Did you catch this month's CSR Feature by @AusGlitterati? The Weakest Link: Teenage Triumphs Edition & the follow-up story are both available for you to enjoy, if you haven't already, but make sure you read this interview first. 

Chocolate or Vanilla?
Vanilla all the way! I always have to wonder why vanilla gets a bad rep as the boring or basic flavour. Vanilla is actually lit, and it deserves more respect on its name - chocolate is the basic flavour. That's the hill I will die on. 😁

What’s one location you’d love to go to research for a story?
The copout answer is a tropical paradise where I can have a cocktail while floating down a river in an inflatable tube. I hear Hawaii is great for it! But I'm not writing about Hawaii, so that's not an option.

The other one is the Weakest Link set - I made it through two stages to get to the third and final application to be a contestant, but I guess my video answer to which three living or dead celebrities I'd invite to a dinner party (I picked three of the Golden Girls) wasn't good enough. The show was cancelled after one season and I didn't make it on - I'm not suggesting I would have saved it, but we'll never know now, will we? 😎

But an introspective answer is challenging - since COVID, travelling hasn't been something I've thought much about. 

I always wanted to write a scene - I'm not picky as to which story I can write it in - where a guy works up the courage to propose to his partner at Niagara Falls, only to have his partner propose to him first. Does this count as a spoiler? 

So I want to see the falls myself (I really hope nobody proposes to me) and see the magic! 

What’s something personal about you people might be surprised to know?
Though most of my stories heavily feature gay males and delve into relationships and sex - I actually identify more closely as aroace (aromantic & asexual).

What brought you to the GA? 
Heterosexual romance plotlines tend to bore me to death - which is unfortunate, since it's a subplot in literally every story, film or TV show ever. But gay romance was still tricky to find even just seven or so years ago when I stumbled across GA. I really enjoyed the stories I read. Not just romance, but it was refreshing to read authentic characters and storylines that were conceived and cultivated with love from the LGBTQ+ community. It was inspiring enough to put down some creativity of my own on figurative paper. 

Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?
Setting a visual scene. I don't know how anybody has the patience or vivid imagination to paint a beautiful setting, spending paragraphs turning it into a work of art that you can see all around you. I have to discipline myself to do this. I tend to invest heavily in characterising and dialogue to compensate. I really do envy the talented authors who specialise in descriptive writing.

What is your favorite part of being an author?
Creative freedom, so far! For example, I couldn't find a story about gay wrestlers - except for the ones that you find on Nifty. So I just made one up! That's something I enjoy. If I can't find the story I want to read, I have the tools to do it myself. 

It's also great to have a small but very loyal group of people that follow my stories and interact with them. It brings a lot of joy and validation to see them popping up to support me - I can't thank them enough!

Share the inspiration for The Weakest Link. Did the overall story or a character come to you first?
The character first, definitely. Lance Lovecraft is the deuteragonist of To The Stars, and in his backstory, he took part in many different televised contests and pageants growing up. Having loved The Weakest Link since I was young (I love the ruthless way the game is run!) I attached that to his list of achievements. When the reboot of The Weakest Link came around, I figured I'd have a crack at writing the spinoff of Lance participating on the show. I had a LOT of fun writing it! 

Do you have a favorite scene or character in the story?
I feel it would be cheating to say Lance, since he's the protagonist and the reason I wrote the story in the first place! But other characters popped out at me. This story has two antagonists, and one of them is a young actor whom Lance has been fangirling about - until he meets him in person! Jamie turns out to be everything you don't want to see in someone you were crushing on. 

You wrote a follow-up story to The Weakest Link: Teenage Triumphs Edition. Do you have a preference for one over the other and why?
Talented Teens just wrapped up - I don't think it captured the same magic that the first one did. It was a fun way to have characters from different stories interact with each other in a believable (sort of!) and organic way, but I made an entirely fresh cast around an existing protagonist in Teenage Triumphs. I think my mistake with Talented Teens was to do it differently. Not to say I didn't enjoy writing Talented Teens - but it wasn't quite the same. 

Still, you miss all the shots you don't take! 

Can you share a little of your current or upcoming work with readers?
I'm currently in the process of rewriting Parity into a newer format - Topher should hopefully be the first to get his story completed!
Beyond that, both Talented Teens and Teenage Triumphs will feature again - I'd love to do an all-stars story between the two groups, but time will tell!
As they say in wrestling, the card is subject to change!