Hi, everyone! I was tagged to answer five questions by the fabulous Piper Vaughn, whose story One Small Thing is a feel-good fave of mine. :) Check out her books if you haven't already!
1. What am I working on?
Right now I have a few things percolating. I'm currently polishing up my historical short story A Time for Loving, which I'll be publishing later this year. The incredibly talented Natasha Snow and I are putting together a cover that I hope will convey the mood of traditional Regency stories of yesteryear. A Time for Loving takes place post-Waterloo and will explore the relationship between Christopher, an aristocratic second son and former officer, and Jack, his batman-turned-valet.
As I await news from Dreamspinner Press on next steps for my newly-signed werewolf novella He's Just Knot That Into You, I'm also brainstorming for 2.5 sequels that will be follow-ups and set in the same universe. The first will be a short story follow-up for the guys in HJKTIY (let's just say...omega heat and a whole lotta scandalousness will feature in this one!) and will introduce the MCs for books 2 and 3. Book 2 will be a human member of their wolf pack, and book 3 will be the human's werewolf BFF. I have a pretty strong sense of the direction each of those stories will take, but I just haven't had the discipline to write anything down...yet.
I also have a couple of contemporary stories that I've outlined and have been eyeing. One, a contemporary office enemies-to-lovers story, has actually been rather loud in demanding attention lately. *gives it the side eye*
2. How does my work differ from others in its genre?
Piper had a great and completely on point answer to this question: every author has their own unique voice and style. So, yes, everyone's work is different, and, as a reader, I've had so much fun exploring the genre and discovering just that!
With that said, there's one thing that consistently appears in m/m romance: the HEA. I love HEAs and have sought out HEA stories ever since I was a wee lass. If you read my work, you'll get an HEA and a story full of smuff (that's smut and fluff, joined together in a happy-fuzzy concoction). I've been fortunate enough to have experienced a lot of different things over the years (from my bus breaking down in the desert in the Middle East to being mistaken for a prostitute in Paris to being only one of thirteen German majors at UCLA), and I hope that what I've seen and done in this world help to enrich the tales I tell. Contemporary themes (and, particularly, sports-related ones) have been pretty prominent in my stories so far, but that'll change soon with some of my upcoming releases! :)
3. Why do I write what I do?
Honestly, this question might be the hardest for me to answer. I've always loved HEAs, and romance novels have played a huge role in my life since I was young. The part I always enjoyed the most in my romances was the hero's POV. When I began reading m/m romance, the fact that there were TWO heroes' POVs blew. my. mind. I loved it. I've never really explored the appeal that closely, but it could be the way the hero's POV reveals a vulnerability that we don't often see in mainstream media portrayals of masculinity. Anyway, that's why I fell in love with m/m romance. Naturally, when the opportunity arose to try my hand at writing, it just made sense to write what I loved. That first (amazing!) writing experience opened up a whole new world for me, and I just haven't looked back.
4. How does my writing process work?
Up until my last story, I would have claimed to have been a loyal devotee of the outline and a big time plotter. However, with HJKTIY, I totally pantsed it without an outline, and that was a blast to write. As such, I guess you could say I just do what works and hope it continues to work. *sheepish grin* In general, I usually start with two characters and then ask myself "hey...wouldn't they be perfect for each other? Yeah? Well, how?" And then I explore them a little before I get an inkling of an idea as to how their HEA would unfold. That's how the outline would develop, but I'm beginning to see the beauty of the no outline approach, too. As long as the story I have in my head gets onto the page, I'm not one to question how! =)
5. Who’s next on the blog hop?
