Today is a special day for my guest. (encourages everyone
to sing Happy Birthday)
Please welcome and wish a fabulous birthday to the lovely Shae Connor. Thanks
for being here, Shae, and of course, Happy Birthday. J
Thank you! I’ll think of you all while I’m eating cake and
ice cream this afternoon. (I'll be expecting mine in the mail) J
1. How about we start with some basic information – tell me
a little bit about yourself? Where did you grow up? What kind of student were
you? What were your favorite activities? Anything you want to share is fine.
I’m a Georgia girl, born and bred. I grew up in south
Georgia and relocated to Atlanta as soon as I was able to, and other than a
brief exile to New Jersey, I’ve been here ever since and I plan to stay!
In school, I was the smart, geeky kid. Valedictorian of my
senior class—and let me tell you, giving a speech at graduation was one of the
scariest things I ever did! I was also a band geek, so I had two strikes
against me, but thankfully, my classmates were much more accepting and friendly
than your average teenagers. Granted, it might have helped that my mom worked
for the local newspaper and wrote a weekly column, so no one wanted to make her
angry. ;)
2. How did you start writing m/m romance? Do you write in any
other genre?
Like a lot of others, I started out writing fanfic, first
M/F and later M/M, before making the transition to original fiction. I don’t
currently write in any other genre, but I do have some plotbunnies lurking in
the wings, if I ever get to them.
3. Did you have any early influences either in this genre or
any other when you were first starting out?
I found out about the M/M romance genre through Rachel West,
who’s a fandom friend. She had two stories published with Dreamspinner Press,
and that’s where I started reading. There’s so much variety out there, even
just within the contemporary genre that I prefer! I was happy to see that the
ideas I was having would fit right in.
4. What is your favorite sub-genre to write and to read? For
example – I can never pass up a story with a rockstar in it or more often than
not, cowboys. J
Cowboys are always a favorite. I can’t write them—I don’t
know a thing about any of it, other than what I’ve read in cowboy stories—but I
love reading them. Menage is another favorite, though I much prefer threesomes
that evolve into long-term relationships, rather than one-shots.
I also like sports-based stories, especially when it
involves baseball. I keep saying I’m going to write a baseball story myself
eventually. And I love small-town and Southern settings too.
5. Do you have any writing or reading quirks or squicks?
Anything that you just can't read or don't think you'll ever write. Anything
you have to do before you start or as you write – certain music, computer facing
west, etc.
As a writer, I write on my laptop, usually sitting in my
recliner. I don’t usually have music on, and I tend to write in spurts. Writing
sprints and similar systems work well for me in general. I also love sitting
outdoors to write, but the weather has to be perfect for that.
As a reader, I read almost exclusively contemporary and
rarely delve into other subgenres. But I’m also a completist; if I like a
series or author, I’m more likely to read something I wouldn’t ordinarily read.
I don’t have any particular squicks as a reader or writer,
though, of course, the way sensitive subjects are treated does make a
difference. If it works for the story and for the characters, it’s probably
going to work for me.
6. What comes first - characters, plot, setting, specific
scenes? Are you a plotter or pantser? ;)
Plot and characters come first. Most of my stories start
with a blurb-like summary in a few paragraphs, but I need to develop the
characters pretty well before I get very far into writing. I’m definitely more
of a pantser, but that only works for me if I know the characters. Then I can
let them lead the plot development.
7. Tell me about your muse – if you have one of course. J
I don’t have a specific concept of a “muse.” I joke about my
muse going off on vacation without me (FAR too often!), but really, my
inspiration comes from all sorts of different places. And sometimes it seems to
come out of nowhere! I can’t count the number of times story or scene ideas
have come to me in the shower. I requested one of these for Christmas this year
to handle it:
http://www.amazon.com/Aquanotes-Aqua-Notes-Waterproof-Notepad/dp/B003W09LTQ/
8. I won't assume you celebrate Christmas but if you do,
what are your favorite parts of the holidays?
I do celebrate Christmas (I’m Christian), and I love it all!
My favorite part is going to bed on Christmas Eve, knowing what’s coming the
next morning. Yes, even though my sister and I are 36 and 44, we still do the
Christmas morning gift opening process. J
I also love Christmas music—or, I should say, certain
Christmas music, since a lot of it is just dull retreads. Some of my favorites
are “Christmas Eve Sarajevo” by Trans-Siberian Orchestra, “Mary, Did You Know?”
by Mark Lowry, “Carol of the Bells” (especially the Boston Pops version), “I
Heard the Bells on Christmas Day” by Casting Crowns (who totally reinvented a
boring old carol), and the Boston Pops doing “Sleigh Ride.” My favorite
traditional hymns are “Oh Little Town of Bethlehem” and “Joy to the World.”
9. What's the hardest part about writing for you? The
benefits?
The hardest part is sitting my butt down in the chair to
WRITE. The best part is the amazing people I’ve met because of it. J
10. Now just a few multiple choice questions: (you can take
them any way you like)
Rock, country or classical? Classic Rock.
But if I had to choose, classical. I’m an old band geek, remember? J
Giraffe or monkey? Giraffe. They always
look slight supercilious about everything, except when they run, when they’re
hilarious. There’s a house near me that has a statue of a giraffe at the front
corner of the yard, overlooking the road I take to work, and every year he’s
dressed up with a Santa hat and scarf!
Tea or coffee? Iced tea, hot coffee!
Who would win in a fight – vampires or
werewolves? All things being equal, werewolves would rip those bloodsuckers to
shreds.
Series or one-shot? Series.
Beach or mountains? Mountains, though I
love the beach, too!
Eyes or smile? Eyes. I’m a BIG fan of great
eyes.
Cowboys or rockstars? (yeah, I have to ask) Cowboys,
ma’am. *tips hat*
11. Finally, tell us about your next release or what you're
working on now.
My latest is En Fuego,
which released Wednesday, December 12, from Dreamspinner Press. It’s a novella
about a veterinarian, a firefighter, and a cat named Fuego. The blurb:
Marshall Ramirez isn’t looking to fall in love, but from the
moment firefighter Brad Flannery walks through the doors of Marsh’s veterinary
clinic, he’s smitten. Marsh treats Fuego, the cat Brad rescued from a house
fire, and convinces Brad to take her on as a foster—along with the three
kittens Marsh helps her deliver. What Marsh really wants, though, is for Brad
to keep him too.
Want to win a copy? Cool, I want to give you one! Just
comment and I’ll pick a winner to receive an ebook of En Fuego (via the
Dreamspinner Press website), as well as some story-related swag by mail. Be sure your email is included so we can
contact you if you win! Contest will be open December 15-18 and winner will be
posted on the 19th.
Thanks for stopping by, Miss Shae.
Thanks for having me!!
~~ Shae
Connor lives in Atlanta, where she works for the government by day and reads
and writes about pretty boys falling in love by night. She's been making up
stories for as long as she can remember, but it took her a long time to figure
out that maybe she should start writing them down. Now, she usually has far too
many stories in progress, but when she does manage to tear herself away from
her laptop, she enjoys running, hiking, cooking, and traveling, not necessarily
in that order. Shae posts snippets, updates, and thoughts on writing and editing
at her web site, http://shaeconnorwrites.com. You can contact her at shaeconnorwrites@gmail.com.
EN FUEGO sounds excellente! (said in Bumblebee Man voice)
ReplyDeletevitajex(at)aol(dot)com
I just love author interviews! The new book just sounds great! I love anything that has a car as a character ;) Happy Brithday!
ReplyDeleteJuliana
OceanAkers @ aol.com
Happy Birthday Shae! Congrats on your new release. I love stories that include animals. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the giveaway!
lkbherring64(at)gmail(dot)com
That blurb just sounds too cute ^.^ Please count me in.
ReplyDeleteErica
eripike at gmail dot com (this is my DSP email as well)