In Author Spotlight


Sloan Parker

AL: Hi Sloan Thanks for being in the “Author Spotlight” this week.

Sloan: Hi Ann. Thank you for inviting me to your blog. I’m excited to be here! This is my first interview as a published author.

AL: So, tell us what’s happening with you.

Sloan: Today I’m loving the sunshine and warmth outside. It finally is spring here in the Midwestern US and life is good. I spent some relaxing time this past weekend with my sweetie and that always puts a smile on my face. I also spent the last couple of days checking things off my task list, and that usually means more writing time ahead, which helps widen the smile.

AL: Please tell us what you have for us to read.

Sloan: My first release, MORE, is a gay erotic suspense (m/m/m). A confirmed loner spends an explosive night in a sex club with two men who ultimately ask him to break all of his rules and form a three-way relationship. In the end, he finds himself with more than he ever knew he wanted. Too bad his father is determined to destroy his something more.

AL: What other works are you whipping up for us?

Sloan: I’m currently putting the final touches on my next novel, BREATHE, another gay romance. BREATHE is about loss and guilt, forgiveness and family, but it’s also erotic and romantic. It’s a story about both sides of the pain caused by a tragic accident. A story that asks, is love enough?

I also have two short stories that I’m submitting to an anthology later this month. Both are gay erotic romances. They are sexy and romantic and each look at an important moment of a man’s life in, what I think is, an interesting way. I had a blast writing them.

AL: When you write do you do a detailed outline before you get started or do you have the idea then just 'fly by the seat of your pants'? :-)

Sloan: Detailed outlining works well for me. My mind moves too fast and I write too slow for me to get all my ideas into a first draft. Sometimes the scenes in my outline have one or two sentences. Sometimes they are fully flushed out with dialogue, setting descriptions, and character movements. I layer in the emotional responses and characterizations during the writing and revising phases.

AL: What do you like best about writing? What is your least favorite thing?

Sloan: I like exploring the characters, really figuring out how each would react to the situations I throw at them.

I guess my least favorite part of the process is the speed at which I work. I make so many passes through revising each story to get it worded just the way I want and to get the characters developed enough for the story to flow the way I want it to. It can be frustrating at times, but it’s a process that works for me, so I’m trying not to question it.

AL: In your bio you state that you are bisexual. Besides writing LGBT romance with men do you see yourself down the road writing LGBT with women?

Sloan: The next several projects I’m planning will also feature gay/bi men. I don’t know what the future will hold after that. I’d like to keep my mind open to any ideas that come my way, but most, if not all, of what I write will focus on GLBT romantic relationships. I will add that, hopefully sometime this year, I’ll be writing a short lesbian romance for my sweetie. She’s been begging me for a lesbian story that’s both erotic and romantic. Not sure where that will end up. Maybe only for my sweetie’s eyes.

AL: Okay, let’s get personal…Are you a writer only, or do you do other activities outside of writing?

Sloan: I’m also a freelance web developer, although I’ve been cutting back on my workload to make more time for writing. Fortunately for me, I have a wonderful partner who supported me in that decision. My other passions are reading, my sweetie, our furry little beasts, my family, and friends. I try to make time for the important things these days, as I find time just keeps getting shorter and shorter. Is that an age thing? Or am I falling into some black hole of time suckage?

AL: You have a list of movies that you like…what is your absolute favorite of them all and why?

Sloan: Oh man, you’re getting serious now. Just one movie? I guess right now, I’m partial to Rudy. I watched a clip a few weeks ago that reminded me why that movie rocks. It’s the ultimate “underdog works his ass off and accomplishes what no one believed he could do” movie. I love the motivation it instills every time I watch it. I recommend it to people all the time (even non-sports fans). We all have dreams. We can all relate to Rudy. I’ve been writing since I was a kid. Actually finishing a book and submitting it took years to accomplish, but here I am. Metaphorically, the day MORE was released I felt like I was Rudy running out on the Notre Dame field in uniform for the first time. Yeah, I’m a dork.

AL: Tell us, what’s the most unglamorous thing you’ve done in the past week?

Sloan: I was really behind on work this past week, so one morning I rolled out of bed, skipped the shower, went straight for the laptop, and pinned my hair back with a paperclip. I stayed like that for a couple hours before I finally made it to the shower where I discovered said paperclip still in my hair. I had forgotten it was there. Yeah, UNglamorous!

AL: If I asked your best friend what type of person you are, what would he or she tell me?

Sloan: That’s a tough one. We see ourselves so very different from how others see us. I guess she’d say I’m an introvert who’s most comfortable hanging with friends at home over a game of cards and a beer than out at a bar. She’d probably say I’m funny (but trust me, I’m only funny to her). She might also say I’m focused. I can easily get my head buried in whatever I’m working on and forget to do anything else (like go to the bathroom or take a shower).

AL: Silly and fun question… You’re the heroine of your book, why do you fall in love with the hero(s)/heroine(s)?

Sloan: For me, being draw to someone is all about the attraction. Not just the physical, but an attraction to who they are, that special something you see in them that calls to you in a way few other people do. I guess all the characters I write about call to me in some way. With MORE, I was enamored with Luke the moment I started writing the first chapter in his POV. He was damaged and lonely and looking for love, only he didn’t want to acknowledge any of those things. I knew once he let himself accept a physical attraction that led him to spend more than one night with someone, he’d start to break down the walls he’d built and show us the beautiful man he is on the inside.

AL: Please share a favorite quote(s) with us.

Sloan: Here’s one of my favs:

“We are each of us angels with only one wing. And we can only fly while embracing each other.” -Lucian de Croszonza

AL: Thanks so much for sharing with joining us this week, Sloan.

Sloan: Thank you again for having me, Ann. Your questions were a lot of fun!

AL: If you’d like to find out more about Sloan please visit:

http://www.sloanparker.com/
http://blog.sloanparker.com/
http://groups.yahoo.com/groups/SloanParker
You can also follow me on Twitter and Facebook

FEATURED TITLE: MORE

Blurb:

For fifteen years Luke Moore has lived by three rules: stay off his father's radar, never spend more than a single night with any man, and never fall in love again. But one night of explosive sex and two men whom he can’t get out of his head have Luke breaking them all. Richard and Matthew push him past all his boundaries—both sexually and personally—and now he’s no longer hiding from his senator father; he’s taking him on. And he isn’t just falling for one man; he’s falling for two. If you're going to break the rules, might as well break them big.

But Luke’s father has his reasons for hating how his son lives, and he’ll do whatever he can and use all his power to keep Luke away from Richard and Matthew.

Can this threesome find a way to make their unconventional relationship last with the world around them trying to pull them apart? And will Luke be able to keep breaking his rules for Richard and Matthew, or will he head back to his familiar way of life just when his new lovers want to bind him tighter?

Excerpt:

I awoke an hour later, my father’s long-ago words still ringing in my ears.

“You start living a decent life or I swear to God, I will track you down and take away every lover you ever have. I’ll make them see who you are. I’ll make them hate you. I’ll make your life a living hell.”

Goose bumps formed at the base of my neck before I opened my eyes. I shot off the bed and didn’t bother with clothes. I charged down the hall and lunged for the computer.

I entered the password three times before I hit the correct keys. My fingers tapped the edge of the desk as the video program opened. The playback started, and I clicked several times to advance the screens faster, scanning for any sign of my stalkers. The video playback caught up to the current time.

Nothing.

My breathing slowed. It was the first time I’d forgotten to check the tape on the door or the cameras.

The phone on the desk rang. I stared at it for four rings before I answered. No one had the number to my land line. Work had my cell number. The apartment wasn’t in my name.

“Luke Moore?”

I straightened and pressed the phone closer to my ear. “Yes.”

“My name’s Mark Summers. I’m a reporter with The Washington Times. I’m doing a story on your father and wondered if you’d be able to answer some questions.”

“How’d you get this number?”

“I’m looking to do a human interest piece -- about the man, his family, that sort of thing. I’m not out for dirt.”

I banged a fist on the desk and hit the edge of the keyboard. Three keys popped off. They scattered and bounced on the floor. I watched as the letters M and N and B randomly surfaced over and over like the balls spinning around in a bingo cage. The tiny pieces of plastic clicked as they collided. They sounded like they were snickering at me.

I tried to keep my voice calm, neutral. “I asked you a question.”

“I’m not going to be the last call you’ll get. At some point, you’ll have to answer questions. No one knows about his family.”

"Why now?”

“Seriously? He’s a big name these days. His energy bill saved a lot of jobs in this country. People want to know the man behind the name.”

“Trust me; you don’t want to know him.” I slammed the phone down as I stood and kicked the flimsy chair backward, scraping a bare heel.

“Goddammit.”

I cradled the injured foot in my hands and hopped around naked. I tripped over the busted chair and plunged onto the couch. The springs jammed into my hip. Pain exploded down my leg and mixed with the throb in my foot.

The crumbled, destroyed chair lay sprawled on the floor, mocking me. A reminder the time to move again was close. I stood and hobbled to the bedroom.

One place would make me feel better.

* * * * *

I arrived at the Haven a few hours later -- the earliest ever -- dressed in leather pants, a burgundy dress shirt, and a cocky smirk on my face, determined to put all thoughts of my father, my past, and any other emotional crap behind me.

The Haven was my place to play. My place to feel better about my life and how I lived it.

I wanted to fuck the shit out of someone. I wanted to dominate, to take charge and possess someone, deny him an orgasm until I wanted him to come.

My expectations of what the night would entail affected my demeanor, and I stood taller. I eyed the room for a candidate before taking a seat. The hurried manner in which I went about the task would have bothered me on any other night. Not now. I had something to prove -- to myself and to the voice of my father.

Yet, as I surveyed the room and sat on a bar stool, the image of one man assailed my thoughts -- a grinning, licking, groaning Matthew.

Shit. I slammed a clenched fist on the bar.

“Something wrong, Luke?” the bartender asked.

“Uh, no. Nothing. Glass of water, please.”

I raised the water to my lips and kept swallowing until I sucked in air instead of the cool liquid. I shoved the glass aside with the back of my hand. The scratching in my throat continued with each gulp of air.

I closed my eyes, and the daydream of Matthew and me slid into view. Richard soon arrived. He pushed into me with abandon while I continued to fuck Matthew.

I rubbed the back of my neck with an open hand. The gesture created more tension instead of easing it. Sex with the same men more than once wasn’t the experience I wanted. Not that night. Not any night. It was too expected, redundant, reliable, and complicated. I wanted none of it.

Except I did want them. I couldn’t deny how much I wanted to feel them in my arms, to touch them, to kiss them again.