Dreamspinner Press discussion

Lou Sylvre, author of Loving Luki Vasquez, joins us today from 1-6 EST for question and answers, contests, excerpts, and more. If you already have questions for Lou, feel free to start leaving them now!

Hi Lou. Your book has one of the most gorgeous covers I've ever seen. What part did you have in it and what did you think when you saw it? - Cardeno C.

Hi! I'm already here. That means I'm early, which is almost never the case. If you have questions and/or comments, I'm ready (even though I'm in my bathrobe). Meanwhile I'm trying to figure out how Damon Suede posted his cover picture, because I thought that was cool and I want to do it, too.

Hello Lou,
Fave poets? Did any poets influence your writing?

Hi, thanks for asking. Of course the artist Reese Dante created the design (and I agree it's gorgeous). I did ask for a couple of elements. I wante Luki (the badass) to be in there with his gun, and I wanted the romance to be represented, too. Finally I did hope Sonny's weaving could be represented—which Reese did beautifully by overlaying the weave texture. I am very happy with what she made.

Okay, I'm not sure I replied to the right question. This reply goes with what Cardeno asked... I have som much to learn about virtual communication. (sigh) Lou wrote: "Hi, thanks for asking. Of course the artist Reese Dante created the design (and I agree it's gorgeous). I did ask for a couple of elements. I wante Luki (the badass) to be in there with his gun, an..."

Hi James, thanks for coming by! That's a very good question. My fave poets are (stranely enough) Goethe, e.e. cummings, and Poe. As for influence, I can say that yes, poetry influences my writing, but not in a direct sense. I will answer this better if you give me a few minutes to find a couple of the poems I'm thinking of. Okay? James wrote: "Hello Lou,
Fave poets? Did any poets influence your writing?"

Well, I can't figure out how to post my cover image. I'm a little sad about that. If anyone knows how in a few easy steps, I'd love to know. Meanwhile, I can send you to the Dreamspinner link: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/stor... which should get you to an image, if you'd like to see it.

James, Goethe wrote Wilkommen and Abschied, Welcome and Farewell, basically about a man who falls deeply in "love" for one night, then rides away. It's not the ending that touches me, but the flow of emotion. e.e. cummings wrote my favorite poem ever: anyone lived in a pretty how town/ (with up so floating many bells down)... and it goes on through a whole life, through a love and a wedding and in the end, a natural death for both. Somehow, the poet contrived to make that a happy ending. And that's romance, I think.

Even though it's early, I'm going to go ahead and post the blurb. Does it pique your interest? (I hope so!)

Reclusive weaver Sonny Bly James controls every color and shape in his tapestries, but he can’t control the pattern of his life—a random encounter with Luki Vasquez, ex-ATF agent and all-around badass, makes that perfectly clear. The mutual attraction is immediate, but love-shy Sonny has retreated from life, and Luki wears his visible and not-so-visible scars like armor. Neither can bare his soul with ease.

While they run from desire, they can’t hide from the evil that hunts them. After it becomes clear that a violent stalker has targeted Sonny, Luki’s protective instincts won’t let him run far, especially when Sonny’s family is targeted as well. Whether they can forgive or forget, Sonny and Luki will have to call a truce and work together to save Sonny’s nephew and fight an enemy intent on making sure loving Luki Vasquez is the last mistake Sonny will ever make.

Yay! Thanks Damon and thanks Sarah. with your help, it worked! And, extra bonus, it even links to Dreamspinner. Anyway, Cardeno C. commented on the cover earlier. If you haven't already seen it, here it is. What do you think?

Yes, thank you Sarah. I've gone over to Reese's Website and, wow! Wonderful work. I'm already sort of envisioning what Vasquez and James book 2 will look like after she does her magic.

Sarah, I have the link active on the image in my blog, so when I cut the html, I just included the
Sarah wrote: "Whee! Awesome! Glad that worked--but how did you get it to link back to the buy page on Dreamspinner? That's fantastic!"

Lou wrote: "

Yay! Thanks Damon and thanks Sarah. with your help, it worked! And, extra bonus, it even links to Dreamspinner. Anyway, Cardeno C. commented on the cover earlier. If you haven't already seen it,..." I'm so glad! I think it looks stunning... very moody and lush. :)

Thanks, Damon. That is a fabulous description. I like to think that describes the story as well, or at least pieces of it. I'm going to post the prologue, see what everyone thinks of that. It's a little not pleasant, perhaps, but maybe it could be described as moody, or lush.

Pfft! Pleasant?! Who wants pleasant? LOL GIve me grist, give me grind!

Without giving anythign away (no spoilers!) what was the darkest, most unpleasant thing you had to write in this book?

Okay, here's the prologue (which I thought I posted earlier, but possibly changed my mind, because I don't see it.)

Oak Flats, Nebraska, 1982

A MUD-SPATTERED pickup in the front yard of a weathered house. Summer-gold hayfields rolling back farther than the eye could see. In the west, a sinking sun screened by a line of trees—cottonwoods and willows. Under those trees, a band of children just into their teens, whooping and laughing in that way that kids do in the summer when night is just on the edge of the next breath.

Luki ran faster than all the rest, and then looped back to taunt them. Excitement like electricity ran through him. Something about this day, this hour, this prelude to night, was special. “Maria,” he yelled. “I’ll race ya!”

It started a stampede, all seven of the boys and Maria, the one girl who always hung out with them, running as if they could fly, thrashing through brambles and over sticks and stones as if they couldn’t feel them. Out onto the Old Granary Road, onto the bridge, right over the rail and into the river, just as they’d done hundreds of times before.

Luki swam underwater for as long as he could hold his breath, which was longer than anyone, except maybe Maria. When he came up, laughing and spitting, and slicked his hair back out of his eyes, all of the other boys had gathered at the shore, whispering, or maybe arguing. Maria hadn’t even gone in, and now she was worming her way down the steep embankment from the road to the river.

The sun sank under the skyline, and the river turned dark, and Luki felt a chill run through him.

“Hey, Luki, c’mon over here, man.” It was Ronny Jemison, the boy that was a bit taller, a bit rougher, a bit meaner than any of the rest. Maybe the leader, if they had been a gang. “We’ve got something for you. C’mon.”

Ronny scared him when he was like this. Luki had seen the bully push Little Jimmy down the bank, yank Maria’s hair hard enough to put her on her knees, kill birds and frogs and rabbits—anything that lived—just to be killing. But, scared or not, Luki knew he had to choose: go and fight and maybe get hurt, or be deemed a coward and so get picked on—probably for the rest of his life.

So Luki went.

Before he quite made it safely to dry land, Ronny smacked him hard in the face with a balled up fist, and yelled one word, spit it at Luki as if it was made of acid and would flay him.

“Faggot!”

WOW what a wonderful cover and story, Lou. Do you plot your stories?

Wow I love the cover and what a great excerpt.

Hmm. Let's see if I can answer that. There are a few candidates, and I'm not sure I can choose. One is where Luki tells the rest of the incident that starts in the prologue. In another, Luki, with all his fighting skills and his cold, cold heart, so to speak, meets up with "Ronny" as an adult. I don't want to go into too much detail with those. The very darkest part is, as you might guess, the stories climax. Which involves a bomb and a sicko. I think I can say that much without giving anything away. I might, after a bit, post an excerpt that has a little humor but it ends with ugly.
Damon wrote: "Pfft! Pleasant?! Who wants pleasant? LOL GIve me grist, give me grind!

Without giving anythign away (no spoilers!) what was the darkest, most unpleasant thing you had to write in this book?"

Hi, Lily. Thanks! I do start out with a plot pretty solidly in mind. Wierdly, I generally do start out with a plot pretty much in mind, try to outline but get distracted when one of the outline points decides it wants to be told. Then I write about half, decide it's gotten out of hand, try to outline again—sometimes by laying out papers on the floor. Then I ignore the outline, write to the end, and find I've pretty much followed the plot! (More info than you wanted?)

Lily wrote: "WOW what a wonderful cover and story, Lou. Do you plot your stories?"

Thanks, Elizabeth! The cover really represents what my characters are like, in my mind. It's a bittersweet kind of romance, and then that's, figuratively speaking, chased around by suspense. Or intrigue. To be honest I've never quite figured out where the line is between suspense and intrigue. ☺
Elizabeth wrote: "Wow I love the cover and what a great excerpt."

nope perfect info. Lou :)

Lou wrote: "Hmm. Let's see if I can answer that. There are a few candidates, and I'm not sure I can choose. One is where Luki tells the rest of the incident that starts in the prologue. In another, Luki, with..."

That was exactly what I was wondering and a perfect way to answer without giving anything away... Excellent, Lou. :) DO you feel like contemporary thrillers are where your heart is at in terms of M/M? Any paranormal or sci-fi or historical plans/interest?

Great, Lily. Thanks for a good question. I do want to mention that I actually know how to spell weird, and I don't usually repeat myself repeat myself in writing. :0 Lily wrote: "nope perfect info. Lou :)"

For the time being it is, Damon. Which surprises me, because I've always thought of myself as a sort of fantasy/sci-fi/almost horror kind of person. But I have the next Vasquez and James mostly written (Delsyn's Blues, slated for January, yay) and more to come, and then I have another series in mind that involves the sorts of things that can happen in a plant that manufactures military aviation devices, a plant with lots of cubbies and storage closets. All kinds of possibilities. (Not just the steamy kind, the intriguing kind, too.) Damon wrote: "Lou wrote: "Hmm. Let's see if I can answer that. There are a few candidates, and I'm not sure I can choose. One is where Luki tells the rest of the incident that starts in the prologue. In another..."

Lou - bagpipes? Really? How cool!

Hi Lou,

Looks like you got the action started here! I need to leave to attend a memorial service but I hope you have fun on your Q&A day.

I'll throw out a question... do any of your characters display habits stolen from their creator?

S.A.

interest is piqued after reading your blurb :). So what started the idea to write this book? What sparked the beginning?

Hi, Angel. Well, as I said it should be outlawed. Which is because I can't play them, but for some reason I felt the need to buy them. So, I own medieval small pipes, and Scottish parlor pipes (a small version of the big ones). If I practice up I can play a simple piece on the medieval pipes. You don't want to be anywhere in a three block radius if I pick up the Scottish ones. ☺ I'm thinking a cajun button accordian is next. What do you think? Angel wrote: "Lou - bagpipes? Really? How cool!"

Oh, I'm sorry you can't stay S.A. And I'm also sorry it's for a memorial. I'll try to answer your question in the meantime, and maybe you can checkback for the answer later. (And thanks, very much, for stopping by.)
Running into a problem here, because I honestly don't know if I've bestowed my characteristics on them. I guess probably Luki's habit of always having a million things going on in his head behind a calm facade is maybe like me, only he pulls it off lots better. I'll have to think some more on that. It's an excellent question.
S.A. wrote: "Hi Lou,

Looks like you got the action started here! I need to leave to attend a memorial service but I hope you have fun on your Q&A day.

I'll throw out a question... do any of your characters d..."

where are you from, Lou? are you a Brit?

Hi Kim, nice to see you here. You know, these characters have lived in my brain for a few years, evolving over time. I love them, plain and simple, and what sparked their story is their love affair. The things that turned it into the novel it is are little bits of peoples' stories, about how family and violence are all balled up into a snarl like Medusa's hair. It's very difficult to pull out the strands and say what started where, and whether sometimes the love is as hurtful as overt violence. How's that for a cheerful answer? Kim wrote: "interest is piqued after reading your blurb :). So what started the idea to write this book? What sparked the beginning?"

No, Lily. I'm from California. Nowhere near the UK. But, I have for lots of years lived in the Pacific Northwest, the rainy, grey part, and I'm told England has a lot of grey days, too. So perhaps there is some similarity. How about you? Lily wrote: "where are you from, Lou? are you a Brit?"

Well who says live needs to be cheerful :). What did you find the most challenging about creating this love affair, transferring it from brain to paper (or computer as the case may be)

So I was reading through the blurb and the name Luki really caught my attention. Was there any inspiration for this name? Was it based on someone in real life?

Well. (Clears throat.) I'm not a gay man. I did have to make sure that the things I had the guys doing were more or less possible. I won't go into that any deeper. Practicalities aside, though, these two men are opposites in so many ways, to the point that they're sort of a conflict waiting to happen, to paraphrase the cliche. It was a bit of a challenge to keep their tempers and broken hearts down to a manageable level, make sure that those kinds of things only came into the story where it did some good, and that it didn't unbalance their romance altogether. Excellent question. Kim wrote: "Well who says live needs to be cheerful :). What did you find the most challenging about creating this love affair, transferring it from brain to paper (or computer as the case may be)"

Lou wrote: "No, Lily. I'm from California. Nowhere near the UK. But, I have for lots of years lived in the Pacific Northwest, the rainy, grey part, and I'm told England has a lot of grey days, too. So perhaps ..."

nope, not a Brit either. I'm a native NYer who is presently living in VA

Hi, welcome. That's one of the things I most like to answer, about character names. They are so important to me! I literally spend hours, sometimes days to find the name that fits the character. In Luki's case, for reasons unbeknownst to me, I decided that his heritage is mixed, Hawaiian and Basque (which is what Vassquez means). He has a beautiful, melodic Hawaiian middle name, but Luki is Basque. I chose it because of it's meaning, which is about being a badass, but also because of the heritage. I choose the name because of who the character is, but then the name almost always serves to define them further. Luki really fits his name. Hjb23 wrote: "So I was reading through the blurb and the name Luki really caught my attention. Was there any inspiration for this name? Was it based on someone in real life?"

You said you were working on more in your series, do you prefer series (is the plural of that seriea?) to the stand alone story?

Me, I'm a serial lover! LOL

New York to Virginia, Lily. City or country? Lily wrote: "Lou wrote: "No, Lily. I'm from California. Nowhere near the UK. But, I have for lots of years lived in the Pacific Northwest, the rainy, grey part, and I'm told England has a lot of grey days, too...."

Me too, Elizabeth! I read and write, both, characters that I love that have good stories in their lives. When that first story is over, I feel bereft if I don't get to spend more time with the characters. Sometime a series is about a concept of place rather than the people, and that works, too. I guess it's just that, very often, there's more to be said after the first book. Elizabeth wrote: "You said you were working on more in your series, do you prefer series (is the plural of that seriea?) to the stand alone story?

Me, I'm a serial lover! LOL"

Lou wrote: "☺ I'm thinking a cajun button accordian is next. What do you think?"

Definitely! My aunt always had an old button accordion. She'd call us on our birthdays to play Happy Birthday on that darn thing. Yes, we'd roll our eyes and grumble, but I do love the sound of one still.

Yeah, me too. I only wish I had a little more time and a soundproof booth. I'm pretty sure I could learn to play one within a couple years. So Angel, are you (or your aunt)from Cajun country? Angel wrote: "Lou wrote: "☺ I'm thinking a cajun button accordian is next. What do you think?"

Definitely! My aunt always had an old button accordion. She'd call us on our birthdays to play Happy Birthday on th..."

Lou wrote: "Me too, Elizabeth! I read and write, both, characters that I love that have good stories in their lives. When that first story is over, I feel bereft if I don't get to spend more time with the char..."

Ha! I'm the same way, I always want more. As a reader I'll almost never read something not part of a series, there is always so much more for plot and characters.

As a writer I'm far more comfortable with a series.

Course I hit post too fast.

I wanted to add I'm so glad your book is part of a series, I think I'm going to really enjoy it.

We're on the same page, then, Elizabeth (so to speak.) Do you read (or write) much romance that has suspenseful edge to it? A fave series? Elizabeth wrote: "Lou wrote: "Me too, Elizabeth! I read and write, both, characters that I love that have good stories in their lives. When that first story is over, I feel bereft if I don't get to spend more time w..."

Lou wrote: " So Angel, are you (or your aunt)from Cajun country? "

Nope, I live in the extraordinarily boring state of Delaware, always have. My mother and her sister came from Germany in the '50's. Mom's still with us, Tante Lore passed a few years ago.

And I love that Luki's Basque - what a marvelous language that is!

Thank you! Please, after you do, let me know what you thought! (Seems like a good place to post contact info: lou(dot)sylvre(at)gmail(dot)com, for email. Or Lou Sylvre on facebook, or http://www.sylvre.com for my blog, where I feature my fellow authors writing in the genre. It's a great way to get to know about some of the M/M romances out there, many of which are series! And forgive me for hijacking your comment like that. ☺ Elizabeth wrote: "Course I hit post too fast.

I wanted to add I'm so glad your book is part of a series, I think I'm going to really enjoy it."

So did you always know you wanted to be a writer? Or was it a gradual discovery?