BoE: Hey everyone thanks for coming by today. We are so excited to have Susan Mac Nicol here with us on the release day of her new book Stripped Bare. I for one cannot wait to get my hands on it!
Morning Susan, thank you so much for letting us be a part of your blog tour.
How long have you been writing and what made you decide to publish?
SUSAN: I've been writing seriously for just over a year now. I started in February last year with a mission to finish an idea for a story I had. It started in my car when I drove two hours to work each day, there and back. I role played with myself (yes, please note the word 'role' in front of the other words? Get your minds out of the gutter, people) I would speak the lines, pretend to be the characters and when one day some dude in the car beside me looked at me in a funny way, I realised that maybe I should write this all down instead of acting it out in my car..
So I started writing Bennett and Cassie's story, the characters from my Starlight series, and that was it. I was hooked. I sent it off to a couple of publishers not really thinking anything would happen. Then WHAM Boroughs got in touch and said they wanted the series. I opened the champagne, did a jig around the lounge and went to bed the happiest woman in the universe.
I then went on to write another three novels, a two book paranormal romance and a rather gritty S and M themed romance, (all still waiting at my publisher for their turn in the editing life cycle) and then for good measure I wrote a screen play based on my first book, 'Cassandra by Starlight' as I wanted to submit it for a script writing competition. I want my own TV series one day..
I also wrote two novellas for my publisher, Boroughs, light hearted season themed stories plus an erotic crime thriller (which needs a home -any takes out there for a psychotic bisexual serial killer, a yummy Italian detective and a feisty investigative reporter?) . This thriller, called 'Born Human', was my first foray into male/male sex and man love. Which I think leads into your next question.
BoE: Yes, up until recently you wrote M/F stories what made you decide to write M/M?
SUSAN: When I was *ahem* doing the research for my bisexual killer who uses sex as a means of controlling his lovers, I became very aware that man sex was actually bloody *hot*. I make no excuses for the fact it really gets my motor running. So I decided to read a book that sounded like a really good read. The first M/M book I read was 'The Nothingness of Ben' by Brad Boney which was amazing followed closely by the wonderful Kindle Alexander's 'Up in Arms' which just blew me away. I loved this story. I was once again hooked on something. From that point on I read any M/M I could get my hands on, some good, some great, some indifferent. I discovered I enjoyed it more than reading M/F and thought, "Hell, maybe I should give this a try." So I did some more *clears throat* research (my web browser must be a great source of attraction to the FBI's sex squad) and when I didn't go blind as someone told me I would, I created Shane Templar and Matthew Langer from 'Stripped Bare'.
I've written a second one called 'Waiting for Rain' which is set in Stamford in rural Lincolnshire, where I spent a weekend and fell in love with the beautiful stone town. This is the book where you'll hopefully meet the tough, emotionally scarred Toby Prentiss and the love of his life, dark, sexy pole dancing Rain Engel.
BoE: As a woman writing M/M what do you find most challenging?
SUSAN: I suppose sex scenes were a little challenging having no actual experience in this arena. I relied on gay friends to sense check them and give me advice. My friend Geoffrey Wakeling, who's also an author, was very helpful in beta reading my crime thriller and letting me know I was on the right track. And my wonderful mentor, fellow author and leader of my writing circle, John Trevillian, read 'Stripped Bare' from cover to cover and told me he couldn't fault my sex scenes although he did have a little something to say about how fast cum dries -or was it how fast it travels? I forget. So all that research I did paid off.
My daughter is in drama school and she has a lot of gay friends who were more than happy to give me pointers. I felt a little perverted taking advice from 21 years olds who were very enthusiastic indeed about what I should be writing...and willing to even visually demonstrate (fully clothed of course, I'm not that twisted and weird)
BoE: Do you have a writing process, i.e. a favourite place to write, music you listen to, time of day?
SUSAN: I work full day in the lovely city of Cambridge doing legal and regulatory work. So my writing time is 7 pm till midnight, one am every day. Weekends I probably write about 7 hours a day. I sit in my lounge, near the window, while the family scurry about me, the dog goes crazy, the TV blares, the church bells ring (we're right opposite a huge Norman church) and various other distractions occur. I like the chaos and I switch off easily so I honestly hear much when I'm writing.
BoE: Where do you find inspiration?
SUSAN: Every day events, something I hear, something I dream even. 'Waiting for Rain'- we went to Stamford for a short break, and had tea and scones in a beautiful old hotel renowned in the area. I thought then I want to write about the hotel . So Toby became a hotel manager, and then it was just a case of finding something related to the hotel where I could introduce Rain to Toby. So Rain, carpenter and woodworker, was commissioned by the hotel owner to build a new state of the art pub. And when these two got together, the story just evolved from there.
BoE: If you could partner up with any author in history who would it be and what kind of story would you write?
SUSAN: I fell in love with a series of books actually so I can't say it's just one. I just LOVE Josh Lanyon and his Adrien English mysteries so these would be my first choice. But I also love A J Rose's books and Kindle Alexander I've already mentioned as being one of my 'must haves'. They are just such wonderfully talented people writing such entertaining stories. There are too many books to mention here and I'd take up too much space.
BoE: I know your books are publishing in EBook format. When it come to buying a book for yourself do you prefer EBook or paperback?
SUSAN: I used to be one of those people who said I wanted a paper book no matter what. Then my sister bought me a Kindle for Christmas and now I'd have to say it's the best present I've ever received. I just love it. It's easy to use, easy to buy (too easy if you ask me! I have nearly 300 on mine, mostly M/M too) and you can take it anyway without having to hire an elephant to carry your suitcase or trunk. I don't think enough people give e-readers a chance and unfortunately some are too set in their way to change.
BoE: Do you see an advantage to publishing in EBook over paperback?
SUSAN: *Grins wryly* My mother is seventy eight years old. I have five books digitally published -written with sweat and tears, edited, edited again, with beautiful covers and professional copy editing - and still Mum says to me, 'When are you going to be properly published?' meaning of course, when will your books be in paperback. She doesn't believe I'm really truly published yet until she can see it on her coffee table in all its splendour.
So while e-books are the way of the future with the younger generation coming to the fore, there are regrettably people who don't believe an author is 'published' until the product is tangible. This annoys me a little as it seems like snobbery to me. I spent the same amount of time writing and polishing my books to get them in digital as someone else does to have a print version. Being in print is no indication of quality. I've seen and read some rubbish print books. The writing and editing is what makes a book a quality product. Publishers still take chances on e-books but not as big a risk as they don't have huge stockpiles of printed matter to contend with if the book fails. The cost for an e book may be lower in some instances, it's more easily promoted online if you take the time and overall I imagine publishing costs are less.
BoE: Thanks again for coming today Susan, we have loved having you. I know I can't wait to get to know Shane and Matthew! Come back anytime.
BOOK EXCERPT
All tied up with nowhere to go
Shane Templar watched the man standing by the bed. Shane had no idea how he'd gotten himself into this situation, but he had to admit that this wasn’t the first time. He’d thought he was cleverer than he used to be. He went through a mental checklist as he ticked off the items that had led him into the predicament he now faced.
Male √
Gay √
Intelligent √
Street wise √
Pretty smoking hot √
Experienced Escort √
Pushover No- fucking- way.
So, with that all established in his head, he wondered how in hell he was the one with his five ten frame tied spread eagled to a bed in the middle of a client’s very luxurious hotel room in the middle of London while said client, David Debussy, a regular, jerked off in front of him.
Shane’s brain felt woolly and he knew he’d been slipped something. He cursed at his lack of observation and awareness. He never made mistakes like this. Never.
Shane had met Debussy, as requested, at the five-star Baglione Hotel in Kensington and escorted the man through an interminably boring dinner for stock brokers. But while the dinner had made him consider slitting his own throat, the man beside him had made it almost bearable. Shane enjoyed being with David. He’d partnered the man close to half a dozen times over the last year, very much as a companion only.
Not once during the previous ‘engagements’, as Shane’s exclusive escort agency, Carrington Knights, called them , had it turned into anything more than a quick kiss goodbye on the lips and a promise of another date soon. Shane had often left his engagements with David with a raging hard on and had to make his way to the exclusive gay club in the middle of the West End. At Essence, Shane could usually find someone to alleviate his situation and give him some relief.
David was in his mid-twenties, a few years younger than Shane. He was charming, with deep russet hair, a physique like a Greek God and a backside that made Shane's fantasies take free reign. He had wealth from a trust fund his mother left him that made Konrad Feldman look like a pauper. He also had a domineering father who tried to rule David with an iron fist.
Debussy was intelligent, attentive, and as sexy as hell.
At the end of this evening, David had suggested Shane join him for a drink in his room. Shane had agreed. He had a very firm policy about sleeping with his clients. Contrary to popular belief, he didn’t fuck them all. He was very choosy about whom he went home with. He had to like the person, feel comfortable with them and they had to make him feel horny. But after the second glass of champagne and a lot of hot and heavy kissing and crotch banging, he remembered nothing more. Until now.
Shane pulled at the cords that bound his wrists and ankles to the posts of a four poster bed. There was no way he was getting out of the bindings anytime soon. His naked body was splayed out on a luxurious Matelasse bed spread. The fierce erection that had sprung up when he and David were making out earlier had flagged.
He groaned, hoping to distract the man sitting on the corner of the bed close to him, frantically stroking his dick and looking as if he was going to let loose at any minute. The man’s eyes stared at him with a look of sheer greed, darting from Shane’s hairy chest to the blonde line of hair that ran down to his groin. Shane thought gloomily that at the moment there wasn’t much to see. He blamed it on whatever drug he’d been given.
“Erm, David? Honestly, you didn’t have to go all this trouble to jack off. I would have done it for you, you know that. Maybe if you took these ties off me, I could finish the job? Hand or mouth, I don’t mind either way. If you want to top, that’s fine with me too. I mean, I’m not even that hard either, so maybe we can work on that. Give you something more to look at.” He grinned through gritted teeth. There was no way Shane was getting the bastard off but it didn’t hurt to let him think that. He was more likely to punch the sly bugger in the nose. He disliked being made a fool of.
David moaned but didn’t stop what he was doing. “God, Shane, you are just perfect any way, you know that? You have got the most incredibly sexy body. Not buff but really toned.” His plummy tones, which earlier had been very seductive to Shane’s ears, were now an irritating high class whine in Shane’s brain. “I’m sorry I had to slip you something and tie you up, but I prefer you that way."
Shane wondered if David had done this before and what the reaction had been from other men. He planned to make an example of the fact that it wasn’t the ‘done thing’ in his book just as soon as David cut him loose.
“I really wanted you tonight, Shane. I liked undressing you while you slept, and then splaying you out like that for me to see.” The man shivered in ecstasy and Shane could see he was close to climaxing, “That’s what gets me off. I mean, I paid for you right, so I should get what I want. The customer’s always right, correct?”
Who the fuck did this guy think he was, treating him like a piece of meat? He might have paid for the evening, but that didn’t give the bastard any right to do this to him.
“I didn’t think you’d mind.”
The whining increased, adding to the slow burn of fury that ebbed and waned through Shane's chest. He gritted his teeth, needing to talk the other man into letting him go, not blasting him with a tirade of salty swear words Shane had learned from his fisherman grandfather. He had rather a rather profane mouth as a result.
“David, you look pretty close to eruption, so why don’t you let me go and I can help you with that? You like the look of my arse? Well, if you let me up, you can have it. It’s all yours.”
David moved closer to Shane, still tugging himself madly. David’s gasps grew more strident and louder as his body began to jerk uncontrollably. Shane closed his eyes in resignation. It was too late. The hot, wet, acrid smelling ejaculate shot all over his stomach and groin as David directed it over him and shouted out in release.
Shane was bathed in white spurts of semen that shot across his lower belly like silly string, warming his flesh and leaving sticky snail trails. It wasn’t the first time he’d been bathed in the stuff but it was the first time it had been done without his permission or willing participation. He opened his eyes to see David smiling at him.
“God, Shane, that was incredible,” David blabbered, missing Shane’s narrowed eyes and complete lack of humour as he bobbed around on the bed like a kid at Christmas. “Let me get those bonds off you. Hold on and I’ll untie you.”
A distinct sense of relief flooded Shane's body that he wasn’t closeted with a psycho about to carve him up or rape him. He knew he’d been lucky tonight and that made him all the more mad. He didn’t like taking risks like this one.
Shane watched as the other man fiddled with the ankle restraints, and when he'd freed Shane's legs, David moved up over Shane’s body to untie his wrists. He was oblivious to the stillness of Shane’s body and the tensing of his muscles as he waited to be set free.
As soon as he unties that first one, I am going to fucking deck him right across his pretty face and beat the shit out of him.
AUTHOR BIO
Sue Mac Nicol was born in Leeds, Yorkshire, in the United Kingdom. At the age of eight, her family moved to Johannesburg, South Africa where she stayed for nearly thirty years before arriving back in the UK in December 2000.
Sue works full time in the field of regulatory compliance for a company in the financial services industry in Cambridge. But she still finds time to work until the small hours of the night doing what she loves best – writing. Since her first novel, Cassandra by Starlight, was penned, introducing the debonair Bennett Saville and his lovely lady, Cassie Wallace, Sue has since written the other two books in her Starlight trilogy.
She currently has five further novels completed, and at various stages of publication, ranging from two rather sexy gay male romances- her current passion, plus a paranormal suspense series and an erotic crime thriller. She enjoys the element of gay male romance in her books and this thread runs many of them, including her Starlight series. Her passion is keeping herself busy creating worlds and characters for her readers to enjoy.
Sue is a member of Romance Writers of America and Romantic Novelists Association in the UK. She is also a member of a rather unique writing group, called the Talliston Writers Circle, which in itself has a story all of its own to tell.
She lives in the rural village of Bocking, in Essex, with her family. Her plan is to keep writing as long as her muse sits upon her shoulder. Her dream is to one day be able to give up the day job and get that big old house in the English countryside overlooking a river, where she can write all day and continue to indulge her passion for telling stories.
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