Interview & Giveaway: Josephine Myles

I am super excited to welcome the awesmazing Josephine Myles to the blog. Its also a spectacular moment for the blog... because it is my very first author interview *YAY*. So Jo is here chatting it up, and answering my questions. Also Jo has brought a give away to one lucky commenter 'Winner's Choice'!!


Hi Jo and welcome to the Pants Off, it’s great to have you here.
Hi Darien, thanks for inviting me over!

Tell us a bit about yourself, and how long you've been writing? 

As for me? Well, I’m a scatty, tea-addicted Brit who spends far too much time daydreaming. I live in a small town in rural Somerset, England, with my cheeky six-year-old daughter and long-suffering husband. I used to be a real wild child, but these days I get my kicks writing smutty stories and knitting socks.

I suppose I’d have to say I’ve been writing all my life, although I took a long break after studying Creative Writing (among other subjects) at university. I became scared of the strange things my muse was throwing at me—not only was much of it way beyond my experience, but I knew I’d end up writing explicit sex scenes and I just wasn’t sure if I could handle anyone else reading those.

Fast forward to the summer of 2009 when, frustrated beyond belief by one of my favourite TV characters being killed off (Ianto in Torchwood), I discovered the weird and wonderful world of slash fanfiction. I started writing a story to bring Ianto back to life, then realized how much I loved writing just for the fun of it. I submitted my first original short story in January 2010, and I haven’t looked back.

Was gay fiction something you always wanted to write? Or did you develop an interest over time?
I’d always been fascinated by homoeroticism and gay romance, even before the m/m genre existed. I can clearly remember the first time I read Maurice by E.M. Forster (I was seventeen) – it felt so utterly right to me. I ended up writing my A-level English Literature paper about it.

There are all kinds of ideas for gay stories back in my notebooks from university. I just never knew there was any kind of market for women writing about gay men. I
also wasn’t sure if it was something I should write—especially explicitly sexual scenes between two men.

I have read both Barging In & Boats in the Night, and if you could just tell us a bit about what inspired you to write both stories?
Barging In was always intended to be a class romance on the canal, but I liked the idea of playing with expectations by having the boater as someone who’d started as upper-middle class, and the professional writer with a working class background. Beyond that, the driving inspirational image in my head was of a sexy man chopping wood by the canal.

Boats in the Night sprung from an idea for an erotic short story with a canalside house owner getting it on with a boater who stops at the end of his garden. However, the set-up seemed ripe with possibilities so I gave it a go as a novella. I liked the idea of contrasting a character like Giles who was utterly rooted in one spot, with someone footloose and fancy free. My inspirational image for the story was a dreadlocked man juggling fire.

  Barging In and Boats in the Night deal with the narrowboat lifestyle. Is that something you have experienced? And was there a half-naked hottie involved?
I did indeed live on a narrowboat for two years, cruising up and down the Kennet and Avon canal near Bath. One of my favourite canal-side sights was of the boater men stripping down to work on their engines or chop wood. They were always tanned, toned and tattooed – you got some great eye-candy along there!

Sadly, no matter how I attempted to persuade him, my husband would always chop wood with a T-shirt on :(

There is always diversity in stories I have read by you, where people of different ethnicity and social background fall in love. Is that something you feel strongly about? Where love knows no color or creed?
Absolutely! I love to see what happens when throwing together two characters who are strongly attracted to each other, but who come from different worlds. The opportunity for conflict is rife, but so is the chance to show that despite our
differences in upbringing, we all share a common humanity and can find so many ways to connect.

I also think in some ways it’s a reaction to growing up in a very middle-class, white town. I always craved more diversity around me, even as a small child. I used to daydream about living in the inner city above a bustling street market!

 Is it hard to write all that hot and sexy man love in your books? 

Yes and no. Yes because the sex scenes always take me longer to write than the other bits. You have to be extra careful with your pronouns, and you have to watch for repetition as there are a limited number of words available to describe the mechanics of what’s going on.

But no, because they are without a doubt the bits I look forward to writing the most. I love to get the characters to that place where they’re overwhelmed by sensation and utterly vulnerable. Sex scenes are rich with possibilities for strong emotions and revelatory experiences. I always try to make them about more than simply the smexing – they’re there to further the plot and show important details about the characters and how they relate to each other.

That’s what I tell myself, anyway. It’s entirely possible that I’m just a perv looking to justify my peculiar obsession!

*Well then I guess we're all a bit pervy*

So you have a new release out. Can you tell us a bit about it, and your future plans in writing? 
I have a new novella out called Tailor Made. It’s an erotic romantic comedy involving two students at an arts college. Tarty artist Felix seeks out virginal fashion student Andrew to help him with one of his projects, and ends up offering his body in exchange – both as a model and more! Neither of them expect to fall for each other as Felix is convinced he’s in love with his stern tutor, whereas Andrew has an image of a Mr. Right in his head that he’s been holding out for.


I also have a few shorts coming out this next month, but I’m most excited about my next novel, to be released by Samhain in April. Handle with Care is narrated by Ben, a virtually housebound recluse whose life is ruled by his dialysis regime. He falls for the punky delivery guy who brings him his porn DVDs, but the age gap and his ill health means Ben can’t imagine him and Ollie ever being more than a fantasy. Ollie feels differently, however...

As for what I’m working on next? That’s an m/m/m bawdy comedy which I really need to get back to writing if I’m going to get it finished in time...

This question is mostly for me ^_^

One of my favorite movies is Guess Who's Coming to Dinner starring Sidney Poitier. A young white girl brings home a very black fiancé and presents him to her parents (she shocks their pants off). 

My question is... Would you consider ever writing a M/M story that follows a similar pattern?

I can see that making a great short story in its own right. I played with that sort of scene in Barging In when Robin brings Dan to lunch with his family, but doing it with race and/or sexuality as the shocking factor would be interesting. I’ll add it to the pile of ideas – thanks Darien!

The gay Twilight, would you write it?  * Anticipating Answer*
In a word: no! Actually, I’ve never seen Twilight but I have no particular yen to write a vampire story. If I ever did, it would probably end up as either a screwball comedy or something packed with angsty, steamy sex like Jordan Castillo Price’s fabulous Channeling Morpheus series. From what I understand, Twilight is a rather chaste affair.
 
Shoot, I was hoping you would have said yes.

Pants, is it better to write with them on or off? (for research purposes only ^_~ )

Well, seeing as how “pants” means underpants over here, I’d have to say... maybe! I write best when I’m comfortable, so usually that means wearing a skirt, although I do have a lovely new pair of jeans I’m wearing now. What I don’t do is slob around in my pjs or a pair of jogging bottoms all day. I have standards, dammit!

Thanks for being here Jo and answering my question, it was awesmazing have you here.

You can find Josephine on her website and blog josephinemyles.com  where you can check out her books and other goodies *free reads*.


Jo has brought a giveaway for you lucky readers. It's a Winner's Choice affair, so the power lies with you. Go ahead and check out Miss Myles website if you are unfamiliar with her work, or check out reviews here on Pants Off. Contest runs until Wendesday, Feburary 1st at 12:00AM EST!

- must be 18 or older
- leave email address with your comment
- you have 48hrs to reply to email or another winner will be chosen (make sure my email doesn't become spam)
- winner will be chosen by random.org/rafflecopter