Author Interviews
Author's Interview
Let's start with you telling us a little bit about yourself, Andrew.
I live in Pennsylvania with my partner Dominic. He and I love to travel and I use many of our experiences in my books. I love to garden and read. I also have a hugely supportive family and a large group of friends. Although none of them tell me their stories anymore because they’re all afraid their embarrassing moments will end up immortalized in a book.
What would people be most surprised to learn about you?
I’m not really sure. I’ve put so much of myself into my stories that I really think I have very few secrets left, except maybe an addiction to Garrett’s Cheese Popcorn.
When did you start writing, is it something you've always been interested in, or did it develop later in life?
I started writing in secret on a whim. I only had an idea and absolutely no experience whatsoever. I told no one, not even Dominic, until I’d written half the story. I haven’t stopped or looked back since.
Has it been everything you thought it would be or not?
It’s been so much more than I ever hoped. When I started I had no idea how important writing would become for me or that I had so many varied stories locked up inside. I have recently left my day job to write full time and be able to do what I love.
How did it feel when you realized that your very first book was going to be published?
It was amazing. I got the contract in July and I raced outside to show Dominic, tripped, and ended up face first in our pool. Not exactly my finest moment.
What's your favorite part of writing a book?
I love writing the strongly emotional parts. When I’m at that portion of a story I can’t seem to type fast enough and there is no better feeling than when a portion of the story seems to write itself.
Out of your books so far, do you have a personal favorite?
It’s very hard to pick. I have now written so many stories that picking one is like picking a favorite child. Each set of characters speaks to be in a different way.
Do you get time to read for pleasure? If so, which books do you enjoy?
I do read for pleasure and I read a great number of things. I read a lot of gay romance, but I also read adventure stories. I love Clive Cussler’s Dirk Pitt books and I read Ken Follett as well. Although I have less and less time to read. Hopefully without the day job I will be able to read more.
Are there any other genres you'd be interested in writing?
Not really. I love that I get to write about love. I guess I’m a real romantic. I grew up in the AIDS era and all gay fiction was depressing. I like that I get to write happy endings, since I got my own. I have branched out slightly and am writing young adult stories under the name Geoff Laughton.
Please tell us a little about your current release.
Inside Out is doing very well. A former mercenary turned club owner, Bull, and Zach, a twink kid who captures Bull’s imagination when he giggles when Bull searches him before allowing him in the club. Zach is an artist and when he meets Bull, he the hero for his graphic novel. There’s plenty of action, drama, and in the end Bull hinds his world turned Inside Out… and he loves it.
What can we look forward in the future from you?
There is a lot coming. Crossing Divides will release in December. I have a whole new series set in Kansas, the first is Dumped in Oz. The next Love Means… story has been written and I have the next Senses story, Love Comes Home. I am currently writing the follow up to Inside Out, Upside Down.
Anything you want to say to your readers?
I love to hear from readers so please don’t hesitate to contact me.
My email address is andrewgrey@comcast.net. You can also contact me on Facebook and Twitter.
Thank you so much for the interview, Andrew!
Andrew Grey's most recent releases:
Inside Out
http://bit.ly/1c4YSBB
Taken (Stranded 2)
http://bit.ly/Hmd4e3
Biochemistry (Chemistry 2)
http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=4252
Excerpt from Inside Out:
By ten thirty, the line was long and becoming restless, because every twink, leather daddy, boy, slave, and dude in town wanted to see the members of the Philadelphia Inferno strip it all off, or as close to all as you could come in Harrisburg. A few fights broke out in line, and Bull either pulled men apart or used the towels to break them apart. He also sent those groups to the end of the line, which meant they were screwed for seeing the show. That ended the fight in a fucking hurry. No one wanted to land in nightclub purgatory, not after waiting an hour already. At ten minutes before eleven, a group of men approached the front of the line. They talked excitedly, and when their turn came, they stepped forward. There were three of them, all looking about twenty-one or twenty-two. He carded them. “I need to search you,” Bull told the first one.
The kid stepped forward and lifted his arms. “Search away, hot stuff,” he said, and as soon as Bull touched him, he began to giggle like a ten-year-old. Bull ignored it and checked the kid’s belt and up his back, then down his chest. All the while the kid was giggling and squirming like a demented belly dancer.
“Please empty your pockets,” Bull told him, and the kid turned out his pockets. Bull checked down his pant legs, and the kid began giggling again. “You got a problem?”
“You’re tickling me,” the kid said. Bull straightened up and crossed his arms over his chest.
“That’s some act, kid. What are you hiding?” Bull asked. He’d seen more tries at distraction than he could remember, but this was definitely a new one.
“Nothing. I’m just ticklish,” the kid said, the smile slipping from his adorably cute face and some of the light slipping from his eyes. What surprised Bull wasn’t the way the kid stared back at him—something almost no one did—or the way his bottom lip stuck out just enough to make Bull want to smile. It was the disappointment he felt that the kid wasn’t grinning anymore, because maybe he’d been smiling at him. Bull blinked that thought out of his mind. Pushing it away, he contemplated whether he should let the kid in.
“See how you react when someone’s touching all your sensitive spots.” Bull was about to tell the kid to take off when he reached out and ran his fingers over Bull’s belly. “Aren’t you ticklish?” he asked and continued working the tips of his long, slender fingers over Bull’s T-shirt.
Bull had to work not to crack a smile. Not because it tickled in the least, but because this kid would be forward enough to actually touch him. “No,” he snapped. “Move on inside before I change my mind.”
The kid pulled back his hand and lifted big brown puppy eyes to him for a few seconds before heading into the club. Bull swore softly to himself as he watched the kid walk away. When he returned his attention to where it should have been the entire time, he saw Greg, the other bouncer working the door, staring at him with a stupid grin on his face. Bull growled at him, and Greg turned back to the line, continuing to let people inside.
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