*rubs hands*
So, Douglas... Great to have you here
Tell me, who is Douglas Black?
My name is Douglas Black, and I write M/M erotic fiction. My
mother doesn’t know what I do, and it is probably best for the longevity of
both of our lives that things stay like that. My friends? Mostly they find it
funny. I just like to write. I like to take people on a journey with me to
somewhere they may never have been before, with characters they have never met
before, and I hope we all end up happy when the last page has been read.
There’s not much more to it than that, really!
Can you tell us a bit more about yourself?
I was born and raised in bonnie Scotland where I still live.
I would rather be living in a beautiful Venetian townhouse, spending my days
drinking prosecco and looking out over the lagoon, but I don’t have the money
to make that a reality. Yet. Maybe one day, if the books sell well enough!
I started writing adult romances and erotica back when I was
in university. I enjoyed doing it, which made things easier, but more
importantly it brought in some much needed extra money. I continued to write
for websites and magazines a while after graduation, but eventually life took
over and I ended up with a ‘real’ job. I only came back to writing seriously in
2012.
What made you write ‘this’ story?
Truthfully, I don’t really know. The main characters, Mark
and James, just came to me one day and from then on I couldn’t get them out of
my head until I wrote down their story. I was also inspired by the nature of
their relationship. Theirs is a secret love affair and I wanted to explore what
pressures being forced to hide your relationship would put on a person. I
wanted to know how my characters would cope.
Tell us about your cover.
I love my cover. It was designed by Sour Cherry Designs and
I think it captures the mood of the story perfectly. I love the darkness of the
highland landscape in the background and the rippling water to the fore. The
main model is suitably broody and – let’s face it – you can’t really go wrong
with a bit of flesh on show, can you?
Describe a typical day’s writing for us
I get up early, even when I don’t particularly want to. I’m
often up before dawn. That time in the morning when the house is quiet and
still is perfect for bringing a steaming mug of tea into my study, sitting down
and starting to write. (Or, more often than not, sitting down and staring at a
blank computer screen.) In the evenings, if I’m feeling inspired or if I
haven’t reached my word count, I’ll continue writing until I start typing
jibberish on the page. Then I know it’s time to stop.
What inspires you?
Different things at different times; inspiration can come
from anywhere. I just always try to write books that I would enjoy reading. I
think that’s the most important thing any author can do.
If you weren’t a writer what would you be?
An artist, maybe? I used to be quite good (I think!).
Do your characters ever surprise you?
All the time! I try to follow Stephen King’s advice in ‘On
Writing’ so I don’t plot too much. As a result, more often than not, I just
dump my characters into situations and see what they do. They never end up
doing what I would expect them to do.
What could you not do without when you’re writing?
When I write, I try to limit distractions as much as
possible. It’s just me, my laptop, and a notebook. If anything ever happened to
my laptop, I’d be devastated, which reminds me – I really should back up my
files again!
What words of wisdom do you have for the aspiring authors
out there?
‘Write’. That’s all anyone can say. If you don’t write
because you’re nervous or you don’t think you’re good enough, you’ll never make
it. If you do write, you’ll get better
all the time.
Where do you see yourself in ten year’s time?
I’m still hankering after that Venetian townhouse, so
hopefully there!
Do you have a favourite quote?
‘A man is nothing without a spice of the devil in him,’ –
Charlotte Bronte
Do you ever suffer from writer’s block?
No. Just the occasional bout of laziness!
What other books can your readers look forward to?
I’m currently working on a new novel. It’s set on a flower
farm, and draws upon my experiences of working on a flower farm when I was
younger. I hope to have it finished by
the end of the summer.
And finally can you share an excerpt with us?
Excerpt from ‘A Secret Love’ -
Mark
returned the kiss passionately. James trembled in his arms. Tension coursed
through his body and he could feel it mirrored in Mark’s. He could almost taste
the other man’s nerves in his kiss. James
savoured Mark’s strong arms around him. He pushed his hands inside Mark’s suit
jacket and clung to the warm, toned body underneath. The body was so familiar
despite the amount of time that had passed since their last meeting.
“God I’ve missed you,” James said
when he finally pulled away. Mark was breathless and didn’t respond at first,
but the sexy, playful smile on his lips told James everything he needed to
know. James took his hands and led him further into the room.
It was a large suite with living
area and a huge bathroom. Mark swung a new sports bag, bright orange and
emblazoned with sponsorship logos, off his shoulder and dumped it onto one of
the two couches. He paused momentarily, reaching into his suit pocket.
James watched as Mark pulled out
his phone and turned it off without checking for messages. He waited patiently
until Mark had tucked it safely into his bag and smiled at him when he had
finished. “Difficult getting away this time?” he asked.
Mark nodded. “I left as soon as I
could. I was so scared I was going to miss the flight. I’m sorry it had to be
mid-week this time. Will you get in trouble at work?”
“I have the flu.”
Mark smirked. “You look perfectly
healthy to me.”
“It came on all of a sudden,” James
said, closing the space between them. “Unexpected. Probably be gone in a few
days. You know how these things are.” Mark nodded and James slipped into his
arms once more. With his head on Mark’s shoulder, he turned to whisper against
the other man’s neck. “I wouldn’t have been able to stand it if you had missed
the flight, if you had cancelled. It’s been so long. It’s always so long.”
Sounds fab. Give us the blurb too, please.
James
is nervous when he pulls into the car park of the secluded and conservative
Caledonian Hotel. He slips off his wedding ring, gives a false name at
reception and checks into his room.
When
Mark finally arrives James expects their time together to conform to the usual
pattern, but Mark surprises him. Mark wants candlelit dinners and walks on the
beach. James, well, James just wants to make up for lost time. More
importantly, he doesn’t want to get caught. They have six months left before
they can leave behind everything they know and start a new life together and
James is desperate to be discrete. Unfortunately, he never could control
himself around Mark. Throw in an interfering old couple and some very public
displays of affection and Mark and James’s short hotel stay might just be about
to destroy not only the secrecy that has always shrouded their relationship,
but also their plans for a future together.
Where can we get this gem?
Douglas
Black was born and raised in bonnie Scotland. He started writing erotica as a
means of paying the bills when he was a student at university, but after
graduation he found he no longer had the time to write. Over the summer of
2012, Black picked up a pen once more. After a brief, successful flirtation
with self-publishing, Black’s novella ‘Business or Pleasure’ was picked up and
released in April 2013. It quickly made the publisher’s best-sellers list.
Douglas Black’s short story, ‘A Secret Love’, was published in July 2013 by
Evernight Publishing.
Author Links –
Hello Douglas, I can relate to characters surprising you. I hope you get your venetian townhouse.
ReplyDeleteThank you Kiru! So do I! Maybe I should start playing the lottery to be safe...
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