Camp came to me while
watching a World War two film. Documentaries on the Discovery channel also fuel
my imagination. Also, there are a couple of future books I would like to write
inspired by some terrible nightmare I had as a child that have always stayed
with me.
What is the hardest thing about
writing?
Getting the time to write!
What was the hardest thing about
writing your latest book?
Finding someone to take it seriously
and publish it. Agents didn’t want to know. Three publishers did straight away.
Who
is your favorite character in your book and why?
Eli,
because he is so naughty and I would love to be him!
Who
is your least favorite character and why?
Melek. He
is so bad that you can’t help but love him. Not all evil is as dark as you
think.
What
is your next project?
Dead Camp
book two out so I am trying to get the third one written as we speak!
Who
is your favorite fictional character and why?
Count
Dracula. I have read that book so many times I can almost recite it! He is not
strictly evil, and I think in the end he just wants to be loved. That feels as
relevant today as it did when it was first written.
What
one person from history would you like to meet and why?
Judy
Garland. I’m gay, need I say more?
If there
was one thing you could do to change the world, what would it be?
End poverty.
Who
is your favorite author?
Charlaine
Harris
What
is one thing you hate about being a writer?
That I have
to work in a shop in order to survive instead of writing all day lol.
Book Name: Dead Camp
Series: Dead Camp
Book: One
Release
Date: January 1, 2016
Blurb:
Eli
is an ancient vampire with an ego the size of a planet and a sex drive to
match, but his tumultuous past left him broken, so he hides from humanity
and cowers from love, left to endure the crushing guilt that haunts his
every waking moment. Even his best friend Malachi, a ghost who is
hopelessly in love with Eli, remains unaware of all that transpired in
London. Malachi can never know the truth.
When
the Angel Daniyyel pays an unwelcome visit, Eli must face his secrets,
secrets that he has tried so long to hide. To make matters worse, a chance
encounter with the most beautiful man he has ever seen shatters his
beloved isolation, pushing him into the world of the living once more.
Something about this strange man seems so familiar, but Eli can’t even
remember who he was before he became a vampire, never mind explain
the unwanted emotions the enigmatic stranger ignites in his dead heart. So
Eli has a choice—return to the world that ruined him, or continue his
self-imposed exile with no hope of salvation.
Pages or Words: 87,422 words, 260 pages
Categories: Dark Themes, Erotica,
Fiction, Gay Fiction, Historical, Horror, M/M Romance, Mystery, Paranormal,
Romance, Vampires/Demons, Thriller
Excerpt:
With a sickening wet sound, his body
finally broke free of the earth. A cry of agony burst from between his perfect
lips and his head fell back against my shoulder. I felt his long eyelashes
brush against my neck as his eyes flickered in defiance of the blackness trying
to consume him.
“Stay with me fella, stay with me, we’ll be
home in a jiffy.”
Home, back to my castle, what the fuck was
I thinking? I was out of my little fucking mind. I didn’t know the man. I owed
him nothing. I had an Angel in my dining room and a German soldier in my
dungeon and to top things off, I lived with a ghost. Yet I still wanted to take
him home? No, I was intent on taking him home, I had decided that the moment I
saw him.
But why, why should I get involved, why
should I tread that path again, the path that could only lead to pain. It
always did. And yet, as I held him in my arms I felt it, something inescapable,
something that I could not understand, a stirring, a feeling, like something
found when all hope of ever finding it had been forgotten. Something
complicated.
A tingle of warning trickled up and down my
spine making my hair stand on end. I lowered the hunk to the ground, slowly,
carefully and whispered into his perfectly shaped ear. “Remain quiet.”
In a flash of lightning speed, I leapt into
a tree, clinging with one hand to a thick branch while my legs wrapped around
its thick girth. Someone was out there and not just Mr Fuck Me He’s Perfect. The smell of human, living heart pumping
human was unmistakable, that incomparable odour carried on the wind to entice
my nostrils and excite my senses, and I was dutifully excited. But there was
something else there too, a feint undercurrent, an elusive aftertaste that went
beyond sweat and skid-marks, an elusive scent that pricked at my memory, the
smell of Demon.
I saw him then, a German soldier winding
his way through the field of corpses. His uniform, a grey green feldbluse replete with bottle green
collar and shoulder straps, made him almost invisible amongst the branches and
the sludge. I could not see his face beneath his field cap but I could easily
make out the eagle and swastika emblem embroidered on the bottle green cloth
and I noted with disgust the Sturmgewehr semi-automatic rifle hanging loosely
from his shoulder.
The Nazi stood barely six metres away from
my injured future husband. Do not move lovely man, I said to myself, do not
move and don’t make a sound and if you can, be still your beating heart,
because to me it sounded like a jackhammer pounding through the forest. He was
frightened and in pain. His eyes darted everywhere looking for me, desperate
for me, pleading for me to drag him out of that Hell.
I saw the agony flash across his face
before the sound escaped his lips. My entire body tensed. Too late, the soldier
heard his pain.
He was running then, running towards my
Adonis in the pit. Without hesitation, I soared through the air and landed with
feline grace before him. The soldier fell backwards with a bloodcurdling
scream. The rifle landed at my feet and I picked it up, rising to my full
magnificent height, slowly and with purpose, relishing every moment of fear
that blossomed across the soldiers white features. I snapped the weapon as
easily as though it were a twig and threw the shattered weapon at his feet,
watching with satisfied relish as he scrabbled backwards in the mud, his mouth
curling away from his face as his terror burst from his throat.
“Demon! You are not from the camp. What are
you?”
My
teeth extended and my eyes flashed black. My Vampire was out. In one swift
movement, barely visible to the human eye, I leapt at him, pulling him off the
floor with effortless ease, lifting his flailing body high above my head. I
threw him with all my might at the nearest tree. His spine snapped with an
audible bang as his fragile body wrapped itself backwards around the trunk of
the trembling pine, his lifeless body sliding to the ground and my stomach
rumbled. Dinner was served
Buy the book:
Meet the author:
I think that as I approach that
milestone that is fifty, I must be one of the oldest gamers on the face of this
earth. Many a day you will find me lashed to my PS4 enjoying a good session of
Skyrim. Who doesn’t love a good session of Skyrim?
I love writing—I have done it since I was a child when I would happily
write about the latest episode of Doctor Who (Tom Baker in those days) in my
schoolbooks. Growing up and becoming a business owner with my friend Jayne left
little time to pursue my dream of publication, but of late the desire and the
compulsion to put words onto paper have once again dominated my life so that
now, my laptop has become surgically fused to my fingertips.
There is something desperately satisfying about telling a story. My
fascination with History, Religion and Conspiracy theories have, in this
instance, gone hand-in-hand with my love of all things vampire, fantasy, sci-fi
and horror. I drove my parents nuts when I was young because that was all I
would read about in books, all I would watch on television, but they have held
me in good stead, and long may my obsession with the subjects continue, at
least, that is, until the day they put me in my own wooden box. And imagination
is such a wonderful thing. I once had a rather vivid dream about David Tennant
and the Tardis console, but I could not possibly go into details about that
here. Let’s just say that my polarity was well and truly reversed.
Dead Camp is just the beginning. I have to check my knickers every day
at the thought that this book is now in the public domain. My first book, and I
hope the first of many. And to those out there who love to write, who love to
transport us to new worlds, or old worlds with a twisted perspective, I say to
you keep going. I never thought I would ever see my work available to download,
and thanks to eXtasy Books, the dream that I always thought unobtainable has
finally come true. So thank you all at eXtasy, I am one happy homosexual thanks
to you, and thank you the reader for taking the time to read this strange tale
and allowing Eli and the incomparable Malachi into your lives.
And now I really need Skyrim.
Where to find the author:
Publisher: Extasy Books
Cover
Artist: Latrisha Waters
Tour Dates & Stops:
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