What are some weird (funny) questions that you asked your parents during childhood?
I'm 71 years old. I hardly remember my childhood! LOL I remember asking a lot about our family genealogy. My great-grandmother was still alive, but I wasn't supposed to ask her a lot of questions.
You grew up in Knoxville, TN, and grew up in southeast Michigan. Which place do you like more? Why?
I didn't live in TN long enough to know what it was like. We moved to Detroit when I was five. We moved to Monroe when I started the fifth grade. I liked Monroe well enough, but it was a small town.
Who is the most supportive person in your life when it comes to your writing?
My wife, Lisa. She knows how important it is to me. She often reads my writing and makes suggestions.
When did you finally start writing? What kept you away from it for so long?
I wrote short stories in middle school and worked on the school newspaper and the Yearbook in high school. I didn't spend as much time writing fiction because I was busy. In college, I worked in the newspaper and in the PR office. I thought I wanted to be a journalist. So when I could attend college full-time, I studied journalism. It wasn't until I was in the last semester of my senior year I realized I no longer had the desire to work on a newspaper. I started writing short stories again after I graduated from college in 1980.
What developed your keen interest in writing in middle school?
My English teachers encouraged me. They told me I was a good writer. I believed them.
What challenges did you face while publishing your debut novel, Heartland?
Finding a publisher. I didn't think I could publish it on my own. I don't remember how I came across Wicked Publishing, but when I did, Dawn Carter was so encouraging. Wicked is a small publishing company with a handful of authors. For me, it was a foot in the door.
What inspired the plot of your book, Out of the Shadows?
I lived in San Antonio from 1976 to 1980 and again from 1983 to 1987. San Antonio was the first place I could visit a gay bar. I think I lived there for months. The bar in Out of the Shadows is loosely based on the San Antonio bar. In 1983, they assigned me to work in a Basic Military Training Squadron. I knew several MTIs who were lesbians. It just all fell together.
What are some things to keep in mind when writing LGBT romance novels?
I think you need to keep things believable. There are many tropes, ‘age gap’, ‘workplace romance’, and the classic ‘ice queen.' The characters need to feel like people you know.
While writing LGBT romance, how do you make sure that the readers can connect to your characters?
By making the characters believable. They need to be whole people with faults and talents.
Marty, a character in your latest release, Out of the Shadows, begins an investigation of her own to discover who caused the explosion. Did you use your personal life experience to create this part of the book? Tell us more about it.
The Lieutenant in the book is mostly me. I used personal life experiences. I never had to investigate anything, but I had to deal with problems relating to being a lesbian. Basic Military Training was not a great place for me.
What are the things you keep in mind while creating the woman characters of your stories to ensure they have an edge over the others?
An edge? I'm not sure my characters have an edge. I try to create plots outside the norm. When creating characters, I base them on people I know and create an amalgamate of traits. Sometimes, I go through magazines and shop for physical traits.
What is the most challenging part about being an author?
Marketing. Finding an audience for your book. There are so many books available, you need to make your book stand out. With 'Out of the Shadows', I spent a lot of money on ads and websites offering to advertise.
What are some things that have changed after being an author? Do you miss anything?
Not much has changed. I guess the change is that I invest my time in research, writing, and marketing. I'm retired so I have the time for it.
Is romance the only genre your readers will get to read from you? Which other genres are you looking to explore?
I believe romance is the most popular genre. I incorporate other genres such as mystery in the storyline. I consider Heartland to be a kind of southern gothic story. I would love to re-release Heartland to add back what they removed and to change the cover.
Which is the next book you are working on? Is it another historical fiction?
I'm working on a story that involves romance and time travel.
When did you join AllAuthor? How has your experience been?
I joined AllAuthor last year as part of my marketing plan. I really love the Book Mock-ups.
