Author Ethan Day interview & release day give-away

My lovely guest today is the fabulousEthan Day in all his witty glory. I was fortunate enough to meet Ethan at GayRom Lit and he certainly dazzled me with his wit and sarcasm and beautifulflowing locks. J  He has a holiday story coming out on December10 (today) with MLR Press called A SummitCity Christmas.
Welcome, Mr. Day. First I have to ask youif you ever got your nuts back from Carol Lynne or is that a little TMI tobegin the interview?
Wow!That was an awesome intro. I feel so good about me right now, thanks so much,K-lee. I must confess that Carol did return my nuts to me, lol. Naturally –flying down to New Orleans this past October my luggage was over the weightlimit. SHOCKING!!! So Carol was kind enough to allow a few of my belongings tostow away in her luggage – my big-ass bag of Butter Toffee Almonds happened tobe among those items. I'm completely addicted to them – it's a sick, sad,co-dependent relationship.
1.     Howdid you get started writing m/m romance? Did you always want to be a writer?
I didn't always know that I wanted to be a writer. It was somethingthat never occurred to me as an option. I'd always thought of writing assomething only really smart people did, lol. Happily, I discovered it isn't arequirement after all. I'm in!! I kinda stumbled into it while at college.
With regard to M/M – I honestly didn't have to adjust the sort ofthing I'd been writing since college – other than taking the glossed over sexthat was already in the stories and expanding them, lol. Other than that, I'mwriting exactly what I've wanted to since my very beginnings in a Gen-EdCreative writing class.
2.     Whatwere your early influences either in this genre or any other?
My earliest influence would have to be Dr. Seuss, LOL! Between Seussand Grimm's Fairytales – those are the first books I remember reading andloving. I think I was about sixteen? LOL! Kidding!
I also have very distinct memories of the Ramona books. They reallymade me laugh. I loved reading when I was little – then I sort of fell awayfrom it when I hit puberty and discovered all those classic films. I became alittle obsessed with those movies.
It took Anne Rice and Armistead Maupin to suck me back into the joysof the written word. That was way back in my early twenties. Now I try to splitmy time between the two.

3.     Whatis the hardest part about writing for you?
Hmm, I'm not sure, really. I think the hardest part would be, havingto have the EDJ. I'd love to write full time and be able to promo properly. Ilove writing, but it can be like pulling teeth sometimes. Having limited timeto do it makes that more difficult and frustrating. There's often a lot ofguilt when I take time away or feeling like I've wasted time when I'm lessproductive than I know I can be. It's one of those catch 22 situations since sometimestaking an extra day off to do other things or nothing can be more rejuvenatingthan anything else. Right now I don't feel like I have that luxury. Maybesomeday, though! : )
4.     Doesany one of your books hold a special place in your heart more so than theothers?
I'm not sure if I'd consider it a special place so much as havingextra meaning to me. At Piper's Pointhas a great deal of my own personal feelings and regrets woven into it, withregard to my relationship with my grandma. Not that either she or I areanything like Cassidy and Sadie, but I think it's safe to say that my real lifedefinitely inspired that book. I certainly found it cathartic – getting some ofthose feelings out and onto the page. I find myself going back to read a littlepiece from that book and before I know it, I've read multiple chapters – forwhatever that's worth – it seems to easily suck me back in.
5.     Tellus a little about your Christmas story. Is it a new story or related to one ofyour other books?
My Christmas story, A SummitCity Christmas, is part of the Summit City Series – aka the Sno Ho series, lol. For the people whoare fans of Boone and Wade, it'll be the appetizer before the main course – thefinal full-length book which will close out the series. I'm going to try mybest to have that out by winter 2012.
Boone is certainly in rare form in this short. Like a lot of the foodthat seems to be forever around during this holiday season, I really wantedthis story to pack a confectiony-power-punch, stuffing in as many laughs as Icould squeeze into 13k.
It's going to be difficult to say goodbye to Boone after the last bookis completed. I realize how much I've missed having this crazy character in myhead each time I come back to him.
6.     Doyou have amy writing quirks? (ie computer has to be facing a certain way, cup ofcoffee on the left, certain music playing, etc)
Not really. I do play music while I'm writing most of the time. Somefor white noise, some I use purposefully when I'm writing particular scenesthat requires a specific tone. Other than that – I require butt loads ofcaffeine. Sugary coffee & hot chocolate infused concoctions created usingmy K-cup coffee maker and a multitude of flavored creams or Diet Coke by thevat-full. I cut myself shaving last week and bled Diet Coke. It was messed up! :)
7.     Doyou have any writing or reading squicks? Things you don't like to read andcan't see yourself ever writing?
Gay for you I'm really not a fan of and I'm not a shifter kinda guy.Other than that I'll read anything. In the end, though it comes down tocharacters. If the characters pull me in than an author could do just aboutanything to them and I'd stick around for the ride.
8.     Beingone of only a handful of men in a sea of women m/m writers, do you think yourthoughts and experiences make your books more realistic to the genre or isfiction just fiction? Also, do you put a lot of yourself into your books?
No – I don't think it requires a penis in order to write gay romance.A good writer is a good writer, period. There are a great many lady authors outthere whose books I love and look forward to reading each time a new book isreleased. I do use bits and pieces of myself or friends here and there –certainly different situations I've run across over the years make it into thebooks.
9.     What'snext on your plate? What are you working on? Doing any co-authoring? (hinthint)
I've actually got quite a full slate of books heading your way asidefrom the Summit City Christmas short.I'm just now finishing up a rough draft for SecondTime Lucky – a book about ex college boyfriends who find their way back toone another fifteen years later. That should be available from MLR Press latespring or early summer of 2012.
My first stab at a non-romantic comedy, a fantasy basedparanormal/historical titled A Token ofTime should be available from MLR Press sometime around the first of theNew Year. It's definitely a different sort of story than people are used toseeing from me, so I'm anxious to hear what people think – and I have no doubtthat I will hear, LOL!
Geoff Knight and I are working on finishing up our first co-writingproject, To Catch a Fox. It's whatwe're hoping will be the first in a new adventure/mystery series set in andaround New Orleans. Lots of family drama, murder, possibly an explosion or two,some steamy sex, a heaping helping of bantery goodness and laughs all rolled upinto one saucy book. Look for this one to become available through Dare Empire,mid-summer 2012.
Other than that, I'll be working on finishing up the final Summit Citynovel and the Self Preservation sequel.

10. Finally –a few quick choices:a.     Coffeeor tea – Coffee – nocontest.b.    Dog or cat – I've had both! Currently I'm a dog, though. LOL!c.      Beachor mountains – Um…Beach inthe winter months and Mountains in the summer months. What? I'm greedy!d.    Pecs or abs -  Seriously…like I could choose one over the other? e.     Smileor eyes – Again with theseSophie's Choice kinda dilemma's!?! What are you trying to do to me K-lee!!!f.      Cowboysor rockstars – OMG – I willnow officially need therapy!! I hope you're happy with yourself, young lady! :)g.     Whowould win in a fight – vampires or werewolves? And why – In my world there's only hotsex! No fighting! Now, if the sex happened to get a teensy bit rough I mightnot complain…much. At least not until it stopped. : )
Ethan has graciouslyoffered up a copy of his holiday story, ASummit City Christmas, to one lucky commenter on my blog. (Or a copy of Sno Ho – the first book in the series, should someone winwho's new to the Boone & Wade saga) BE SURE TO INCLUDE YOUR NAME ANDEMAIL ADDRESS IN YOUR COMMENT. J 
If you don't win and haven't already done so, you can pickit up at MLR Press http://www.mlrbooks.com/ShowBook.php?... (please note - this is not the cover that will be displayed on the MLR site)
Be sure to check out Ethan's website for information on howto buy his other books, too. http://ethanday.com/