QUESTIONS ARE CLOSED. I HAVE SO MANY. *GRINS*

Thank You!

I have an upcoming slot on Cup O’Porn on November 14. Several of you have requested something from Jae’s point of view and I thought this would be an excellent opportunity to give you a peek into the mind of Cole’s lover.

Post any questions you have for Jae in the comments and I’ll pick the top 10 or so to work into an inteview piece.

Anything goes. We’ll see how it works out.

I’ll close the question taking on November 5th as I’ll need time to write the interview for Cup O’ Porn. Tell me what you wanna hear!

‘Cause someone asked about the art on the walls… I’m including three…

April Brown; The Bard.

This is an old print. Bought this at Comic-Con…sheesh…two decades ago? I can’t even remember the exact year. She also did a vampire guitarist I have someplace. There’s a hell of a lot of art in my house, most of it by artists I know or have a great fondness for. Most of it is signed. If I’m going to own art, I want it to have the artist’s signature.

Of course I also have a HUGE lithograph of Flaming June by Sir Frederic Leighton, one of my favourite Pre-Raphaelite pieces. Since Sir Leighton is no longer with us, chances of me getting a signature is slim. And the original is hanging in a museum in Puerto Rico… can’t afford it.

However, The Bard has always been one of my favourites. I don’t have a link to the artist’s site. I haven’t seen any of her work in a long time.

I have a deep abiding love for James O’Barr’s The Crow. So when the opportunity came up to purchase one of his original runs, I did. I love the tight storytelling he did in this series. And of course, the movie… the first one… was simply sublime.

The Crow really is probably one of the best story arcs in the past 50 years. A combination of horror and justice, I think so much its tale speaks to that visceral need for us to have a true love…even one that extends beyond death… beyond really anything.

I named my first cairn terrier, Draven. He was a fearless dog, weakened by a heart murmur but destined for greatness. He kept me company for twelve years, a solid and fierce protector…who ironically… hated the SHIT out of birds.

The last piece I’ll post is one of my FAVOURITE Ursula Vernon pieces. I LOVE and adore Ursula. She’s been a friend… well, I count her as friend *grins*… and really I can’t say I’ve ever come across a more inventive and skilled artist. This is Azezaelbunny. I was one of the blessed few who got the first run of this and she gave me number 4. SHI! DEATH! I took it as a sign of love.

I can’t even begin to get into how fricking fabulous Ursula is. Go check out her art at Red Wombat Studio and recently she won a Hugo for Digger, a webcomic I adore. You can read Digger in its entire run for free here.

She’s also the artist who created The Biting Pear of Salamanca also known as the LOLWUT Pear to those out there in the interwebz.

However, my fave piece by Ursula will always be The Little Demon. These are two short tales. First is the Dream Deer and the second… really my love… is the Little Creature and the Redcap. SO MUCH LOVE.

I cooked a dish of manicotti tonight. It wouldn’t make a good picture. It’s delicious but really buried under so much cheese. So… yeah. Pretty much I could show you a block of cheese and we’d call it a day.

So instead, I’ll show you why I bought a couch.

Neko OWNS the couch. It is hers. Just so you know. Right now, in this photo, she’s staring at an interloper.

This is a pillow I use to support my back while I type. As you can see, not a fuck was given after it was taken away from me. Yoshi… yeah, my accidental cat.

Because they’re fucking beautiful.

This is an Illicit Photobooth Kiss From 1953. More can be found at found at ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives Gallery.

Where ever these men are…whomever they eventually loved…I hope they lived a life full of joy and wonder. It is what everyone deserves. And in this moment when they stole a kiss behind a curtain of a photobooth, they were able to have a whisper of happiness. May they have had many more.

Listen to me ramble for 12 minutes! Learn bad Korean! Listen to my dog bark in the background. Hear what I sound like without enough coffee and the lingering effects of GayRomLit!

I try to answer some questions about Korean words. Mostly I ramble. You will not be tested on this later and by no means are you required to use these pronunciations. Hell, if you’re pronouncing Jae as Ralph, it’s all good. *grins*

The bane and happy of any writer is a review. Seriously, getting a two- or one-star review* guts me. Even more so if it comes from a reader who liked the first book or someone who picked up the books because someone said “Hey you need to read these”. Honestly, I have to temper this with the knowledge that not everyone liked everything. And it’s a bitch because really, deep down inside… I want everyone to like every single word I’ve ever used.

I’m not going to say written because in truth… the words are there. It’s just a matter of which ones to use.

So back to reviews and the gutting. It’s a natural thing. Deep down inside, past all of the bravado or introverted behaviour, writers have egos. God knows, I have a huge ego. I want to be the best. Be the most solid. Be on top. It’s a sickness and what drives me. I agonize over every word and see if something feels right. So to have someone say it sucks… feels…bad.

But not so bad that I should stop. I do have a story to tell. Or five.

Postive reviews are as much of a pain in the ass as negative ones. There’s a pressure that builds up inside of me. Can I meet expectations? Will I deliver? Can I keep someone entertained? Reviews are by and large, a win-lose situation. You can learn a lot about what people like and dislike. Therein lies the trouble… what to glean from a review?

Bottom line, glean very little. Make notes of valid points. The big ones for my books:

Korean Names
I know the Korean tends to be hard to follow. I have to balance that out for non-Asian readers. I won’t homogenize the names because well, they’re Korean. And well, Cole’s gotta write them down too. Can’t say I’ll use them less. Not in this series. But I can say I do try to make it clear. Hopefully, I’ll keep everything straight. *crosses fingers*

More Sex
That’s what I didn’t expect. I usually have the boys do the nasty when it feels right for them to do so.  I think I’ll continue with that. I don’t think C&J are in a position to do it like bunnehs all over the place. Trust me, as much as I hate writing sex scenes because I want to keep them fresh and…well…smexy… I’d like the boys to do it more often.

Lots of Guns and Cole Getting Shot At
Guns are easy to use. Also, Los Angeles does have a lot of gun violence. I shoot at Cole a lot because well, it’s fun. Also, I’m writing fiction. He’s gonna get shot at more than anyone else. It would be boring if he were a normal guy sitting around watching football…however that would leave more time for Jae to crawl into his lap. Also, knives hurt more and you’ve gotta get in close. Trust me on that one.

So…. How is Dirty Laundry doing? Honestly, at this point, I don’t know. I’m halfway in…the point where I really hate the story. It’s always that way. I hit a mark and I hate everything about where I’m going. We’ll see how I feel in a couple of chapters. Or maybe even six chapters.

So if there’s anything you’d like to see more of or less of, let me know. Can’t say I’ll write to it but I’m always interested in opinions. *grins* Sometimes, I even have one of my own. Actually I have them a lot. Mostly about people not using enough garlic when they cook.

* This is not a call to go tromp on people who leave two- or one- star reviews. Because really, I’ve been there. I’ve read books in a series that just didn’t do it for me. And I so understand. I do. I do thank them for the time they’ve spent reading my books. That’s very sweet of them to do so.

** There’s no reason for the bunneh to be here. I just wanted one.

You are never too young…or too old for an adventure. Always look into each moment…no matter how big or small and simply said… I DID IT.

This is a four year old boy’s first “ramp” while mountain biking with his dad. Good father. Doesn’t coddle but is supportive. Kid is fricking rocking that trail.