Welcome to BRB, everyone! I hope your weekend was great. As I stated previously (somewhere along the line) I would be implementing some changes for the New Year, and as promised, here is the first. I've put together a new author interview. And my guest today dared to take the plunge. LOL
Welcome to BRB, Douglas. What
genre do your currently write? And, is there a genre you'd like to write, but
haven't tried yet?
Currently,
I write M/M erotic fiction. I want to branch out into more ‘mainstream fiction’
while still retaining strong elements of homoeroticism; I started writing my
first novel when I was seventeen and I am still working on it. I hope one day
to have it published as I am still really proud of it, but it definitely still
needs a lot of work!
Many
authors use a nom de plume, and they may use one opposite to their own sex. Do
you think an author's sex or sexual orientation should dictate what genre they
write?
I
don’t think an author’s sex or sexual orientation should dictate the genre they
write, although sometimes I think life experience should. I can’t imagine how
difficult it would be to write well if you hadn’t travelled or didn’t have a
large and varied amount of interests and experiences to draw upon.
Some
authors have issues with character development, writer's block, plot summary
etc. What is the biggest challenge you face when writing? How do you overcome
the problem?
Without
a doubt the biggest challenge for me is good, old-fashioned procrastination. I
can procrastinate for hours. It isn’t that I don’t want to write, and it isn’t
that I don’t know that I should be writing, but sometimes I get so easily
distracted and my writing ends up taking a back seat to other things. The only
way I know to overcome that is to remember how good it feels when I get the
work done on or before the deadlines I set myself. Having said that though,
just the other night my boyfriend invited a friend round to our house. I was
annoyed as I had planned to spend the evening writing so I could submit a short
story to a publisher’s special submission call. But, our friend was having a
hard time with her boyfriend and needed to talk, so we talked and talked and
the writing didn’t get done. I missed the submission deadline, but my friend
left feeling better and we all ended up having a great, albeit somewhat
drunken, night. And I don’t regret that! There has to be a balance and I don’t
mind if my work/personal balance is sometimes a little heavily swayed in favour
of the latter.
What
has been the single most successful marketing tool you've used to date?
Marketing
is something I still struggle with; as a self-published author it’s the key to
my success, but I still feel like
I’m often floundering on the marketing front.
What
are you currently reading?
Lady
Chatterley’s Lover, I’m ashamed to say, for the first time.
How
do you measure success?
In
my fantasies I will be successful when I can afford to buy a house in Venice,
Italy! In reality, as long as I have food in the fridge, clothes on my back,
people around me who love me and the money for a ticket to somewhere exotic in
my bank account then I consider myself successful.
Just
for fun–
What
is your favourite drink? A lemon-drop martini. They are lethal in
the most wonderful way!
Are
you a cat or dog person? Dog
Love
or lust? Depends
on the occasion!
If
you could spend the day with any famous author, who would it be? And, why?
Truman
Capote. ‘In Cold Blood’ is, in my humble opinion, one of the most immaculately
written books of all time. His talent shines through in every sentence and I
would love to be able to talk to someone with that kind of grasp of the English
language... and I think he would
throw brilliant party!!
If
you could indulge free of any consequences, what would be your ultimate sexual
fantasy?
I
would tell you, but I wouldn’t want to be judged!
Website
Link: http://douglasblackerotica.wordpress.com
Port In A Storm
Blurb:
Alex’s life is stagnating. At twenty-two, he has a first-class degree, but only
a minimum wage job to show for it. His mother is determined he should pursue a
career in Law, but Alex has never wanted that. He always wanted something else,
something different, something more. He just doesn’t know exactly what.
With
his parents piling on the pressure to join the family firm, time is running out
for Alex. Every passing day brings him closer to accepting the future they
chose for him. He’s trapped and he can’t find a way out. He has no one to turn
to and nowhere to run. Until he meets Jake.
Jake
might just be the most handsome man Alex has ever seen, but he also epitomizes
the one thing Alex wants more than anything; freedom. Jake has never allowed
himself to be tied down. He is a free-spirit. A traveller. An enigma.
Alex
is falling for him fast, but being with Jake is pulling Alex away from his
family. Relationships are reaching breaking point, and no matter how much Alex
tries not to rock the boat, a storm is on the horizon.
Alex
is going to have to make a decision. He needs to make a choice between what is
expected of him and what he really wants. Growing up is never easy though, and
Alex quickly discovers that, sometimes, the hardest questions to answer, are
the ones you already know the answers to.
Excerpt:
Alex
wasn’t sure he could remember his own name, but he nodded. Jake placed the
metal straw into the pot, and filled it with the hot water from the kettle.
Apparently satisfied, he leaned back and watched the pot intently. Alex was
baffled. His brain wasn’t managing to keep up with what was happening. He was
fucked out; half-asleep, sitting on the cold floor of an airport sleeping POD
watching a naked man pour hot water over what he saw now was combination of
dark green powder, flakes and twigs.
“Where’s
the tea?”
Jake
nodded at the small pot.
Alex
leaned forward and surveyed the pot. His tentative exploration revealed a
slightly bitter smell and liquid murkier than pond water.
“Again.
Where’s the tea?”
Jake
laughed, that deep throaty laugh, and picked up the metal straw, plunging the
thicker end into the small pot. He sucked on the straw, and then topped up the
water and passed the contraption to Alex. Alex looked up him, unconvinced.
“I
concede that it isn’t a cup of Yorkshire’s finest, but I don’t have any milk.
It will give you more energy, though.” Jake leaned in and brushed a kiss
against Alex’s jawline. “And you’re going to need more energy.”
Alex
took the straw between his lips and sucked. The taste wasn’t particularly
unpleasant, smoky and slightly bitter. The little straw seemed to filter out
most of the plant debris, leaving just the infused hot water. When he passed it
back to Jake there was a warmth in his belly which wasn’t unpleasant. It wasn’t
the instant hit of an espresso, but he fancied he could feel the tea getting to
work. When he took his second drink he was sure of it; a slow spread of energy
through his body, a reawakening.
“I
think I’ve seen this before, on TV. It’s Argentinian?”
Jake
smiled. “South American, yeh. It’s popular in a lot of places. This stuff, I
think, is cultivated in Brazil.”
“Something
you picked up on your travels?”
Jake
nodded, but didn’t offer any further explanation. He rocked the little pot in
his hands, the sludge slipping and sliding the only noise audible over their
breathing. Alex turned his attention back to the bed.
“What
time is it?”
“Just
after two. Do you need to leave?”
“Nope.
I have two days off.”
Jake
nodded, but stayed silent.
“This
isn’t how I thought I would be spending this afternoon.”
Alex
fell silent too. It was surreal. The time-warp room, the weird lighting, the
strange tea and the beautiful, decorated man; so foreign, so different from
himself, who nonetheless wanted to spend an afternoon, a day, fucking him. It
was like no day Alex had ever experienced before. He got to his feet and pulled
Jake with him, taking him back to bed. His friends called him a pessimist, but
Alex had learned from experience that the more he analysed the good things, the
more likely they were to disappear.
Purchase
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