Hey Vicksters!

So this week I am very happy to be turning over the Purple Fantasy Den to Andrew J. Peters. Andrew is the author of Werecat and upcoming novel The Seventh Pleiade. Both books I'm sure you will enjoy. Andrew answered 18 questions about himself as a writer and his writing process and I'm sure you will be intrigued by the information that you learn about this author. So, sit back and relax and read all about Andrew J. Peters in the Hot Seat!



1. What do you do on a typical writing day?

I work around a day job so it’s rare, and pretty delightful, when I have a full day to write. I’m most productive in the morning, so most days I sneak an hour or two of writing in before I head off to work. Then, I’ll also write for a few hours in the evening, sometimes as late as midnight or later.

I’m working on two main projects. I have an e-novelette series called Werecat. Book 1 Werecat: The Rearing was the début installment and was released just this past May.

I have a very different kind of series that comes out this November. It’s a re-telling of the legend of Atlantis, and the first book The Seventh Pleiade is the story of a young gay prince who becomes a hero during the last days of the ancient empire.

2. Do you have a particular fondness for any of your characters? Who is nearest and dearest to your heart?

My characters feel like my children, even the ones who do terrible, unforgiveable things, so they’re all close to my heart.

In Werecat, I especially enjoy writing the character Farzan. He’s a self-described: “overachieving, gay Persian with attention deficit disorder.” He’s a twenty-two year old medical school student who collects comic books and has to work the overnight shift in his father’s convenience store. Farzan becomes an unexpected romantic lead. He’s goofy and high strung, but I think he’s really endearing.

3. Do you use pictures for inspiration for your characters? Such as model or actor pics?

A few years back I started an inspiration board for my home office. It was mainly for my Atlantis series so I collected magazine clippings of anything ancient Greek – temples, statues, landscapes, etc..

I have a few pictures of models from magazines, but I shy away from putting anyone well-known on the board. It’s easier for me to build a character in my head when he’s more of a blank slate.

4. Please tell us about the projects you are currently working on; what can readers expect to see in the coming months?I’m working with my editor on Book 2 in the Werecat series. We expect that it will be released in early 2014. Without getting into spoilers, Book 1 is the story of college senior Jacks Dowd who goes on spring break to Montréal, hooks up with a handsome drifter named Benoit, and falls into the world of feline shifters. The second book takes Jacks further into his journey of discovering how to survive his bizarre and violent new life. And there’s a romantic storyline that’s pretty steamy.Besides that, I’m writing the prequel to The Seventh Pleiade, which goes back to the beginning of the Atlantis legend. It’s the story of a young Poseidon and a young woman named Cleito who meet up when each of their lives are gravely endangered. They find themselves joining forces against a common enemy. 5.     What is your most favorite scene that you wrote and for which characters/what book did you write it?I really liked writing the early scenes with Jacks and Benoit in Werecat. There’s a fun flirtation and a hopeful, romantic feel, yet an inevitable sense of danger. The scene where Jacks discovers that Benoit is a panther shifter was one of my favorites too. I think it’s the sexiest, and as a writer, I was able to go off the rails so to speak depicting how a werecat would claim his mate.6.     If you were stranded on an island and could only take 3 people, 3 types of food and 3 things what would they be?Let’s see. Three people? How about my husband, our cat Chloë, and that British survivalist guy Bear Grylls who could tell us what bugs to eat and how to find water. Plus he’s awfully easy on the eyes.Three foods: chocolate, veal parmesan and lots and lots of red wine. Red wine counts as a food, doesn’t it?Three things: a laptop for writing, a King-size Tempur-pedic mattress and lots of sunscreen. I burn easily.7.     When did you start writing?  What inspired you to write?I started creative writing really young. I made picture books, and when I started reading mysteries and fantasies, I used to write my own stories.It was a way for me to express my imagination. I was also a pretty shy kid, so writing was also a safe place for me to withdraw and create worlds where I felt happy and where I belonged.8.    What is the best thing about being a writer?In my experience, when you tell someone you’re a writer, people assume you’re much smarter than you are.9.     If you weren’t a writer what would you be?I might try to give it a go as a pastry chef or a baker. I don’t know that I’d succeed, but what the heck. 
10.            It is quite noticeable that female writers of the MM genre outnumber that of men – why is that you think?It makes sense to me because the romance market including and beyond M/M is predominantly female readers. I think it’s natural that more female writers would be tuned into that market. Of course that’s not to say that men can’t also write good romance stories. In M/M, authors like Josh Lanyon and Rick Reed have huge followings. But I find more male writers writing for markets like action adventure and humor. When you look at gay fiction, there are lots of men writing memoir, coming-of-age, and mystery too.11.  What is your favorite thing to do to decompress from life(stress)I’m not the best person to learn from in terms of healthy habits! I do take long walks to unwind and think things out. Otherwise, you’ll find me vegging out in front of the TV, or writing at the computer, or holing up in bed for a nap.12.Which one of your characters do you wish you were like?I wouldn’t trade places with him, but I admire Werecat’s Jacks for his courage and perseverance. I have mentioned in other interviews that he came about as a jagged reflection of me as a gay college student, facing what felt like a frightening future. Jacks gets himself in a lot of dangerous situations, but he comes out of them stronger, physically and emotionally. I guess it helps when you can morph into a two-hundred pound mountain lion.13.Which if any of your characters is more like you?All the heroes in my stories emerged from some part of my personality. In The Seventh Pleiade, the lead character Aerander is a sixteen-year-old who has a really important mission (Save Atlantis!), but he struggles a bit more with self-confidence than Werecat’s Jacks. So in that sense, wanting to do the right thing but not being sure if he’s the right person for the job, Aerander is more like me.14.Would you ever write about a man and a woman? 
The prequel to The Seventh Pleiade has a romance between a man and a woman as a major storyline. It’s taken from the Atlantis legend – Poseidon and his mortal wife Cleito – so re-imagining that relationship was very important to developing the series.I wouldn’t say that it’s been harder or easier writing that story in comparison to the gay relationships I’ve written. The emotions and the inter-personal conflicts are the same.15.Would you ever write about ninjas?Now that’s a really unique question. JI wouldn’t rule out writing anything in the realm of fantasy. I don’t know much about ninjas, but I’d learn as much as I could if a ninja story caught my imagination. When I was writing The Seventh Pleiade, there were scenes and settings that made me stop for a moment, asking myself: can I really do this, write about something I’ve never remotely experienced? I’ve become more trusting in myself, and I like researching myths and legends. So sure, I’d write a ninja story.     16.What inspires you to write a story?I guess the common denominator for me is that I like gay heroes. I write about gothic shifter worlds, ancient legends, and epic adventures, and in all cases, there’s a gay hero at the center of it all, which for me is the kind of story I can get behind.17.What are some of your favorite books?  Not just recently but what books did you enjoy as a kid?  teenager?I read a lot of the classic children’s stories as a child like The Phantom Tollbooth, The Wind and the Willows, and Stuart Little. Then, I became a voracious reader of Agatha Christie and P.G. Wodehouse.As a teenager, I loved J.D. Salinger and F. Scott Fitzgerald, and I also read a lot of books by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. 18.When you have the time, what do types of books do you like to read for pleasure?  Favorite authors?I read a lot of fantasy and ancient world fiction to stay tuned into the type of stories I write. Gregory Maguire is my all-time favorite author. I also read most everything by Anne Rice and Neil Gaiman, which probably sounds all over the map. But I like those authors for different reasons. Gregory Maguire creates incredible worlds and has a sweetly cynical point-of-view. Anne Rice tells lush, atmospheric stories. Neil Gaiman’s focus on folklore and mythology interests me.About Werecat: The RearingFor Jacks Dowd, a college senior who feels ungrounded from his family and life in general, an alcohol and sex-infused weekend in Montréal sounds like a pretty good escape. His Spring Break binge takes a detour when he meets Benoit, an admiring drifter with startling green eyes. A hook-up turns into a day, two days, and then a full week in Benoit’s hostel, making love and scarfing down take-out food. But at the end of the week, Benoit demands that Jacks make an impossible choice: stay with him forever or never see him again. 

The night before Jacks is supposed to return to college, he meets Benoit in Mont Royal Park to try to work things out. Benoit springs on Jacks an unfathomable secret: he’s a werecat. He traps Jacks in an abandoned cabin and performs an occult rite so they will be mated forever.Buy links:AmazonBarnes & Noble All Romance e-Books