Ramsey's Book Review
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Tell us your latest news. Do you have any current projects your working on?
I’ve got a new
book in the Rougaroux Social Club series coming out Oct. 4th
from Loose Id - it’s a gay romance set in the Louisiana
bayou country. I also have a traditional romance, A Death in Katy
coming out Nov. 5th from Etopia Press.
I’m currently
working on several projects – a novella about Bad Boys for Amber
Quill Press, a self-pub effort vampire story, and the next
Rougaroux book.
When
and Why did you begin writing?
I’ve been writing
since junior high but it never went anywhere. Life happened and then
in 2006 I started writing again. I wrote about 5-8 books before I
sold my first book The Mercenary’s Tale, a gay
medieval romance, to Loose Id. And it’s been
non-stop ever since. I love telling stories, I love creating
characters that just tug at your heart, and then do evil and cruel
things to them as they fight for their HEA.
Where do you get your information or ideas for your books?
Where do you get your information or ideas for your books?
Real life. Nothing
is as weird as real life.
What do you think makes a good horror story?
What do you think makes a good horror story?
I used to read
Stephen King, but also Lovecraft,
Shirley Jackson, and a lot of gothic authors. I
want to feel on edge, scared, but I don’t want to be grossed out. I
hate slasher stuff. I want more of the old campfire ghost story type.
That’s what I was going for when I wrote Cemeteries,
for Amber Quill Press. The kind of story that
drags you in, then Bam! You’re hit with the ending and your heart
is racing and pulse is pounding. But for this book, it had to be a
romance – with a HEA. That was tough, but I think it worked.
I think some of the
scariest stuff was written by Shirley Jackson.
We Have Always Lived in the Castle just creeped
the hell out of me.
What makes you interested in the genre your write?
What makes you interested in the genre your write?
I love to write the
story in my head at any time, and it can be contemporary, paranormal,
historical are sci-fi. It’s the characters who drive the story and
the plot and the genre. I just listen to them, and they’re usually
right.
When you were a child, what creature or story scared you the most? And did it propel your creative muse to write about it later?
When you were a child, what creature or story scared you the most? And did it propel your creative muse to write about it later?
Goodness. I grew up
in New Orleans, we’re et up with haunted houses and stories of
ghosts – urban legends – zombies and vampires. I remember seeing
Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte as a kid, and being terrified. My
friends and I had a clubhouse and we’d sit in it and tell stories
about the cemetery on the corner and about the ghost of Mona Lisa
in City Park, and about the slaves that were tortured and killed
in the French Quarter.
All that
story-telling paid off, I suppose. When I wrote Cemeteries,
I was inspired by all the tales I’d heard as a kid, about the most
famous cemeteries in the world – the Cities of the Dead - that New
Orleans is famous for.
Do you remember ever coming up with anything so wild that you scared yourself, leaving you to wonder where that came from?
Do you remember ever coming up with anything so wild that you scared yourself, leaving you to wonder where that came from?
Not really. Some
times, my villains are so twisted, I wonder where that came from, but
there’s a lifetime of scary movies, books and experiences I can
draw on.
Where do you as an author draw the line on gory description and/or erotic content?
I can’t stand violence against children. I hate gory stuff – people die – but no blood spewing, guts flowing kind of thing. I like more of a mind-scare – where you’re creeped and scared, but not grossed out.
Could
you share some of your blurbs or exerts with us?
This is from
Cemeteries, a ghost story, set in New Orleans, from Amber
Quill Press, Amber Allure. Mike and Jacob meet on a bus
that takes them to the Cemeteries, a cross road in New Orleans with a
cemetery on every corner. Mike falls hard for Jacob, but Jacob is
mysterious and secretive. When Mike discovers Jacob’s secret, will
it be the end or just the beginning?
Excerpt --
Every
night for the rest of the week, Mike rode the bus, and Jacob waited
for him. And every night, during that ride, they shared a special
moment in time, as if they were the only two on the bus...no driver,
just them and what was between them.
But
always, when the bus coasted to a stop at the crossroads where four
cemeteries met, the doors hissed open, and Mike said goodbye to Jacob
with a kiss, Mike knew he wanted more.
The
need, the hunger for Jacob built in Mike, like molten lava builds up
pressure under the earth, until fissures crack and the burning heat
shoots out to dazzle the night sky. And even though he told himself
it was too soon, that he didn't really know Jacob, Mike knew he'd
fallen in love with the man on the bus.
Mike
climbed on the bus, heart hammering, and nodded to Mr. Roberts.
Jacob
waited for him.
Mike
sat in the seat next to his lover and took his hand. "I've got
the next two days off."
"Oh?"
Jacob frowned.
"Yeah.
I won't be on the bus."
"Oh!"
Realization struck in Jacob's blue eyes. He nodded. "I
understand."
"Will
you be here?"
"Yes,
I'm always here." Jacob shrugged. "Will you be back after
that?"
"Yeah,
I'll be back at work, so I'll be here. I just wanted to let you know.
You know"--Mike cleared his throat--"in case you missed
me." He dared a shy look into Jacob's blue eyes, longing to tell
him how he felt.
"Two
nights. I'm going to miss you." Jacob took Mike's hand. "I
can't tell you how much it means to me, spending time with you."
"Me,
too. Don't you want more? Don't you want to have dinner? Or
breakfast? Watch the sun rise? Come to my house and sleep with me in
my bed?" Mike leaned close and kissed Jacob's ear.
Jacob
shuddered and closed his eyes as he bared his throat to Mike's
questing mouth, but he didn't answer.
"Don't
you?" A wave of uncertainty passed over Mike. Maybe this didn't
mean as much to Jacob as it did to him. Maybe Jacob didn't understand
Mike had fallen in love with him?
Maybe
he had to just tell him and make him understand.
"Mike,
I want those things. All of them. It's just impossible. Right now."
He gazed out the window. "Maybe never."
"What?
Look, man, let's just get off the bus and go to my house. Or yours, I
don't care which."
"No,"
Jacob shouted. "I can't." His eyes filled with tears. "I
can't go with you, Mike. Can't we just stay like this?"
"Riding
the bus?" Mike wiped a fallen tear from Jacob's cheek.
"Yes.
Just riding the bus."
Mike
leaned back and exhaled. Either Jacob didn't want anything more or
couldn't give him any more, and Mike got that. He didn't like it, but
he got it. Now he had to decide what he could live with, and he
didn't know the answer.
"But
why? If you just explained it to me, I could understand."
Jacob
shook his head. "I can't tell you. It doesn't work like that."
"What
doesn't work like that?"
"Damn
me."
Jacob's
soft curse surprised Mike. And as Jacob straightened in his seat and
turned to face him, Mike knew the blade of rejection was about to cut
his heart out of his chest.
"I
don't want more, Mike."
Jacob
reached out to take Mike's hand, but Mike jerked away from him.
"You
were just using me?" he asked, not really wanting to know the
truth.
"No.
What we have is so special. I never thought I'd have this much, but I
can't have more, Mike. I can't. It's not allowed."
Jacob's tears tracked down his face, and Mike reached up to brush
them away.
"Sure
we can. If we lo--"
"Stop
it!" Jacob shouted and jumped up. "Don't say it. Don't ever
say it."
Where
can your fans go to find more information about you and your books?
To my website
http://www.lynnlorenz.com
You can find a list
of all my books, with links to buy to the publishers.
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