Anne Brooke blog tour

Please join me in welcoming Anne Brooke as she stops here today on her blog tour (February 6-16th) and shares with us some information about her writing, what part of a man's body she finds absolutely sexy, and what three things in the world she'd like to change.

She has some wonderful prizes to give away so don't miss out on her contests: 

1. One lucky commenter at each stop will win a free backlist book from Anne Brooke!

2. A second lucky commenter at each stop will win a signed cover flat and magnet with the gorgeous cover art from 

3. There is also a cumulative competition throughout the blog tour involving answering 3 questions from The Heart's Greater Silence. One lucky commenter on the tour will winthree backlist ebooks if the answer the following questions

• (a) What item of his trade is Richard wearing when Mark sees him in church? 
• (b) When Craig discovers Mark and Richard together, what does he do just before leaving? 
• (c) What action does Mark take at the end of the story?

4. Lastly, one lucky commenter at the end of the tour will win a gift certificate. See the tour stops for details!


Oh, and be sure to check out her hot excerpt from The Hearts Greater Silence after the interview.

INTERVIEW:

1) Links to website and list of books with purchase links.

Website

Gay Reads UK

Twitter

Facebook

Facebook Fan Page

Google

You can find my gay fiction at: Gayreads. Meanwhile, my fantasy trilogy is at Gathandria and my biblical/spiritual fiction and poetry is at Biblical Fiction, so there’s a fair amount of choice!

2) How long have you been writing? What got you in to writing?

I’ve been writing since my mid 20s so that’s … um … over twenty years now. I started off with poetry and then discovered how to make lines reach the end of the page. Well, I’m a bit slow on the uptake, you see. I found I had to write things down as I’d start a story in my head or even dream one (see below!) and then wouldn’t know what happened next, so would write it down to find out. Is that weird?

3) What was your first published book? Looking back, is there anything you’d change about it?

My first published book was gay psychological thriller A Dangerous Man, which is now with Cheyenne Publishing as a paperback and Bristlecone Pine Press as an ebook. I don’t think I’d change things now, but I would have loved to have got it right first time or nearly right anyway! I ended up scrapping about 90% of draft one after some very wise editorial input and basically rewriting it from scratch. A very painful process but ultimately worthwhile.

4) What or Who has influenced your writing?

I’ve been very influenced by the dark gay writings of Patricia Duncker and also by Maria McCann’s As Meat Loves Salt. It’s a very powerful book and, if I hadn’t read it, I don’t think I would have had the courage to start putting my own ideas down at all.

5) Where do you get your ideas?

Sometimes I dream first chapters or scenes and then have to write them down to see what happens next when I wake up (see above). That was how I started my fantasy series, The Gathandrian Trilogy, and other books as well. I also get inspired by things other people say or do, by items on the news or on TV or even by a publisher asking for submissions for a themed anthology. Interestingly, it’s how my next book for Riptide Publishing, called Where You Hurt The Most, started out, as I wrote it for their male prostitution collection of stories, Love for Sale.

6) What hinders your writing? (distractions? noise?)

The Internet can be a real distraction as I’m a huge fan of Facebook and am very much involved with a couple of forums as well – but at the same time, I do write best if I take regular breaks, as I get bogged down if I do too much writing in one session. It’s little and often for me! Another distraction is the garden as we moved house last year so have our very own garden for the first time ever, which I find very exciting – I always want to go to see what’s happening in it J

7) What genre are you most comfortable with? What would you like to explore?

I really love writing dark gay fiction and I’m also writing more BDSM now, which I’m very much enjoying. I also find myself automatically veering towards thriller writing – even if I start off in another genre entirely, I do like keeping myself and the reader on the edge of their seats. In terms of what sort of writing I’d like to explore, I have a real hankering to write an historical, but the thought of all that research and the terror of getting it wrong does put me off – I’m a bit of a wimp, you see.

8) Are you a by-the-seat-of-your-pants kind of writer, or do you have to use an outline to put your collective thoughts into some semblance of common sense?

I’m definitely a seat-of-my-pants writer – I never really have a clue what’s happening between one sentence and another, but I just see where the keyboard and my own mind takes me – it’s part of the fun of it for me. More especially as writing is the only part of my life I don’t plan to the extreme as I’m usually really organised! So much so that I’m probably a control freak by nature – which makes writing in the way I do both frightening as well as fun.

9) Which of your books is your favorite? Why?

I’m really fond of my erotic m/m/m Delaneys Series as the main character Liam is quite cheeky (sorry!) and approaches his rather wild relationship with the Delaney twins with a great sense of fun. I think, because of that, I’ve really enjoyed writing it and it’s certainly more light-hearted than I’ve been used to.

10) Do you incorporate some of yourself into your characters? Personality traits? Likes? Dislikes?

Definitely. My characters always seem to have my taste in art, and some are painters themselves or would-be painters. I have to admit that’s just my own private fantasy as I can’t paint at all – I just really wish I could! I also don’t tend to include many children in my books as I’m not a mother by choice so have neither the interest nor the experience in writing about them. And I do have a lot of redheads in my work – I’m one myself and I come from a whole family of redheads – one day our time will come! Just you wait and see (cue evil laughter …).

11) What do you think is the perfect hero/heroine? Why?

Someone with kindness, courtesy and strength – that’s a real turn-on for me. And I do always prefer dark-haired men, and if they’re the strong silent type, that’s even hotter. Oh, I think I’ve just described my husband in this paragraph J Plus I do have a Big Thing about how sexy men’s forearms can be – if I see a nice pair of arms, I get all hot under the collar. Is that just weird?...

12) What is your latest release? Please share the blurb and purchase info with us.

Please see above!

13) What do you have in the works?

As I’ve mentioned already, Riptide will be publishing my gay prostitute story, Where You Hurt The Most, later in the summer, so I’m looking forward to working on that. At the same time, I’m coming to the end of the Delaneys Series, and I’m also hoping to write a sequel to gay BDSM story, For One Night Only, which came out last year. Finally, in the middle of all that, I’m working on and off on a gay fantasy novella, The Taming of The Hawk – so I foresee a busy few months ahead.

14) Do you have any suggestions/comments for prospective authors?

I’d say write what you really want to write, no matter how unpopular it might be. There are many roads to publication these days and, as long as you make your writing the best it can be and make sure you get expert editorial support, you can’t go far wrong. Most of all, enjoy yourself – writing is great fun and a real journey of discovery for you and your reader.

JUST FOR FUN:

1) If you had super powers, what would they be? Why?
I’d LOVE to be able to fly – which is odd as I really hate planes and heights. But I do envy birds, and it must be such a fantastic feeling to be soaring that high above everyone and everything else and to go exactly where you want to. Bliss.


2) If you could change three things in the world, what would they be? Why?
I’d make chocolate one of my Five A Day, as I’m a real chocoholic and it’s so unfair that it’s not good for you. Then I’d arrange it so that roses grew all year round and not just in the summer, and were always the nice smelly variety – I really love scented roses, and my father loved them too, so looking at them brings back happy memories for me. Finally I’d make Star Trek into a real universe and not just a fictional one, sigh. I’m a huge fan of the series, especially Deep Space Nine, and would love to be in the captain’s chair and having those sorts of adventures if I possibly could. Dream on, eh!…

3) What would be a perfect date for you?

A night out with my lovely husband in the local pub (which does seriously good food) where we’d drink champagne and get very tipsy before walking back home for a … um … hot cocoa and an early night … Well, some of that is true anyway!

4) Is there anywhere you’d like to visit? Why?

I do love cathedrals so really enjoy visiting those. My favourite one is Exeter Cathedral which honestly has the best cream teas in the known universe in their café and I always make a point of going there if I’m anywhere near the area. They have scones and cream to die for, mmm …

5) Do you have a crush on any actor/actress? Who?
Ooh, loads! I really love Alan Rickman and whenever he appears on TV, my wicked husband puts on his sexy voice and asks if I want to lick the TV screen. As if! Well, not when my husband’s actually in the room as the shame would be too much J I also really fancy Ioan Gruffudd, and have been a fan ever since he appeared in the TV series Hornblower, which suddenly gave me a whole new interest in the sea which I hadn’t had prior to that. Say no more …

Author Name: Anne Brooke

Book Title: The Heart’s Greater Silence

Genre: Gay contemporary

Publisher: Bluewood Publishing

Purchase

Format: Ebook

Blurb:

Mark isn't sure he believes in love, especially when he's torn between two very different men: his reliable boyfriend, Craig, and his illicit lover and priest, Richard. Mark knows what he should do, but he can't bring himself to give Richard up. The sex with Richard is unlike anything he's ever known with Craig, and he hungers for it as much as - if not more than - the truer intimacy he finds in his boyfriend's arms.

When Craig discovers his betrayal, Mark is forced to look at his life more closely, but the path to self-knowledge is never an easy one. Richard seeks the way back to God, but Mark finds no solace there. Can he ever discover the truth of his own soul, or is he too afraid of what he will - or won't - find inside his heart?

Excerpt: Adult

When Richard’s cock was inside me, nothing else mattered. We could be the only two people in the whole bloody world. Or at least, that’s how it always felt.

I didn’t know why he let me keep on coming back. I’d never asked him. We’d first fucked about before I’d known who he was, before he’d joined this church. We’d met at a party given by a friend of a friend—so God alone knew why I’d been there anyway. We’d shaken hands. I hadn’t caught his name, but half an hour later, we’d been bringing each other off behind the garage.

That first time, he’d pushed me outside the kitchen while I was getting a beer, my hand still hot from the contact with his thirty minutes earlier. He obviously knew the place well, as he’d steered me round the corner and up against the garage wall, where he held me prisoner with both hands while he kissed me. Though, hell, I hadn’t protested. There’d been no need for either of us to speak. We both understood what we wanted. Before I knew it, he’d unzipped my trousers, pulled them to my knees, grabbed my cock and brought me to hardness. A few moments later, and my spunk was shooting out all over his hand. I hadn’t been able to believe how quick I’d been or how much juice there was.

When I’d finished, he’d wiped his hands on his handkerchief and threw it into the shadows. I took the opportunity to twist away from his body and swing him round so now he was the one against the wall and I was the one on the prowl.

“Your turn, mate,” I whispered.

I gave as good as I got, but managed to avoid the jetstream of his spunk better than he’d avoided mine. When, still panting, he sagged against the brickwork, I kept a tight grip on him and leaned close so he could hear me over the sound of his own harsh breathing.

“I don’t know who you bloody are,” I’d said, “but this won’t be the last time we meet. I swear it.”

The Heart's Greater Silence.