Once again it’s time for the weekly Sunday Brunch with ZA Maxfield! This week, we have two awesome friends joining us! Please welcome Jaycee Edward and Helena Stone!

This week’s question is: “If you could write with any author, living or dead, who would you choose?“

***BIG NEWS*** From now on, instead of offering a weekly prize, ZAM will be giving out a $20.00 Amazon gift card so readers can use it for the ebook (or other Amazon purchase) of their choice once a month to anyone who has commented on her blog that month. All you have to do is comment below for your chance to win!

Without further ado, let’s hear from Helena and Jaycee!

Helena: So, the question is if we could write with one author, living or dead, who would it be? I think we’re pretty much in agreement on the answer for this one, aren’t we?

Jaycee: Most definitely.

Helena: Let’s get the answer to the question out of the way first and then go into fangirl mode while we explain why.

Jaycee: Yeah, because ‘why’ could take forever.

Helena: I think you should name her. After all, you were lucky enough to meet her.

Jaycee: Yes, I was. *dreamy sigh* Okay – our favorite writer lady is the one and only Tiffany Reisz, author of The Original Sinners series, Twitter-Queen, and all-round amazing woman.

Helena: Jealous? I’m not jealous at all that you met her face to face; green is my normal colour.

Jaycee: *laughs* Yes, but there were SO many things I wanted to ask her and so little time! For instance, I’d love to know how she created this entire, phenomenal world. And her characters!!!  Every single one is like The Best Character Ever Written. There is no ‘main character’ – it’s like the Avengers of the BDSM world.

Helena: Exactly. I always have to remind myself she created that world and isn’t telling us about people she knows and places she’s seen, despite the fact that all her characters are larger than life.

Jaycee: I think the thing that really sets Tiffany apart from most other BDSM writers is that her focus is on the emotional and psychological aspects of BDSM – not just the kink.

Helena: Yes, that both impressed me immensely and taught me so much. One thing I’ll never forget is how she has her characters state that there’s nothing wrong with hurting people but you should never, ever, harm someone. That distinction is so profound, and missed, by so many other authors.

Jaycee: Her work taught me that the mental aspect of BDSM is way hotter than the physical. It’s not the handcuffs, rope, or whatever, that makes a scene sexy – it’s the idea that one person is saying, “I trust you to do whatever you want to me,” and then waiting to see what that person’s going to do – that is sexy. If you pay attention, her scenes are not all that graphicly written. The steamy stuff is happening in our own heads as we read between her wonderfully crafted words.

Helena: That’s what makes her so phenomenal, because whenever I finish one of her books I’m sure I’ve just finished one of the hottest books I’ve ever read.

Jaycee: Right? And her settings just seem so real. Like, I want to visit ALL of them, but I’m not even sure they really exist! LOL!

Helena: All of them? What about The Eighth Circle? Would you be brave enough to visit there? To participate?

Jaycee: Kingsley’s club? The Underground? Umm.. Is Søren going to be there? LOL.

Helena: Of course he is. If I went, I’d only go once, so I’d need all of them to be there.

Jaycee: Gosh, I don’t know. That’s a good question though. I’d love to meet all of them. I’m not sure I’m brave enough to submit to Søren though. Makes you kind of wonder how our guys, Callum and Slade would fare at The Eighth Circle, doesn’t it?

Helena: Now there’s a question. I can see Callum trying to tough it out and see if he can’t out-Dom at least a few of them. Poor Slade wouldn’t know where to put his eyes…or himself, but he’d try, for Callum’s sake.

Jaycee: Yeah, Callum’s club skills might be a tad rusty, but I think he’d hold his own – with most of them, anyway. Maybe not Søren, because, well, not sure anyone can out-Dom Søren. And Slade? Ummm… I think he’d be a bit out of his element.

Helena: Callum and Søren could end up having a rather interesting conversation about unconventional practices. And wouldn’t I like to listen in on that one. And I agree about Slade. But if Michael were to be there… I’m sure he’d keep Slade safe, don’t you think?

Jaycee: Oh my gosh! My head is going to explode in euphoria thinking about Slade at a BDSM club with Michael and Griffin and all of Tiffany’s wonderful characters!  Gah!!!!!!  Now I REALLY want to write with her!!

Helena: I know. I wonder if there’s anything we could bribe her with.

Jaycee: Swedish Fish. She loves those. I took her a big bag when I met her. She even posted pics on Twitter.

Helena: *Adds Swedish Fish to shopping list.* Of course, everyone will get an opportunity to find out exactly how Slade fares in a club environment in the not too distant future.

Jaycee: Shhh! Ixnay on the clubsay.

Helena: What?

Jaycee: It’s Pig Latin for… Nevermind. Just watch what you say. I mean, fans know we’re working on the sequel to Strangers In The Night, but we don’t want to tell them too much about Strangers On The Town just yet.

Helena: No, I wouldn’t want to give too much away. But, as anyone who knows anything about BDSM knows, anticipation is at least half the fun. *winks*

Jaycee: *nods and whispers* Poor Slade…

Helena: *frowns* What about poor Callum?

Jaycee: *nods and whispers* Poor Callum…

Buy Links for Strangers in the Night: Dreamspinner Press

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Thank you to  Jaycee Edward and Helena Stone for joining us this week!

Once again it’s time for the weekly Sunday Brunch with ZA Maxfield! This week, we have one awesome friend joining us! Please welcome Anne Barwell!

This week’s question is: “What’s your guilty pleasure?”

***BIG NEWS*** From now on, instead of offering a weekly prize, ZAM will be giving out a $20.00 Amazon gift card so readers can use it for the ebook (or other Amazon purchase) of their choice once a month to anyone who has commented on her blog that month. All you have to do is comment below for your chance to win!

Last month’s winner is Carissa! Congrats! You should be receiving an email from me shortly.

Without further ado, let’s hear from Anne!

Thanks for hosting me today, and for asking the question: “What’s your guilty pleasure?”

My guilty pleasure is that I love to read graphic novels.  Luckily for me the library buys them semi-regularly so I don’t have to buy everything I want to read.  Graphic novels are very expensive here in New Zealand so I have to source mine overseas.  Thanks to the library, I’ve been able to read several series, but for my own collection I’ve limited myself to favourite characters.

Originally I read mainly DC titles. I’m a huge Bat family fan, and in particular follow the characters of Robin, Red Robin, and Nightwing. Yes, there’s a commonality between those—Red Robin and Nightwing were both Robins before leaving the ‘nest’ and getting their own titles. Red Robin (Tim Drake) is now a part of the Teen Titans team, and Nightwing (Dick Grayson) is now working out of costume in a new title called Grayson.

I’d also read a few Marvel comics over the years but a couple of years ago a friend introduced me to The Young Avengers, and in particular Wiccan (Billy Kaplan) and Hulking (Teddy Altman).  Not only do these guys, and their teammates, have cool adventures and kick bad guy butt, but Wiccan and Hulking are partners in more than just one way.  They’re boyfriends.  The latest series also featured Kid Loki and some great jokes using Twitter, Instagram and other social media. I’m sad the series has finished, for now, and want more.

So why my love for graphic novels?  As well as good storylines, great characters who have to juggle everyday life with their superhero secret identities, there is the amazing artwork.  With the nature of the media, artwork can make or break the storyline. Sadly some have great stories but the artwork lets them down, and vice versa. So far I’ve scored with my favourite titles, and the balance is perfect.

Another other reason for my love for graphic novels, and in particular superhero titles, is illustrated nicely by this excerpt from Shades of Sepia:

Ben unlocked his front door, closing it behind them once they were both inside. “I haven’t had a chance to finish that Young Avengers graphic novel Blair sent me. I can do that while you’re working.” He grinned. “Forge had a flip through the Nightwing one I sent Blair before it went. He looked through this one too when I put it down to refill my coffee.”

Simon laughed. “If you’re trying to convert him to comics, it’s going to take a bit more than that.” He took off his coat and hung it by the door, and placed his briefcase on the coffee table by the couch.

“A bit more than that, huh?” Ben hung his jacket up beside Simon’s coat. “I saw you looking through those pictures of Billy and Teddy kissing.” He put his arms around Simon and nuzzled the side of his neck. “I felt your reaction too.”

“I might be persuaded to read your comics if I was sufficiently motivated, I suppose,” Simon admitted. He moaned softly when Ben bit down gently. The thought of Ben dressed in one of those superhero outfits was very appealing.

“You suppose?” Ben’s breath was hot against Simon’s ear. “I could picture you as Batman, you know. I think you’d be really hot.”

“Just because I’m a vampire doesn’t mean I have to be a bat, Ben.”

“He’s the one who hangs out with Nightwing.”

“Oh.” Simon swallowed. He’d seen the comic with that costume too. “Oh God.” He growled low in his throat, grabbed Ben’s hand, and pulled him toward the bedroom. To hell with the work he needed to do. It could wait.

Buy Links for Shades of Sepia: Dreamspinner Press

And here’s a little blurb/teaser:

A serial killer stalks the streets of Flint, Ohio. The victims are always found in pairs, one human and one vampire.

Simon Hawthorne has been a vampire for nearly a hundred years, and he has never seen anything like it. Neither have the other supernaturals he works with to keep the streets safe for both their kind and the humans.

One meeting with Simon finds Ben Leyton falling for a man he knows is keeping secrets, but he can’t ignore the growing attraction between them. A recent arrival in Flint, Ben finds it very different from his native New Zealand, but something about Simon makes Ben feel as though he’s found a new home.

After a close friend falls victim to the killer, Simon is torn between revealing his true nature to Ben, and walking away to avoid the reaction he fears. But with the body count rising and the murders becoming more frequent, either, or both of them, could be the killer’s next target.

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Thank you to  Anne Barwell for joining us this week!

Once again it’s time for the weekly Sunday Brunch with ZA Maxfield! This week, we have one awesome friend joining us! Please welcome P.D. Singer!

This week’s question is: “Describe how you felt when you got your first bad review.“

***BIG NEWS*** From now on, instead of offering a weekly prize, ZAM will be giving out a $20.00 Amazon gift card so readers can use it for the ebook (or other Amazon purchase) of their choice once a month to anyone who has commented on her blog that month. All you have to do is comment below for your chance to win!

Last week’s winner is Tom Canaday! Congrats! You should be receiving an email from me shortly.

Without further ado, let’s hear from P.D.!

I’ve been spoiled by mostly positive responses since fandom days. There, of course, the sense of community cushioned the swats, if any, and there weren’t a lot, though I might have deserved more. The reception was a little different once I got out into the land of original work.

I didn’t understand that I was supposed to keep my joy to myself. I was the uncouth newbie who thanked reviewers, sometimes with squeeing. After all, one responded in fandom. And it seemed polite. I didn’t have the sense G-d gave a goose, did I? I did have a pretty good sense of “Never let them see you sweat,” though, and that probably kept me from responding to my first less than stellar reception.

When my first novel, Fire on the Mountain came out, it got generally favorable attention. In its original form, was an Honorable Mention, Jury’s Choice, for the Rainbow Awards. So I was a little nonplussed when I ran into someone Who Was Not Impressed.

This particular reviewer, who was then associated with various review sites and still drops an opinion in now and again, often attached tag lines to her reviews. In Fire’s case, the tag line was:

Too much masturbation causes forest fires.

Well. I read that about a dozen times before I could move on to the rest of the review, which was neither wholly positive nor negative, but was definitely of the opinion that Jake whipped his dick out alone entirely too often.

Okay, valid opinion. One I didn’t share, having written all those encounters with his right hand, but it was hers and she’d discussed it with this pithy summation. The summation stuck. Boy did it.

I wisely said nothing about it on my blog, or Facebook or anything public, because really, that one line said it all. And time does what time does; it passes. I won’t say it healed wounds, because this was a sting on my pride. Time also brings perspective.

By the time I got to New Orleans for the first Gay Rom Lit convention, time had gone by. And I find myself sitting at a poolside table with a drink in hand, chatting with people whose names I knew from blogs, Goodreads, and review sites. I’m having a conversation with Chris and Kris and Leontine and Kassa! Whoowhee! There are names attaching to faces that I know by pink wigs on cats and by giveaways and pithy opinions.

And Kassa mentions that she read one or two of my books. “Yes, you did,” I reply. “I remember it well. It had a tag line.”

Possibly this isn’t the most welcome comment a reviewer ever hears from an author sitting within arm’s reach. She’s glancing right and left for possible escape routes.

I try to quote it for her, but what started as a recollection turns into giggles, and the giggles to some undignified guffaws. “Too much—” I try, and have to start over. “Too much mast—” It takes me six attempts to get the entire sentence out. She’s trying to help me say it and not doing a great deal better. By the time I reach “fires,” at least one of us is wearing part of a drink. People are looking at us funny. We’re both roaring and wiping our eyes.

This one review taught me a great deal about not taking myself so seriously. It wasn’t funny at the time, but with a little more distance, even I can see that this is spit-take territory. Not everyone is going to love my every word, and they don’t have to.

This is timely for me to remember, because my upcoming Dreamspinner release, A New Man (due in February, exact date TBA), has a character who becomes distinctly unlovable. It doesn’t last, though I do hope readers will stick with Chad and with me while we herd him through his awful stage. Getting from “asexual nice guy” to “normal nice guy” for him is going to take some work, and love interest Warren will want to throw rocks at him a time or two.

Some readers may want to throw rocks at me for suggesting that “asexual” isn’t a valid status. It is, and I wouldn’t dream of suggesting otherwise. Here it’s a side effect of a true medical condition that has a lot of other ramifications. A limping libido is the smallest of Chad’s problems, only the most obvious.

If any rocks do get thrown, I’ll weather it. I’ve already been tempered to deal with reviews that don’t match my vision of the book. If I’ve told my story well, there won’t be many, but there will be some. I’ll deal.

Besides, too much masturbation does cause forest fires. Just ask Kurt and Jake. 🙂

Buy Links for A New Man: Dreamspinner Press

And here’s a little blurb/teaser:

Senior year of college is for studying, partying, and having fun before getting serious about life. Instead, Chad’s days are filled with headaches and exhaustion, and his fencing skills are getting worse with practice, not better. Then there’s his nonexistent love life, full of girls he’s shunted to the friend zone. Is he asexual? Gay?

Grad student Warren Douglas could be out clubbing, but his roommate is better company, even without kisses. He’s torn up watching Chad suffer, gobbling ibuprofen and coming home early on Friday nights. If Chad weren’t straight, Warren would keep him up past midnight. They’re great as friends. Benefits might answer Chad’s questions.

A brief encounter with lab rats reveals Chad’s illness—he needs surgery, STAT, and can’t rely on his dysfunctional parents for medical decisions. Warren’s both trustworthy and likely to get overruled—unless they’re married. “You can throw me back later,” Warren says, and he may throw himself back after his husband turns out moody and hard to get along with, no matter how much fun his new sex drive is. Surgery turns Chad into a new man, all right…

…but Warren fell in love with the old one.
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Thank you to  P.D. Singer for joining us this week!

Once again it’s time for the weekly Sunday Brunch with ZA Maxfield! This week, we have one awesome friend joining us! Please welcome Z. Allora!

This week’s question is: “What have you learned about yourself from writing?“

***BIG NEWS*** From now on, instead of the ebooks we’ve been awarding as prizes, I’ll be giving out a $5.00 Amazon gift card so readers can use it for the ebook (or other Amazon purchase) of their choice. All you have to do is comment below for your chance to win!

Last week’s winner is Kat! Congrats! You should be receiving an email from me shortly.

Without further ado, let’s hear from Z!

I CAN’T SMELL

Sounds weird I know, but with my allergies and asthma I usually can’t smell much. So having the character’s savor the aroma of something is difficult for me. Usually a critique partner will ask, “What does it smell like?”

Also, my men wear only things I’m not allergic to, such as amber, vanilla, lavender, or Double Black Polo… I actively search for colognes that won’t send me into a sneezing fit or close my throat so my guys can wear something new.

Okay and you might of me asking my Pretty ones on Facebook what ejaculate smells like… the answers were surprising! Well, my characters wouldn’t tell me!

MY STUTTER AFFECTS MY WRITING

I know that sounds odd, but it’s true. If you’ve met me you may not know I stutter because I’m usually able to jump over the words I can’t say. This results in me not successfully getting my point across to the listener, so I repeat myself, trying to get closer to what I am trying to say.

It was pointed out to me that I didn’t use the entire English language and, surprise, surprise, I repeated myself. As I analyzed my writing I realized I wrote as I talked. Since my talking is impaired… I’m learning to adjust my writing.

I LOVE SHARING MY TRAVEL EXPERIENCES

I’ve been lucky enough to travel to thirty countries, and have lived a number of years overseas in Singapore, Israel and China. I tend not to show pictures to my family or friends of the places I’ve been, but I LOVE sharing my experiences through my writing. I try to bring the reader along with me to the locations I’ve visited to share the unique cultures.

The Great Wall: My would-be rockers moved into my old apartment in Suzhou. They go to the same gardens I enjoyed and slid down The Great Wall exactly as I did. Their first real gig is in a beer garden restaurant I used to frequent.

With Wings: Angel whisks Dare off to Bali. I take the reader to the temple dances and artisans’ villages. I stayed in the unique villas Dare and Angel spend their time in. Though I wasn’t writing music like my characters were I was writing their story.

Illusions & Dreams: I truly love Thailand, and I share it with my readers. I take the reader to ladyboy shows, the Tiger Temple, to be bitten by a baby tiger, and to tourist destinations like the crowded weekend market and the Grand Palace.

Many of my character’s experiences are my own.  In Illusions & Dreams and in The Great Wall I have an America character(s) experiencing the foreign culture. It allows an examination of the differences but also find the similarities.

Writing some free readers for The Dark Angels I’ve been put into a tailspin. Two of my characters go to the north of India. I’ve only been to the South and writing about a place I haven’t experienced first hand is very difficult for me. It is more difficult for me to place the characters in the experiences. But I’m working on it.

LIVING OVERSEAS STOLE MY VOCABULARY

If you’ve been out of the country or talked with someone who didn’t speak English as their first language, you know you need to make language accommodations or you’ll never be understood.

You speak simply as you can, usually with accompanying hand gestures. You never use contractions. Smaller words are best. Interesting words are confusing so are to be avoided.

It’s been a fight but slowly, after two years, my words are coming back.

I NEED MY TRIBE

Until I found this community of readers and writers I didn’t quite fit in. I had a couple of close friends and that was it. People never quite understood me. However, through my writing I’ve been allowed to connect with so many wonderful people, I feel as though I found my place in the world. I found where I belong and I thank each of you for that.

YOUR TURN

Do tell what have you learned about yourself from reading or writing? I always want to know what you think.

Hugs, Z. Allora

Buy Links for Illusions and Dreams: Dreamspinner Press

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Thank you to  Z. Allora for joining us this week!

Once again it’s time for the weekly Sunday Brunch with ZA Maxfield! This week, we have two awesome friends joining us! Please welcome Charlie Cochrane and Jet Mykles!

This week’s question is: “What’s the worst movie you ever saw?”

***BIG NEWS*** From now on, instead of the ebooks we’ve been awarding as prizes, I’ll be giving out a $5.00 Amazon gift card so readers can use it for the ebook (or other Amazon purchase) of their choice. All you have to do is comment below for your chance to win!

Last week’s winner is Waxapplelover! Congrats! You should be receiving an email from me shortly.

Let’s hear from Charlie first!

Well, there’s a question. How long have we got?

In my I refuse to state precisely how many years of life, I’ve seen some real rubbish, some of which I have consigned straight away to the part of my brain marked, “destroy immediately”. Some films are so bad, of course, that they become wonderful entertainment (“Plan 9 from Outer Space” springs to mind) but for the purposes of this piece, I’ll confine myself to the toe-curling and cringe worthy.

First I’d like to give a (dis)honourable mention to “Fantastic Four”, Ioan Gruffudd version. Rarely have I been so underwhelmed by an experience as when I saw that film in the cinema; the standard of acting was at Infant school nativity play level, the script was naff and even the special effects couldn’t rescue it. FF, however, shines like “Lawrence of Arabia” when compared to the top of my hit (with a hammer) list…

The Eagle.

Channing Tatum looking and sounding like no Roman legionary ever looked or sounded, botched version of the original book, chock full of anachronisms, actors chewing the scenery left right and centre. Even Jamie Bell couldn’t save it. Luckily I watched it on DVD, because if I’d paid good money to see it I’d not have been best pleased. Indeed, if I had a choice between seeing it again and sticking a fork in my eye, the fork would win, hands down.

Buy Links for The Best Corpse for the Job: Riptide Publishing

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Now let’s here from Jet!

I’d be willing to bet good money that every one of us has seen a really bad movie that we just adore. You know the one. The script is trite, the acting leaves a lot to be desired and there are plot holes that’d accept Mac trucks with room to spare. But you love it. There’s just something about it that trips your wire.

Thank you to  Charlie Cochrane and Jet Mykles for joining us this week!

Once again it’s time for the weekly Sunday Brunch with ZA Maxfield! This week, we have one awesome friend joining us! Please welcome Alex Beecroft!

This week’s question is: “Describe your mother’s cooking.“

***BIG NEWS*** From now on, instead of the ebooks we’ve been awarding as prizes, I’ll be giving out a $5.00 Amazon gift card so readers can use it for the ebook (or other Amazon purchase) of their choice. All you have to do is comment below for your chance to win!

Last week’s winner is Gigi! Congrats! You should be receiving an email from me shortly.

Let’s hear from Alex!

My mum’s cooking could best be described as ‘pedestrian’. She boiled vegetables, heated up fish fingers in the oven and deep fat fried chips despite being marginally terrified of the chip pan with all that boiling oil.

I remember my favourite dinner was two slices of bread with gravy poured over the top of them, heavily salted. We ate beef for Christmas, and that was a trial because the oven wasn’t hot enough, so it went on at about 7am and cooked ’til 4pm. I never felt I was missing anything when I became a vegetarian.

But it was by no means a state of unrelieved misery. She didn’t enjoy cooking main meals, and who can blame her? I certainly inherited that trait and will go straight for the noodles and sauce out of a jar if left to my own devices. I inherited too a feeling that Yorkshire pudding is at its best when it has failed to rise. None of this airy, crispy, namby pamby stuff, a good Yorkshire pudding ought to be a solid mass of baked dough, like a less fluffy pancake. By the time you’ve drenched it in gravy and swallowed it all, you ought to feel like you’ve chewed through a mattress. It’s good, filling stuff that puts hairs on your chest.

As I say, she just couldn’t find it in her heart to care about savoury food. I know where she was coming from there too. Because when she was allowed to bake, everything changed. Her short crust pastry melted in the mouth, her flapjack – the humble British flapjack – was gooey and chewy and crisp on the outside, oozing sweet, buttery syrup. I have the recipe for it at home and coincidentally it is the only thing I make that flies off the plate, for which people come back for more and find there isn’t any.

I imagine she would have made a great contestant for the Great British Bake Off, though she did live through World War II so canned peaches were still considered a luxury in our house. I don’t think she would have gained many points for innovation and use of weird ingredients, but her specialty was making plain things that still make you want to cheer. The best thing in life is Tardy Cake – which is the ends of the pastry dough, spread with butter, sprinkled with sugar, cinnamon and sultanas, folded over and baked until golden brown. As the only child in the house, I got that all to myself, and so I think, as I’m sure everyone thinks, that their mum’s cooking was the best in the world.

Buy Links for The Reulctant Bezerker: Dreamspinner Press

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Thank you to  Alex Beecroft for joining us this week!