I am so excited to have M.J & Piper on the blog today! Its their first time so give them a warm welcome to Pants Off!
Hi, all! So we’re in the middle of our One Small Thing blog tour and we thought we’d do something a bit different this time around. Instead of having someone interview us jointly, we decided to interview each other. We both came up with a set of questions, emailed them to each other, and the results are what you see below! We hope you enjoy this rather unconventional interview. Be sure to check out the excerpt for One Small Thing at the end of this post.
~*~
MJ’s Questions for Piper
~*Writing*~
What's your favorite part of OST? What do you think will be a favorite part for readers?
-I think the haircut scene is really cute and I can see a lot of readers liking it. My favorite part, though, might be their first real kiss and the first time they really touch each other, since touching is such a big thing for Erik. I’m hoping the readers will like that, too. Well, I hope they like the whole thing. :P
What story are you dying to write, but just haven't sat down and plotted?
-I’m dying to do a couple of twisted fairytale kind of things, actually. The one most prevalent in my mind is “Beauty and the Beast” because it’s my favorite fairytale, but there are a few others I want to redo also.
Erik (in OST) was a different kind of guy. What, if any, parts of him were drawn from your own personality/tastes.
-Erik’s fondness for Star Wars was drawn from myself. I can also be very introverted and shy like him, and wary/skittish around strangers. There were actually multiple things about him that were drawn from my own personality, but in him they are way more amplified. Also, I’m a bit of a junk food junkie like him. :)
~*Fun*~
Favorite boy band member. Tell me why:)
-Oh,
jeez. Embarrass me, why don’t you? LOL. Um…I’d probably say Justin
Timberlake. I really liked him and his voice when he was in *NSYNC (and,
yes, I have seen them in concert :P), but honestly I liked him even
more when he went solo. His FutureSex/LoveSounds album is still one of
my faves.
In any order, name your top 5 pairs of socks (just in case you didn't know, Piper has a thing with socks)
-That’s
a tough one. Okay…you can actually see a couple of these on my FB page,
if any of you are curious. LOL.
1) My gray and black striped socks with
blue at the toes and heel and buttons at the top.
2) My comfiest pair,
which are made of brown wool with specks of pink and purple. They’re
kind of loose, but nice and warm.
3) My sushi socks. They’re adorable.
4) My rainbow toe socks. They go up to the knee and they’re soft and
warm.
5) My Goldilocks and the Three Bears toe socks because they are
probably the weirdest pair I own, and yet still comfortable.
Dream vacation. Where would you go and why?
-Another
hard one. I guess my dream vacation would start in Ireland, then on to
England, down to Spain, then over to France, Italy, and Greece. From
Greece, I’d fly to Japan, and from there Australia and New Zealand.
Those are all of the places I want to see most, and all for different
reasons. So my fantasy vacation would be some grand tour that
encompassed them all. Keep dreaming, right? Hehe. The sheer amount of
money needed for something like that would probably send me into a dead
faint. But it would be the fulfillment of a lifelong dream, for sure.
~*~
Piper’s Questions for MJ
~*Writing*~
In One Small Thing, you wrote the character of Rue. What would you say is your favorite thing about him?
-I like his snappy retorts and how he's sarcastic but not mean, witty but not slapstick.
Another
question relating to One Small Thing. In the story, Rue is a gay man
who slept with a woman as an experiment. Some people might question the
believability of this scenario. What would your answer be to the people
who wonder why a man who identifies as gay would sleep with a woman?
-Answer: It happens. Trust me. I think I'll plead the fifth on the rest of it :)
Which one of your characters is most like you?
-Okay,
as far as most like me? I'd say a combination of Rue from One Small
Thing and Nick Ventura (Lucky Moon series). Rue appeals to my girly
sparkling side that likes to dance and wear makeup and decorate. Nick,
well, I can have his mouth on occasion, and a bit of his Peter Pan
syndrome. I hope I'm not obnoxious like he is though.
~*Fun*~
Name your top 5 favorite musicians/bands and your favorite song by each.
-Oh Jeez.
1. Muse. Of course. Favorite song? Damn… I'm going to go with Knights of Cydonia tonight.
2. Death Cab — and I like the new one. You Are A Tourist
3. The Posies — Definite Door
4. Superdeluxe — Years Ago (GORGEOUS song)
5. Phoenix — Sometimes in the Fall
Ask me that question tomorrow, you'd get a totally different answer. Except Muse. That wouldn't change. Probably.
If you could live out one fairytale, which one would you pick and why?
-Are
we talking the Grimm version or the Disney? Cause those original ones
are pretty brutal. I'd have to say Aladdin. The flying carpet would be
pretty badass, and a cave full of pretty sparkly things? Hell yeah.
What place in the world do you want to visit most? What would you do first when you got there?
-I'd
say...wow. I really don't know. Everywhere. Probably Santorini. Then
Ireland. Then somewhere like Bali. And I'd do what I always do when I'm
somewhere new — walk around and look at everything and take it all in.
No photographs, no posing, just looking.
Blurb:
“Daddy” is not a title Rue Murray wanted, but he never thought he’d
have sex with a woman either. Now he’s the unwitting father of a newborn
named Alice. Between bartending and cosmetology school, Rue doesn’t
have time for babies, but he can’t give her up. What Rue needs is a
babysitter, and he’s running out of options. He’s on the verge of
quitting school to watch Alice himself when he remembers his reclusive
new neighbor, Erik.
Erik Van Nuys is a sci-fi novelist
with anxiety issues to spare. He doesn’t like people in general, and he
likes babies even less. Still, with his royalties dwindling, he could
use the extra cash. Reluctantly, he takes on the role of manny—and even
more reluctantly, he finds himself falling for Alice and her flamboyant
father.
Rue and Erik are as different as two people can
be, and Alice is the unlikeliest of babies, but Rue has never been
happier than when Alice and Erik are by his side. At least, not until he
receives an offer that puts all his dreams within reach and he’s forced
to choose: the future he’s always wanted, or the family he thought he
never did.
The Excerpt:
(Just as a lead in to this excerpt, Rue, Erik, and a couple of
friends are on a weekend getaway at Rehoboth Beach. They’re having fun
and enjoying themselves and then Rue has a run in with someone he wasn’t
expecting…)
Rue
I was laughing at something my goofy dork of a boyfriend was saying
as we rounded the corner, when I was suddenly ambushed by a hug and a
wet, tipsy kiss on the cheek.
“Rue!”
“Oh… hey, Nolan.” I
didn’t know how to react to him. We’d never been serious. I hadn’t been
anyway. I’d never actually asked if he was. Didn’t matter. It only took
him a few months to stop calling me after I’d hinted that I was done by
never returning his last voice mail.
“Um, Nolan, you remember
Dusty, and this is Paul….” I reached out and took Erik’s hand.
“And this
is my boyfriend, Erik, and this is Alice.” Nolan’s eyes grew wide for a
moment, but he recovered. I’m pretty sure the word boyfriend threw him.
“Cute kid, hon,” he said to Erik. He leaned over to tickle
Alice’s stomach and got a good look at her face and her midnight black
hair. Then he looked up at me, that wide-eyed, “you’ve gotta be kidding
me” stare coming right back.
“She’s mine, Nol,” I confirmed.
“Yeah,
I can see that. Wow.” I could see he was trying to decide what the hell
was going on. “Rue, babe, we have got to do lunch when we get back to
town. I’m personally convinced that there’s some alien invasion
situation going on here. Boyfriends, babies? Where is the slutty little
club boy Rue we know and love?”
I flinched at that. Dusty giggled
nervously. Erik’s hand tightened. “You’re hilarious, Nolan.”
Unfortunately, he was also right. “I’ll give you a call when we get back
into town.” I pulled on Erik, trying to get away from the suddenly
awkward situation, my past, things I didn’t really want to think about. I
wanted to be on the beach, eating dinner and not thinking of the way
things used to be.
The pizza was good, though not quite as good
as it would’ve been without the weird aftertaste of the past on my
tongue. I clung to Erik a little, perhaps to remind myself of how
different things were in my life. Family and stability, things I’d never
thought to really even dream of, were suddenly imperative. Still a bit
weirded out, I held Erik tightly all night and didn’t fall asleep for a
long time. I was reassured by the sound of Alice breathing in her little
makeshift crib and by the steady rise and fall of Erik’s chest under my
cheek. His hand had slipped beneath my sleep shorts to pull me closer
and cup my butt possessively. That helped too. It was a gesture that
would’ve annoyed the hell out of me with anyone else, but from him it
was natural. It felt like the way it should be.
I was
relieved (and surprised) in the morning when Erik went out before I was
even awake and came back with donuts and coffee for everyone. We spent
the early part of the day wandering around town and checking out all the
tiny seaside shops. At one point, Dusty pointed and started skipping
ahead excitedly, and we spent the next half an hour in his “favorite
shop in the world,” which was owned by a sweet fur ball of a man named
Caleb and his gorgeous partner Wendell. Together, they sold every kind
of chocolate that you’d ever want or need, and some you’ve probably
never even heard of. I have to admit, the samples he kept plying us with
were delicious, and I ended up buying a few bags of treats for later,
even if I might regret them once we were home. Our afternoon was
spent on the beach, which was thankfully a bit quieter than it had been
on Saturday.
Erik and I were half-asleep, lolling on the sand
with our fingers loosely entwined while Dusty and Paul built little
hills of sand for a giggling Alice to roll over. The breeze was
pleasant, and my daughter’s delighted squeals rang in the wind and made
me smile. We were leaving for home in the morning. I didn’t want the
weekend to end, but that feeling, that deep contentment that had settled
on me—I didn’t think it would go away just because we’d packed up our
bathing suits and headed back to everyday life. I traced a heart shape
on Erik’s palm with my index finger. He reached across and trailed his
other hand up the inside of my arm. It was so peaceful….
Until a
wriggling, sweaty body was on top of me making odd humping motions and
cackling. “Hey, sexy beast. I didn’t know you were coming out here this
weekend.”
Jeremiah. Shit. One of the Tom Tom Club’s go-go dancers
and a notorious bottom boy who I’d fucked a few times on the back deck
of the club on one of my nights off. That seemed like a million years
ago. It was a million years ago, experience wise. He was one of my
favorite club boys and a great tipper, but Erik, and even Dusty, weren’t
part of that life. Jeremiah really didn’t fit into my happy little
family picture. I needed him gone. Immediately.
“Uh, hey, Jeremiah. I’m kind of here with my family. I’ll see you at the club, okay?”
He
gave me a confused look, which became even more confused when he saw
the sudden death grip Erik had on my hand. I had to get rid of him
before he said anything else. I knew Erik didn’t think I was a virgin,
but the very real reality of my past wasn’t something we were ready for.
He wasn’t like other guys, who’d assume I’d been around the block a few times
like most people and just shrug it off. I could see it in his eyes, how
it hurt him every time a guy smiled at me too familiarly. I hated that
look. And it was back.
Fan-freaking-tastic.
All of a sudden my perfect weekend at the beach wasn’t so perfect any longer.
~*~
Want more? Look for One Small Thing tomorrow, May 4th, from Dreamspinner Press, available in both
ebook and
paperback formats.
~*~
Piper Vaughn and M.J. O’Shea have been writing jointly since January 2011. Their first joint title, Moonlight Becomes You (released August 2011), was Piper’s publishing debut, while M.J. already had several published titles under her belt. Both authors have solo titles available in addition to their co-written projects. You can visit them at their joint blog, Babes in Boyland (
http://mjandpiper.blogspot.com), or their websites,
http://pipervaughn.com and
http://www.mjoshearomance.com.
