Welcome Marie Sexton

I'm thrilled to welcome the amazing Marie Sexton, author of all things naughty and nice. I'm sure you'll all enjoy her interview, the snippet she's brought to share as well as a few pictures she sent along to entertain you. 

Welcome Marie! (Is this woman not gorgeous!) 

Now, on to the inquisition!

1. How long have you been writing? What inspired you to pick the pen up one day and create characters that capture the imagination?

I’ve actually been writing for less than two years now. Sometime in the summer of 2009 I had a sudden inspiration, and I started writing, and I haven’t stopped since.

2.  What influenced you to get published? How long did it take? Can you tell us the name of your first published work?

My first book was Promises. I didn’t really believe it was good enough to be published, but I figured I had nothing to lose by trying. The first publisher I sent it to rejected it, but the second one, Dreamspinner Press, accepted it.

3. What genre would you like to try that you haven’t yet?

I’d love to be able to write a really great character-driven horror novel, but I’m not sure I know how.

4.  Most people envision an author’s life as being really glamorous. What’s your take on this? Can you tell us something unglamorous you did within the last week or so?

Glamorous? Ha! OMG, give me a minute to stop laughing!

(Also, for the record, I’m having total Sheila E. flashbacks: “She wears a long fur coat of mink, even in the summer time.”)

No. That’s definitely not my life.

I think there’s a misconception before being published that somehow that first contract will change everything, but really, it doesn’t. I still have to pick my kid up from school and scrub the toilets and sit through soccer practice. I had to stop typing in the middle of this paragraph because my 6-year old daughter had an EMERGENCY! Actually, it was a dead moth in her bathroom drawer which had to be disposed of AT ONCE lest it suddenly come back to life and attack her. (Zombie moths!! There’s a SyFy original movie in the making.) And, on any given day, it’s a safe bet I’ve cleaned up dog vomit sometime in the past week.

NOT glamorous.

5. Plotter or pantzer?

I used to say I was a pantzer because I can’t outline and because I often don’t know what happens next in a story. On the other hand, I’ve come to realize I’m more of a plotter than I thought, because I can’t start a story if I don’t know how it ends. I won’t start writing until I know the beginning and the end, and two or three of the key scenes in the story. Everything else - like how I actually get from point A to point D - I make up as I go.

6.  What do you do when you’re suffering writers block?

First, I allow myself a few days off. Sometimes my brain just needs time to reboot. If that doesn’t work, then I know I’ve taken a wrong turn somewhere in the story, and I go back and start looking for what might need to be reworked.

7.  What would you like to share with new writers? Any suggestions or advice?

I would say, do what works for you. There are a billion books and blogs and “experts” who will tell you how you’re supposed to write. They’ll tell you to write start to finish, to never revise as you go, that your second draft should always be 25% shorter than your first, etc., etc. I say, read them if you want, take what works for you, and leave the rest behind. When it’s all said and done, the only “right way” is the way that ends in a finished story.

8. If you could be a character in any of your books who would it be and why?

I’d be Jared from Promises, because he’s a very happy, satisfied guy, and because he gets to be with Matt. :-)

9. Looking over the past year, what has been the best moment for you in your writing career?

The m/m romance group on Goodreads has a Best M/M Romance of 2010 list, and I was absolutely floored and amazed to see that Promises came in at #1. Strawberries for Dessert is somewhere in the top five. The numbers keep changing as more votes come in, but seeing Promises at the top of that list was probably the most gratifying moment of my career to date. 

http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/8016.Best_M_M_Romance_Published_in_2010#7493186

13. If you had one wish, would you give away? Why or why not and to whom would you give it?

I would wish for my daughter to have a happy and fulfilling life. (Cliche, I know. But true.)

14.  If you could choose one vice, what would it be and why?

Sometimes, I still want to be able to smoke. I’ve had a lot of great conversations in my life sitting on back porches with friends, enjoying a cigarette. Alas, the reality of smoking full-time isn’t as great as those stolen moments. 

15.  If you found that, for one reason or another, you couldn’t write anymore, what would you like to do instead?

Ideally, I’d like to travel, but I couldn’t really afford to do that. Probably, I’d start playing piano again (something that’s very much fallen by the wayside since I started writing).

16.  When you wake up in the morning, what celebrity do you most resemble?

Nick Nolte

18. Are you in love? Have you ever been?

I’ve been with my husband for almost twenty years now. I can’t say we still have that life-changing, heart-pounding thrill of young love - that’s been gone for a while now. But, he’s still my favorite person in the world. If I had to choose one person to spend the rest of my life on a deserted island with, it would be him. After twenty years, I think that counts for something. :-)

20.  What do you hope to achieve in life and when will you know that you have been a success?

I guess I think success would be walking through my local Target or Safeway and seeing my book on the shelf. But really, I’m perfectly happy with things as they are. I have a very satisfying life. The only thing I’d change would be to give myself and my husband more freedom to travel, but I’m confident that will come later in life, once our kiddo is grown and off on her own. 

An now for that little snippet I was telling you about:

 

Between Sinners and Saints

by Marie Sexton

Publisher: 

ISBN:

BUY NOW

Levi Binder is a Miami bartender who cares about only two things: sex and surfing.  Ostracized by his Mormon family for his homosexuality, Levi is determined to live his life his own way, but everything changes when he meets massage therapist Jaime Marshall.

Jaime is used to being alone.  Haunted by the horrors of his past, his only friend is his faithful dog, Dolly.  He has no idea how to handle somebody as gorgeous and vibrant as Levi.

Complete opposites on the surface, Levi and Jaime both long for something that they can only find together.  Through love and the therapeutic power of touch, they’ll find a way to heal each other, and they’ll learn to live as sinners in a family of saints.

 Excerpt:

Jaime's hands were incredibly soft. He didn't rub hard at first. He seemed to be exploring the muscle high on Levi's thigh with his fingers, watching Levi's reaction. 

"Does it hurt here?"

"Not as much."

"And here?"

"Yes, more there."

"And is it focalized, or does it radiate out to other places."

"It's only there."

"That's good." His hand slid toward the inside of Levi's thigh, and Levi tensed. "Just relax, Mr. Binder." At least he pronounced it right.

"Please don't call me that."

"You prefer Levi?"

"Yes."

"Okay, Levi. Try to relax."  But Levi was finding it very difficult to relax. Jaime's soft hand was moving slowly up the inside of his thigh, stopping every inch or two to press into the muscle before moving on, and Levi's body was reacting in a way which he feared was wholly inappropriate, given the circumstances. "Relax," Jaime said again.

"I can't!" Levi snapped.

"Don't worry about it," Jaime said. His tone was clinical. Professional. Detached. "It's a common physical reaction. You don't need to be embarrassed."

"That's easy for you to say."

"It's a natural response to physical stimulation--"

"No shit!" The stupid thing was, now that they were talking about it, it was only getting worse. He was pretty much flying full mast now, and the thin sheet covering him certainly wasn't hiding it. "Are you almost done?"

Suddenly Jaime pushed harder on his tender thigh. It hurt so much Levi almost jumped off of the table. "Ow! What the hell  Did you do that on purpose?"

"Took your mind off your other problem didn't it?" Jaime said, without cracking a smile. 

"You're a little bit sadistic, aren't you?"

"You're not the first person to think so."

* * *

Oh my! I like this a lot, and hope you do too. If you'd like to find out more about the lovely Marie Sexton, here's her bio and some links to places you can find her:

Marie Sexton lives in Colorado. She’s a fan of just about anything that involves muscular young men piling on top of each other. In particular, she loves the Denver Broncos and enjoys going to the games with her husband. Her imaginary friends often tag along. Marie has one daughter, two cats, and one dog, all of whom seem bent on destroying what remains of her sanity. She loves them anyway.

Visit Marie’s website at http://mariesexton.net/, follow her on Facebook and Twitter, join her mailing list, and absolutely don’t forget to check out her tumblr. (Tumblr NOT work safe.) And there’s always her email.

Links:

Marie's books on Amazon: http://tiny.cc/mgps6
List of books on Marie's site: http://mariesexton.net/book-list

Marie, out and about:
Website/blog: www.MarieSexton.net
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/MarieSexton.author
Twitter: http://twitter.com/MarieSexton
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3292500.Marie_Sexton
And be sure to join me for Coffee and Porn in the Morning: http://cupoporn.wordpress.com