(NSFW) Author Interview: Jodi and S.A. McAuley talk Damaged Package

We are very happy to welcome S.A. McAuley to the Smoocher’s Voice blog today.  McAuley’s latest novel is Damaged Package. Please bear in mind that this post contains NSFW (Not Safe For Work Images).

Sam sleeps little, reads a lot. Happiest in a foreign country. Twitchy when not mentally in motion.  Sam describes herself as a dark/cynical/jaded person, but she hides that darkness well behind her obsession(s) for shiny objects.

Sam writes, “I’m the macabre wrapped in irresistible bubble wrap and a glittery pink bow, I suppose. I have a never-ending-abyss-like secret love for poetry. Especially Rumi, Hafiz, and Neruda.

“You can predict (as well as change) my moods and my writing schedule by my playlists.

Insomnia is my greatest ally and my nemesis. I like cheese and bourbon, not necessarily in

that order, but I’m flexible.

“If you’re in any fandom, then I’m probably already in love with you. I’m not joking. I like my tv shows marathoned and I have to use internet blocking software to be productive. I have software called Producteev that I loaded onto my laptop and proceeded to fill out in detail and now I haven’t touched it in a year.

“I enjoy normalized chaos.”

Visit Sam at her website http://samcauley.com or email her anytime at authorsamcauley@gmail.com, she loves to talk to readers.

Jodi:     Thank you, Sam for taking the time to answer some questions for our readers. Tell us a little about yourself and how you decided to write exclusively in the m/m genre.

Sam:    Thank you for having me! I was in the midst of writing my second (unfinished) novel when I started reading m/m. At the time I was reading a lot of paranormal het romance and found myself growing increasingly frustrated with the damsel in distress narrative. There just wasn’t the same skewed power dynamics in those first m/m romance novels I read, which was refreshing. I ended up writing in the genre because of the support I discovered here with readers and authors. And I’ve stayed because of the community.

Jodi:     You write both standalone books as well as series. Do you have a preference? Do you feel that series give you more leeway for character development?

Sam:    Let’s be blunt. A series gives an author more space to fuck up character development. We’ve all read a series where your favorite character becomes more and more unrecognizable with each book. My working theory is that the best way to avoid that is by ensuring there’s a defined arc and ending, just as any author would with a standalone novel. We’ll see how that theory pans out once The Borders War is complete!

As for preference, my writing tends to be concise, so I struggle with longer word counts. Based on that alone, I could write short story after short story and never complete another novel, let alone a series. At the same time, when you really fall in love with a character or group of characters, there’s nothing like the experience of being immersed in their world. In a wholly unscientific observation, it seems like readers prefer the latter. Which means I’ll try to keep pumping out the words in large enough serving sizes for everyone to be satisfied.

Jodi:     Your books have been published by corporate publishers as well as being self-published. Damaged Package is a self-published book. Do you have a preference for your writing? Why did you decide to self-publish Damaged Package?

Sam:    Publishing Damaged Package was a decision I made on a whim. It was a novel I started writing two years ago and kept putting it away because it never felt quite right. Then I picked it up again in May, rewrote the beginning heavily and all the pieces started fitting together. With a traditional publishing house it would have taken me about six months to see Damaged Package released, but with self-publishing, I could release it within weeks instead. Self-pubs are a lot of work, and a lot more pressure because the author bears much more responsibility for the finished product (if you’re one of the unfortunates who got the laugh out loud error of Gluck instead of Glock in the first published edition of Damaged Package then you know exactly what I’m talking about. Email me for an updated file!), but they offer a different freedom. Having a mix of the two—self-pub and traditional—is optimal for me right now since writing is still my side gig.

Jodi:     Is it more difficult to market self-published books than corporate-published books?

Sam:    Marketing is not my strong suit regardless of how I publish. I think that’s pretty common for writers. Composing a well-executed novel and composing persuasive marketing strategy are two distinct skill sets. I have mad respect for people who make marketing look effortless.

Jodi:     Damaged Package focuses on two characters who seem to have one thing in common: baggage. James Deacon is a former SWAT officer, who has lived in the same place since birth and Trevor Barrows is a bit of a nomad returning home for the first time in a decade. Their paths cross innocently enough, but drama and tension soon follow. Tell us about your inspiration for this story.

Sam:    Two years ago, a friend and I were having a conversation about music and I told her about this scene I kept seeing in my head when I listened to Nothing On You by B.o.B featuring Bruno Mars. She sent me inspiration pics that were quirky and NSFW and it all devolved from there.

Jodi:     Deacon is at a crossroads when we first meet him. The only thing he seems certain of is wanting Trevor. What was your inspiration for Deacon’s character?

Sam:    I wanted to write about someone who was crazy but in a fun way.  Somehow that story became about a cop who never wanted to be a cop then had the career he’d never wanted taken away from him.

     

Jodi:     Deacon has a habit of lying by omission to Trevor, but he appears to have good intentions when he does. Trevor, however, hates lies and deception. He wants to be with someone he can trust. Why does he keep going back to Deacon, despite the trust issues?

Sam:    Sometimes what we think is a non-negotiable in a relationship is actually a thinly veiled exit strategy. That may be heavily applicable to our wandering hero Trevor Barrow.

Jodi:     What was your inspiration for Trevor’s character?

Sam:    The photo inspiration was all Mitch Hewer from the UK version of Skins. But the character of Trevor, in the beginning of writing this book, was the closest I’d ever come to putting myself on the page. His character evolved as the years went on and in the final copy there’s little of me left in him.

Jodi:     You have this habit of taking a reader on a journey that often involves quite a few plot twists, and this book is not an exception to that rule. Do you plot out what will happen in your books in advance, or do the plot twists come to you while you are writing?

Sam:    Yes, I plot. Deviously, with glee and copious notes. So many notes. I use three different types of software to keep all my thoughts straight: Scrivener, Scapple and Aeon Timeline. Then I also carry 2-3 notebooks and a stash of pens with me everywhere. I rarely write a story from beginning to end, instead skipping around and layering as each draft progresses. It’s a messy process, seemingly chaotic, but it all works in the word jumble that is my brain. 

Jodi:     Did you have to do any research for this book?

Sam:    If you count drinking at the real life Honest John’s in Detroit as research, then yes. Yes, I did.

Jodi:     Will there be any more books with these characters? Perhaps Corporal Jackson will get his happy ending (wink, nudge)?

Sam:    I had zero intention of writing anything more with these characters. But this Jackson thing keeps popping up. It’s hard NOT to think about it now. But no promises. I have a couple of other series and a few unfinished manuscripts for standalone novels in need of my attention first. I’ll never say no to an idea though. Because as soon as I say no, I somehow end up doing it sooner rather than never. I’ve learned that lesson the hard way.

Jodi:     Like many of your books, Damaged Package has a law enforcement/military focus. What is it about these professions or men that intrigues you?

Sam:    ‘Cause men in uniforms are hot.

Is that totally shallow? Eh. I’m sticking with that answer.

Jodi:     Speaking of military and law enforcement …. I have to ask about The Borders War series. This is such a great series (see my review of Powerless here) with wonderful characters. What was your inspiration for this series?

Sam:    First of all, thank you for the Merq and Armise love! The genesis point of One Breath, One Bullet came from watching the Summer Olympics in London two years ago. The idea of the sonicbullet came before either of the MCs. But once I started thinking about what a person would be like who’d been raised in a society burdened and broken by hundreds of years of bloodless war, the character of Merq Grayson emerged. The rest of the arc for Merq and Armise’s story (the basis of the five books) evolved over a couple of months. While some aspects of their story have changed, the ending for them hasn’t shifted one bit in all of the beta-testing, plotting and writing I’ve done since then.

Jodi:     Merq Grayson and Armise Darcan are not typical men in any sense of the word. They were bred to be soldiers. Their genetics have been modified. They have been trained to kill and follow orders. Although Darcan and Grayson are similar in this capacity, they have very different personalities. Tell us what makes Grayson tick?

Sam:    Merq is a classic case of someone who is extrinsically motivated realizing that something is missing from his life. It’s so painful to witness his “work-in-progress” status, but it’s fascinating to watch him uncover who he really is and what he wants out of life.

Jodi:     What motivates Armise Darcan?

Sam:    You’ll get that answer in the next Borders War book: Falling, One By One :)

Jodi:     Do you like writing in the science fiction genre or do you prefer writing contemporary books?

Sam:    Sci-fi is my baby. I was brought up on a steady diet of speculative fiction and movies. My Trekkie Dad raised me right.

Jodi:     Is it difficult to mingle the mystery, violence and romance in The Borders War series and Damaged Package?

Sam:    It’s more fun than anything else.

Jodi:     Do you have a favorite character in your books?

Sam:    Arthur Poe from Someday It Will Be. I have no issue playing favorites when it comes to him. He and Isaac are two of the most surprising characters I’ve ever worked with.

Jodi:     When will the next book in The Borders War series be released?

Sam:    Not as soon as I thought it would be. But it won’t be a long wait. I’m actively working through Falling, One by One now. And it’s likely the fifth (and final book in The Borders War series) will be written back to back with the fourth. So watch out for release dates in the next month or so.

Jodi:     What is your next project?

Sam:    Finishing Falling, One by One is my only project at this moment. Book Five of The Borders War will likely follow on its heels. After that series is completed, there’s a co-writing project that SJD Peterson and I have already schemed and plotted out. You’ve been warned.

Damaged Package

If your past came with a warning label, what would it say?

Forced into early retirement from his career as a SWAT officer for the city of Detroit, James Deacon knew that when he failed it would be a fall of epic proportions. He’s been living life by the tips of his fingers for over twenty years, and his new gig organizing a group of misfit military types into a functioning team—including his reluctant ex-fiancée—won’t return him to stable ground anytime soon.

Trevor Barrow has been on the move for the last seven years — hitting the road when relationships became too real or too much work. He’s home now, working in the hazardous world of bike messengers in the Motor City, and the only one of his eight siblings who knows he’s returned is his sister Cat. It’s not as if reconnecting with them matters anyway, because it’s likely he’ll be gone again soon.

Both men are lugging some heavy baggage, but when they chance upon each other in a dive bar it’s hard to deny their flaws are more like symbiotic quirks. Trevor’s backpedaling instincts and Deacon’s dance-dance party past may just be intersecting at a time when things are about to get explosive in Detroit.

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