Q&A with Josh Lanyon discussion

Emanuela ~plastic duck~ wrote: "Johanna wrote: "Maybe I can't express myself clearly, but I'm sure you see what I mean."

Yes, absolutely. I don't want to say that they're neglected by readers, but they're not as immediately impr..."

I hear you. I've said this so many times before, but I'll say it once more: TGWYS was my first Josh Lanyon book and it got me interested in his work, but I Spy Something Bloody was the second one that officially got me hooked — hook, line and sinker. And just like you, I still find Mark and Stephen irresistible. And for the same reasons than you do: Stephen's unselfishness (also outside the bed), Mark's stark feeling of inadequacy, their history together (which we know through some flashbacks and such, but which is not spelled out for us).

Their chemistry is intriguing because it shifts throughout the story. The strong, impulsive, adventurous, mysterious one ends up being the weaker, more insecure one when the relationship stuff is concerned. And the more ordinary one ends up being the stronger one in so many ways. I find Stephen's calm way to take things as they come very reassuring. It's definitely a feature of his character, but I can't help thinking that the way he sees things might also have something to do with their age difference. Him being older and wiser and all... ;)

One thing that keeps things interesting (at least for me) seems to be the fact that Mark is still unable to read Stephen clearly. And that he keeps making the bad situations worse. I can't even count the times I've stand with Mark in Stephen's study heart in my throat while everything is going to hell. And every single time I've been sure that "This is it. Stephen is going to throw Mark out for sure. No HEA for these two." And WHY does Mark always laugh when he really should not? That is a great detail in his character and tells us so much about his people skills. ;)

I think that the best thing about I Spy Something Christmas was the fact that we see how much both of them try to make their relationship work by making some sacrifices. Although Mark gives it his best shot a little later than Stephen, he really tries to change for Stephen. And it feels to me that sometime along the way Stephen has realized that he can't make Mark change and that he's just going to adjust to the fact and love him anyway. After all, we can't really order someone to change for us, all we can do is change ourselves for that someone. Right?

I like to think that in the end of this story Mark was in peace with himself and that he'd realized he doesn't need to be perfect to succeed in a relationship. As long as there is love, everything else can be inadequate.

Emanuela ~plastic duck~ wrote: "I've shouted from the rooftops I'd love a Jake, but maybe I'd need a Stephen in my life ;)"

LOL. That means you should probably be looking for an older man. ;)

Johanna wrote: "Emanuela ~plastic duck~ wrote: "Johanna wrote: "Maybe I can't express myself clearly, but I'm sure you see what I mean."

Yes, absolutely. I don't want to say that they're neglected by readers, but..."

I think that is an important insight, that everything can't be perfect, it never is or can be and it isn't even necessary. That has been my thought throughout reading both the codas and this holiday I spy- story. They are "perfect" as stories because the people in them aren't perfect, and that makes them real.. Not sure I manage to express myself cearly, but somehow this thought took hold while reading, it's perfect because it isn't perfect :)

Johanna wrote: "Emanuela ~plastic duck~ wrote: "I've shouted from the rooftops I'd love a Jake, but maybe I'd need a Stephen in my life ;)"

LOL. That means you should probably be looking for an older man. ;)"

I belive it would be easier to live with a Steven, than a Jake..

Anne wrote: "Johanna wrote: "Emanuela ~plastic duck~ wrote: "I've shouted from the rooftops I'd love a Jake, but maybe I'd need a Stephen in my life ;)"

LOL. That means you should probably be looking for an ol..."

I'm not looking for an older guy, but I'd take a Stephen over a Jake any day.

Plainbrownwrapper wrote: "Anne wrote: "Johanna wrote: "Emanuela ~plastic duck~ wrote: "I've shouted from the rooftops I'd love a Jake, but maybe I'd need a Stephen in my life ;)"

LOL. That means you should probably be look..."

Stephen is probably the saner choice, you know, but ... Jake is the-laugh-died-in-my-throat guy...

Emanuela ~plastic duck~ wrote: "Stephen is probably the saner choice, you know, but ... Jake is the-laugh-died-in-my-throat guy... "

For me, Stephen would be the "makes me feel safe" guy -- not in a boring way, but in the sense that I could trust him and count on him. That's very important to me.

Jake is the guy who I know is willing to lie and cheat for what he wants, and is willing to disrespect his lovers -- because he has a strong history in both those things -- and that's just not appealing to me. I'm not nearly as forgiving as Adrien.

I just finished I Spy Something Christmas. Mark and Stephen have always been my favorite couple. I love the layers to their relationship and I'm glad they had a nice Christmas together.

I would so love a collection of the I Spy stories in print. After Jake & Adrien they are definitely my favorite Lanyon pair (narrowly beating out Will & Taylor).

Cris wrote: "I would so love a collection of the I Spy stories in print. After Jake & Adrien they are definitely my favorite Lanyon pair (narrowly beating out Will & Taylor)."

Ha! Ask and ye shall receive.

http://www.amazon.com/Cold-Spy-Storie...

Thank you all for the nice comments on this one. I'm glad Mark and Stephen have their supporters. I think they are, as a pair, a little tougher for readers to bond to. Maybe because Mark's realm of experience, his difficulty in relating not just to others but to the person he loves, is more...inaccessible to some readers?

Or who knows.

He's someone who can be smooth as silk so long as he thinks of himself as on the job. But in his honest interactions with people, he's so out of step. Like how his impulse to be kind to Bryce simply makes it all worse. :-D

Although I think we've all been there, actually!

Josh wrote: "Ha! Ask and ye shall receive."

I want the sequel of Snowball in Hell...

Josh wrote: "Ha! Ask and ye shall receive."

Wow. :)

ETA: And I want Kit to get rid of his fear of commitment...

Josh wrote: "Ha! Ask and ye ye shall receive."

Ha! I love this new world: from reading Josh's entry to ordering the book it took something like 15 seconds. It would have been less if I hadn't switched to amazon.de, from which I'm usually ordering books in English ;-).

I was very pleased to see that ''I Spy Something Christmas'' is included. Thank you, dear Josh!

I had forgotten how much I loved these two. So glad you've given us the new one. Rereading it as I write while sipping Christmas coffee. Very nice combination, by the way. Hope you are feeling better.

Antonella wrote: "Ha! I love this new world: from reading Josh's entry to ordering the book it took something like 15 seconds. It would have been less if I hadn't switched to amazon.de, from which I'm usually ordering books in English ;-)...."

LOL. It took me a lot more time to order it from Amazon.co.uk, approximately one minute. ;)

Emanuela ~plastic duck~ wrote: "Josh wrote: "Ha! Ask and ye shall receive."

I want the sequel of Snowball in Hell..."

Me too!

I do plan to do a sequel to that one. There may even be a bridging novelette. We'll see.

Johanna wrote: "Josh wrote: "Ha! Ask and ye shall receive."

Wow. :)

ETA: And I want Kit to get rid of his fear of commitment..."

Well, yes. That will be Kit's challenge in the stories that lie ahead. :-)

Antonella wrote: "Josh wrote: "Ha! Ask and ye ye shall receive."

Ha! I love this new world: from reading Josh's entry to ordering the book it took something like 15 seconds. It would have been less if I hadn't swit..."

You're welcome. That's the beauty of the createspace/amazon alliance.

Not to mention all those wonderful folks who helped me get the Christmas story done in time to include it!

Kathy wrote: "I just finished I Spy Something Christmas. Mark and Stephen have always been my favorite couple. I love the layers to their relationship and I'm glad they had a nice Christmas together."

Thank you, Kathy.

I find that there's a special pleasure in writing Christmas stories for existing couples. I hadn't given that a lot of thought before, but the codas really brought home the idea. It would be fun to turn that into a tradition.

Although I am carefully refraining from actually committing to it yet. :-D

Josh wrote: "Cris wrote: "I would so love a collection of the I Spy stories in print. After Jake & Adrien they are definitely my favorite Lanyon pair (narrowly beating out Will & Taylor)."

Ha! Ask and ye shal..."

What?!? How awesome! I just got the Dangerous Ground book for Christmas, this will be an awesome companion on my bookshelf :)

I've just got my ''In From The Cold'' on paper.

Any comments on the fact that it is sold from amazon as "In From the Cold: The I Spy Stories: 1"?

My reasoning is that the ''1'' wouldn't be there if there wouldn't be a ''2'' in the distant future ;-).

Antonella wrote: "I've just got my ''In From The Cold'' on paper.

Any comments on the fact that it is sold from amazon as "In From the Cold: The I Spy Stories: 1"?

My reasoning is that the ''1'' wouldn't be there..."

That's more about the Amazon defaults than any intention to continue the stories. :-) I won't say NEVER, it's just I kind of thought that was a sweet wrap up.

Josh wrote: "I kind of thought that was a sweet wrap up"


Me too, in fact. I was surprised to see the ''1'' there. But I wouldn't spit on a new story ;-)

Antonella wrote: "I've just got my ''In From The Cold'' on paper."

So where is mine then?! If I recall correctly we were pushing the Buy now with 1-Click button almost exactly the same time. ;)

LOL! My confirmation from amazon.de is from 27. December 2012, 18:50:24 Central European Time.

But of course the Swiss post offers an outstanding service ;-).

Antonella wrote: "LOL! My confirmation from amazon.de is from 27. December 2012, 18:50:24 Central European Time.

But of course the Swiss post offers an outstanding service ;-)."

I just checked and my copy's estimated delivery date is Tuesday, January 08, 2013. So, yes, Swiss post offers an outstanding service! LOL.

Well, but mine should have arrived till the 4th January, so if yours arrives anytime before the 12th, Finnish post won ;-))

Antonella wrote: "Well, but mine should have arrived till the 4th January, so if yours arrives anytime before the 12th, Finnish post won ;-))"

In any case I'm going to blame it on Royal Mail, UK. ;)

I haven't received my copy yet either -- and I ordered when the book went live!

Josh wrote: "I haven't received my copy yet either -- and I ordered when the book went live!"

Well, that sounds unfair. But it comforts me a bit. ;) if you receive yours before I'll get mine, do post us a photo of it. :) We definitely need a pic of the new In From The Cold on the Photos thread!

@Antonella: Where is the picture of your shiny, new book?!

Josh wrote: "I haven't received my copy yet either -- and I ordered when the book went live!"

I don't believe it!

@Johanna: I really thought about taking a pic yesterday, but it was already getting dark...

Antonella wrote: "Josh wrote: "I haven't received my copy yet either -- and I ordered when the book went live!"

I don't believe it!

..."

I'm thinking it's lost in a stack of orphaned Christmas parcels by now.

My copy is here, my copy is here!!! :) It was in the mail box the whole day, because the lock of our mail box was frozen and I didn't get it open by myself. When hubby got home from work 8:30 p.m. he made my day by defrosting the lock — and there it was!!! The brown package!

In From the Cold: The I Spy Stories is gorgeous! :)

Congratulations! And Finnish post won!

My order arrived yesterday too! Now that is truly weird!

Josh wrote: "My order arrived yesterday too! Now that is truly weird!"

:)

Same here, got mine yesterday! Can't wait to read it again :)

Tharayn wrote: "Reading ISSB was so totally heartbreaking. I thought the whole time how I should get through this book. Even after the happy end I was exhausted in a way feeling with Mark. After that it was bit li..."

That's one couple that each time I go back and look at their stories, I always feel they've got a long way to go. Not with this last one. Hopefully that does it. Hopefully I won't look at it in a couple of years and think...man, they've still got a lot to work through.

Hey Josh I have an idea to get around the WhisperSynch pricing on Audible. When you get around to recording the I Spy series and some of your short stories, do them in bundles. The three I Spy books are on the short side, but they would make a nice length audiobook done all together.

Same with some of your stand alone novellas. Do them in bundles of 2 or 3.

How did I not realize that there was an "I Spy Something" Christmas book!?!?

I love the relationship between Mark and Stephen...and how each story I've read (thus far) isn't particularly long in word count, yet so rich and full in a way that many "novels" can never hope to attain.

So, how wrong is it for me take my break a little longer and go read the first one again? And buy the new one (well, new to me) as a treat for when I get done with a few more classes!?

Susinok, not that I know what I'm talking about, but your solution sounds terrific.

Susinok wrote: "Hey Josh I have an idea to get around the WhisperSynch pricing on Audible. When you get around to recording the I Spy series and some of your short stories, do them in bundles. The three I Spy book..."

That's EXACTLY what I plan on doing. Matching the audio books to print books rather than ebooks. So there will be a collection of stories -- as with the first four DG stories -- read by a narrator but no ebook equivalent.

mc wrote: "How did I not realize that there was an "I Spy Something" Christmas book!?!?

I love the relationship between Mark and Stephen...and how each story I've read (thus far) isn't particularly long in w..."

:-D

Josh wrote: "That's EXACTLY what I plan on doing. Matching the audio books to print books rather than ebooks. So there will be a collection of stories -- as with the first four DG stories -- read by a narrator but no ebook equivalent. ..."

And don't forget the Codas! :) Another point of difference.

Mark and Stephen Christmas Coda 2012:

http://joshlanyon.blogspot.fi/2012/12...

Johanna wrote: "Mark and Stephen Christmas Coda:

http://joshlanyon.blogspot.fi/2012/12..."

You made me go and re-read "I Spy Something Christmas" dern you! :D

Cris wrote: "Johanna wrote: "Mark and Stephen Christmas Coda:

http://joshlanyon.blogspot.fi/2012/12..."

You made me go and re-read "I Spy Something Christmas" dern you! :D"

:-)

I just started listening to the audio book a few days ag0, and can I just say...WOW. I really enjoyed this story, but it was never one of my favourites. However, that's changed after listening to just the first few chapters. Alexander's narration is ABSOLUTELY AMAZING and has given me such a different perspective on both Mark and Stephen. He really captures Mark's overall sense of despair and desperation without over doing it, and seems to hit the subtleties of the text perfectly. I am just blown away by how fabulous his narration is and how he breathes so much life into this story. I am LOVING IT. While I've loved every single audio book Josh has produced, I have to say I think that Alexander, along with Max Miller, are my two favourite narrators.

Bluesimplicity wrote: "I just started listening to the audio book a few days ag0, and can I just say...WOW. I really enjoyed this story, but it was never one of my favourites. However, that's changed after listening to j..."

I agree, I also felt that Mark's desperation and general f... upness were portrayed very well by the narration. It was very gripping.

Bluesimplicity wrote: "I just started listening to the audio book a few days ag0, and can I just say...WOW. I really enjoyed this story, but it was never one of my favourites. However, that's changed after listening to j..."

Alexander is very good. I'd like to use him again, if I can figure out the right project.