First of all, what is happening in your world?

Currently, I’m starting to get ready for conventions later in the year—Key City Steampunk which I vend every August, and I’m going to GayRomLit for the first time in Virginia this October! On top of that, my kiddo turns two in August, so it’s looking to be a crazy month.

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When did you start writing?

When I was a kid! I remember distinctly in second grade wanting to be a writer. As a shy kid with social anxiety, books were always my safe haven, and I loved escaping into different worlds. Despite my genre preferences shifting throughout the years, one thing that’s never changed has been my love for reading.

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You have multiple series on the go, how do you juggle them?

Multiple breakdowns? Kidding, but it does get tricky juggling multiple series. There are some that have a more immediate release schedule, such as the Dungeons and Dating series and the Chesapeake Days one and then there are others, like Outlaws, which end up getting released every year or every other year due to those books requiring more legwork. (Writing heists requires so much reseaaaaarch) As much as I try to be diligent about staying on track with series plans, I will admit, I’m guilty of making detours if I get an inspiration project—mostly because those don’t come around too often and it’s best to ride the wave.

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Do you prefer first draft or editing?

First draft, hands down. I don’t mind the editing part as well since it’s usually a good way to switch into a different sort of brain space, but I also edit for my day job, so that sometimes feels a bit more like work. During the first draft though, I don’t always know how things are going to unfold, and it’s a total blast following the twists and turns and learning about the characters along the way.  

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Is there a genre you haven’t tried that you’re itching to have a go at?

So, I used to write steampunk and some young adult before I veered into romance. I spent quite a bit writing paranormal romance until I found myself staunchly writing queer romance. I tend to write what’s familiar to me, which is a whole lotta bisexual representation, and I’m pretty happy now that I’m bouncing all around queer contemporary romance. HOWEVER, there was a paranormal Wild West concept I had started a few years back that I’d love to continue at some point…

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Who is your favourite own character?

Hmm, this is incredibly hard. I’ll always have a soft spot for the lead from my steampunk series, which was my first published book, An Airship Named Desire. Bea Weston was wild and tough, snarky and proud, and yet so honorable for a pirate. The insane hijinks that happened in that series wouldn’t have been possible without a lead like that, and I loved every second of writing her.

 

From my romance series, Taran from Chesapeake Days 3, Stronger Than Longing has been one of my all-time favorite characters. He’s so sweet and reliable and geeky yet self-deprecating in the best ways possible. His inner monologue just leapt to life for me, and writing his story was like casting a unique sort of magic.

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Which authors do you like to read?

I always say too many when asked this question because it’s true. I devour romance novels, and I tend to find an author I’m liking the style of and then read their backlist.

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I have an endless love for Maggie Stiefvater’s Raven Cycle series as well as Sarah J Maas’s A Court of Thorns and Roses series, but there are so many fantasy and romance books that left their imprints on me throughout the years.

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The recent authors I’ve read this past month include Alethea Faust—her Sex Wizards series is delightfully odd but AMAZING for bi/pan and kink representation, Alex Silver’s Table Topped series, which is wonderful, and Saxon James’s Divorced Men’s Club series.

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Are you working on anything else you would like to share (cough cough Outlaws2 cough cough)

Now that you mention Outlaws…there’s definitely going to be an announcement/pre-order going up in August….and it involves circus troupes, hackers, and shibari…

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Plus Dexterity Check, book #5 in the Dungeons and Dating series is next in the agenda after Constitution Check! I love, love, loved writing Arjun and Eli with their enemies to lovers banter!

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And because I couldn’t help my detour, I started a new series, Hot Under the Collar, a MM contemporary romance series revolving around blue collar workers. 

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When you’re not typing away, what do you like to do?

I’m in several Dungeons and Dragons and other tabletop games at the moment, but I also like to carve out time for adventure. I adore hiking, and my toddler is now my new best hiking buddy, so we go on a lot of trips to different parks and nature preserves in the area. I also love exploring new towns and going to coffee shops—after years of working as a barista, there’s something that feels like home to me there. I also tend to get involved in lots of other geeky endeavours—whether it’s steampunk conventions or board game nights.

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What is something that people would find surprising about you?

Because I’m small and upbeat, people tend to assume I’m sweet and innocent…and then they stumble onto my books… Apart from that, I feel like I announce who I am as a person pretty loudly, so I think folks have a fairly adequate assessment of who I am if they’ve known me a bit.

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Are you on social media? What is the best way for fans to interact with you?

I am! The best way to reach me is in my Facebook reader’s group, McIntyre’s Mayhem (https://www.facebook.com/groups/1816179461992109) I spend way too much time on there, though it’s mostly weird polls and D&D and kink memes. I’m also on Twitter a fair bit as well as Goodreads since I’m an avid reader.