Author Megan Derr interview and give-away

My guest today is Megan Derr, fabulous author of m/m romance books, co-owner of Less Than Three Press LLC and winner of the most awesome Twitter-er award (not really but she is awesome). Megan has a holiday story coming out on December 21 called The Christmas Package.

Welcome! It’s so awesome that you’re here Megan. Are you ready?

Ready Set Go! It's awesome to be here :D Thank you for having me ^__^

I'm going to start the interview by sneaking in my congratulations to Megan for winning "Best Gay Paranormal/Horror" for her book Midnight! Congrats and way to go! (now to the questions)

1.     How did you get started writing m/m romance? Did you always want to be a writer?

I always loved reading, but writing was something I put on a pedestal forever. It wasn't until college, when a friend dragged me to a writing class and I started hesitantly poking at fanfic, that I realized I could write—and really really wanted to be a writer :3 

2.     Did you have any early influences either in this genre or any other?

Weirdly, Stephen King is one of my greatest influences. Growing up, I read romance, fantasy, and Stephen King (but pretty much no other horror). My mom would read some of his stories to us at night, so he's stuck with me in ways that other authors haven't.

3.     What is the hardest part about writing for you?

Description. I hate long, involved descriptions of things, so I have a bad habit of going to the other extreme and making mine too short. Length, in general, is difficult for me. I'm a very minimalist writer, I always boggle when I write something extremely long and it takes me forever (and I still say that in the hands of someone else, the story would be twice as long).

4.     Does any one of your books hold a special place in your heart?

Prisoner will always be my baby. That was the first story where I set out with

a very specific goal in mind and, at least in my opinion, completely nailed it. 

I love Kria and its inhabitants and will never tire of playing there. I love Dieter 

and Beraht and they'll always be my number one :D

5.     Tell us a little about your Christmas story. Is it a new story or related to one of 

your other books?

The Christmas Package is a sequel to a short story I wrote for the M/M 

Romance Group on GoodReads called Delivery with a Smile. The premise for that first story was a fun one, about an innocuous delivery man who stumbles into an awkward situation with a hitman :3  The Christmas Package takes place several months after Delivery with a Smile, and shows the characters still stumbling along in their odd relationship.

6.     Do you have a writing quirk? (ie computer has to be facing a certain way, cup of coffee on the left, certain music playing, etc)

Honestly the only thing I need is relative silence. I can't write when the TV is on or I can hear other conversations. Music is sometimes okay. Location or what I'm writing with (computer, notebook, ipad), etc, doesn't matter, but I do need quiet.

7.     Do you have any writing or reading squicks? Things you don’t like to read and can’t see yourself ever writing?

I'll try most anything once, though I don't know that I would do slavery or noncon well since they're not something I generally like reading, and I think BDSM and such is way out of my league.  But I also like challenges, so I hate to say NEVER to something.

8.     You and your sister started Less Than Three Press, how did that decision come about and how are you enjoying it?

Samantha came up with the idea. I was in the midst of self-publishing and thinking of trying to submit stories to publishers when she called me and said 'let's do this' and I said 'you're crazy, but okay.'  We wanted to publish books that we liked, and our own way, so that is what we've set out to do. Lucky for the two of us, Sasha joined us and together the three of us have managed very well indeed :D It's a lot of fun, even if it's crazy busy.  I never thought I would be a publisher, but I would be completely crushed if I ever stopped now.

9.     What’s next on your plate? What are you working on?

My major goals are The Lost Gods, a five books series, and Sword of the King, which is set in the same verse as Dance with the Devil. I'm also working on a handful of short stories for various and sundry things and have been informed that a story about Gladiators is officially on my to-do list. (K-lee’s note – Hahahahahaha!) :3

10. Finally – a few quick choices:

a.     Coffee or tea  - Coffee!

b.     Dog or cat - Cat! We own six now :3

c.      Beach or mountains - Beach

d.     Pecs or abs - Pecs

e.     Smile or eyes - Smile

f.      Cowboys or rockstars  -Can I have one of each?

g.     Who would win in a fight – vampires or werewolves? And why.

Vampires. Anything that actually managed to survive death and come back stronger, with special powers, and a taste for blood is nothing to fuck with, even if you're a furry badass :3

Thank you, Megan. You rock, sista.  J

You're a rockstar :D

Megan has generously offered up an IOU copy of her holiday story, the Christmas Package, to one lucky commenter on my blog. REMEMBER TO PUT YOUR NAME AND EMAIL ADDRESS IN YOUR COMMENT.

CONTEST WILL BE OPEN AND WINNER DRAWN ON FRIDAY, DECEMBER 16.

If you don’t win, you can pick it up On December 21 at Less Than 3 Press

Be sure to check out Megan’s website for information on how to buy her other fabulous books at Megan Derr.