Saturday Author Spotlight: Scotty Cade #Interview #Giveaway

I am so excited to have Scotty Cade back here as Diverse Reader's Saturday Author Spotlight. He's so fantastic so if you missed him the first time you'll be glad he's back! He's written so many fantastic books for this genre from Forever for Now, the Unconventional Series, Losing Faith, and his new book Only Forever. There are many more so you should check out all his work. We will look at some of his books, do and interview, and end it with a giveaway... the usual. So get comfy!

Father Cullen Kiley, a gay Episcopal priest on hiatus from the church, decides to take his boat, T-Time, from Provincetown, Massachusetts, to Southport, North Carolina, a place that holds an abundance of bittersweet memories for him. While on a run his first day in Southport, Cullen comes upon a man sitting on a park bench staring out over the Cape Fear River with his Bible in hand. The man’s body language reeks of defeat and desperation, and unable to ignore his compassion for his fellow man, Cullen stops to offer a helping hand.

Southport Baptist Church’s Associate Pastor, Abel Weston, has a hard time managing his demons. When they get too overwhelming, he retreats to Southport’s Historic Riverwalk with his Bible in hand and stares out over the water, praying for help and guidance that never seem to come. But Abel soon discovers that help and guidance come in many forms.

An unexpected friendship develops between the two men, and as Cullen helps Abel begin to confront his doubts and fears, he comes face-to-face with his own reality, threatening both their futures.

Tristan Moreau loves his job as chief administrative officer and personal assistant to Webber Kincaid, President, Chairman, and CEO of Kincaid International. It would be the perfect job… if only he hadn’t fallen in love with his boss as well as the work. After two years, he’s still doing everything in his power to keep his feelings hidden—mostly because he wants to protect the reputation of his famous boss but also because he wants to keep his job.

Webber Kincaid has stayed in the closet, using his best friend and confidante as his beard. Everything in his life was working out just fine until he met Tristan Moreau. Within months, Tristan stole his heart and became his lifeline. But Webber knows the rules of the workplace better than anyone, so he’s kept his distance.

But two years is too long to wonder “what if?”—especially when business takes them to a private Caribbean island. When Tristan and Webber succumb to the tropical heat, their professionalism starts to backslide. It’s a seemingly impossible relationship, making a go at it under the paparazzi’s microscope. It may be the best—or the worst—business decision they ever made.

Leeland Jeffers is a contented single man with a thriving career in Atlanta. He’s had a few unsuccessful relationships over the years, but no one has even come close to his first love, Harrison Rhinehart. They met in college when a mutual friend, Suzie Garrison, introduced Harry into their close-knit group. When the supposedly “straight” Harry made a move on Lee, the two men entered into a tumultuous secret love affair. In their senior year, the relationship finally ended when Harry informed Lee he was marrying Suzie.

Since graduation, the college friends have drifted apart. However, an unexpected invitation to a destination wedding seems set to reunite them all. Lee’s speculation on whether Harry and Suzie will make an appearance threatens to derail his attendance. But Lee decides the hell with it and makes plans to go, Harry Rhinehart or no Harry Rhinehart.

Master Captain Theodore Gourdin has always loved the ocean. But his devotion to maritime life left little possibility for a long-term relationship. After two failed marriages, Theo gave up on finding the person who completed him and decided the sea was his soul mate. When offered the opportunity to captain the newly launched megayacht Eternity, Theo jumped at the chance. With Eternity's maiden voyage looming, Theo focused all his energies on hiring his crew and readying his ship. The last thing he expected was to finally lose his heart in the process.

After twelve years at sea, First Officer Heath Rawlins was restless and in need of a change. A gay seaman's life could be a lonely one, but to Heath the positives far outweighed the negatives. With excellent recommendations and an impressive resume, he was quickly offered a position on the private megayacht Eternity. Heath's heart skipped several beats when he finally met the ship's captain. He was handsome and charming. And... familiar? Had they met somewhere before? Highly unlikely. But as smitten as Heath was with the gorgeous captain, everything inside him screamed, Abandon ship! Rough seas ahead!

Interview

Thank you, Scotty, for being Diverse Reader’s Saturday Author Spotlight. This is your second time being here as our spotlight so I get to poke you a bit more and figure out how things work inside that brilliant brain of yours. So, let’s get started.

Brilliant? LOL! Okay, so you’ve obviously mistaken me for someone else. J But you know what, I’ll take it. I like the sound of it and it feels good to be called brilliant, if only for a few minutes. So thank you. You know what also feels good? To be invited back to spend a little time with you and your readers. So again, I say thank you for having me.

Tell us what your average day is like as an author? Not a regular day, a day when you know you are dedicating yourself to writing.

For six months out of every year I get to write full time. The other six months I, along with my husband Kell, operate our inn & restaurant on the island of Martha’s Vineyard. Although I do get to write some, its not full time or even close.

So here’s my day when I’m writing full time. It starts with my 6:45am internal alarm. It happens like clockwork every morning rain or shine. Some days I pop right up while others I open one eye, pull the blankets up over my head and try, in vain, to steal a few more winks and savor a few more warm cuddly moments. But alas after a few moments I always give in and get moving. The coffee goes off automatically at 6:30 so its hot and fresh when I mosey on downstairs in my fluffy bathrobe and slippers. At seven I watch the first thirty minutes of Good Morning America, just to catch up on what happened while I was asleep and then I shower. Always.

I swear to you I cannot write in my bathrobe or without my teeth brushed and my hair dried and combed. And trust me I’ve tried. And on a side note, when my BFF Sjd “Jo” Peterson is here, which is now, I’m lucky if she even brushes her teeth. Most of the day she is wrapped up in a blanket in her sweats with a half dozen dirty coffee cups surrounding her. I swear that woman is addicted to caffeine. But I digress.

So back to me. Anyway I dress and head down to my office fresh as a daisy. For those of you who winder what my surroundings are like when I write, I’ll give you a little insight. If you’re not interested, just skip this part. My study, as I call it, is off our formal living room. Its wood paneled with a fireplace, built in’s one one end and two wing backed chairs with ottomans on the other end. In front of the built in’s is my beloved mahogany antique desk with leather inlay on the top. Kell bought it for me many years ago and it is one of my most prized possessions, second only to him. So now you know. I need solitude and comfort and to be surrounded by all the things I love. There I’ve said it. I’m a spoiled man.

Again, I digress. Anyway, I spend the first hour and a half checking and replying to email and catching up on social media. By the time all that’s finished, it’s almost ten and I finally settle down to write. I bang on my keyboard until about 12:30, stop and grab a little lunch. Usually a boiled egg or an avocado. Then I’m back at my computer and that’s when I really get going. I don’t know what it is about the afternoon, but I seem to get more quality writing done between two and five in the afternoon and when it flowing I just don’t stop. If I do attempt to stop, the story nags at me so much that I’m forced to sit down again and type until I’m out of words. Kell is so patient, bless his heart. If I’m focused on a scene, he will start dinner and patiently wait until I’m done so we can eat together. To borrow a few words from Barbra Streisand “Oh my man I love him so.” 

When you get edits back; how do you choose when to follow your editor’s advice and when to say, “No, I’m not changing that?”

I am truly blessed to have Andi Byassee as my editor at Dreamspinner Press and trust me when I say that woman is a saint to put up with me. She knows me, my writing and my grammar issues very well. But more importantly she instinctively knows what I’m trying to get across to a reader and never asks anything of me that would even remotely change what a character is saying or where the story is going. If she sees something that could potentially be an issue, she brings it to my attention, we discuss it and if I agree, together we fix it. If I argue that it may change how the story is perceived, she gives me almost enough creative ownership to hang myself and then she saves me. LOL! In fact, we work so well together I give her full reign on an edit and welcome her suggestions to make a scene better. Like I said, she knows me and knows how I write. That makes all the difference in the world.

You made a really cool announcement last year. There was a wedding. And your kid married another author in this genre’s kid! I love this. Can you tell us a little about it without getting too personal? I don’t like to pry but I love this story.

For starters, I have no secrets from my readers or anyone else for that matter. I’ve always been open, honest and direct regarding my life and opinions so no worries about crossing any boundaries. In short, Kell and I sponsored a young exchange student. And when I say young, he’s twenty so he’s no baby.

In just a matter of month’s, he became part of our family, like a son to us. So much so that all of our staff at the Inn starting referring to him as “Junior.” Two summers ago my Bff Jo Peterson came to the Vineyard for a visit and brought her daughter and imagine what happened? The two hit it off. Just friends we thought. But over last winter that friendship became much more and they fell in love. So naturally Jo and I were ecstatic to be related and so far, the rest is history. They married at our home just before Christmas and are doing wonderfully. Jo’s daughter relocated to South Carolina to be with him and they seem over the moon happy. Its so sickening to be around young love. J

 

Growing up what were some of your favorite books?

The top four are as follows counting down: #4: John Steinbeck’s “The Pearl.” #3: Herman Melville’s “Moby Dick.” #2: Ernest Hemingway’s “The Old Man and the Sea.”  And drum roll please. My #1 all time favorite book, the book that had the most profound impact on me as a child is “The Scarlet Ibis,” by James Hurst.
Here’s a little about “The Scarlet Ibis.” The book is written in first person and the narrator, who is not named but simply called "Brother" recounts the life of his younger brother, William Armstrong, nicknamed "Doodle." Doodle is born with a heart defect and is never expected to live. In fact, he is so sick that his father even had a small coffin made for him. Doodle surprises everyone and survives his babyhood, but unable to roll over, sit up or even move for the most part. Brother, so upset that Doodle can’t play with him even goes so far as to plan to smother Doodle with a pillow, thinking that having no brother was better then having a brother who wasn't truly there. Luckily, Doodle surprises Brother and smiles at him. So touched, Brother leaves him be.

Doodle eventually learns to crawl, backwards like a doodlebug, hence the nickname. But the doctor warns them that the strain might very well kill him. Doodle, although able to crawl, is still very weak and feeble and Brother wants someone who could run and jump and play with him. Brother resents having the weak and fragile Doodle and because Doodle can’t walk, Brother is forced by his father to pull Doodle around in a wooden go-cart. It is then that Brother decides to train Doodle to be a "normal human being."

Brother first decides to teach Doddle how to walk and eventually, shortly before his sixth birthday, Doodle does walk for the first time, with help of his Brother. Encouraged by this, Brother decides to teach Doodle how to run, climb, swim, row and even fight to prepare Doodle for school. However, almost a year after the plan was made, Doodle was far from accomplishing his brother’s goals.

One day during a storm, Doodle was staring out of the window watching the wind howl and a big red bird appeared in their garden, looking sick and tired. The boys' father identified it as a scarlet ibis, a tropical bird that was apparently blown off-course by the storm. When the storm is over and the bird dies, Doodle, pitying the creature, buries it, while Brother looks on and laughs.

Continuing their training, the boys go to the nearby pond to practice rowing. The wind kicks up again and it begins to rain. When they finally reach the riverbank, Doodle is tired and frightened. Brother, angry and frustrated that Doodle could not finish his training runs ahead, leaving the frightened boy behind. When Brother does not see Doodle, he returns for him, his anger dissipated. To his horror, he finds Doodle, lifeless, lying on the ground with blood flowing out of his mouth, staining his throat and shirt a brilliant red.

So in the end, Doodle died like the scarlet ibis: bloody red and far away from home.

I was crushed, to say the least. While in the beginning of the book I had no hope for Doodle, as the story progresses I slowly started to believe he would survive. I pulled so hard for Doodle and his brother, wanting them to both have normal lives, I was devastated when Doodle died. I guess that was the irony of the story for me. I wanted a normal life too. But even as a kid I struggled with my sexuality. I wanted to fit in and be normal and identified so strongly with the story it stuck with me. OMG! I do go on. Don’t I? I didn’t mean to get so lost. But I hope I more than answered your question.

When writing a book what is the easiest part and the hardest part for you?

The easiest part is the first and last chapters. Because my stories usually start with just an idea they are very easy to start. Its keeping the idea alive and interesting for at least sixty thousand words that’s sometimes a struggle. Oh and tying up all the lose ends. That can be daunting. Thank God for Andi, my editor. She finds the discrepancies I miss and fixes them for me.

What does 2017 have in store for us, from you, book wise?

2017, writing wise, will be a limited one for me. I have been terribly distracted renovating the old house we bought over the summer and trying to sell our business on Martha’s Vineyard. But I keep plugging at it. I have a manuscript nearing completion call “From a Jack to a King,” and hopefully it will drop around July. And I’m also working on “An Unconventional Family,” the third and last in the “Unconventional” series. But no worries. Once things settle down I will pick up my pace again!

Do you find it easy or hard to write sex scenes in books?

Hard as hell. I mean really—how many ways can you have sex. There are only a few parts. Part A goes here, part B goes there and part C. Well…who knows where that goes? I try to make up the lack of options with a lot of emotion, but yeah. It gets tough sometimes.

What is something that you read in gay literature that irritates you because it’s not accurate?

For starters…being a gay man, I really get annoyed by sex scenes that can’t really happen the way they are written or described. For instance, part A can’t go into part B from that angle or from that position. Not unless you’re one of the “Flying Wallendas,” and hanging from a trapeze. LOL! And I know many of your readers are too young to know who the Flying Wallendas are but look them up. And secondly, this is just a pet peeve of mine, but I hate the stereotypical “cheaters.” Not every man cheats and I hate when the angst to a story is cheating. I don’t judge any type of relationship open or monogamous, but just be honest.

How can your fans follow your work: Facebook, Twitter, etc…?

Dreamspinner Press Author Page

Website

Facebook

Twitter

People are feeling pretty hopeless right now in this community. There’s a great fight but morale is down. As an author what could you say to your readers that can lift them up? Maybe something you tell yourself every day?

I too am one with our community. Very saddened, disappointed and fearful of what is happening in our country and more importantly inside our government. But I try to keep a positive attitude. If not, I would spiral down into a hole and never see the light of day for at least four more years. Seriously, many mornings as I watch the news I want to throw my coffee cup at the television, but I simply keep reminding myself, “This too shall pass.” History repeats itself and we shall overcome. No one that I know, including me, is sitting back and riding the horrible wave. People are standing up, shouting and being heard. I do a great deal of that in personal life but I try to keep my business page as neutral as I can. But don’t let that fool you into thinking I am complacent, because I most certainly am NOT. I’m mad as hell.

FAST FIRE QUESTIONS

Are you a righty or a lefty? Righty

Coke or Pepsi? Coke

iPhone or Android? iPhone (so it syncs with my Mac and iPad.)

What was your favorite subject in school? History

Least favorite subject in school? Math

Favorite alcoholic beverage? Yes please.

Iced tea or lemonade? Iced Tea.

Okay, Scotty, again thank you!!! I can’t wait to see what you write for us this year.

Thank you again for having me. It was fun and thought provoking for me. We all work so hard and such long hours that one has little time to think about some of the thing you asked about so its fun to actually think about this for if its only for a few brief minutes. XOXO

Giveaway

Scotty is gifting one person his newest release Only Forever

Enter the rafflecopter below! Contest will end February 10th!

Good luck.

Thank you to Scotty for being amazing as always!

a Rafflecopter giveaway