Marie Sexton

I've had the chance to sit down with author Marie Sexton. She's a very interesting person to talk to, and a fantastic writer to boot!

1. How did you get your start writing gay fiction and/or erotica?
I started out reading fantasy, but found that I really preferred reading about gay characters. I spent my days scouring Amazon for fantasy novels with gay protagonists (there were depressingly few). From there, I found my way to gay romance novels. Then one day, I woke up with two characters in my head. It was strange, because I hadn't written anything in years that wasn't related to work (memos and brochures), but I sat down and started writing, and eventually, it turned into my first novel, Promises.

2. What inspires you?
I'm not sure, to be honest.

Usually my books start with the idea of a character, and then I start to think about who that person needs in their life in order to grow and find true happiness. I like doing friends-to-lovers. I like doing opposites attract. For me, it's generally more about love and growth than sex (although the sex is fun too).

3. What do you hope to accomplish with your writing?
Mostly I just hope that people will enjoy the books, and  that they'll walk away feeling like they know the characters. I hope they'll remember them.

4. If you had to choose, which one of your novels do you like the most and why?
Oh my gosh, that's really hard. There are parts of each of them that I love. I love Promises and A to Z because of all the fun things I was able to put into them - specifically things about football and Colorado. And I adore Angelo. I love Strawberries for Dessert, because Cole is such a bright, colorful character, and I think men like him are under-represented in gay romance. I love Between Sinner and Saints, because it was a venture into something a bit heavier than my usual work. And I love my upcoming release, Song of Oestend, because it's something very new and different for me. It's my first non-contemporary. It's sort of an alternate universe frontier story, with some fantasy and horror elements. And some mild bondage. ;-)

5. If you had a message for your readers and fans, what would it be?
Very simple. I would say, Thank you! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
--

Here's the synopsis to Marie's latest book, Song of Oestend.

Aren Montrell has heard tales of the Oestend wraiths - mysterious creatures which come in the night and kill anyone who’s not indoors. Aren’s never had reason to believe the stories, but when he takes a job as a bookkeeper on the BarChi, a dusty cattle ranch on the remote Oestend prairie, he soon learns that the wraiths are real. Aren suddenly finds himself living in a supposedly haunted house and depending on wards and generators to protect him from unseen things in the night. As if that’s not enough, he has to deal with a crotchety old blind woman, face “cows” that look like nothing he’s ever seen before, and try to ignore the fact that he’s apparently the most eligible bachelor around.

Aren also finds himself the one and only confidante of Deacon, the BarChi’s burly foreman. Deacon runs the BarChi with an iron fist and is obviously relieved to finally have somebody he can talk to. As their relationship grows, Aren learns there’s more to Deacon and the BarChi than he’d anticipated. Deacon seems determined to deny both his Oestend heritage and any claim he may have to the BarChi ranch, but if Aren is to survive the perils of Oestend, he’ll will have to convince Deacon to stop running from the past and finally claim everything that’s his.

Links:

My website/blog: www.MarieSexton.net
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/MarieSexton.author
Twitter: http://twitter.com/MarieSexton
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3292500.Marie_Sexton
And be sure to join me for Coffee and Porn in the Morning: http://cupoporn.wordpress.com

Song of Oestend will be released by Total E-Bound on August 22nd. Buy it here: http://bit.ly/prxFl1