My name is Teresa and I will be interviewing Mychael Black for Fallen Angel Reviews. I would like to ask you some questions so our audience can get to know you a little bit better. I am sure that our readers would be interested in knowing that you write your books under two different names- Mycheal Black and Kay Derwydd.

Could you tell more about why you chose to write under two different names and does this have a special significance for you?

It was never intentional. *laughs* Kay Derwydd came first, and that name holds special meaning, with a story all its own. I have a Welsh heritage, so I picked Kay as a unisex (yes, unisex) name meaning ‘fiery’. (I’m a natural redhead.) Derwydd is the Welsh word for ‘Druid,’ which I am.

Now, to explain something… I’m omnigendered. *chuckles* In layman’s terms: female body/male mind (at least for me). I don’t consider myself transgendered because that implies ‘transition’ and that’s something I am not looking at. No, I’m quite happy with my weird self. *grins* So, I’ll gladly answer to male pronouns just as quickly as I would to female pronouns.

As for Mychael Black… That one came about after Shayne Carmichael and I started writing together, back in August of 2005. (Yep, we just celebrated our 1 year anniversary!) Our first story together (a 94k+ word novel, the first in 4 books so far, not all completed) is The Prince’s Angel. It’s still in the proofing stage and we hope to get it out to publishers this fall. Well, we roleplay our stories out via Yahoo IM, and the main character I write for is Cian Carmichael, an angel. Shayne writes for Mael Black, the vampire prince of London. So…we took the last names and switched: Shayne became Shayne Carmichael and I became Mychael Black (taking the name Mychael from Mychael Potter, the fallen angel from The Legacy, and my Muse). Long story, eh? *grins*

What sparks your interest to cause you to write a story?

Usually, a character (or both characters). They tend to pop into my head first, although that’s not always the case. My characters are persistent, if anything, and once they’ve implanted themselves in my brain, they refuse to leave me alone until their story (or stories) is written.

Once you decide to write a story, how do you go about setting up the storyline? Some writers just wing it, but some use outlines. What do you do?

You know, I’ve only written one outline, and that’s a very loose one for the pirate novella I’m working on (as Kay) for Torquere Press.

As a rule, I tend to just get the basest idea for a plot/storyline and let the characters lead things. Sometimes they stick to the original idea, and sometimes… Well, let’s just say that The Legacy (Kay’s novel coming this fall from Chippewa) was never supposed to be what it is now. *chuckles*

The character Mychael (the fallen angel) took over the entire story and demanded that I make it his. (Yes, my guys talk to me; I talk to them; we argue. Most people outside of this business would probably commit me to the funny farm. *grins*)

What was the first story that you wrote? Could you show it to our audience?

Well, I can’t honestly remember the first story I ever wrote period, but the first published story was “The Holly King” (as Kay Derwydd), published in Forbidden Fruit ezine. It’s in the archives but will drop out most likely when we go live for the September issue, so I’ve uploaded it to Kay’s website

“The Holly King” is a story close to my heart because it was written as a spiritual piece. As a Druid, I’m a devoted follower of Cernunnos, so this was written as a form of worship, I guess you could say.

Tell your fans something about you they would never guess.

I’m obsessive-compulsive, and in regards to my writing, I’m a perfectionist. (Much to Shayne’s chagrin. *laughs*)

How has being published changed your life, if at all?

It’s been a dream come true, to be honest. I never set out to make writing my career. I was originally set to make Archaeology my career: I had the knowledge, I was majoring in History in college, I had TONS of books, and was a member of the Archaeological Institute of America.

Then I started writing. *head.desk*

My major switched to English (minor switched to History), and the rest is history. *grins*

What would you like to accomplish in your writing career?

World fame as an author of erotic gay fiction. *beams* What? Too lofty? *smiles sweetly*

Seriously… I want to be one of those authors who shows the mainstream world that the homosexual community has just as much right to love as everyone else. We laugh, hurt, and feel anger just like everyone else. So why can’t we love like everyone else, too?

Do you have any future goals?

To get these WIPs (works-in-progress) DONE. *rolls eyes* My Muse is hopeless. He starts things and then moves to others. I’d love to get some of the bigger projects done and published.

What is a typical day like for you?

Me: No, Nadia, you can’t have a popsicle for breakfast. James, bus! Nadia, leave the cats alone. Yes, James: spider.

Heh. Guess that involves a little explanation, eh? Well, I have three children (oldest lives with her father in Alabama, though). Nadia is 5 and has the attitude of 100 16-year-old girls. James is autistic. Soooo…my day is generally spent wrangling those two constantly. Oh, and playing babysitter for our roommate, who has a 1 year-old son. The writing and editing is done…usually when everyone is asleep. *laughs*

What kind of books do you like to read?

Considering I don’t have a lot of time to read these days (which I mourn greatly), I’ve become pickier about what I sit down to read. Two of my favorite authors (non-e-book) are: Glenna McReynolds (romance) and Dan Brown. As far as ebooks go, I adore Sean Michael, Julia Talbot, Chris Owen, Jourdan Lane, Dusk Peterson, and entirely too many more to sit here and name. *winks* Yeah, I’m addicted (hopelessly so) to ebooks.

What makes a book great in your eyes?

The characters. I have to fall in love with the characters. If I can’t connect with them, then the story is completely lost to me. A good example is Glenna McReynolds’ medieval romance trilogy. The first book (The Chalice and the Blade) sucked me in because I was instantly in love with Dain Lavrans, the sorcerer and hero of the book.

I can read any genre (though I do have favorites), but the characters are the most important to me.

When writing, what kind of character do you enjoy writing the most?

Anything/anyone paranormal: vampires, angels, demons, gods, devils, weres…you name it.

Non-paranormal: knights, lords, kings… I’m a medieval nut.

Cowboys… Well, I never intended to write cowboys. Seth sealed that deal, though.

As for personality… I love alpha men. Some of them are arrogant, some are simply confident. Either way, I absolutely love putting alpha men together and watching the sparks fly. *winks*

What inspired you to write “Going Home”? I found the conflict between Robbie and his brother Russ very realistic. What inspired you to add that theme into the story?

Thank you very much. *smiles*

That goes back to the issue of letting the characters lead things. The stories with Robbie and Seth are usually from Robbie’s point-of-view because that’s who I’m basically channeling. During the writing of “Going Home”, it was like listening to someone tell you their life story. Robbie told me about how much he loved his mother, and about how much he despised Russ. I think the age difference had a lot to do with that, but most of it was simply due to Russ’ immaturity and bigoted attitude. I’ve dealt with homophobia, so it was something that I wanted to show Robbie dealing with, to get past that, to grow. Trial by fire, I guess you could say.

Do you have any new books on the horizon?

The more appropriate question would be: what do I NOT have coming up? *grins*

Let’s see… I’m going to divide this up into Kay and Mychael and Mychael & Shayne:

Kay Derwydd:
First off, there’s The Legacy. It’s the first novel I ever wrote (and finished). It’s about Mychael (a fallen angel) and Morgan, the mortal he’s sent to protect. That one’s due out from Chippewa Publishing in September. Next is “Lost and Found” (a Torquere Press Single Shot). It’s about Nikky and Danny, a werecat and his incubus lover, respectively. That one’s due out October 7th. Then there’s “Crossing the Veil”, the Halloween Bites story I’ve got coming out in October from Freya’s Bower. It’s about Elijah (a modern-day Druid) and his vampire lover, Lian; and it’s due out in October as well.

Mychael Black:
I don’t have anything scheduled yet for Mychael, single-authored. I’m working on a few things here and there (including another Robbie & Seth Single Shot *winks*), but nothing coming up in terms of published yet.

Mychael Black & Shayne Carmichael:
Heh. This is the fun one. Lord, Shayne and I have TONS of things coming at us at once, it seems. Not that I’m complaining, mind you. First up, August 19th is the release for our Single Shot (Torquere Press) called “The Favor of a God”. It’s about Veil and his eventual smack-down by his own god. *grins* Coming September 17th is our m/m BDSM vampire novella, The Power of Two, from Phaze. It’s book one in at least a 3-book series. Then we have Kitten, our werecat/human romance (m/m, of course) from Phaze, coming out October 22nd. Then there’s The Cowboy and the Thief, our comedy of errors m/m erotic romance coming from Phaze early 2007. Then in November, we have another Torquere Single Shot, called “The Pirate’s Lair”. So yeah, we’re busy. *grins and winks*

If you had one thing that you would like the audience to take away from this interview what would it be?

Keep an open mind. Don’t shun someone just because of whom they love, whether it’s a matter of gender, race, religion, national origin, age, what have you. Love is universal, and that’s the underlying message in all of my writing. It’s the creed I live by.

Thanks for giving me this chance to chat. And I always welcome emails from readers. Best places to catch me are: kay_derwydd@hotmail.com
mychael_black@hotmail.com.

My websites are:
Kay - www.geocities.com/kay_derwydd

Mychael - www.geocities.com/mychaelblack

Mychael & Shayne: www.theprincesangel.com

I would like to thank Mychael Black for taking the time to give FAR this interview. I for one enjoyed reading “Going Home” and I look forward to reading more of your books. Feel free to interject any comments that you wish at this time.

Again thank you for your time.

Interviewed by: Teresa