Today I welcome M.D. Neu to the blog to answer a few questions
for Author Interview³.
1) Tell us 3 facts about your writing history
My first release was planned as a giveaway for people who signed up for my blog, but my Editor loved it. He wanted it expanded into a short story and to publish it. So that is how, The Reunion, came to be.
My upcoming novel A New World – Contact started as a play for my drama class. It never was a play and turned into a novel, which is now part of a planned 3-book series.
2) Describe your writing style in 3 words
Relaxed, Conversational, and Fun
3) Name 3 of your literary influences
Stephen King
Alice Walker
Anne Rice
Kim Stanley Robinson
I know it’s four but they all are my influences.
4) Share your 3 favourite books
The Mars Series (Red, Green, Blue)
Interview with the Vampire
The Stand
5) What are your 3 essential writing tools?
Laptop
Pro Writing Aid
Water
6) Where are your 3 favourite places to write?
In my Den
In my Dining Room
On the patio overlooking the Ocean (I can dream)
7) Name 3 items on your writing wish list
A period piece set in either the Victorian or Edwardian Era
A Young Adult novel
An Epic Fantasy set in a different universe during contemporary times
8) What are your top 3 tips for aspiring writers?
Never give up.
Write what you know.
Write what you would want to read.
9) Tell us 3 of your writing plans for the year ahead
Release my next two novels, A New World – Contact (Part 1 and 2), and T.A.D – The Angel of Death.
Workshop my current work in progress, The Called – Book Two of The Calling
Start writing book three in my A New World series
10) Tell us about your latest release
Currently I have three books published through Ninestar Press: two short stories (The Reunion and A Dragon for Christmas) and my debut novel The Calling, all three of which are out and can be purchased. These books jump across genres and have been so much fun to write, and I’m thrilled people are enjoying them. The Reunion is a ghost story. A Dragon for Christmas is a Christmas fantasy story (which I just love). The Calling is my contemporary vampire story set is San Jose, California. All three books were written not only for the LGBTQIA+ community but for the general public, with a focus on storytelling and not romance. Even The Calling focuses less on romance (there is a romantic subplot) than on the journey the main character takes, which is something I believe we can all relate to.
On January 21, 2019 my newest novel A New World – Contact will be released by Ninestar Press. And I’m excited for people to read it. A New World – Contact is a Sci-Fi story which I’ve spent the last ten years (well, more than that--this is the book that started off as a play) working on. This story, like my other novels, has been written with a focus on the LGBTQIA+ community but is for everyone to enjoy. The novel, and series, is about our main character having an epic adventure. He’s a normal guy who just so happens to be gay. I hope people will fall in love with not only him but all the characters I’ve created for the story. I think people will find something in this novel to relate to.
On the cusp of the greatest announcement humankind has ever witnessed, Todd’s personal world is thrown into turmoil when his estranged brother shows up on his front porch with news of ships heading for Earth’s orbit. The ships are holding the Nentraee, a humanoid race who have come to Earth in need of help after fleeing the destruction of their homeworld. How will one man bridge the gap for both the Humans and Nentraee, amongst mistrust, terrorist attacks and personal loss? Will this be the start of a new age of man or will bigotry and miscommunication bring this small world to its knees and final end?
In the meantime I invite people to check out my other novels as a warm up to A New World - Contact.
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It’s been twenty years since the quiet Midwestern town of Lakeview was struck by tragedy. But every year on the anniversary of the tragic event Teddy returns home for ‘The Reunion’. Lakeview, like Teddy, has secrets and not all mysteries should come to light. NineStar Press / Amazon / B&N / iTunes / Kobo |
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Carmen is eleven years old and wants to get her dragon. Since she was seven years old, she understood two things. One, she was going to be the strongest Dragon Keeper there ever was. The second was that she was going to marry her best friend, Mattie. As Christmas approaches the magical charms Carmen has to use to fight off her curse are taking a toll on her health. But that can’t stop her from taking her finale test to become a Dragon Keeper. If she passes her test she gets her dragon, if not, she has to start all over relying on different magical charms to fight the curse for her. That is something Carmen doesn’t want to have to go through. The testing is difficult and charms make her sick. Carmen has decided that if she doesn’t get her dragon this Christmas she’s not going to go for a third attempt, even if that means she can’t marry Mattie when she grows up. NineStar Press / Amazon / B&N / iTunes / Kobo |
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Being nobody isn’t Duncan Alexander’s life goal, but it’s worked for him. He has a nondescript job, a few good friends, and overall he’s content. That’s until one fateful trip to San Jose, California, where he is ‘Called’ to meet the mysterious Juliet de Exter. Juliet is a beautiful, wealthy, powerful Immortal who is undertaking ‘The Calling’ – a search for a human to join her world of Immortals. Inexplicably, Duncan’s calling is more dangerous than any of the Immortals, even Juliet, ever thought it would be. There is more to this nobody, this only child of long deceased parents, than anyone thought. When Duncan experiences uncontrollable dreams of people he doesn’t know and places he hasn’t been, Juliet and the other Immortals worry. Soon, his visions point to a coven of long dead witches. The dreams also lead Duncan to his one true love. How will Duncan navigate a forbidden romance with an outcast Immortal? How will he and the others keep the balance between the Light and Dark, survive vicious attacks, and keep the humans from learning who they truly are? More importantly, who is this implacable foe Duncan keeps seeing in his dreams? NineStar Press / Amazon / B&N / iTunes / Kobo |
M.D. Neu is a LGBTQA Fiction Writer with a love for writing and travel. Living in the heart of Silicon Valley (San Jose, California) and growing up around technology, he’s always been fascinated with what could be. Specifically drawn to Science Fiction and Paranormal television and novels, M.D. Neu was inspired by the great Gene Roddenberry, George Lucas, Stephen King, Alice Walker, Alfred Hitchcock, Harvey Fierstein, Anne Rice, and Kim Stanley Robinson. An odd combination, but one that has influenced his writing.
With his three recently released books he wanted to show our diverse LGBTQA community focusing on often forgotten or marginalized characters. In The Reunion the main character is a gay man, but he’s also a Drag Queen and he befriends a trans women and the two become fast friends. In A Dragon for Christmas, Neu focuses on an eleven-year-old lesbian Latina giving her the adventure of a lifetime. In his debut novel, The Calling, Neu tells the story of an average gay man, not one of the beautiful gays we see everywhere. In this novel gay isn’t the focus of the story, it’s all about the adventure this one man gets to have.
Growing up in an accepting family as a gay man he always wondered why there were never stories reflecting who he was. Constantly surrounded by characters that only reflected heterosexual society, M.D. Neu decided he wanted to change that. So, he took to writing, wanting to tell good stories that reflected our diverse world.
When M.D. Neu isn’t writing, he works for a non-profit and travels with his biggest supporter and his harshest critic, Eric, his husband of nineteen plus years.
Thank you Nicki for having me. This was so much fun. I love the rapid fire questions. That was great.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome. Glad you had fun with it.
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