Author Jeff Erno interview and give-away

My last guest on my interview/give-awaytheme is Jeff Erno (except for perhaps a surprise interview). Jeff has written 10+ books and has quickly become a m/mreaders' favorite with his ability to push the boundaries in his stories, aswell as bringing out strong emotionality in both his characters and readers.Jeff has a new book, Second Chances,coming out on January 1, 2012.
Welcome, Jeff. I hope you find myquestions both stimulating and interesting, and have a little fun at the sametime. J

1.    Howdid you get started writing m/m romance? Did you always want to be a writer? It had been mylifelong dream to write and publish a novel. I fell in love with reading when Iwas in elementary school and started writing short stories when I was in juniorhigh. After graduating high school, my life took a different direction. I spentseveral years caring for family members who were ill, and then suddenly I wasalone. It was the lowest point in my life, and I turned to the only thing Iknew to do in order to cope with the grief. I wrote … and wrote… and wrote. Ihad a very dear friend named Jason who was the world to me. He helped methrough the darkness, and he ordered me to make a list of reasons to live. Mybucket list. He told me to include everything I wanted to do before I die. Icame up with 20 things, the first of which was to get my Bachelor's degree.Number two was to publish one of my stories as a novel. Number three was learna foreign language. I became obsessed with the list and started knocking itemsoff. I now have my degree, speak fluent Spanish, and have published ten novels.Jason passed away three years ago to cancer.
2.    Whatwere your early influences either in this genre or any other?The first stories thatI shared with others were erotic stories that I posted on the nifty archive.There has only been one other author I'm aware of who started out like this,and that author was Bobby Michaels. Before I became aware of mm fiction I read a lot of gay fiction. DavidLeavitt, Armistead Maupin, K.M. Soehnlein, Christopher Rice… the list is long.I also read a lot of mainstream fiction.

      3.    Whatis the hardest part about writing for you?      Writer's block. I'veread several interviews with authors who claim that writer's block is not real.They say it is just laziness or a lack of research. They're full of shit, in myopinion. Writer's block is very real. Writing is not like doing the laundry.You can't decide when you wake up in the morning that you are going to completeX number of words and then just sit down and write them. Some days you will beable to write 20 thousand words and other days not a one. This is frustratingto me, but it's the nature of art.
     4.    Doesany one of your books hold a special place in your heart more so than theothers?It's difficult for meto think of my stories as commodities.  AlthoughI love and appreciate my readers, I'm not thinking about what they want whileI'm writing. I'm not thinking about what will sell and what won't sell. That'sthe job of a publisher. My writing comes from my heart, and I don't write anythingthat doesn't have meaning to me. My sincerest hope is that readers will relateto my stories and will buy them because their hearts have been touched orbecause they've been entertained or aroused. I could go through my entirebacklist and tell you why each one of my books holds a special place in myheart. Probably if I had to choose just one, it would be Trust Me. Several ofthe experiences that the central character, Shawn, goes through were takendirectly from my own life.  5.    Tellus a little about your new release, SecondChances. Is it part of a series or a stand-alone?Second Chances is asci-fi thriller. Billionaire insurance mogul Harold Wainwright is dying ofcancer when offered an opportunity to live again. His consciousness istransferred to the mind of an 18 year old and he gets a chance to live lifeagain. In his previous life, Harold had rejected love and romance and had livedwith a focus upon monetary success. Now he has a new identity—that of JesseWarren—and he must decide if he is going to do things differently this time.
6.    Doyou have any writing quirks? (ie computer has to be facing a certain way, cupof coffee on the left, certain music playing, etc)I can't have musicplaying or the television on when I'm writing. When I'm very focused on aparticular manuscript, I hole up in a room without distraction and concentrateonly on the story. I do drink a lot of coffee and tea—always have a beverage.
7.    Isthere any theme you haven't written yet that you really want to, a subject orsub-genre – paranormal, fantasy, sci-fi, etc.?I now have anelectronic notebook where I record story ideas. The notebook contains severaltabs which each represent a different, unwritten story. When the ideas come tome, I sketch out a synopsis and record it in the notebook. Many of these storyideas are vastly different than anything I have written so far. I plan to do afuturistic/dystopian story, a paranormal, and lots more BDSM.
      8.    You'vewritten some emotionally charged books that deal with very current issuesaffecting gay men and teens. Do you find that you put a lot of yourself in yourbooks – your experiences, things you've seen – or is fiction just fiction?Without exception, allof my stories have been inspired by events, people, or experiences of my ownlife. While writing Trust Me, I drew from childhood experiences, with Dumb JockI revisited my teen years, for Puppy Love I used experiences from a very realD/s relationship I was in for four years, and the Landlord was inspired byfeelings and fantasies I had while renting an apartment from a really hot,young landlord. I recently wrote a guest blog where I explained that the issueof bullying is important to me because of my own experiences being bullied, andthis is why I wrote Bullied.


9.    What'snext on your plate? What are you working on? In February, ExtasyBooks will be releasing the first book of a series I've titled The Men's Room.Book one is called Twinsational, and it is the story of twin go-go dancers whowork at a New Orleans night club. The remainder of the series will highlightcharacters from that same bar. Book Two is called Cocktails and is a work inprogress. The focus will be the relationship of the bartenders at the Men'sRoom. I expect the series to be a minimum of six books.
10.  Finally – a few quick choices:a.    Coffeeor tea – icedteab.    Dogor cat – cat(Gandolf)c.    Beachor mountains - beachd.    Pecsor abs - pecse.    Smileor eyes - smilef.     Cowboysor rockstars – cowboys, no contest!g.    Whowould win in a fight – vampires or werewolves? And why. – Vampires.Haven't you read the Twilight series??
Jeff has generously offered up a IOU fora copy of his new release, "SecondChances," due out on January 1, to one lucky commenter. BE SURE TOINCLUDE YOUR NAME AND EMAIL ADDRESS IN YOUR COMMENT.
CONTEST WILL RUN FROM WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER21 TO FRIDAY, DECEMBER 23.
Be sure to checkout Jeff's website Jeff Erno for all his latest news.
Second Chances (blurb)
Harold Wainwright is dying. At seventy-nine, stricken with cancer, thebillionaire insurance mogul has much to regret. In his youth he rejected hisonly true love, Jacob, because the young artist was distracting him from thepursuit of wealth and success. Now Harold is alone, rich beyond his wildestdreams … and his life is over.
Doctor Timothy Drayton has found a way to prolong human life. He has createda computer chip that can be implanted into the human brain, allowingconsciousness to be transferred from a dying patient into the mind of a donorsubject.
Jesse Warren is eighteen years old. He's a track star, modelstudent, and the typical all-American kid. Then tragedy strikes. After aterrible accident, Jesse is pronounced brain dead. His devastated family isecstatic when Dr. Drayton offers a "new treatment" for brain injury. Convincedthat God has sent a miracle, the Warrens are overjoyed when their son wakesfrom his coma. They hope he will eventually recover from amnesia.
But the real Jesse is gone, hisconsciousness replaced by Harold Wainwright's. Will Harold make the samemistakes this time around? Or will he take advantage of this rare second chanceto find the love 
that was missing from his former life?