What type of story do you enjoy writing?

Good ones! lol. It’s very hard to answer this question, because I’m so curious about and interested in everything that it would be difficult to find a type of story I didn’t enjoy writing. However, one thing you can be certain is this, it generally won’t be like anything you’ve read before.

I love to seduce readers into thinking something is happening and introduce a new character or sudden plot twist that will literally blow their minds. Most of my readers love it. Just when they’re sure they think they know what’s going to happen, WHACK! A pleasant whack though by most accounts. Surely this accounts for at least part of the success of Scorch and my previous science fiction books.

I’ve written stories that take place in the past, the present and the future. I’ve written from both male and female point of views, first person (which I really enjoy) to third person omniscient. I’ve written articles, essays, poetry, stories as short as 250 words and novels as long as 120,000 words. Indeed what DON’T I like writing.

What made you decide to switch from writing straight science fiction and fantasy to writing erotica?

I’ve always been a sexual person. That is to say, I’ve not only always liked sex, but it’s always been a major part of my life. I wouldn’t categorize myself as a womanizer though. However, I have had a number of relationships and sex has always been a part of them, so why not part of my fiction as well.

But for me, that’s not enough. All my characters use the toilet, in every book, but I don’t write about it. Who cares? Well, in most of my books characters have sex, but if the sex is not integral to the plot, who cares. Yes, I know, some people do, but that’s why I switched. Scorch isn’t a novel into which I threw in sex scenes. It’s a story in which sex is integral to the plot. The sex is a large part of the story and without that sex, the story wouldn’t exist.

Mind you, I have other ideas for erotic books. The one I’m writing now has a strong romantic thread, more so than any other book I’ve ever written, though I have had some lovely romantic threads in past books. What I don’t like to do is call my books romances, for they are not...at least not so far. Romance is a part of life, and I write about life, whether that life is contemporary, historical or futuristic. Whether it takes place on Earth or another World. Whether the characters are human or otherwise. I didn’t actually switch to erotica. Scorch IS a science fiction book, in which sex plays a huge part in the plot, but, as has been stated in many reviews, the sex is never gratuitous, though it IS explicit. If explicit sex offends you, this might not be the right book for you.

Does dana help you with your writing?

dana helps me with everything. Her name is spelled with a lower case "d" by the way, that wasn’t a typo. dana loves my writing and in fact, read some of my fantasy stories before she ever met me. When we met online on a 3D chat software called Rose, she had no idea she was chatting with the same author that had written the book Reflections of a Recovering Servant. Then someone else in the room asked for my URL, and when she went to the page she was stunned. Here she was reading and loving this story and the author was right there in the room with her. The rest is history.

dana and I discuss plot points and characters and believability. I ask her what she thinks about certain ideas and sometimes she helps me flesh them out. I’ve brought characters back from the dead, because dana was so upset I’d killed them off, even if they weren’t main characters. She’s pointed out an inconsistency here and there, or something that didn’t work for her. But most of all she’s stood by me, supported me, shared with me, laughed with me, loved me and supported me.

I would be remiss, however, if I didn’t mention one other person who has been of great help to me over the years. Her name is Samandi Adams and she is not only my editor, but a friend, a confidante and usually the third person to read what I’ve written right after dana and I. Samandi, among other things, handles my web pages, which frees me up to write more.

Do you like to read and if so what?

I love to read, though, as I currently review for SFSITE, I tend to read what they send me. I’ve read both science fiction and fantasy in depth, but I have also read historicals, classics, romances, backs of cereal boxes, tarot cards, pretty much anything I can get my hands on.

Now however, with a full writing schedule and family time, it seems like I don’t get nearly enough time to read. Currently I have about a hundred books I’ve purchased that I haven’t broken open yet.

Who is your all time favorite Author?

Roger Zelazny, hands down. Many authors write great books. Roger Zelazny changed the way a certain genre was written. To me, he was a pioneer of science fiction and fantasy. When he passed away in the mid 90s, I mourned his passing, as if he was a close friend and perhaps he had been, for there were many years when I would feverishly read his words and many days those words saved me from the mundane world about me. I regret only that I never got to meet him while he was still living (as I have many other of my favorite authors) and it hurts I never thought to write him a fan letter, though I’m sure he received so many, that single omission was barely a hardship to him.

What are your feelings on Scorch?

Scorch hit much bigger than I thought it would, particularly since it was my first erotica book. It landed me a Fallen Angel Reviews Author of the Year Award (thanks guys!), a recommended reading status from The Road to Romance, a five star review from JERR and countless fan letters, chat and author interview requests. I think I know why it’s made such a big splash.

The story behind Scorch is powerful, even if you tone down the sex to bare minimum. I started with a good, solid story, I had a background in writing science fiction and I didn’t just throw sex scenes in. The sex scenes actually furthered the plot. I know a lot of romance readers thought they wouldn’t like it and ended up REALLY enjoying it. It’s not a romance (though there is what I’d called a backhanded romance in it). It’s action, adventure, political intrigue, love, hate, danger, populated by characters that are as real as you want to make them. Scorch himself is a man (so few of these books are written from the male point of view) and Lady Jacqueline, the object of his love, is somewhere between a Goddess and a bitch (can I say that here?). Yes, we do learn certain mitigating circumstances about her situation and not all is at it seems, but that can be said about all my books. Suffice to say, Lady Jacqueline is a VERY dangerous woman to fall in love with.

I just read Scorch and I liked it, it was different but good. Do you think that Scorch is a part of yourself?

How can any good writer pen a tale that was not already somewhere within him?. I can see parts of me in each character of the story. I consider myself a simple man, but others think I’m very complicated. I have a multifaceted personality, and you get to meet many of those facets in Scorch. In fact, believe I was a woman in my last life, so I have some insight there too. I’ve written tales from both the male and female point of view, and they’ve all been successful.

Everything I’ve ever written is a part of me, and the sum of all my works IS me. I am my writing, my writing is me. dana didn’t marry an author. She married stories incarnate, just waiting to be told. I think that might be what she likes most about me.

You have always been open with your likes and dislikes when it came to D/S. Do you yourself practise this?

I really hate to answer this question, because of the misconceptions about D/s, many of which I’m trying to clear up at chats, so hopefully your readers will get to hear me talk at some point (hint, hint). The fact is, when most people think of D/s they think of whips or bondage or pain. Or a man ordering a woman around. It just isn’t like that, at least not for me. In fact, I dare say dana has more freedom than almost all of her married friends.

Most people confused D/s with BDSM which is a pity, because there is no such thing as BDSM. BDSM is really three separate and different disciplines which CAN overlap, but are often mutually exclusive.

S&M (sado masochism) is the enjoyment of inflicting and receiving pain. A sadist gets sexual fulfillment from inflicting pain and a masochist gets satisfaction from feeling pain and in fact, for them, pain becomes pleasure. I am not into inflicting pain, though arguably, as a writer, I might be a bit of a masochist. I think all writers have some masochism in them (though not, of course, in the physical sense).

B&D is Bondage and Discipline, which is pretty self explanatory, and also something I don’t practice. Not that an occasional session of bondage can’t be fun, but that’s simply not what my relationship is about. I don’t truly discipline dana, or order her around and when I tie her up, it’s only cause she really REALLY wants me to. It’s a lot of work all that knot tying. lol

D/s is very different. dana loves me so much, TRUSTS me so much, she has given herself as a gift to me, completely, in all ways, to make use of as I please. Because she trusts me, and because I love her so much, I would NEVER dream of hurting her. I won’t even allow her to hurt herself. She doesn’t have a set of rules she must follow. She doesn't have to ask permission before doing things. If you want to say she’s a love slave, you might have a better idea of what our relationship is like. However, I love and protect her just as strongly, and her happiness and harmony is always foremost in my mind.

Within that context, yes, I practice D/s. Was this what you really thought it was about?

What do you consider the biggest turn off when it comes to reading a book?

Knowing exactly what’s going to happen by the end of the first chapter. Drives me nuts. I want a book to take me places, task my mind, make me think. I want a book that’s fun, but also unpredictable. If I already know the ending, why read the story?
I also don’t like when a book is written as a form of propaganda just to push a certain point of view, whether it’s political or spiritual or whatever. Mind you, we’re talking fiction here. I have no problem if a person writes a non-fiction book called Weaving is Life, since I would know what to expect. Nor do I mind certain themes popping up in the background of stories, but some books are written not for their stories, but just to get a point across. The story becomes a vehicle for the writer to pontificate. Nothing annoys me more.

How does it feel being one of the few males that do write erotica for Extasy?

Let’s see if I can rewrite this question? How does it feel to be surrounded by women who think about sex a lot and love to chat and have fun? Women who actually LIKE me? Hmmmmmm, let me think...

Who are some of your favorite ebook Authors out there now?

This is an unfair question I usually refuse to answer. As I’ve already stated, I have little time to read besides what is sent to me, most of which is not ebooks. In addition, I write for several epublishers and, of course, I would feel obligated to name Brenna Lyons, or Jeanine Berry or ez writr or Tyler Blackwood or Sascha Illyvich or M.D. Benoit, or Patrick Welch or Liz Burton or Kate Saundby, all of whom are well worth reading. And then the few I forget are slighted and I get in trouble, so I never answer this question.

What do you do to promote your books?

I don’t promote my books. I promote myself. My books are me. If people like me, I have little doubt they’ll like my books. My books are who I am. Turn of a phrase, twist of a plot. You never know what I’m going to say or do.

Yes, I answer interviews and attend chats and participate on lists, but in the end, I write the very best book I can, edit it until I’m blue in the face, rewrite it, edit it some more, send it off for a critique, rewrite it some more and then throw my words on the wind. And readers seem to notice that effort, for they keep coming back. Once you give one of my books a try, it’s likely you’ll be back for more.

Are you working on anything now?

Besides this interview? lol

I currently have two projects underway. The first is Slave Heart, which is my first actual romance. It’s a contemporary, paranormal, mystery/thriller, BDSM romance. Almost tried to fit western in there too, but decided not to. I think a brief excerpt here might be better than a blurb. Here are the first words of Slave Heart, written from the point of view of Sandra Castilla. I enjoy writing from a woman’s point of view and do so fairly often.

"I’m no longer certain love and hate aren’t the same emotion. They say there’s a thin line between the two, but I’m not sure such a line even exists. If it does, I’ve crossed it one too many times-- in both directions. In the end, there is only one love of which I can be certain. Her name was Jaycee and she was my sister. She was murdered six months ago, on this very beach.

If you had the choice, if you could avenge your sister’s death, would you do it? How about if it would cost you the relationship with the man you love? For that is where I stand right now, caught between the extremities of love and hate in a game more dangerous than any I‘ve ever played.

I look out over the Tasman sea and watch the ten-foot high waves caress the base of a nearby cliff. A tongue of sea water laps at a hard stone pillar. If I allow fancy to carry me, I can almost see the act of fellatio. The image takes me back to earlier in the day and I feel weak with need, yet strong with resolve.

I ignore the hot sand beneath my bare feet, and think about Nicco. Part of me wishes I’d never met him, but it is too small a part to listen to, for I love him. I have never felt about another man the way I feel about Nicco, but still it is not enough to stay my hand. My sister is dead and her killer will pay in blood. And Nicco will be lost to me forever.

Oh Jaycee, how did this happen to you? You were always the adventurous one, not me. This is your life I’m living out; your role I’m playing. Perhaps it’s appropriate, but I feel I’m not up to the task. I was never as good as you, Jaycee, yet I remain standing, the only person alive that cares enough to avenge your murder. I only hope I’m up to the task, so you can finally let go. The sound of the waves can’t drown out the cry of a nearby plover. It reminds me of my pain, my need to scream, my strident desire to shout curses until the universe is forced to listen. I slowly lower myself to the sand, tears suddenly obscuring my vision."

In complete contrast, my book, The Cure for the Common Curse is a fantasy offering in which a very good private detective manages to take some pictures of a young woman’s indiscretions, resulting in a divorce from her rich husband. What he doesn’t know is that this woman is a witch and she curses him with dozens of little demonlings designed to make his life a living hell. A tongue-in-cheek contemporary fantasy that, like all my books, goes off in directions you never suspect. I’m about equally far into each of the books, though, due to the success of Scorch, I do believe Slave Heart will be completed first.

What is the best advice to give to a new Author?

There is a lot of advice out there, everywhere you look, but not all advice works for every author. I’ve heard to minimize your distractions, yet some people write best to music. I can’t write to music at all. I’ve heard write every day. I don’t, though I often do when deep into a project. No the only advice I can truly give to a new author is this...don’t learn the tricks of the trade-- learn the trade.

There are no tricks, there is no secret handshake, there is no magic spell you can use to get published. All you can do is write the very best book you can. Learn to write. Join critique groups (but find the right one). If you hear the same comment repeatedly, maybe it’s time to start listening to it. Take a writing course: creative writing, fiction writing, whatever type of writing you’re interested in. Buy and read writing books, and practice the exercises they give you. Join writing lists, talk but also LISTEN to more experienced writers. And develop the thickest skin you can. Even the meanest-hearted criticism of a work can have some truth to it. It’s all a bit intimidating, but it’s not impossible. If it’s hard for you, start with a book, rather than a course or critique group. Some people work better that way. But at the end of the day, there really is only one thing you HAVE to do. Learn to write. The rest will take care of itself.

What do you want your fans to know about you?

I love getting fan mail. I love getting emails from people about my work, whether it’s an ebook, a column or something I wrote for my webpage.

A lot of people might not realize that I write a couple of columns. I’ve been writing Sahara Ice in Blue Iris Journal for the last two years and I currently write the column Master-D-bates for The Dominant’s View Ezine.

I have an area of my science fiction fantasy webpage called Origami Salad where I have a series of essays entitled Reflections of a Recovering Author. These are rambling personal pieces that tell more about who I am and what I’ve been through than anything else. If you’re interested in who I am, that might be a good place to start.

My Twilight Times book A Creative Edge: Tales of Speculation won the very first Dream Realm Award for best Anthology and later finaled in the Eppies. My book Alaric Swifthand was a Dream Realm finalist as well, in the fantasy category.

I met dana online and moved over 10,000 miles, from New York City to Tasmania, Australia to be with her (which is where I currently reside). dana’s children have accepted me and we are a family.

I love to write online serials and still have two running in the Writer’s Hood: the very first Alaric Novella and Confronting the Void, my first science fiction serial. They are neither romance nor erotica though both contain romances within them.

I think that’s it, but then, there’s always more, so if any fan does want to chat with me, just send me an email. I’m on all the major chat programs.

Finally, if you’d like to subscribe to either my Dream Sequences newsletter or my upcoming erotica newsletter just shoot me an email. I’d be glad to have you.

Interviewed by:
Ruby