Learning to Samba by Johnny Miles

Literary Nymphs Author Interview

What would you like new fans to know about you?

Oh, man. I'm not sure. Ummm, hmmm. I guess one thing is that the only romance I've ever read was in junior high school. I read Rosemary Rogers', "Sweet, Savage Love." But I'd never read a m/m romance before. I've attempted to read other romance stories in the past, like Harlequin, but could never get into them for some reason.

In your fantasy world who or what would you be?

In my fantasy world I would be Captain Jack Harkness, from Torchwood. For those that don't know who he is, Captain Jack is a character created by British writer Russell T. Davies.

Jack is a bold, brash, brassy man with a cocky confidence who is part rogue, part devil, part walking and dripping testosterone. Not unlike Rhett Butler.

I also wouldn't mind the power to end war, persuade people to love each other, eliminate poverty and eradicate famine.

Alas, I'm just me. <Heavy sigh> So I'll keep fantasizing that instead of Captain Jack, or those other powers, I'll become a best-selling, genre-crossing author. I'll make so much money I'll be able to stop never again have to worry about where my next meal will come from, if the electric was paid for, and I'll be able to pay for health insurance. LOL! Yeah, what can I say? I'm one of those, living from check-to-check.

It would also be nice to take vacations where I can travel the globe and be inspired by the people I meet, to write stories that will show the rest of the world that, we're all pretty much the same and want very similar things. We're just scared children living on borrowed time and must, therefore, embrace every moment while there's still breath in our bodies.

 

What is your favorite genre to read?

As long as the story pulls me I don't know that I have a favorite genre. Mostly, I gravitate towards dark stories. Things of horror and angst. Uplifting stories that, in the end, show the courageous side of the heart and humanity. I also love a good thriller! But then I also enjoyed J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series as well as Armistead Maupin's "Tales of The City."

 

Do you have a favorite quote?

Oh, yes! Ever since I heard it, close to twenty years ago, "Life's a banquet and most poor suckers are starving to death!" Rosalind Russell said it in "Auntie Mame" which also happens to be one of my favorite movies.

 

What can we look forward to in the future from you?

I think for the immediate future, there will certainly be a few more m/m romance stories. In the semi-distant future I hope to work on screenplay adaptations of my stories. It would be awesome to see them in the movies. Whether that comes to pass or not...I guess we'll see, right?

As for the far future, I'll let that fickle lover, Muse, tell me where he wants to go next. For where he beckons, that's where I follow. As long as I remain inspired and Muse continues to play with me I will be a very grateful and humble servant.

Where can we find your website?

My website is: www.johnny-miles.com.

My blog is: http://johnny-miles.blogspot.com/

Thanks so much for having me!

Johnny Miles

www.johnny-miles.com

The Elements of Love by S.D. Grady

Author Interview: S.D. Grady

What would you like new fans to know about you?

About me? Perhaps that all is not as it appears...it’s something I’ve fought all my life. I mean, who would think a historical romance author would have a serious obsession with NASCAR? But I do. And can be distracted from the pretty cars by a corseted gown in two seconds flat. Maybe there is something to all this steampunk...

Then again, I believe that the two worlds belong where they are...not intersecting. I got more than a little upset when NASCAR decided they would throw the dress code for pit road and garages out the window this year. Now, stilettos, strapless sundresses and shorts are permitted in a world where lugnuts can fly off an air gun at hundreds of miles an hour. Not practical. Although the cameras do like the eye candy that comes with the drivers.

So, when next you meet a woman with more than a few gray hairs, who dresses conservatively, laughs constantly and rarely gives people the evil eye, it’s best not to peg her as anything. She just might write the next smoking hot erotica story, or a tale in a far off land or cover one of your favorite sports from the media center.

In your fantasy world who or what would you be?

I don’t know...I really don’t! I’ve a few things on my bucket list, but those are achievable. At least that’s how I look at life. I like being me. Perhaps if I could be a cat for a while, that would be intriguing. One never knows what a cat is thinking...wouldn’t you like to know?

What is your favorite genre to read?

Historical romances, hot contemporary erotica and the odd fantasy thrown in for good measure. Of course, I can get lost in research for days at a time.

Do you have a favorite quote?

"To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and to endure the betrayal of false friends. To appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to know that even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded." –Ralph Waldo Emerson

What can we look forward to in the future from you?

The Silver Scream will be releasing August 10^th at Purple Sword Publications

Part of the Gremlins Series

Film school student, Gilda Albright, has taken a job in the newly refurbished Orpheum Theatre as a movie projectionist. The gem from another era prompts her imagination to take flight, and she invites her boyfriend Seth to a private screening. Looking like a movie star from the 50’s, she strips in the spotlight, ensnaring Seth’s lust and drawing the eager eyes of another to her buxom figure. The building takes on a life of its own—fear invades Gilda’s workdays. Will the unseen gremlin let her go or fulfill its erotic obsession with a vision from the past?

~~~

Future projects include a historical/fantasy romance entitled "The Heart of the Dragon", which explores the beginning of the vampire myth. "Dinner and a Movie" is a contemporary erotica...stolen moments under the table at your local eatery ;) And I'm just starting on a Fairy Tale project...something a little different for me.

You can also tune into my weekly NASCAR commentary in The Frontstretch Newsletter on Tuesdays: http://groups.google.com/group/thefrontstretch

Where can we find your website?

 http://sdgrady.info

Sonoran Heat by Katrina Strauss

What would you like new fans to know about you?

I'd like new readers to know that I'm happy to have them! I write erotic romance with a little bit of everything, including M/M, M/F, and Ménages. I explore contemporary, historical, and paranormal themes. I tend to write "dark romance" because hey, the dark side is more fun, but I have a few sweet stories tucked into the bunch. Ultimately, I aim to tell a good love story and hope readers get that from my work.

In your fantasy world who or what would you be?

A beachcomber in Jamaica. There's still time.


What is your favorite genre to read?

I read a lot of YA lately. I'd say it offers me a break from the very adult genre I write, but today's YA is much more mature than what I grew up with! My current addiction is Michael Grant's Gone series, which is about as grim and gritty as it gets.


Do you have a favorite quote?

"From there to here, from here to there, funny things are everywhere." Dr. Seuss


What can we look forward to in the future from you?

I have a few projects simmering on the backburner. I'm almost done writing the next Eldritch Legacy book. It's an M/F/M titled A Forfeit Owed and picks up twenty years after the first book, Secrets Revealed. It tells the story of how Inga's sons compete for the same woman.

M/M-wise, readers can anticipate Blue Ruin 5, as well as Blue Ruin offshoots featuring secondary characters. I honestly can't say when, exactly, I will write them, but I assure readers that Derek, Blue, and company are never far from my mind. I'd also like to finish the WWII story that's been haunting my hard drive for three years now.

Where can we find your website?
http://www.katrinastrauss.com/

Home is the Sailor by Lee Rowan

Author Interview

What would you like new fans to know about you?

That I write mostly gay romance. Best that a person know what to expect! Also, I firmly believe in happy endings and, smart, sexy, honorable heroes who are honest with each other and themselves. The conflict in my stories comes from genuine misunderstandings or outside forces. I hate head games, in fiction or real life.

In your fantasy world who or what would you be?

Head of a huge, powerful communications network with the money to counter the messages of hate and division that seem to be the main course of today's right-wing media. Yeah, I am political. If you're GLBT in today's world, as I am, your very existence and right to exist is political.

Or I'd be a wealthy recluse with a huge forest where chainsaws were not allowed, and I'd run a no-kill animal shelter and run pets-allowed apartments where the people had to participate in site maintenance as part of their rent. And a retirement home where old people could keep the beloved pets that help make life worth living.

 

What is your favorite genre to read?

Mysteries. I like the puzzles. Currently having a love affair with Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin. Purely platonic, of course, Wolfe wouldn't stand for any monkeyshines.

Do you have a favorite quote?

Oh, lots. I could fill a book. Here are three of my favorites:

"Senator, when you took your oath of office, you placed your hand on the Bible and swore to uphold the Constitution. You didn't place your hand on the Constitution and swear to uphold the Bible."

Constitutional law professor Jamie Raskin, to a Maryland Senate committee on marriage equality

 

Don't look for a way to make money; find a way to make a living doing what you like to do anyway. Otherwise you're just raising ransom to buy your life back."

-- Barney Hillerman, brother of mystery writer Tony Hillerman

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous?' Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we're liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."
-- Rev. Marianne Williamson, in A Return to Love

 

What can we look forward to in the future from you?

Well, I just signed a contract with Silver Publishing for my het paranormal story "Witch of the Wind." It will be in Silver's upcoming Halloween anthology, due out in late October. And I'm getting Sail Away, the collection of novellas from the Royal Navy m/m universe, ready to go back in print. This new edition will have several short stories that have been seen as free reads, and some NEW ones that have never been published anywhere.

Where can we find your website?

www.lee-rowan.net.