I know some of your favorite things we feature in the blogs are interviews with our many authors here at GA! Today, we’re bringing you an interview Myiege did with Promising Author: Mann Ramblings. Mann joined GA in September of 2012 and since then has posted 8 stories with a total of 470 reviews and over a quarter of a million words!

I’d like to thank both Myiege and Mann for taking the time to provide us with this wonderful interview! On top of that, Mann Ramblings has agreed to go one step further. At the end of this interview, we are opening up the interview to the members of Gay Authors! Members will be able to post their own questions to Mann in the comments and he will answer.

Further, while you can post your questions at any point during the day, Mann has agreed to personally be available between the hours of 7pm and 8 pm EST to participate in a blog chat. What this means is during that hour, you will get much quicker responses to your questions! We hope to see lots of member participation. Please keep in mind all the regular forum rules regarding content will still apply.

What does Mann Ramblings have to say about the Blog Chat? Lets see...

Being part of GA has been such a great experience and I'm incredibly thrilled to be interviewed. I hope I get the chance to read and answer everyone's questions. No naughty queries, please. At least not in the open forum.

Now, onto the interview!

Interviewer: Myiege

When and why did you start writing? When did it become more than just a ‘hobby’? What is Mann Ramblings’s ‘origin’ story?

I wanted to write and draw my own graphic novels when I was younger. In college I majored for a while with art and creative writing and started a few stories but never finished anything. A few years ago (A long time later) I found the Nifty archive and from there found Literotica and found the niche I wanted to write inside of. I just decided to give it a shot.

Your story, Little Man, was the first story you posted on GA, right? Where did you get the inspiration for it? Why did you want to write it? Was it hard to actually hit that ‘submit story’ button?

Little Man was that first M/M story I wrote period. I just wanted to write something. It started as something else entirely and when I decided to create the backstory is somehow morphed into what it is now. I used my own college experiences to help shape the characters and the story just sort of happened. I took a while before I felt comfortable enough to post. I finally got the push from another M/M author, NightTempest to make the plunge. She directed me to GA as a more nurturing atmosphere for a fledgling writer. I was incredibly nervous, but the results were better than I ever expected.

You write in a lot of different genres; sci-fi, contemporary, and a little bit of modern fantasy! What would you say is your favorite genre to write in?

I find the genre to make for a great setting but I try not to let it drive the story. Sci-fi has been really fun because you get to form your own world within the confines of plausible (perhaps) reality. I'm not particular for any genre other than M/M. Hopefully I get to try them all.

What goes into your writing process and how do you find ‘the zone’?

I jot down lots of random notes (typically at work, LOL) and eventually write an outline of the entire story so I have a specific direction. I'm not great with writing spontaneously and letting the story take you where it will. Oh no. I need more control over it then that. I envy the authors who can work that way. Then I just try to carve out a niche in time to do the work when I can.

Your boys in Ship Logs of the Santa Claus series are all very…distinct. Rough and tumble guys who all happen to shun the…erm, fairer sex. What inspired you to write the crew in this way?

The crew of the Santa Claus are basically various aspects of the kind of men I want to read about. I sometimes feel there aren't enough stories with masculine men in them that aren't just porn. I always dreamed of visiting places where there weren't anyone there except gay men who could enjoy each other's company, so I made the crew to reflect that. And only Captain Danverse shuns women, the rest go along because he's in charge. I may expand on his background in a future story.

How would you say your writing has evolved since coming onto GA and sharing your tales with the rest of us internet fiends?

I'd say I'm feeling more confident if nothing else. The idea of writing a novel length story is a lot less scarier than it used to be. And I can finish what I started! I keep getting reviews that tell me how my writing keeps getting better. That's such a nice feeling.

What inspires you?

Anything and everything. Inspirations often come in flashes for me and I rarely remember where they came from. So Little Magic Left started from one of Comicfan's Friday writing prompts and has turned into something huge!

After So Little Magic Left, do you have any plan for future works? Could you maybe tell us a bit?

I'm working on my December anthology piece which is in beta-reading/edit mode as of this moment. Then I plan on finishing the last chapters of SLML so I can open my time up to start planning the next installment of the Santa Claus crew.

Last words? Advice? A confession? “You kids get off my lawn!”?

I don't have much advice because I still often feel like an amateur no matter what anyone says. But outside of that, I would say if you have something in your head, write it. There are a number of people on GA who would be happy to help you iron out the bugs. Accept constructive criticism the way it's intended, to help make the story better.

That's it for the interview portion of today's Wacky Wednesday. Don't forget to post your questions to Mann, and don't forget, he'll be available on the blog from 7pm-8pm EST to answer your questions as you ask them!