Welcome to Andrew Grey's guest blog

Welcome Mr. Andrew Grey to Love Romances and More, thank you for joining us.

Thank you so much for having me. It is truly a pleasure.


Did you always want to become a writer?

No. I never gave a thought to writing until a few years ago. I live in Pennsylvania and it was the dead of winter and I got an idea for a story and started writing it down. It started as a short story and progressed to a full novel. But once I discovered writing, I found a creative outlet I never knew I was missing. Now I couldn’t imagine not writing.

What is the most, and the least interesting fact about writing?

The most interesting fact about writing is the creativity. You get to tell a story you create and you get to decide how things will play out. As a writer, you have total control over your story and your characters. The least interesting fact is the hours spent in front of the computer alone. It’s a very solitary pursuit.


How did you celebrate your first release? What was it like to see your book in a bookstore? Do you have a special ritual for celebrating a book release?

My partner and I popped a bottle of champagne and toasted each other after the first book was released. Now, after five books, there isn’t much of a ritual, other than ramping up the promotion and updating websites and blogs. (I do frame a copy of each book; they hang over my computer.)

The first time I was in a bookstore, I picked up my book and so did another customer. They bought it and I got to sign it. It was so cool.


How did your family react to fact that you also write M/M romance novels? Have your family read your books?

I didn’t tell my parents until I was almost done with my first manuscript. They thought it interesting and my mother has read a few of my books and a number of my short stories. She loves A Cruise for Christmas. My sister tells everyone she can find about my books.


Most authors are also avid readers. Is this the case with you? If so, who are some of your favourites? Have any influenced your writing?

I am an avid reader, devouring two or three books a week. I read a number of different things. I love mysteries, adventure stories, and I read a great deal of M/M romance myself. Some of my favourite authors are Rhianne Alle, J. L. Langley, and Ally Blue, as well as Clive Cussler and James Rollins.

I can’t say that one author inspired me more than another, but I take away something from every work I read.


Your release date is really full, which I love as a fan of your books, do you have a problem with deadlines and have you ever suffered a writers block?

Deadlines usually aren’t a problem. For Dreamspinner’s Sindustry and Games in the Dark anthologies, I submitted my stories months in advance. I hate leaving anything to the last minute.


As for writer’s block, I’m working through a case of that right now, but I continue to write every day because you never know what will trigger the next great idea.


Do you prefer stand-alone books or series?

Many of my books are part of a loose series. What happens is that a minor character from a book starts to pique my interest and they sometimes develop into another novel or short story. However, I write each story as a standalone. I feel that’s only fair to the readers. They shouldn’t have to buy books in any particular order.


Your characters come to life in your books. Do you feel each of your characters live with you as you write? Do their lives sometimes take over a part of your life? Can you name an example? Do you have living role models for your characters?

My characters absolutely live with me as I’m writing. As I was writing Love Means… No Shame, I didn’t sleep through the night for almost three weeks. The characters spoke to me all night long. Sometimes, I base character traits on real people. I have a friend that I work out with every day and he’s a great character. He served as the basis for Lonnie, one of my characters in Spot Me. But I had to tone him down, because truth is stranger than fiction and no one would believe the real Lonnie.

Where do you get the inspirations for your books?

Inspiration comes from a number of places. The Best Revenge was inspired by a friends coming out story. (Tyler’s coming out story really happened.) The Children of Bacchus satyr’s were inspired by a nineteenth-century French bronze in my dining room. The Amish character in Love Means… No Shame was inspired by memories of a young man I saw while visiting an Amish bakery when I was eighteen.


Do you find it difficult at times to write love scenes?

Not usually. My partner tells me that the research for my books is half the fun, and I have to agree with him.


What is your favourite book from the books that you have written so far? Who is your favourite hero and why?

My favourite book so far is Love Means… No Shame. I set it near where I grew up just outside Ludington, Michigan. There’s a lot of me personally in that story.

My favourite hero from one of my books is probably Geoff (Love Means… No Shame) because I got to write him as an adult and as a child. For me, he has a fully developed life from childhood on.


Which book was the hardest to write and which the easiest?

The hardest of my books to write was Thursday’s Child. I’d just come off a bout of writer’s block and it took months to finish the manuscript. And even after it was completed, I almost scrapped it. The easiest to write was Love Means… No Shame, which comes out later this year. I wrote it in nineteen days. The characters wouldn’t stop speaking to me.


If you could change places with one character from your books, who would it be and why?

I think I’d like to change places with Trent from Thursday’s Child. A big, strong, satyr lover definitely has its appeal along with a great, close-knit group of friends that live in a quiet idyllic setting. There’s something about a quiet life that really appeals to me.


Do you listen to music while you are writing and if so what music is it?

I rarely listen to music, but I often have the television on for background. I find I write best when I have something else to tune out.


If you could choose of your books for a movie, which one would it be and who would you see as the cast?

I would love to see Bottled Up made into a movie. As for casting, I’d love to see someone like Jude Law as Sean and Russell Crowe as Sam. After all, a guy can dream can’t he?

Are you working on anything right now, and can you tell us a teaser about these projects?

I’m currently working on the follow-up to Bottled Up. It’s entitled Uncorked, and tells the story of Bobby, the homeless kid who’s rescued by Sean in Bottled Up. It’s almost done. Through a tragedy, Bobby’s best friend Kenny comes to live with them. As the years go by, Kenny and Bobby grow apart. When Sean and Sam go on vacation, Sean asks both boys to watch the store for them, hoping working together would bring them closer together. It works, but in ways he doesn’t expect.


Big congrats to your latest releases, can you please tell us something about them?

Thursday’s Child was released in May and is the second novel in the Children of Bacchus series. This book tells the story of Vauk, a satyr held for decades in the circus. Vauk is rescued and given freedom and the time to heal. Trent is a teacher who meets Vauk at a Bacchanal. To everyone’s surprise, the reclusive Vauk responds to Trent and he’s able to help him out of his shell. But Vauk has a past that he isn’t even aware of that intrudes on their potential happiness.


Bottled Up was released in late July and tells the story of a wine store owner who rescues a homeless teenager who is attacked in the alley behind his story. When the police arrive, he finally notices Sam, one of the responding officers. Sean builds a parental relationship with Bobby while he tries to build a romantic relationship with Sam.



Spot Me was released earlier this month and tells the story of Dan and Gene. Dan works out every day, and when he sees Gene for the first time at the gym, he can barely finish his workout. Gene is gorgeous and Dan can’t understand why he seems to be interested in him.


Love Means… No Shame will be released this fall. It tells the story of Geoff, a young man who returns home after the death of his father to run the family farm. One morning, he’s called to the barn by one of the hands. When he arrives he finds a young man sleeping in one of the horse stalls and wonders, “What is an Amish boy doing sleeping in my barn?”


Love Means… Courage is the prequel to Love Means… No Shame and tells the story of Geoff’s dads, Len and Cliff. This story was fun, because I got to write Geoff as a young child. He’s the one character that I got to write as a child and as an adult.