Guest Author Day with Emily Carrington

 

Please give a warm welcome to author Emily Carrington as we sit down with her to discuss books, writing in general and what is coming up for this author in the future.

 

Thanks for stopping by to talk a little about your writing! 

Let's jump right in. When did you begin writing and why?

I’ve been writing what now is called fan fiction since I was five or six, but I first discovered I could write about my own characters after talking to my friend, Autumn Montague, who publishes M/M Regency romance. This was back in 2011 and I had no idea there was an entire world of LGBTQ+ fiction out there.

 

At the same time, I’d been led to a book about a gay FBI agent (Suzanne Brockmann’s Force of Nature) and I realized romance didn’t just have to be about “boy meets girl.”

 

Fire off five words to describe your book.

Valentine’s BDSM, deaf, voyeuristic cat

 

Give us an out of context quote from your book to warm our hearts.

Abe wondered if the tom thought he was getting one over on Peter, who couldn’t hear his rumblings.

 

Name one song or artist that gets you fired up.

Maddie & Tae

 

How do you find readers in today's market?

I’m reaching out via my newsletter and my Twitter account (@carringtonEmily) and I’m always seeking new ways to meet readers.

 

Do you come up with the hook first, or do you create characters first and then dig through until you find a hook?

Absolutely the second! My characters yell at me until I put them down on paper. Then I have to sift through their combined story to figure out what the main idea of the whole peace, besides love, must be.

 

How do you create your characters?

Usually, my characters spring from whatever I’m dealing with in my life. For example: when I was coming to terms with my visual impairment, a visually impaired and a blind character were both born (A Pack of His Own 1 and the Heartwood series).

 

Currently in this book, Independence Fatigue, I’m honestly grieving over the loss of most of the rest of my vision and struggling against society’s belief that I can’t be successful as a blind person.

 

What are you currently reading?

In braille, which is still relatively new to me, I’m preparing to read “All The Weyrs of Pern” and Shel Silverstein’s “Where the Sidewalk Ends.” Listening to “Rose Madder” by Stephen King.

 

Give us an out of context quote from your book to warm our hearts.

Then, keeping his hands in front of Abe, he signed, “Daydream later. I want you.”

 

Any advice for newly sparking writers in three sentences or less.

Stay within a genre’s expectations. Don’t write to the market, but follow conventions, like “Romance has a happily-ever-after or happy-for-now ending.”

 

If you had to write your memoir in five words, what would you write?

Writer Seeks Dogs and Joy

 

How often does your muse distract you from day to day minutiae?

Not very often. I tend to compartmentalize pretty well. But I’ll often be woken from a dream with a new story idea!

 

Can you briefly describe your writing process for us?

I’m detail-oriented, which means I make an outline. Goal, motivation, conflict, and what actually happens in the scene all go into each part. I usually run into issues with the outline, but because it’s an outline, I feel less stressed about “murdering my darlings” and rewriting where necessary.

 

What do readers have to look forward to in the future from you?

Coming this month: Independence Fatigue, Marisburg Chronicles 3

It’s not the bed play that’s upsetting Peter but he’ll take it as an excuse.

Coming this spring: Painter’s Price, Marisburg Chronicles 4

When his lover is threatened, Aaron will sacrifice all to see him safe.

Coming this summer:  Marisburg Connections, Marisburg Chronicles 5

Four short tales about the men who live and love in Marisburg.

            Coming this fall: Looks Aren’t Everything, Marisburg Chronicles 6

            How do you heal from an attack? Is love the answer?

 

Independence Fatigue

Series: Marisburg Chronicles

Universe: Sticks & Stones

Series number: 3, sequel to Compassion Fatigue

Publisher: Changeling Press

Here’s the buy link for Independence Fatigue, Marisburg Chronicles 3

https://www.changelingpress.com/search-results.php?keywords=Independence+Fatigue

For Peter Campbell, being a Dom isn’t working. He really craves the release of being a submissive but is confused about the sub’s role. He is also struggling with a much larger problem.

Abe knows there’s something wrong with his lover. But how can he talk to Peter when the man won’t even respond? Convinced it’s their bed play that has Peter so upset, Abe is determined to solve the issue. What will happen when he discovers it’s something bigger than the trouble happening in the bedroom?

 Check out book 1 as well:

Amazon buy link for Compassion Fatigue:

https://amzn.to/3JntZN8

Excerpt:

Abe grinned at the mention of the voyeuristic, but cuddly, orange tom cat. Tracks was Peter’s cat, although he loved Abe just as much. It was Peter who fed him most of the time, Peter who brushed him, which the orange tabby endured with a look of utter indifference on his face… but he was often purring. Abe wondered if the tom thought he was getting one over on Peter, who couldn’t hear his rumblings. But Peter could feel Tracks purring, so…

Peter smacked Abe’s ass lightly and then reached around from behind and hugged him briefly. Then, keeping his hands in front of Abe, he signed, “Daydream later. I want you.”

Abe grinned like the lovestruck fool he surely was and trotted up the stairs to the second floor of Peter’s house.

Strange how he still thought of it as Peter’s house even though he’d been living here also for close to two years. But his name wasn’t on the lease, and they weren’t married. Peter was understandably a little gun-shy when it came to marriage. He’d been bisexual all his life, of course, but he’d lived many years in the closet. His wife had been a witch. Even though Peter and Megan had been apart, if not quite divorced, for over four years, Abe knew enough about relationships to know that often it took a while to get over the heartache. Even if it had turned out for the best. He’d heard somewhere that if you cut the time a couple had been together in half, that was how long it took to get over the relationship. Peter had been married for thirteen years.

Peter joined him on the second-floor landing and smacked his butt again, more firmly this time. He looked a question at Abe, who pushed away thoughts of exes and smiled. Then he took Peter’s hand and led him to the bedroom.

Peter closed the door, turned on the lamp by the wall, and smirked.

Following his gaze, Abe saw Tracks curled up on his favorite pillow, which happened to be Peter’s, looking at them with complacent eyes.

“Mind reader,” Peter signed as he crossed to the cat, lifted him gently, cuddled him for a moment, and then carried him to the door.

Abe opened the door to let the voyeuristic feline out and closed it firmly behind him. It wasn’t just that Tracks liked to watch. He sometimes tried to sample the various fluids involved.

 

About the author and where to find her:

Emily Carrington is a multipublished author of male/male and transgender erotica. Seeking a world made of equality, she created SearchLight to live out her dreams. But even SearchLight has its problems, and Emily is looking forward to working all of these out with a host of characters from dragons and genies to psychic vampires. Find her on Facebook at Shapeshifter Central or on her website, www.emilycarrington.com.

Fantasy creatures not your thing? Emily has also created a contemporary romance world, called Sticks and Stones, where she explores being “different” in a small town. Visit her on Emily Carrington’s Confessions (FB) or Twitter at @CarringtonEmily.