Guest: Interview with Marie Sexton.
May. 29th, 2012 07:51 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
misslj_authorToday's guest is Marie Sexton. Do make her welcome! All yours, Marie!
~****~
1. I took a look at you're 'what I'm working on now' page, and WOW. What do you plan to do with your nanoseconds of free time? *Grin*
Ha! Well, I’m notoriously bad about updating that page. What exactly does it say?
*runs off to look*
Well, that was only a few months out of date, wasn’t it? It’s fixed now. :-)
As for what I’ll be doing in the meantime, my daughter’s birthday is coming up (she’ll be eight) and we’ll have family in town for that. After that, I’m attending RomCon in Denver in June, and RWA in California in July. And hopefully at some point this summer, I’ll be going on some kind of vacation with my family.
(Happy birthday to your daughter! - L. J.)
2. Seriously, though, you've got some amazing looking things on the go, which of them is commanding your attention the most at the moment?
First and foremost at the moment is finishing up a book in the Tucker Springs series. This is a project I’m working on with LA Witt through Amber Press. It’s a series of loosely-connected stand-alone novels, much like my Coda series, although not all of the books will be written by me. The first one is by LA Witt. It’s called Where Nerves End, and it will be released in early June. The second book in the series is mine. It’s about a veterinary assistant and a pawn shop owner. After that, there may be more books by us, or there may be some by other authors. Only time will tell. :-)
3. You and Heidi Cullinan have a few sites you share, how did that partnership come about?
Early in 2010, Heidi sent a message to the Dreamspinner author list asking if anybody was interested in working a Pride booth with her in Des Moines. Although we’d never met, I said, “Sure!” I drove to Iowa in June, and we immediately hit it off. It’s interesting, because we have a lot in common (we’re the same age, married to similar men, each with a daughter, etc.) and yet in some ways, we’re miles apart. When it comes to politics, music, reading, and our approach to writing, we’re polar opposites. It’s a strange partnership at times, but it works for us.
4. What, so far, have been your favourite B-Movies?
That’s tough, because what I consider a B-movie may not be considered that by somebody else. For example, I would say Jaws and Alien, but those were blockbuster movies, so they may not count. I like monster movies. I like both versions of The Thing. I also really like movies that sort of know they’re cheesy and work with it, like the newest Fright Night remake.
5. Your "Coda" series is set in Colarado, where you're from, was that deliberate? Did you always want to write a book set in your home state? What - if any - places that you love have ended up being a part of the landscape in the books?
It wasn’t so much that I wanted to write about Colorado as that it seemed like the natural thing to do. Jared was an outdoorsy type. Originally, Matt was going to be a horse veterinarian at one of the dude ranches in the area, although that idea quickly went out the window. Colorado just seemed like the natural way to go, and I do love my state, almost as much as Jared does.
6. "Between Sinners and Saints" has a Mormon family as part of the cast, did you experience any backlash because of that? And on the opposite side of the coin, what sort of positive feedback have you had for the story?
I expected backlash, but not the type I received. I thought maybe Mormons would be mad, but that hasn’t been the case at all. I have had a lot of people who didn’t like it because they felt it was preachy. I’ve also had people who didn’t like it because Levi’s family doesn’t have any big comeuppance at the end. Basically, a lot of people wanted to see his family be WRONG, but that wasn’t what the story was about. It was very important to me to be fair and honest about his family’s beliefs, and that bothered a lot of people.
On the flip side, I have received more letters about this book than any other, and a huge number of them are from Mormons, or former-Mormons, or from Christians of other denominations, and without fail, what they have said is, “Thank you! Thank you for taking this seriously and being fair.” It’s way too easy to demonize religion and religious beliefs, and every person I’ve heard from has been grateful that religion was not vilified. Levi’s family members are not homophobic cardboard cutouts. They’re real people. They love Levi with all their heart. They just happen to disagree with him on what it means to be gay.
7. Still looking at feedback, how do you deal with negative reviews?
I don’t read them. Honestly, if somebody sends me a review, I look at it, but otherwise, I try not to ever look. I greatly appreciate anybody who takes the time to read my books and review them, but reviews aren’t for me. They’re for other readers. Reading them is nothing but an exercise in masochism.
8. How do you deal with the dreaded writer's block?
Good question. I’ll let you know when I figure it out!
9. I know this is something I do, and I'm curious if others do it too - do you find yourself mentally casting actors/models/musicians as the main characters in your books as you write? If so, who have you cast for which character?
I don’t, actually. My characters are in my head. Sometimes, I go looking for them after I’ve dreamt them up, but no, none of them match anybody famous.
10. Is there a genre you haven't tackled yet that you'd really like to?
Horror, or psychological suspense. I like to read in these genres, although I sometimes get really annoyed at all of the superfluous POV shifts, and story-telling that’s very weak on character development.
11. Do you have any writing quirks?M
I write out of order. That’s about it. Nothing interesting.
12. Do you prefer writing novel length works or short stories/novellas? Why?
I don’t really have a preference. Usually when I start a story, I have no idea how long it will end up being. Novellas are easier for me, but the longer the novel, the more proud of it I am.
13. What are you most proud of accomplishing so far in your life?
I’m proud of my kiddo, more than anything. She’s stubborn as hell, and has her own sense of style. She’s a bit fragile though, and I hope and pray that she’ll get through her school years with her strong sense of individualism intact.
As for my writing, I’m most proud of my Oestend series. This is sort of a paranormal series about a cowboy and an artist. It was hard work, but it won two Rainbow Awards in 2011, including Best Gay Romance.
14. Are you reading any interesting books at the moment?
I picked up a book by Kevin O’Brien at the RT Convention. I’m just finishing it and ordered another one from Paperback Swap. I’m also slowly wading my way through Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, and I’ve been reading a lot of books on craft.
15. Finally, the question I ask everyone I interview - if you were a plant in the next life, what would you be and why?
A lily, because they’re gorgeous, but they’re also tough as hell. They grow in bad rocky soil without much water. That’s impressive.
Song of Oestend.
Symbols have power…
Aren Montrell has heard tales of the Oestend wraiths - mysterious creatures which come in the night and kill anyone who’s not indoors. Aren’s never had reason to believe the stories, but when he takes a job as a bookkeeper on the BarChi, a dusty cattle ranch on the remote Oestend prairie, he soon learns that the wraiths are real. Aren suddenly finds himself living in a supposedly haunted house and depending on wards and generators to protect him from unseen things in the night. As if that’s not enough, he has to deal with a crotchety old blind woman, face “cows” that look like nothing he’s ever seen before, and try to ignore the fact that he’s apparently the most eligible bachelor around.
Aren also finds himself the one and only confidante of Deacon, the BarChi’s burly foreman. Deacon runs the BarChi with an iron fist and is obviously relieved to finally have somebody he can talk to. As their relationship grows, Aren learns there’s more to Deacon and the BarChi than he’d anticipated. Deacon seems determined to deny both his Oestend heritage and any claim he may have to the BarChi ranch, but if Aren is to survive the perils of Oestend, he’ll will have to convince Deacon to stop running from the past and finally claim everything that’s his.
Buy it: Good Bones @ TEB, paperback @ TEB and paperback @ Amazon, @ ARe and kindle.
Marie Sexton lives in Colorado and spends her free time writing about men who fall in love with other men. She’s a Broncos fan, a coffee addict, and a worshiper of cheese. Marie has a husband, a daughter, two cats, and one dog, all of whom seem bent on destroying what remains of her sanity. She loves them anyway. You can learn more about Marie and her books at http://MarieSexton.net, or join her for Coffee and Porn in the Morning at www.cupoporn.net.
1. I took a look at you're 'what I'm working on now' page, and WOW. What do you plan to do with your nanoseconds of free time? *Grin*
Ha! Well, I’m notoriously bad about updating that page. What exactly does it say?
*runs off to look*
Well, that was only a few months out of date, wasn’t it? It’s fixed now. :-)
As for what I’ll be doing in the meantime, my daughter’s birthday is coming up (she’ll be eight) and we’ll have family in town for that. After that, I’m attending RomCon in Denver in June, and RWA in California in July. And hopefully at some point this summer, I’ll be going on some kind of vacation with my family.
(Happy birthday to your daughter! - L. J.)
2. Seriously, though, you've got some amazing looking things on the go, which of them is commanding your attention the most at the moment?
First and foremost at the moment is finishing up a book in the Tucker Springs series. This is a project I’m working on with LA Witt through Amber Press. It’s a series of loosely-connected stand-alone novels, much like my Coda series, although not all of the books will be written by me. The first one is by LA Witt. It’s called Where Nerves End, and it will be released in early June. The second book in the series is mine. It’s about a veterinary assistant and a pawn shop owner. After that, there may be more books by us, or there may be some by other authors. Only time will tell. :-)
3. You and Heidi Cullinan have a few sites you share, how did that partnership come about?
Early in 2010, Heidi sent a message to the Dreamspinner author list asking if anybody was interested in working a Pride booth with her in Des Moines. Although we’d never met, I said, “Sure!” I drove to Iowa in June, and we immediately hit it off. It’s interesting, because we have a lot in common (we’re the same age, married to similar men, each with a daughter, etc.) and yet in some ways, we’re miles apart. When it comes to politics, music, reading, and our approach to writing, we’re polar opposites. It’s a strange partnership at times, but it works for us.
4. What, so far, have been your favourite B-Movies?
That’s tough, because what I consider a B-movie may not be considered that by somebody else. For example, I would say Jaws and Alien, but those were blockbuster movies, so they may not count. I like monster movies. I like both versions of The Thing. I also really like movies that sort of know they’re cheesy and work with it, like the newest Fright Night remake.
5. Your "Coda" series is set in Colarado, where you're from, was that deliberate? Did you always want to write a book set in your home state? What - if any - places that you love have ended up being a part of the landscape in the books?
It wasn’t so much that I wanted to write about Colorado as that it seemed like the natural thing to do. Jared was an outdoorsy type. Originally, Matt was going to be a horse veterinarian at one of the dude ranches in the area, although that idea quickly went out the window. Colorado just seemed like the natural way to go, and I do love my state, almost as much as Jared does.
6. "Between Sinners and Saints" has a Mormon family as part of the cast, did you experience any backlash because of that? And on the opposite side of the coin, what sort of positive feedback have you had for the story?
I expected backlash, but not the type I received. I thought maybe Mormons would be mad, but that hasn’t been the case at all. I have had a lot of people who didn’t like it because they felt it was preachy. I’ve also had people who didn’t like it because Levi’s family doesn’t have any big comeuppance at the end. Basically, a lot of people wanted to see his family be WRONG, but that wasn’t what the story was about. It was very important to me to be fair and honest about his family’s beliefs, and that bothered a lot of people.
On the flip side, I have received more letters about this book than any other, and a huge number of them are from Mormons, or former-Mormons, or from Christians of other denominations, and without fail, what they have said is, “Thank you! Thank you for taking this seriously and being fair.” It’s way too easy to demonize religion and religious beliefs, and every person I’ve heard from has been grateful that religion was not vilified. Levi’s family members are not homophobic cardboard cutouts. They’re real people. They love Levi with all their heart. They just happen to disagree with him on what it means to be gay.
7. Still looking at feedback, how do you deal with negative reviews?
I don’t read them. Honestly, if somebody sends me a review, I look at it, but otherwise, I try not to ever look. I greatly appreciate anybody who takes the time to read my books and review them, but reviews aren’t for me. They’re for other readers. Reading them is nothing but an exercise in masochism.
8. How do you deal with the dreaded writer's block?
Good question. I’ll let you know when I figure it out!
9. I know this is something I do, and I'm curious if others do it too - do you find yourself mentally casting actors/models/musicians as the main characters in your books as you write? If so, who have you cast for which character?
I don’t, actually. My characters are in my head. Sometimes, I go looking for them after I’ve dreamt them up, but no, none of them match anybody famous.
10. Is there a genre you haven't tackled yet that you'd really like to?
Horror, or psychological suspense. I like to read in these genres, although I sometimes get really annoyed at all of the superfluous POV shifts, and story-telling that’s very weak on character development.
11. Do you have any writing quirks?M
I write out of order. That’s about it. Nothing interesting.
12. Do you prefer writing novel length works or short stories/novellas? Why?
I don’t really have a preference. Usually when I start a story, I have no idea how long it will end up being. Novellas are easier for me, but the longer the novel, the more proud of it I am.
13. What are you most proud of accomplishing so far in your life?
I’m proud of my kiddo, more than anything. She’s stubborn as hell, and has her own sense of style. She’s a bit fragile though, and I hope and pray that she’ll get through her school years with her strong sense of individualism intact.
As for my writing, I’m most proud of my Oestend series. This is sort of a paranormal series about a cowboy and an artist. It was hard work, but it won two Rainbow Awards in 2011, including Best Gay Romance.
14. Are you reading any interesting books at the moment?
I picked up a book by Kevin O’Brien at the RT Convention. I’m just finishing it and ordered another one from Paperback Swap. I’m also slowly wading my way through Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, and I’ve been reading a lot of books on craft.
15. Finally, the question I ask everyone I interview - if you were a plant in the next life, what would you be and why?
A lily, because they’re gorgeous, but they’re also tough as hell. They grow in bad rocky soil without much water. That’s impressive.
Song of Oestend.Symbols have power…
Aren Montrell has heard tales of the Oestend wraiths - mysterious creatures which come in the night and kill anyone who’s not indoors. Aren’s never had reason to believe the stories, but when he takes a job as a bookkeeper on the BarChi, a dusty cattle ranch on the remote Oestend prairie, he soon learns that the wraiths are real. Aren suddenly finds himself living in a supposedly haunted house and depending on wards and generators to protect him from unseen things in the night. As if that’s not enough, he has to deal with a crotchety old blind woman, face “cows” that look like nothing he’s ever seen before, and try to ignore the fact that he’s apparently the most eligible bachelor around.
Aren also finds himself the one and only confidante of Deacon, the BarChi’s burly foreman. Deacon runs the BarChi with an iron fist and is obviously relieved to finally have somebody he can talk to. As their relationship grows, Aren learns there’s more to Deacon and the BarChi than he’d anticipated. Deacon seems determined to deny both his Oestend heritage and any claim he may have to the BarChi ranch, but if Aren is to survive the perils of Oestend, he’ll will have to convince Deacon to stop running from the past and finally claim everything that’s his.
Buy it: Good Bones @ TEB, paperback @ TEB and paperback @ Amazon, @ ARe and kindle.
Marie Sexton lives in Colorado and spends her free time writing about men who fall in love with other men. She’s a Broncos fan, a coffee addict, and a worshiper of cheese. Marie has a husband, a daughter, two cats, and one dog, all of whom seem bent on destroying what remains of her sanity. She loves them anyway. You can learn more about Marie and her books at http://MarieSexton.net, or join her for Coffee and Porn in the Morning at www.cupoporn.net.
