It's been a long month, but this month's feature was a long read for you to enjoy! Did you read Mrsgnomie's Still You Want Me? Make sure you leave your thoughts in the comments below, but first, enjoy this interview with her! 

Have you ever gone out in public, realized your shirt is on backwards, and just don’t care?

Backwards, inside out, see through with black bra (not on purpose like the current trend). I wouldn’t say I’m a hot mess, but I’ve had my moments. I tend to embrace them. Life is too short to fret over trivial things like this, plus, it might bring a smile to someone’s day!

What do you like to do when you’re not writing?

Traveling. 100%. I never left Oregon until I was 24. Never went on a flight until I was 26. I’ve spent the last 10 years making up for lost time. The value we gain from visiting other cultures is paramount. I’ve grown more in the last 10 years then I did the 26 before that. I want travelling to be so normal for my kids that they take it for granted.

If you were writing a book about your life, what would the title be?

From Acorn to Oak Tree.

What brought you to GA?

I published Still You Want Me on a different site. It got pretty good feedback. Some of the best feedback. Someone emailed, we became friends, then she directed me to GA and told me to post here. I admit, the feedback on GA wasn’t nearly as good as the other site. Looking back, I didn’t know GA well enough and the learning curve was a little harsh. I almost didn’t post my second story, Three Strikes, but I thought, why not? What do I have to lose? I’m glad I did. Now GA is my go-to and the other site is an afterthought.

What’s the best part of being an author? The hardest part?

Best part and the hardest part of being an author is the readers. The best because they are awesome, encouraging, and insightful. They’ve made my stories better because of their comments and foresight. They keep me accountable, they keep me writing, they keep motivated. Knowing they enjoy something I crafted from scratch is a high like no other. But it’s a double edge sword, because they can be brutal. I got a email a few months ago from a reader who RAILED me because I depicted Seamus’s family as being trailer-trashy. Well, let me tell you, this reader had some things to say (1k+ words) about that! Evidentially, because of Covid and the negative effects it had on people, this depiction was heartless, cold, and alienated my readers. It wasn’t Seamus’ family’s fault for needing to be on assistance. A) covid is not referenced in my story. His family is generational white trash, by choice. Needless to say, they were beyond offended and “will no longer be reading any of my stories”.

But yeah, it can be hard to read negative feedback even if it is part of the process.

Did something specific inspire you to write Still You Want Me?

I guess, my own reading desire inspired me to write. I was enjoying (insert the many tropes you’ll find in SYWM) but I was running into a brick wall finding similar stories. I decided to take a stab at it myself. What you can’t find, you write. I’d read some pretty terrible stories, so the bar was kind of low.

The story has Drama, Comedy, and Romance as the genres. Do you feel one dominates the plot?

I was going to say, no, I think they’re evenly distributed. But then I was like, who am I kidding? Drama. Definitely drama.

Do you identify with either Colin or Charles more, and if so, why?

This is a big fat neither. Don’t get me wrong, each character has something about them that was taken from me (Colin’s love of tea. Charles’ love of eating out and being the best hostess) but overall, both Colin and Charles are so different from me. Probably why I wanted to write them. But, if my hands were tied and a gun was pointed to my head, I’d say I most identify with the second-half-of-the-story Charles. Once you strip away his ego, money, and status, Charles is extremely thoughtful and kind…just like me.

What is your favorite quote or scene from Still You Want Me and why?

Okay, first of all, this is rude. I haven’t re-read this story since I posted it back in 2018, so I had to go back to find a quote. Now I’m eating brownies and cringing. It is clearly my FIRST ever attempt. That much is obvious. Like, could I have used more exclamation points? *shudders*

I think my favorite scene is when they go to the gym. Colin is still in denial about his feelings but seeing another guy hitting on Charles sends him for a loop. He gets territorial and the claws come out. It’s all very out of character for Colin. Plus, Colin’s nicknames for his competition crack me up. Shorty McDouchebag, Short McFlirt, Shorty McUglyface, etc. The un-beknownst-to-Colin jealousy amuses me.

This line from Colin to Charlie: “Can you try to focus on me instead of Shorty McFlirt over there? I don’t want the weights to fall and crush me because you’re too busy ogling some twink with a bad haircut.”

Can you share a little of your current and/or future work with readers?

Absolutely. I’m currently 4 chapters deep on a spin off from Boss Nanny. Jay Petermeyer is the first football player to be drafted as out and proud. He’s been playing professionally for 10 years and in that time, he’s built a stellar reputation. You can’t find a smudge to his name. You also can’t find a shirtless photo. It’s not that he’s prude, he just believes that some things should be private—that the world isn’t entitled to every piece of him. Loren, on the other hand, is one of the biggest social media influencers, period. He started as a pre-teen playing video games in his friend’s room. A decade-and-a-half later, he’s got over 20 million followers.

Loren is a wild horse.

Jay is the patient trainer who can see what lies beneath.

The other story I’m working on is called All the Kings Men. It’s not fully worked out but it’s about a group of friends, they’re close. The type of closeness that forms from childhood trauma. A rags-to-riches situation, in a sense. As adults, they’re the it group. The friend group that everyone wants to be a part of. They’re social and outgoing, but at the end of the day, they’re not accepting new members. In the middle of this group is James King. After a toxic relationship isolates him from his friends for five years, they’re finally reunited. Not only are they ecstatic to have their friend back, they’re now insanely protective of him, too. They almost lost him once…

Trevor has a the best one-night-stand of his life while visiting family in Denver and before heading on the road to do a few Keynote speaking events for work. As one of the top commercial real estate agents on the west coast, he’s a hot commodity. When he finally gets back home, he goes for a drink with his friends. That’s when he sees the super-fun-one-night-stand guy. He’s not big on relationships but he won’t lie and say he’s not a little interested in James. He’s also familiar with James’s friends. At once point, he wanted to be in their circle because it was the place to be. Now he wanted in their circle because getting to James will never happen without the approval of the King’s Men.