Interview with George Pappas, author of Monogamy Sucks

Blog Interview WITH GEORGE PAPPAS, AUTHOR OF EROTIC FICTION NOVEL MONOGAMY SUCKS
Hello, thanks for agreeing to be a guest blogger on my site.
Could you please tell us about yourself?
I am author, freelance public relations consultant and former journalist who lives in Costa Mesa, Calif. and is a lifelong resident of southern California. Monogamy Sucks is my second novel. I launched the first six chapters of my recent novel on my blog www.monogamysucks.wordpress.com in Summer 2010 after more than 12 years of writing and researching my work.
How long have you been writing?
I have been writing fiction since I was 15 when I wrote my first novel by hand called Jake's War. I've always wanted to be a writer. When I was younger, I wrote a lot of short stories, written in the Science Fiction genre. After graduating from California State Long Beach, I pursued careers in journalism and public relations, and stopped writing fiction. My writing drought lasted more than a decade, and finally ended when I started writing my novel Monogamy Sucks. I felt compelled to write a story about subjects I didn't see being discussed in American society -- troubles many of us have with monogamy and relationships, and the swinging lifestyle. More than anything, I was excited and relieved just to be writing again.

What authors would you say are your biggest influences?
Some of my favorite authors are Henry Miller (Tropic of Cancer, Tropic of Capricorn), Anais Nin (Henry and June, her diaries), Charles Bukowski (Women, Post Office, all of his poetry), Bret Easton Ellis (American Psycho, Less Than Zero), Armistead Maupin (Tales of the City) John Updike (Couples), among others. Each of them bravely explored controversial sexual and societal issues in a frank, unsentimental manner exposing truth and hypocrisy alike. I treasure novels that take me on a journey and challenge my preconceptions about life.

How did you find the road to getting published?
It was a long one that lasted 12 years. Early last year I read an article on the Huffington Post about how a number of best selling books started out first as blogs. So I decided to launch my novel, which was just sitting in my computer, on a blog one chapter a time in May 2010. It was not my intention to bring out my whole novel online, but I never had to worry about that as Lazy Day Publishing, a new digital publisher, contacted me through my blog in July and asked if I would consider turning it into a novel. I seriously doubt if that would have happened if I hadn't put my novel on my blog and Tweeted about it on Twitter. I believe Twitter is an essential tool in promoting my book and novels in general as is Facebook, blogs and the Internet overall.

Tell us about your book?
It is a wild ride to say the least. My most recent book is erotic fiction novel Monogamy Sucks, which was published as e-book by digital publisher Lazy Day Publishing in December 2010. My novel is an exploration of a Long Beach, Calif. man's mid-thirties lust crisis and his ensuing bizarre, but intriguing, humorous journey into the swinging lifestyle. The story is told in the form of a fictional diary by the book's protagonist Jake Dalmas, who is looking for answers to deal with his growing disillusionment with conventional relationships and monogamy. Along the way, he discovers some misconceptions about swingers and new aspects about himself. It is frank, funny and above all – painfully honest. I have discovered a lot of people either love or hate my book depending on their own feelings about monogamy, relationships and sex. The reactions have been intriguing and have made me more than determined that I am on to something with my book and the following two sequels I am planning. Each of my sequels to Monogamy Sucks will explore another sacred cow in our romantic lives.
Where do you see yourself as an author this time next year?
I am hoping to have had my next novel published, which has a provocative celebrity angle. I can't say much more about it except that it is not directly about said celebrity and it focuses on the romantic, erotic misadventures of a man in his late twenties. I am also planning to have completed or nearly completed my sequel to Monogamy Sucks. I am 10 chapters in so far with another 15 or so chapters to go.
Anything else you'd like to share?
I hope that writers that read this interview will learn from my story and not wait to share their work online. I have found an incredibly supportive community of writers on Twitter, and most of my blog tour is comprised of people I met there. Also if didn't put my novel out on my blog, I doubt if I would ever got a book deal for my novel and would had to put it out myself.
More than ever, aspiring writers should embrace the immediacy of the Internet as a beneficial means to expose their work and develop their own audiences rather than wait around to be discovered by an agent or publisher. Don't keep your novel or book idea hidden in your drawer or computer these days. The next best selling writer or literary star more than likely will be found on the Internet and not only in the usual places such as writer workshops or universities or the notorious "slush" pile.
CONTACT INFOTwitter: @gpwriter Blog: http://monogamysucks.wordpress.comPublisher: http://www.lazydaypub.comAmazon: http://www.amazon.com/Monogamy-Sucks-...