RM Sotera and I discuss her writing and the three books in the “Dirty” series: Dirty Dancer, Dirty Deed and Dirty Valkyrie. Her ability to create a world where vampires exist alongside of Norse Gods is exemplary. Each of her books can be read as a stand-alone volume, but, for the absolute best experience, I highly suggest you read them in order (as above).
Tell us, what has been your biggest influence on becoming a writer?
For years, I would have various kinds of jobs, but I would not keep them for more than about three years at a time. I’m the kind of person that once I understand something, I need to move on. Despite my years working for newspapers, magazines, etc., I only began calling myself writer a few years ago. I went to my first Romance Writers of America convention and I couldn’t believe that there were other people like me with multiple interests and I felt more at home there than any place ever. I now write full time and I know this is the one career I will never leave because within the confides of fiction writing, I can live out all my fantasies and be whoever I want for however long I like. It’s the greatest feeling in the world!
I know the readers are curious. How do you categorize yourself: pantser or plotter?
No doubt I am a panster all the way! I write like I read. I get a thrill out of seeing what will happen to the characters so if I know in advance, it spoils all my fun. I made myself attend one plotting session to see how it worked and I still never completed the project I offered to that group. My philosophy is to entertain myself first and then hopefully others will like it, too.
What makes a book great in your eyes?
A great book has characters who we cheer for, tons of intricate mysterious details that all get neatly resolved in the end.
What is the biggest piece of your advice you can give a beginning writer?
Don’t give up! If you have the dream, work on it. You won’t become great overnight. It’s all part of the journey. In college, I had the opportunity to become editor-in-chief of my college newspaper because I was a great businessperson and the paper was in a financial mess. The problem was I couldn’t string more than a few sentences together at a time and I was responsible for writing two editorial columns per week. My staff taught me how to do that on the job, and today, to think the girl of so few words has written over thirty books and novels now is amazing. I worked really hard and still do. I only began writing fiction three years ago and I love it because it is so challenging for me. I’ve had to completely relearn how I was taught to write, but with every project, I believe I’m learning more and growing, and that is what life is about. I love it and I have so appreciated everyone at eXtasy Books! They have the best editors I’ve had the honor to work with so far.
Name one thing readers don’t know about you.
My non-fiction name is Shelley Kaehr (www.shelleykaehr.com) and I am a real-life past-life regression therapist and energy healer. I get a lot of my sci-fi/horror material from my clients and some of the places I’ve lectured in that capacity. One of the best was when I was invited to present at the Roswell International UFO Festival. I rode on the Alien Autopsy float. What a kick! Many of these experiences will be trickling out into my work at some time or another.
What are you working on now?
My next one is a story based on the Hermit card in the Major Arcana of the Tarot for eXtasy Books. I’m writing a vampire, only this guy doesn’t drink blood because he isn’t from Earth! Stay tuned to find out!
Who is your favorite all-time author?
No doubt—Dean Koontz. I think he is a master storyteller who seems to continually work on his craft. A lot of the big names break in and don’t seem to refine themselves anymore. We all have to follow rules to get in, but even Koontz’s later works reflect that he is keeping up with the current trends in fiction writing. Plus as a fan of the macabre and the spooky, I love his stuff!
Are love scenes easy/difficult to write?
You would think as much dating as I’ve done over the years this should be easy for me, but it isn’t. I find it challenging to come up with new ways to describe body parts, etc. I am pleased to say that I no longer wonder what my parents will think when they read it. They’ve read all my books so far and I know they’ve read other racy material so it doesn’t faze them.
Do you write in one genre or several different ones? And why?
I enjoy writing across genres under both pen names and my non-fiction name. I think it’s because I have a sort of ADHD *LOL J* or curiosity about things. When I first decided to write fiction full time,, I wrote everything from Sci-Fi, Western, Romance, Paranormal, etc. to get a feeling for what I enjoy writing. I don’t think you know what you like until you do it. Now I’ve found several characters I really enjoy and who I wouldn’t mind spending more time with in series formats. Among my favorites are my Sci-Fi characters in my forthcoming 2012 series. They’re from Venus and I will be doing a lot more with them over the years. I think of my fiction as an art form so it’s important for me to express my artistic self in the areas I love the most. Life is supposed to be enjoyed and I am doing just that.
How do you deal with the dreaded writer’s block?
Since I decided to do fiction full time, I expect myself to produce material or edit material every day. The fact is, sometimes that doesn’t happen. I’ve come to understand that stories are born, especially for a panster like me. I believe I work on stories in the deep part of my subconscious mind even when I’m doing the dishes or working out at the gym. All things come in their time so I give myself a break and know that as long as I understand what the deadline is, I will get it done. If there are breaks along the way, so be it.
Do you have another career besides writing? What is it?
Yes, I am a hypnotherapist/past-life regression therapist and also write books on the healing properties and lore of gemstones.
If you had the opportunity to say one thing to your readers, what would that be?
Thank you for reading books! I’ve come to believe that fiction allows us all to escape from the real world and enter into unknown places. By doing so, I think it helps us solve our problems, rest, regroup and gain the perspective that all things are possible in our lives, no matter what struggles we may face. None of that would happen without the readers so I thank you so much for supporting the artistic endeavors of writers.
Visit Annette online at www.annetteshelley.com
Learn the craft! This means grammar, characterization, plot, etc., all the good things that go into a story. You might be able to tell a good story, but if you can’t write it by showing what the characters are doing/feeling, your writing career won’t go anywhere. Get involved in a critique partnership/group. Learn the non-creative side of the business as well. Be prepared.
Name one thing readers don’t know about you.
I used to crew for a balloon pilot.
Who is your favorite all-time author?
It’s a tossup between Anne Rice and Stephen King.
Are love scenes easy/difficult to write?
Sometimes they’re easy, other times they’re hard. For me, it depends upon the story and the mood of the characters. In one story I worked on, my hero and heroine were supposed to have a threesome with another character and then my hero decided he didn’t want anyone else but him to touch his girl. We were at a stalemate and the story went on hold until he stopped having a hissy fit.
What’s your biggest reward in being a writer?
I’m able to get paid doing what I love.
To date, which is your favorite story? Which one did you have the most fun writing?
To date, my favorite Extasy Books story is The Redeemer found in The Mystics. The one I’ve had the most fun writing so far is Dirty Little Trip in my Dirty Little series of books that follows scrumptious, bad boy demon, Ash.
Readers can find C.R. Moss at www.crmoss.net
Everything I have read. I have always loved books and all the enjoyment I found in them since I was a child, I wanted to create and share with others. Every time I read a great book, I thought about how much I wanted to write something like that.
How did you feel when you got your first publishing contract?
So excited and scared. I didn’t know how I was going to get out of my shyness to be able to advertise myself and put myself out there.
How do you categorize yourself: pantser or plotter?
I am definitely a pantser. I usually sit down with a vague plot line and a great opening scene in my head, but no real idea of where I am going. I really like the story to flow and not feel like I am stuck with an idea I already came up with.
What makes a book great in your eyes?
It makes you want to ignore everything around you just so you can finish it! I do that often, just ask my family.
What is the biggest piece of your advice you can give a beginning writer?
The best piece of advice I have ever gotten, and use quite a bit is, when you’re stuck, go back, re-read what you have written and figure out where you deviated from the book you were intending to write.
It works for me, I would recommend it to others.
Do you have any guilty pleasures?
Oh yes, and they are my little secret…
What influences your writing? And why?
I am influenced by a lot of things. What I read, what I watch, my dreams and sometimes just what I hear from people around me. I often look at people or situations and think of how it would look in a story. I don’t think I am ever not getting ideas and storing them in my head for later.
Name one thing readers don’t know about you.
Okay this is kind of funny but…I have never mowed the lawn! Seriously, I was a spoiled child I guess. I never mowed the lawn and never lived without a man to do it for me. I plan to keep it that way, a small but very attainable life goal I think.
What are you working on now?
Right now I am working on edits for the third book in the Immortal Council Series and also something new I am not quite ready to announce.
Who is your favorite all-time author?
I don’t have a favorite, there are so many that I love. One that stands out that I have loved for a long time is Stephen King. I love horror.
Are love scenes easy/difficult to write?
It depends, some are easy and some are more difficult. It depends on how much personal experience I have to relate to the scene.
Do you write in one genre or several different ones? And why?
There is always romance behind my stories, but I have written historical, horror, urban fantasy and contemporary. I write whatever feels good at the time. I like not being bound to one particular genre.
If you could be anywhere right now, where would you be?
On a tropical beach, always on a tropical beach.
How do you deal with the dreaded writer’s block?
I try and force out words sometimes, just to see if I can get the flow going. If that doesn’t work, I read over what I have written or I get away from it and take a break. Sometimes start writing something else.
Do you have another career besides writing? What is it?
I have a degree in elementary education and teach preschool.
What’s your biggest reward in being a writer?
Knowing that I am doing what I have wanted to do since I was a kid, knowing that I am not one of those people who sit back and say I could do that or I want to someday, I am doing it and that feels great.
To date, which is your favorite story? Which one did you have the most fun writing?
My favorite story so far is Keeping Blood, the second in my Immortal Council Series. I absolutely love the characters in it and how it really created the series. I started writing it first, then went back and wrote Blood Visions, the first in the series.
How do you go about developing your characters and setting?
I take notes when I am beginning a story on the character. I picture them in my head and go from there. Setting is the same, I feel like the books play out as a movie in my head as I write.
If you had the opportunity to say one thing to your readers, what would that be?
I hope you enjoy reading my books as much as I enjoyed writing them.
Visit Courtney at: www.courtneybreazile.com
Tell us, what has been your biggest influence on becoming a writer?
Having a vivid imagination. My own every day life is pretty staid. I like it that way. I'm not big on needless drama and constant adrenaline rushes. But I do like the idea of going to other times and places. Reading is one avenue for accomplishing that and writing takes me every further.
How did you feel when you got your first publishing contract?
Stunned. Utterly and completely stunned. It wasn't anything I ever saw myself doing.
How do you categorize yourself: pantser or plotter?
Dreamer—most of my books come from my dreams. I have vivid dreams, often lucid dreams and write them down as soon as I wake from them. I've studied dream work since high school and have trained myself to wake up immediately after a dream and to write it down. Since I started writing, I dream the next scene for most of my books. So does that make me a dreamster?
What makes a book great in your eyes?
Three dimensional characters, solid research, being able to transport me into the story so I feel like I'm part of it.
What is the biggest piece of your advice you can give a beginning writer?
You know, even after, ummm, let's see, five years since my first book was published, I still feel like a beginning.
Do you have any guilty pleasures?
I'm human, what do you think?
What influences your writing? And why?
My dreams, my day to day life.
Name one thing readers don’t know about you.
I take classes like normal people go to movies.
What are you working on now?
With All Dispatch.
Who is your favorite all-time author?
Alexander Dumas.
Are love scenes easy/difficult to write?
Painfully so.
Do you write in one genre or several different ones? And why?
Most of my books are time travels so that seems to put me in several genres within the same book. I do like books—and writing—with reincarnation and dream themes.
If you could be anywhere right now, where would you be?
Right where I am—in my living room with my cats.
How do you deal with the dreaded writer’s block?
Writer's block? Knock wood, never had it.
Do you have another career besides writing? What is it?
I'm a legal secretary.
What’s your biggest reward in being a writer?
I can decide what the ending should be.
To date, which is your favorite story? Which one did you have the most fun writing?
Traveling Bride—which hasn't been sold yet. The Thrill is Gone—it's my fantasy of what my life should have been.
How do you go about developing your characters and setting?
The characters tell me who they are and what they see.
Okay, at the risk of sounding crazy and going back to my other career—I was a therapist for awhile although I guess I still am because it's not really something you resign from. While completing my masters, Jung was my icon, my hoped for arrival point as a therapist. I believe when we say our characters speak to us that they are in fact parts of ourselves. They say most of us use 10% of our mental capacity. I believe authors have found a way to use at least part of that other 90% and that’s where those fascinating characters come from. They are parts of our psyche and if we listen to that inner voice, we know what makes a good story.
If you had the opportunity to say one thing to your readers, what would that be?
Happy reading.
http://regantaylorsworld.blogspot.com/
Hi Blak and welcome!
Tell us, how did you feel when you got your first publishing contract?
Excited and happy all in the same breathe, and I suppose there was a little fear of the unknown mixed in there.
What makes a book great in your eyes?
A great book maintains solid characters who aren’t impervious to change and an interesting secret helps as well.
Do you have any guilty pleasures?
Smoking. I quit a long time ago, but I still get the urge to light up. The main character in the novel I’m currently writing is fighting with the same bad habit.
What are you working on now?
The story has a surreal futuristic setting. The main character, a bounty hunter, is asked by a close friend to assist with a murder investigation and stop a black market slave trade smuggling ring, while at the same time struggling with his feelings for his latest bounty. All I can reveal, it there are several stories within a story and a secret or two.
Are love scenes easy/difficult to write?
I find them fairly easy as long as I’m in the mood. When I write, my moods shift from character to character, taking into account how they’re feeling during that particular scene.
Do you write in one genre or several different ones? And why?
I’ve always written in several different because I find where one lacks or inhibits me another will allow me to release my full imagination.
What’s your biggest reward in being a writer?
It gives me a chance to share my personal experiences, thoughts, feelings and opinions with the reader.
How do you go about developing your characters and setting?
Almost every character I’ve ever created is loosely based on someone I know. This can include my own personality traits or who I’d like to be. And it’s the same set of rules for the settings in my stories, most are again loosely based on places I’m familiar with and the odd time somewhere I’ve dreamt of traveling too.
If you had the opportunity to say one thing to your readers, what would that be?
If anything I’ve written causes someone to pause for a thought, made them laugh or cry, or even made them angry, then as far as I’m concerned I’ve accomplished what I set out to do. Emotions are a powerful tool and when the reader feels as the characters do then the book has succeeded to entertain and perhaps even enlighten. I appreciate feedback so please don’t hesitate to drop me a line at http://www.blakraynebooks.com/ or at any of my other links listed in the website. Thanks!
Thanks for joining us, today. Tell us, how did you feel when you got your first publishing contract? Ecstatic! I had self-published a few times, but that first real contract where you don’t have to pay out any money is stellar!
How do you categorize yourself: pantser or plotter? A little bit of both. I try to do an outline as to what I want to achieve with the story—beginning, middle, end. It may change along the way as I love the freedom of writing. There isn’t a better feeling than being at a part in your book where you can just let your fingers fly over the keyboard…the dialogue, the sex, the emotion, the action. You know what you want to accomplish and can do it while having fun!
What makes a book great in your eyes? The plot, the characters, the pacing. I’m a reader who is bored with too much description of the outside of the house or someone’s clothes. I also don’t like slow pacing. I’m a believer in keeping it moving.
What is the biggest piece of your advice you can give a beginning writer? If it is truly your dream, don’t give up. Keep trying. When I look at my early writing, I see many mistakes. I have learned so much over the years. Continuous quality improvement are words to live by.
Do you have any guilty pleasures? Thinking of my favorite rock stars and actors make the romantic lead easy to write…especially the love scenes. I also have trouble turning down a good margarita, girly martini or fruity white wine. And if you tell me you have an airplane ticket to just about anywhere, I’m there with you. Are you ready to go?
Are love scenes easy/difficult to write? They were hard for me to write in the beginning because I had never planned on being a romance writer. But with a little genre studying, a little dreaming…and a little wine as I thought about some hot men…it has gotten easier.
Do you have another career besides writing? What is it? I’ve been a registered nurse for many years working in a variety of settings. Since I have always enjoyed the medical field, I will be having books come out with a bit of medical in them. Can’t help it. Write what you know and all that.
http://www.melodylanebooks.com
Hey, lady, I’m always kind. You should know that. Haven’t I seen you last week at the farm?
Oh, no, you must be mistaken. *blushes* I would never…
I’m quite sure, lady. Who could forget those…
Wait a minute. Why not get started with the interview, okay? Tell me a bit about you.
*points his finger at her* If that’s what you want. I’m Eric Bletchley, one of the main characters of Ann Raina’s No Fool: An Undercover Mission that came out in August this year at eXtasy Books. If you want to have a closer look, check it here: I’m the experienced guy at the wellness farm of Lady Summerston. Means, I’m already there when that guy Matthew comes in, totally unaware of what he has to expect. I show him around, you know, and tell him about his duties. We become friends. Later in the story, we have some fun at a bar.
Fun? What kind of fun?
Uh, well… I’m a known charmer and no woman can deny me. That evening in the bar, some guys weren’t so happy about me trying to flirt with their girlfriends. Things got rough and…you know, punches flew and Matt had a real good time showing off with his fighting talents.
You say, he got you out of the bar.
Alive, yes.
That makes me wonder: What are your special abilities?
I’m not a fighter, lady, I’m a lover. Look at me. I’m six foot four, muscled, young, got a great face, good manners—all of Lady Summerston’s boys have to have good manners or we wouldn’t work there—and not to forget my black hair, paired with green eyes. Besides that, I can flow with the rhythm. Whatever the woman wants—with me, she’ll get it.
And what is your part in the adventure?
Matt doesn’t understand the undercurrent that exists in a group of men. He doesn’t know nil about competition, distrust and the fear of being exposed to the laughter of others. At the wellness farm, all men fulfill the dreams of women, but they don’t want to tell the world about their job. I’m sure you understand that. It was my task to help Matt get acquainted with the other boys.
If you could offer your author advice, what would it be?
Hell, give me a greater part! It’s Matthew here and Matthew there, and I get only the small scenes. That’s disappointing. I want her to write another story and give me the main part.
Do you like how people perceive you?
Yes! Yes! Though I admit that it is more important to me how women perceive me. It’s a wonderful push of ego to learn that women choose you for a night, a day, a week to show off with you. It makes me feel great. I love my job.
Is there a message you want to get across in this interview?
Sure. Women, take whatever you want. If you want soft love, make sure you get it. And if you’re the rough type, don’t hesitate to ask for that, too. I’m so sick of women who always hide their sexual wishes because they are afraid of what their friends would say about them. What about you? Did you tell your friends you were here?
I really like your enthusiasm.
I’m the enthusiast in person, yes.
What was the least interesting thing that has ever happened to you?
Lady, do you have to ask this? Once, a woman took me to the opera. Yes, she wanted to show off, but can you imagine me to live through three hours of singing and even more singing? God, I was bored to death and still had to smile and be good company.
If you could pull your author into your world, what do you think would happen to her?
*smiles broadly* First, I would recommendate to never attend the opera. Sorry, just a joke. Second, I bet that she would liberate herself and ask the right questions to reach fulfillment. In everything. Every time. I would personally take care of her if she wanted me.
If you had the chance to meet another character, who would it be and why?
Another character? Hum, that beautiful woman that Matthew gets in the end. Yes, I’m almost jealous that she voted for him and not for me. Matt’s much smaller. He can hide behind me, y’know. She’s a classy woman, intelligent, strong in mind. Thinking about it—I don’t know if I could handle her. She gives me the impression of a woman who likes to be in command.
And that is something you don’t want?
Come on, didn’t you check out the dungeon last week? Ha, I knew you did! I’ve been down there many times. And if you’re bound, the woman’s in command. Bet on it.
Tell us what it’s like to spend a day with you.
That depends if I’m alone or with a woman. If I’m alone, I go to the gym for three hours, training. My body’s a fine-tuned machine that needs exercise every day. After that, I’ll have lunch and go for a swim or take my bike. Lady Summerston doesn’t want us to be in town alone. She always thinks that her precious boys could get molested or something. So I spend much time on the premises. In the evening, there will be a woman on my list. I take her out to a restaurant or… Last week, I had a really nice lady who wanted to ride a motorcycle with me. Hell, that was fun! She was about fifty and had never ridden a bike before. She enjoyed it immensely. And I did, too.
What’s the oddest thing you’ve seen or done?
That’s a long list, lady! The one thing was painful, really painful. A lady chose me and lost control. Since that happened in the dungeon, you can imagine how I looked afterwards.
Tell us about the lady.
No, hell, no! She’s a kind of evil creature I want to forget. Most of the ladies are nice and kind, even if they live out their fantasies which include my body. I’m not shy, I’m open for any kind of game, but that one woman… Matt avenged me. That was a good feeling.
Thanks, Eric, for that insight. Is there a question you wish I had asked but didn’t?
*Looks her deep in the eyes* Aw, yes. You can ask me if I’m free for tonight. And the answer is…
Eric, I have a boyfriend.
Lynn, I’ve had many, many women, and I never told their husbands or boyfriends about what we did. I won’t change that principle.
*Takes a deep breath* Thank you for the interview, Eric, and have a good night.
Hi Kelly and welcome!
What has been your biggest influence on becoming a writer?
I think being a self-professed 90s kid was the big deal. In the 90s, we had this thing called the animation renaissance. We got the best cartoons the world had ever seen, and with most of the artist and writers among us, it instilled a belief that it was our duty to equal that beauty and imaginative quality of those works.
How did you feel when you got your first publishing contract?
Because of the current recession (let’s not kid ourselves, it’s an economic depression with a smiley face sticker), my heart jumped for joy! Like so many people my age who got robbed of all of the promises for the future we had been raised with, this was a glimmer of light in a dark cave.
How do you categorize yourself: pantser or plotter?
Texan. Maybe pantser. I start with a decade, and a singular character I like the idea of, and apply the story around that character.
What makes a book great in your eyes?
The ability to learn and feel from it. All the schmaltzy schlock that news anchors and celebrities in the world pile into pages just to sell a cheesy book is what’s killing the writer’s job. Those books have no feeling, or depth.
What is the biggest piece of your advice you can give a beginning writer?
Research all options, even strange and non-traditional ones, investigate new genres, and never give up. Did we surrender at the Alamo, no! The Mexican empire won, but only by default. (all the Texians died)
Do you have any guilty pleasures?
I don’t do anything I’d feel guilty about, like stealing. If it’s something like fudge or real Virginia ham, why would I feel guilty? My hips, my body, my rules. My ham, don’t touch.
What influences your writing? And why?
A desire to teach, and help others by any means necessary.
Name one thing readers don’t know about you.
I don’t care for coconut. It’s not the flavor, but the texture.
What are you working on now?
Whatever the editor and boss say to. (I bow before Tina and Jay) Seriously, a new and soon to be finished gay (m/m), regency era romance, set during the Texas revolution.
Who is your favorite all-time author?
Herman Melville, or R.L. Stine. What? I’m a 90s kid, I can like Stine if I want.
Are love scenes easy/difficult to write?
Only ones that are forced from the author, ones that I don’t care about.
If you could be anywhere right now, where would you be?
Over the grave of Jimmy Hoffa, or the grave of Genghis Khan. Just so we’d know where to dig.
How do you deal with the dreaded writer’s block?
Bourbon, and staring at a picture of the Kiowa war chief Sitting Bear, and Walt Disney. I hate Disney so much. Happy now?
Do you have another career besides writing? What is it?
Embalming.
What’s your biggest reward in being a writer?
If you have ever learned something from my books, that’s my reward.
If you had the opportunity to say one thing to your readers, what would that be?
Don’t touch my ham, kidding—do what is right, even if it is hard, even if you do it alone. Do what is right.
Hi! I’m Tom, and I’m in a book. I think this is where the rest of the group stands up and groans hi Tom. No? Okay. I was born in Texas, not south Oklahoma, and I joined the Marines a few years ago. When I lost my leg I was put in a German hospital, where I met the cutest guy. His name is Jake, and he’s just... wow.
Do you have special abilities?
Well, I’m gay and I don’t know any show tunes, I don’t have anything with glitter on it, oh, and I can field strip an AR15 in 20 seconds. Does that count?
Tell me about your most current adventure.
Let’s see, Kelly had this early Texas, Alamo thing she’s working on. It sounds kind of neat, but I heard she’s going to have buffalo in it. I clean up goat mess on a regular basis, but a buffalo? She is way too patient.
If you could offer your author advice, what would it be?
Stop being so serious. Really, Kelly, when I said Adam Lambert was making me hot, I saw you turn the AC down. God, she is so literal, I told her it was chilly outside, and she got a bowl and some crackers.
Are you happy with the way people perceive you?
I had a reader come up to me and ask me about saving money, like I’m some kind of econo-guru. She was really sweet, but Kelly put a little too much detail in the book. Aside from that, all of the readers have been super-supportive.
Does your author ever try to take over the story? And how do you deal with it?
Kelly is well meaning, but every now and then I just wanna smack her. Kidding, only kidding. She could kick my butt.
Is expressing love difficult for you? Why?
It’s not difficult in a private sense, but with Janie around, and the way a lot of people see me and Jake, it can get frustrating.
What is the most interesting thing that has happened to you?
Aside from getting my leg blown off, and the court battle? Maybe this time when me and Jake were hiking in the woods, and, well... take a guest.
Is there a message you want to get across in this interview?
Not really, but as for Kelly, can you say preachy? I was at her place last week, and she gave me a guide to canning with jars. We get it, girl. God, she’s so cheap.
If you could time travel, where would you go?
The fifties or the forties. I love the cars, the food, the decor, and that old rock and roll. Like with Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, Little Richard, and Chuck Berry. Not so much with the politics of the time, but I’d try to fix what I could.
What has been your all time favorite question from another character?
I really wasn’t asked a lot, but being fiction based, we non-existent characters get to meet so many other characters. Did you know Daffy really hated Bugs, learned to smoke cigars from Groucho, and was Jewish? Pretty cool, huh?
What was the best sexual experience you’ve had?
Defiantly my first time with Jake, it’s all in the book.
Is there a question you wish I had asked but didn’t?
I wish I would have asked Tina if they had chorizo, cabrito or regular food in Canada. We went to visit her, and there were ketchup flavored chips, no jalapenos, and gravy on the French fires. It was surreal.
What are your opinions on Jake?
He’s my world, without him, I’d be alone, and depressed, and without barbeque. God, that man can smoke meat.
What are the pros and cons to being a gay?
The pro is that we can wear anything we want, and help out straight guys with meeting girls. The con is, well, we’re in Texas.
How does one become a cool uncle?
The real trick is to just do some things that parents won’t do but keep it within reason. A sip of beer or wine is okay, a jug is not. Let them curse at your place when the parents are out, let them hold your cigar in front of their friends while you go get a beer, and teach them something cool, like guitar playing, or how to play poker. One of Jake’s cousin’s sons came over, and Jake taught him how to pick up a girl. I was surprised he knew how.
Describe your best kill. Why was it the best?
[n/a] After the military, I was done with that. Let’s not talk about it.
What makes being with a virgin the best sexual experience?
Jake was just so innocent and sweet the first time. Have you ever held a scarred kitten, it was like that, but with bodily fluids.
Click here to purchase The Muse
What makes you special?
What makes me special? To be honest, I’m having a hard time answering that. In my time (about five-hundred years from now) art has become the new demigod. I’m a model you see. For a time I was popular and in demand. Then I got older and my looks became unfashionable. Oh I still dreamed about modeling contracts, but my day job (I’m a dock foreman) built up too much muscle. That ruined any boyish beauty I might have once had. The artist who discovered me thinks I’m special though. She’s a terrific lady. I hope she’ll be my lady, one day.
Anyway, despite life’s ups and downs, I’m a confident guy. I believe in myself. My friends are guys of good character and we have a good time together. I believe in my artist, too. Now there’s a lady life’s thrown a few curves at.
Tell me about your most current adventure.
Sometimes life just hands you a pile of luck, you know? That’s what happened to me. For some reason I still can’t understand, a master artist picked me out in a crowded bar. I didn’t even recognize her at first. When I saw her, I was blown away by her soft curves and that gorgeous red hair of hers. Staying professional was hard when she asked me to strip down for her and pose—at her place, not the bar. I’ll let Gwen tell you about it…
“Are you ready to begin?” Calla asked after a time. She smiled at him gently.
“Yes,” Jarek nodded firmly. “How would you have me pose, Master?”
“Nothing so grand yet, Jarek.” Calla waved her hand and grinned. “Not today anyway. If I may, I’d like to see what I have to work with, then I’ll spend some time thinking about how best to portray those admirable qualities that drew me to you.” She couldn’t be sure but she thought he blushed. “If you are ready, please remove your shirt.”
She watched to see how readily or how awkwardly he’d obey. She’d asked about his experience in an effort to carry on a conversation with this stranger but also to find out if he had any legitimate modeling experience. If he’d know how to pose or arrange his body when asked, how to hold a pose without becoming fatigued. She’d been shocked to learn he’d had not one but several bad experiences and from the sounds of it, he hadn’t done much work since. She wondered if he was past them.
Jarek hesitated for only a second, then he stood and slowly began unbuttoning his shirt.
Calla stood and started to move around him, giving him a wide berth so he wouldn’t feel crowded. “I will observe your torso from every angle, Jarek,” she told him calmly and matter-of-factly. “Your torso and your face.”
“Not my—?”
“I will not need to see your genitals unless I am going to paint them, Jarek,” she explained quickly. “I am not ready to paint you yet and asking you to display yourself before then would be a misuse of your trust.”
His gaze lifted to hers and tracked her movement as she moved to his side. He felt something pass between them. Perhaps it was the trust she spoke of. Jarek’s expression said he felt confident and beautiful. Straightening his shoulders, he undid the rest of his buttons slowly and with obvious deliberation, then let his sturdy linen shirt slip off his back.
Calla had to work hard not to gasp. Jarek’s shoulders were indeed a sensual delight, broad, sculpted and striated and his skin shimmered with golden warmth in the midday light. His shirt fell past his buttocks as he slipped his hands out of the sleeves. Calla felt like she was being teased, perhaps even seduced by the slow deliberation of his movements, although she did not mind. She chewed on her lower lip as he casually laid the shirt across one of the chairs. He straightened to his full height, lifted his chin and stood still.
The smooth line of Jarek’s skin was broken by the defined ridges and dips of a full, pronounced and very male musculature. His lats fanned out in a mouth-watering arc, the muscular ridges on either side of his spine were deep, powerful and flawless. The muscles at the base of his neck flared out over his shoulders and provided the perfect shelf for the tips of his dark, curling hair to brush against.
“May I touch you?” Calla asked before she was aware the question was in her head. She was surprised her voice was steady.
“Of course,” Jarek answered without a trace of self-consciousness. He dipped his head to one side at the sound of her approach. His only reaction to her small, warm fingers on his skin was a catch in his breath he couldn’t hold back.
Calla locked her knees to keep them from shaking. Her reaction to this vital and profoundly masculine man was even stronger in the quiet of her patio than it had been in the noisy animated tavern. Struggling to keep her breathing even, Calla ran her fingers down one side of Jarek’s back. His skin seemed unnaturally soft although it was taut and she could practically feel the strength humming through him. Slowly and methodically, she explored every dip and swell of muscle after muscle. She stroked his back, his spine, the dimples that graced the expanse of skin just above his belt…just above the rise of his perfect buttocks. She touched the backs of his arms, wrapped her fingers slowly around his biceps and tested the resiliency of his skin. She breathed him in—man and spice and what had to be a pheromone because she started breathing a little deeper and her cleft grew damp. Her nipples hardened and Calla fought not to lean into him and comfort their nagging arousal with the pressure of his body against hers.
Jarek’s breath caught when she swirled her fingernails over the inside of his forearms. He straightened his fingers when she caressed them. He almost captured her hands in his but relaxed at the last minute, letting her fingers slip out of his grasp. Calla lost all track of time as she stroked the sides of Jarek’s body, seeing, feeling and scenting him with a growing need that trampled all boundaries of professional propriety.
Deliberately, she stepped away from him. She moistened her lips and trembled from head to toe. “Thank you. You can get dressed,” she managed to say without her voice breaking, picked up his shirt and handed it to him. Calla kept her hands firmly at her side when Jarek turned around to face her. His slipped his shirt back on with a slowness that almost had her ripping it back off his perfect, powerful torso.
“Did I pass the audition?” he asked with what sounded like deliberate audaciousness.
This time, Calla blushed. “Definitely,” she breathed and fanned herself theatrically.
Jarek grinned contentedly. He finished buttoning his shirt and tucked it into his pants. “When do I start?” he asked.
Calla walked back to the table, picked up her cup of now cold tea and sipped it—more to give herself a second to breathe away from Jarek’s powerful sensuality than anything else. “Any time tomorrow. I can’t promise I’ll come up with anything brilliant by then but we will work through a few ideas.”
Jarek nodded sagely, then ruined the effect by grinning down at her boyishly. “Any time tomorrow? How about one minute after midnight?”
“One minute after midnight and you’ll catch me in my bedclothes.”
The intensity in Jarek’s dark blue eyes jumped. He’d like to catch her in her bed and wondered how she’d react if he asked to take her there now. He leaned over the table, watching her predatorily. Calla’s breathing jumped and her nipples grew hard again.
Something in her expression shifted, like he was overwhelming her or she was unprepared for the unexpected heat rising between them. Moved by compassion, Jarek was the first to look away. “Okay,” he said casually. “Two minutes after midnight then.”
Calla laughed. “Anytime after sunrise will do nicely.”
“Agreed.” Grinning, Jarek turned away. It seemed like a long time since he’d felt this good about himself. As he left the patio, he paused beside the marble statuette and looked at it once more. Like before, he laid his hand on the base. “What will it feel like,” he asked himself more than her, “to be immortalized like this? What did your model say when he saw this completed?”
Calla’s mouth thinned. “He did not see it completed. He left me before it was finished. That is the last rendering I ever did of my ex-husband.”
Jarek’s gaze rose slowly to hers and, guardedly, he watched Callandria’s face for anger, tears—even resentment, but found none. He let out a breath he hadn’t known he was holding.
“If even the greatest fool of our time can be so perfectly cast, then there is indeed hope for me yet.” He took her hand and pressed a lingering kiss to her palm. “Until tomorrow, Callandria,” he said quietly, bowed his head and left.
If you could offer your author advice, what would it be?
I wish she’d find a way to keep my artist’s dirt-bag ex-husband out of the picture. The guy’s a narcissistic jerk who’s happiest when he’s running Calla down.
Are you happy with the way people perceive you?
I guess I don’t think about it much. Like I said before, I’m a pretty confident guy. Sure I wish my life had been different…before now that is. I wanted to contribute to the arts, to support myself through modeling. That didn’t happen and I accept that. I treat people the way I’d like to be treated. Just don’t confuse my easy-going nature with an inability to step up in someone’s defense if it’s called for.
Is humor important? Why or why not?
Humor? Absolutely. Like it was five-hundred years ago, life sucks sometimes. People treat you like dirt. If you rise above that, don’t let yourself sink down to other people’s level, you’ll be okay. Humor helps me do that.
Is expressing love difficult for you? Why?
When I was younger, yes. Nowadays, I’m more open to new experiences, feelings. Take my relationship with my artist for example. She’s a tough, classy lady whose ex betrayed her. To this day, he won’t lay off trying to grind down her spirit, even her credibility in the art world. Whenever Calla needs it, I make sure I’m there, supporting her, reminding her how terrific she is. I also can’t lay off staring at that great ass of hers whenever I get the chance. I like how it lights up her eyes whenever she catches me.
Share a little bit of the ‘real’ you with our readers. Any Dark secrets?
Yeah, I’ve got a few. I’m not proud of it, but when I was younger, I took some questionable modeling jobs. The kind where rich men gather around a private studio and the models assume various grappling poses. Nude of course. Hints of forced seduction, defilements…that sort of thing. I’m a big guy and I make other models look defenseless by comparison. I left the work when I realized these so-called artists were more interested in watching than sketching. And that they wanted me to move far more than pose. Calla hit the nail on the head when she referred to that kind of session as life sex shows under the guise of art. She never looked down on me after I told her though. Like I said, she’s a terrific lady.
What has been your all time favorite question from another character?
It was the day Calla came down to the docks and talked my boss into donating my work hours so I could work with her full time. As I was leaving, one of the guys I work with asked, “When will you be back and does she have a sister?” My answer? “If she had a sister she’d be far too good for the likes of you. As to when I’ll be back…I’ll be back after I’ve been immortalized.”
What was the best sexual experience you’ve had?
This is just between you and me, right? I’m not a kiss and tell kind of guy. There was this one morning…Calla was working in her studio. Life had been messing around with her, again, but despite that, she’d had a breakthrough. She was working on this wax model. A sculpture of me, of course. *wink* I was just so floored by her amazing talent I dropped to the tiles, sat between her knees and started kissing her…well, you get the point. She’s the kind of lady you want to worship, even if it means your balls ache for the rest of the day. I’m pretty sure she’ll make it up to me though.
