Author T.A. CHASE interview and give-away

I'm thrilled to have one of the first m/mauthors I ever read on my blog today. I have a ton of T.A. Chase's books inprint and the rest in e-books, and in a round-about-way, she influenced myChristmas story because the cowboys in her Home series were the first I everread. I had the pleasure of meeting T.A. at Gay Rom Lit in October and she isabsolutely adorable, and sweet to boot. She's here today to talk about herholiday story, writing and her prolific writing schedule.
Welcome! I'm so excited to have you here,T.A. squees a little
Ah…well thank you so much, K-Lee. Itwas marvelous to meet you in New Orleans, and I hope to meet you face-to-faceagain soon. I'm so thrilled you asked to interview me. Also, it makes me smileto hear my Cowboys were inspiration for your Cowboys. :)
1.     Howdid you get started writing m/m romance? Did you always want to be a writer?Hmmm…I got startedwriting m/m romance the same way most authors who do did. I enjoyed reading it,and I got a 'what if' idea. I decided to try my hand at writing it. I've beenwriting since the third grade, so I figured maybe this time I might actuallyfinish a story…lol
2.     Didyou have any early influences either in this genre or any other?Oh I hadinfluences. JL Langley and Ally Blue in the genre. Mercedes Lackey and TamoraPierce outside the genre. JL and Ally write such wonderful character-drivenstories, full of emotions and hot men. Mercedes and Tamora's characters arejust as strong, even though many of them are female.
3.     Whatis the hardest part about writing for you?It depends. Somedays, it's the sex scenes. Other days, it's the dialogue or even just the basicstory. Of course, there are the times when I'd rather be reading or doinganything except sitting in front of my computer, which makes it difficult toconcentrate.
4.     Doesany one of your books hold a special place in your heart?Gosh…all my bookshave a special place in my heart, but I guess I have two favorites, Angel'sEvolution and Embrace My Reflection. I love Angel and Ronnie, two menstruggling to accept themselves.
5.     Tellus a little about your Christmas story. Is it a new story or related to one ofyour other books?Joy of the Seasonis about Hal Sims, who has lost all joy in life because of losing his brotherten years earlier. He meets Tavis Komen, and Tavis helps him learn to find joyin the world again. It's a new story, but I do plan on visiting Hal and Tavisagain next year. :)
6.     Doyou have a writing quirk? (ie computer has to be facing a certain way, cup ofcoffee on the left, certain music playing, etc)I have to havesomething to drink on the left. Usually it's Diet Coke in the morning for mycaffeine fix, then in the afternoon it's usually ice water. :) I always havemusic playing, nothing in particular though. I hit shuffle on my Itunes and letit go.
7.     Doyou have any writing or reading squicks? Things you don't like to read andcan't see yourself ever writing?I never say thereare things I won't read or write. There are things I don't always enjoyreading, and doubt I'd write it. I don't always like ménages, and BDSM. I'llread it every once in a while by certain authors. I've written one ménage, notsure I'll do another one. I won't be writing BDSM any time soon because I don'twant to get it wrong or have someone read it and just laugh.
8.     You'rea very prolific writer. Do you keep a writing schedule everyday? Give yourselfrewards for getting things done? Have a calendar of what needs to be done?(these may be questions I want to know for myself :P)I do. I try to doat least 2000 words a day. I get up in the morning, and hopefully be in frontof my computer by 9 at the latest.  Iquit depending on how much I have done for the day. I do have a dry erase boardwith titles written on it by year through 2016 at the moment. Each book has themonth I want to have it done by written next to you. Oh yes, I do rewardmyself, usually with a book I want to read. It's the best way to do it.
9.     What'snext on your plate? What are you working on?I'm working onDeath right now, the fourth book in The Four Horsemen series. Also, I'm doingsome work on the next Preternatural book. Plus I have a short story I'm doing alittle work on, and the story I post on my blog every Tuesday and Thursday.Once Death is done, I have Gypsies, the first book in the Beasor Chroniclesseries to start.
10. Finally –a few quick choices:a.     Coffeeor tea- teab.     Dogor cat-cat (I'm owned by two)c.      Beachor mountains-beachd.     Pecsor abs-abse.     Smileor eyes-eyesf.      Cowboysor Rock Stars- Cowboysg.     Whowould win in a fight – vampires or werewolves? And why.I think it would be werewolves because they tend to travel inpacks. Vampires don't really work together, and werewolves would be able toband together to take the vampires out.
Thank you, T.A. It's been a pleasure.  JThank you so much, K-Lee. I had lotsof fun, and I hope everyone enjoyed it.
T.A. has graciously offered up a copy of her holidaystory, Joy of the Season, to one lucky commenter on my blog.  Leave a comment with your name and emailaddress and I will be drawing a lucky winner on Thursday Dec. 6.
If you don't win, you can pick it up now at MLR Press here à http://www.mlrbooks.com/ShowBook.php?book=TACJYOFS.

Be sure to check out T.A. Chase's website for information onhow to buy her other fabulous books, too. http://tachase.com/