Thursday, November 15, 2012

Shameless plug for a writer friend!

 As if I needed another excuse to write about sex! (See question number 3.)

What am I shamelessly plugging? My friend G.B. Miller's new book, that's what! (Links and info below.) I am always thrilled when a fellow writer has success. I am heartened when writers who have brains and use them (contrary to Stephanie Meyer, for instance) get published. So voila! Here is a Q&A with G.B.



1} Why did you start writing?
 I started writing around 2006, when I was looking for a solid and safe outlet for some personal issues I was going through. Some friends and co-workers stroked my ego just enough to prompt me to continue with this curious journey.

2} What inspired the idea for the book?
 It's funny, but no one thing inspired the idea. The idea came to me while was deciding to wake up one Sunday morning. Originally devised to be a short story about a woman in debt to a loan shark with the only out available as an adult movie actress, by the time I sat down in front of my computer, it morphed into a full length novel, complete with all kinds of intricate twists.

 The title itself came to me while I was doing my taxes. If you exam the 1040 tax form, line 21 is where you put an any other income that doesn't apply elsewhere.

3} Was there any part/scene/character that was difficult to write? How so?
 The characters and basic scene settings were pretty easy to write, but I would say that writing the porn movie scenes, as well as the final sexual encounter on the roof, were the hardest.

 The reason being was that although the book was about Jeannie Mitchell getting into the adult movie industry, I didn't want to simply write a porn moive. Thus, the real issue was trying to approach from a business standpoint w/o having it deteriorate into a typical porn movie. And except for the roof top scene (extra kinky with shades of BDSM), I think it came off very well.

4} I'm alway curious about what writers read. Who are some of your favorite authors?
 I'm more into genres than a particular author, although I do enjoy the scribbles of Charles Gramlich (fantasy/horror) and Edward Grainger (noir/Western) from time to time. As for genres, I enjoy all kinds of non-fiction, but I am enjoying the exploration of romance, fantasy, noir and high-end YA (geared towards 17+).

5} What kind of literature is overrated?
 Most celebrity driven fiction/non-fiction and certain kinds of YA. I will conced that there is a small sliver of celeb non-fition/fiction that is good, but most of it is highly overrated. I agree that 50 Shades is overrated, if only from what I've read written elsewhere by people who have an intimate knowledge of BDSM. "Mommy Porn" is just that.

6} What advice would you give author's looking to get published for the first time?
 Build up a body of work via the short story.
  
Unless your novel is the be-all to end all, having a solid body of previously published work will make you stand out from the writer who doesn't. Agents and/or publishers will have a tendency (more often than not) to focus on the writer who has publishing credits, because they will see that an editor took a chance on that particular individual.

Links:



 
Bio:
While working as a Payroll Clerk in state government back 2006 (and with a little encouragement from friends and co-workers), G. B. decided to take up writing so as to make better use of his free time. Becoming fully immersed with his nascent second career, some six years later, he can proudly said that he is a published somebody, with two short stories, a self-pubbed chapbook and his commercial debut. G.B. currently lives in Newington, CT with his wife Joanne, his two children and his pet cat Holly. Currently he divides his time between working for the state, spending time with his family and creating written mayhem in the cyber world and the real world.

18 comments:

Granny Annie said...

His book does sound absolutely intriguing. Have you read it yet? Looking for a review. It is fun to know a published author even if it is through a blog. We know our blog friends don't we?

LL Cool Joe said...

I never read novels, well actually I don't read much at all, but I'm delighted that my blogging buddy, G has published his new book!

Anonymous said...

You did a great job interviewing GB. I also appreciated how he shared about how to get started with writing novels. Cause that is SO my problem ....getting started!

Lynn said...

Sounds as if getting started is half the battle. Good interview!

Rock Chef said...

I hope she does well with this.

Not my sort of thing, though, so I won't be getting a copy...

Claire said...

Always glad to hear of writers doing well!

Debra She Who Seeks said...

Government workers write the best sex stories! Why is that? Good luck with your book, GB!

DWei said...

Everyone's suggesting books to read. I wish I could read something other than notes and textbooks. :(

G. B. Miller said...

R. K.: Thanks for having me here today.

G.A.: Thanks.

Joe: Thanks.

LGSquirrel: Every once in a while, I come across an idea that writes itself. :D

Lynn: Thanks.

Rock Chef: That's okay. Some of friends have problems reconciling me the person with me the writer.

Claire: Thanks

Debra: Thanks.

And it's because we know all the secret places where we can never be found. :D

DWei: If you're above age and interested, I'll be more than happy to send you a free PDF of it.

Riot Kitty said...

I have read it, and will review on Amazon shortly!

RC: I feel compelled to note that G.B. is a he. Unless you were referring to his main character ;)

Riot Kitty said...

And G, no problem!

Darth Weasel said...

nice interview, well done. It is almost as if you have sneaky good reporter skills from somewhere...


and of course congrats again to G


and my typical snide remark about how bad Mac sucks and how it took twice as long to fix the "mistakes" I made in this brief reply that are done correctly on a real PC...

Charles Gramlich said...

Good interview. I split my reading about 2/3rds fiction, 1/3rd nonfiction. I also enjoyed G's book and reviewed it.

G. B. Miller said...

Darth: Thanks.

Charles: Thanks again for the great review.

M: Thanks for the great review as well.

Ileana said...

What an interesting post and of course, now I feel like checking out his book. He's a Blogger buddy of mine as well and it's cool to learn more about what inspired him to wire and what he's into as far as literature goes.

Btw, I had to google the word, heartened...had an idea of what it meant by the content but had never heard it before, believe it or not. It's the Cuban chica in me coming out... an I'm-living-here-but-not from-here kind of a thing (happens to me every now and then...something that everyone is expected to know yet I don't). :)

Riot Kitty said...

G: Of course!
S: We love the Cuban chica!

A Beer for the Shower said...

I'm all for shameless novel plugging. You had me at "not Stephanie Meyer."

Riot Kitty said...

ABFTS: Cheers!