11 March 2011

Gale Stanley is my guest today!

Hey, everybody! I'd like you to meet Gale Stanley, an excellent fellow author at Silver Publishing. Enjoy!

Please tell the readers a little about yourself:

I’ve always loved books and I’ve always been a daydreamer. I’d make up my own stories and I thought I’d be a real writer someday, but my life took a detour. I worked full time as a surveyor and CAD manager but I still read a lot and I wrote book reviews online and for RT Book Reviews magazine. Eventually I wrote a short story and submitted it. The Power of the Purr was published in A Cup of Comfort for Cat Lovers. Two more stories were accepted for the Cup of Comfort anthologies and meanwhile I was working on my first novel – Call of the Wilds.

How about your latest release?

My new release is Sleepless Knights, a contemporary M/M Romance that came out on March 5.

Blurb:

After falling passionately in love, Andy and Paul are totally committed to each other. But when the two-year itch infects their relationship, Paul becomes distant and refuses to talk about it. Paul is the love of Andy’s life and he’ll do anything to make him happy, even if it means bringing another man into their bed. But is it really the answer? Or will it drive them further apart?

Zach flees to Los Angeles to escape his abusive father. He plans to use his good looks to get into the film industry but catching that big break is harder than he thought. He decides to try his luck in San Francisco. He has no money but if he can find someone to put a roof over his head, he’ll trade sex for security. When two smokin’ hot guys pick him up on the Pacific Coast Highway, he thinks he hit pay dirt. He never expected to actually fall for them.

SLEEPLESS KNIGHTS is available at Silver Publishing

Care to share a bit about one of the characters?

I really empathize with Zach’s character in this story. He had a traumatic childhood and as a result, he’s deeply flawed and he’s made some unwise choices in his life. When he meets Andy and Paul he has an opportunity to really take advantage of them. The fact that he puts himself in danger rather than come between them shows true heroism.

What was your primary inspiration for this book?

I didn’t plan to write Sleepless Knights. It came as a surprise. Silent Knights had been released and I received a nice message on Facebook from someone who enjoyed the story. She suggested that I write a sequel. As I read her note an idea came to me and I knew there was more to the story. Sleepless Knights is dedicated to her.

Do you have any muses?

My muse is a little voice in my head that always comes at the most inconvenient times. When I had a day job, it would whisper in my ear while I was driving to work. When I’m home it usually comes when I’m in the shower or lying in bed in the middle of the night. So when I need inspiration I try to zone out or do something to relax my mind. Needless to say I always have paper and pen close by.

Any advice for aspiring writers?

I’m a big Stephen King fan. I’ve read all his books but my favorite is a work of non-fiction called On Writing – A Memoir of the Craft. It’s a combination of autobiography, instruction and inspiring advice. I think he gives the best advice possible in the following quote: “If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot.” The only thing I can add is, never give up your dreams.

If you could be one animal, person, or place for a day what/who would it be?

Whether it’s being a place or visiting a place, I have to say Bangkok. I just signed a contract for a book titled One night in Bangkok. I did a lot of research on the setting and I fell in love with it – the culture, the history, the naughtiness. It’s one of the hottest tourist destinations, in more ways than one. Located just 14 degrees north of the equator, it holds claim to being the hottest city in the world. It sounds perfect to someone like me who hates the cold weather.

Five random facts about you:

1. I totally write by the seat of my pants. I can’t outline to save my life.
2. I spend a lot of time at the beach, winter and summer.
3. I have two Tonkinese cats that talk to me.
4. I watch every reality show from Real World to Real Housewives.
5. I’m teaching myself to play piano.

Are you working on any new releases later this year?

Book 2 in The Gentlemen’s Club series, Some Like it Rough, will be out March 19. It’s a contemporary MM romance. And Hunter and the Hawk will be released in April. It’s book 1 in a new paranormal MM series. I don’t have a date yet for One Night in Bangkok.

Anything else you’d like to say?

I just want to thank the readers for all their support. I feel fortunate to be able to do something I love. Books have always been a big part of my life and they helped me through some tough times. And if I can provide entertainment and escape for someone else, that makes my day.
Thank you so much for having me today. I enjoyed visiting.


Contact info (Facebook, Twitter, website, blog):
Website
Blog
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From Sleepless Knights:

North Beach, San Francisco

Never go to sleep angry. His mother’s words resonated in Andy’s head. Cliché? Maybe. But it worked for his parents. They'd been happily married for twenty years before they died in a car accident.

Andy understood the concept only too well. His unresolved conflicts had been festering to the point he woke angrier every morning. It was only a matter of time until he or Paul exploded over some minor offense and destroyed their relationship completely.

He stood at the side of the bed and looked down at his lover feigning sleep. How do you fix something when your partner shuts you out? It had been like this for months, Paul claiming exhaustion, going to bed early and pretending to be asleep. They used to go to bed together.
Now it seemed like Paul couldn't get away from him fast enough.

Andy never expected things to be easy. Relationships rarely were and he and Paul were polar opposites. He expected their personalities to clash once in awhile, and they did. But despite their totally different upbringings and outlooks they'd somehow made it work. Up until now.

They'd been together almost two years and Andy thanked his lucky stars they'd met at all. He'd been grieving his dead partner, hiding from the world in a hunting cabin in rural Pennsylvania. Paul had been visiting his estranged family after a bad breakup with his lover.

Fate stepped in and Paul, stranded in a major snowstorm, had been forced to wait it out in Andy's cabin. Just like that sparks flew. When Paul went back home to San Francisco, Andy followed, and the rest was history. They hadn't been apart since.

Too much togetherness could be part of the problem. Not wanting to come off as clingy, Andy tried giving Paul time and space for himself. After all they were a couple, not joined at the hip.
Now Andy feared he’d given him too much space. He needed to change his strategy before it was too late. Maybe he could use sex to bridge the gap between them. Their sex life had fizzled out into an occasional perfunctory fuck and he hated it. Making love had always made him feel closer to Paul. He missed the intimacy they had once shared.

Andy slipped into bed and curved his body around Paul's. Just his lover's musky male scent was enough to make his cock twitch with interest. He reached an arm around Paul and rolled a nipple between his fingers. Although it stiffened under his teasing, Paul gave no other sign he wanted more. Tonight Andy refused to turn a blind eye to Paul's icy indifference.



Thanks again for stopping by, Gale!

6 comments:

Gale Stanley said...

Thanks for having me Lindsay! I enjoyed my visit.

JP said...

Thank you Lindsay for having Gale as your guest, I've become quite a fan of Ms. Stanley's work. Her stories are always well crafted with great characters and settings. Looking forward to her next release.

Anonymous said...

Good interview! I read Silent Knights. I'll be picking up this one too.

Lindsay K. said...

I'm happy to have Gale! She's such a sweetheart!

Maeve Greyson said...

Great post, Gale! Best of luck with your latest release. :-)

Calisa Rhose said...

Really late due to virus issues. Great interview as usual Gale! Piano, huh? Go you!