Welcome Lily. Nice to finally get to interview you.
Hello. Thank you for inviting me back today to share a little more about my writing.
Let's start by telling everyone a bit about yourself.
I live roughly in the center of the UK. I am the eldest of five siblings, married with two children in their twenties, and was a teacher of primary pupils for over twenty-five years.
Your upcoming story is released TODAY in the Encore anthology. Tell us about it.
It’s a collection of ten short stories from Wayward Ink Publishing all with the theme of musicals.
My story is called Over the Rainbow and was inspired by The Wizard of Oz.
Watch the fabulous trailer video HERE
Dorian has been cast as Dorothy in his school’s production of The Wizard of Oz.
Like his character, Dorian is about to discover whether dreams really do come true.
Where did the inspiration for Dorian and his love interest, Mark come from?
In my story, Dorian is a newly qualified teacher who is struggling to cope during his first term of teaching. All his time seems to be taken up with preparation and marking, plus all the others things required of him. So much so, his social and therefore his love life are pretty dire. He struggles to gain control over some unruly pupils and is beginning to think he is going to fail as a teacher. He wants to succeed and impress his mentor, Mark Leonard, the Head of the English department in the school. He observes Dorian’s lessons and offers him advice and suggestions for improvement.
Some members of staff at the school are taking part in the end of term production of the
Wizard of Oz. Dorian has been cast as Dorothy and Mark is the Cowardly Lion. Aspects of the characters and musical are reflected in their lives and personalities. I drew on my teaching experience for Dorian’s character and some of the events in the story.
What part of the book was the most fun to write and why?
I have a scene that includes my characters telling
Wizard of Oz jokes. They are not really funny, but I have a weird sense of humor and was chuckling away to myself as I wrote this part of the story.
What part made you struggle them most?
My plan was to take aspects of the
Wizard of Oz and create parallels in the lives of my main characters. Although I roughly knew where the story was heading, I struggled to come up with the Tin Man/Scarecrow’s subplot. I wanted them to be searching for a heart/love and a brain like they do in the movie. It took me weeks to finally weave their story into Dorian and Mark’s plot.
Tell us something interesting that is not in the blurb?
Dorian enjoys wearing women’s lacy underwear.
from Over the Rainbow
At last.
Dorian Gartside let out a huge sigh of relief. He quickly dismissed his boisterous pupils and had logged himself off the computer on the teacher’s desk by the time they’d all noisily exited the room.
God! What a day!
Anyone who thought this job was easy should try teaching
Pride and Prejudice to a class of fifteen-year old boys. And damn it, he still had a bloody staff meeting to attend before he got to go home.
Dorian scooped up his teaching notes and a pile of books he hadn’t managed to mark at lunchtime and strode out of the classroom barely missing two boys who ran past him. “Walk in the corridor!” he instructed the rapidly fleeing flash of emerald green uniforms, but to little effect.
Dorian sighed again and looked down at the books in his arms.
Yet another busy night with hardly any rest or relaxation.
He wished he’d believed the person who’d told him his social life would be non-existent during his first year of teaching. Marking, planning, staff meetings, talking to snooty parents, in addition to after-school activities two or three times a week.
Bring back college days any time. At least he’d had something he could laughingly call a sex life then.
Thank God it was the October mid-term break next week. Time to draw breath for a few days at least.
Dorian slowed his pace as he passed the adjacent classroom and glanced inside hopefully. His search was rewarded, and catching sight of the object of his desire, his stomach fluttered.
“Hey, Dorian. Have you got a minute before the staff meeting starts?”
Dorian flushed a little and smiled. “Sure.” He glanced appreciatively over his mentor and superior, Mr. Leonard. “I wanted to ask you a few questions about my lesson observation tomorrow too, if you’ve got time.”
Mr. Leonard, Head of the English department, was everything Dorian wished he could be—and not just because of the expert control he had over the pupils. He was tall, broad-shouldered, and most of his exposed skin was covered in thick, dark hair that Dorian spent most nights dreaming about; he often imagined what the hairs would feel like if he ran his hands over Mr. Leonard’s skin and what this hunk of a man looked like naked.
“That’s fine, D. Let’s grab a cuppa and talk on the way.”
Dorian nodded and shifted the books in his arms so most of his suddenly bulging groin was now covered. The very thought of calling Mr. Leonard ‘Sir’ was enough to harden his traitorous cock at the most inopportune moments. He usually thought of Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennett at times like this, but those thoughts often turned to Mr. Bingley and a very wet-shirted Mr. Darcy, and he was no better off.
Dorian did his best to concentrate on their conversation, focusing on Mr. Leonard’s eyes and lips as they discussed his lesson for class 5B the following day. “And I want you to speak up in the staff meeting today....”
“Yes, Mr. Leonard.”
“Look, Dorian, it’s about time you called me Mark. We’ve been working together for over six weeks now.”
Dorian smiled again, his heavy cock filling when his name fell from the older man’s lips. He’d never liked the name his parents had given him and had to suffer being called everything from Dory to Ryan in his teen years, but hearing Mark say it sent a shiver down his spine every time. “Sure. If that’s okay with you, Mark.”
Mr. Leonard—Mark—paused as they approached the staffroom and huffed. “Of course it is, but not in front of the Munchkins, though.” Dorian chuckled at Mark’s nickname for the pupils.
~O~
The Encore anthology is published on 20th March.
Pre-order/buy links:
Amazon US / Amazon UK / Amazon AU / Amazon DE / WIP / ARe
~O~
This has been a busy few months for you. You've had several anthology stories released since May, you're doing Free Fiction Friday and you've had other books released. When did you first start writing?
Yes, the past year or so has been quite busy for me. I started writing fiction over four years ago now. My first attempts were dire and I cringe when I think of my work back then. I tended to write a chapter and after a bit of editing I posted it on fanfiction.net with only a basic overall plan in place for the longer stories. I've since edited these fanfiction stories (four or five times, if not more!) and some are now on my blog as free reads or part of FFF. I've come to value using outlines and character sketches when planning a story, however short it may be.
Talk about your sub genre of choice. Which ones do you prefer and why.
I tend to read and write contemporary m/m romance and erotica, plus I'm currently reading Josh Lanyon's mysteries. There are so many fabulous writers and books on my to-read list. I’m not really in to fantasy or sci-fi, and although I studied history, I have yet to really explore that aspect of the m/m genre.
Tell us about some of your prior releases.
The first two listed below are novels I self-published. The last one is a short story published by Torquere Press in the
Take It Like a Man anthology and also released as a separate story.
Paint the Sky
A love of art...
A mutual interest in art draws two shy university students together. Ben admires Vinnie’s painting of the university building, so Vinnie invites him to an exhibition of his artwork. From a wealthy family, Ben purchases some of Vinnie’s art and arranges for the artist to personally hang the paintings in his apartment.
Starry, starry night...
Ben commissions Vinnie to paint his portrait, in order to spend more time with the artist. On the night of the sitting, Vinnie fingerpaints the starry night on Ben’s chest... and they kiss. They begin a relationship beneath the night sky, God’s own canvas.
But every relationship has its ups and downs and so it is with theirs. When Ben thinks Vinnie spends too much time with a fellow artist, his jealousy drives a wedge between them and forces Vinnie into the very thing Ben dreads.
Hold tight to your dreams...
Ben and Vinnie will have to walk through fire before they can find one another again. But if they believe, and if they keep their faith in the night sky and each other, just maybe they can make their dreams of love come true.
Boys on Film
What would happen if a gay porn star fell in love with a writer of erotic m/m novels?
Set in an opulent house in San Diego that also serves as a porn studio, the story follows Stefan as he falls in love with Nate, a budding author from England, and in the process comes out as gay. Despite working in a gay porn studio and having sex with his best buddy on a regular basis, Stefan outwardly claims to be straight, although he enjoys the sex and substantial pay from his gay videos. This changes when he meets Nate, who has been given the opportunity to observe the inner workings of Blue House Film Studios to add realism to his latest erotic novel.
The Perfect Size for You
After updating his Rent Boy blog profile, well-endowed porn star Ty, receives a text requesting an appointment with a sexually inexperienced client. Andy asks Ty to provide him with the necessary knowhow, so if he ever goes on a date with the guy he’s attracted to he’s fully prepared. Little does Ty know this hook-up will lead to a friendship that will subsequently change his life. Can Ty remain friends with Andy or will he always want more? And how will Ty react when Andy finally goes on a date with another man?
What's your favorite part of the writing process?
Can I be cheeky and choose three? I love the initial 'plot bunny' where I develop my main characters and imagine some of their conversations and hot scenes together. To me, they are real people who could actually exist in real life. I also love it when the words flow from me as a scene takes shape. But if I'm only allowed to choose one favorite part, then it has to be the finished product. When I look back at the hard work I've put into the writing and am proud I’ve actually created a story people enjoy reading.
What's your least favorite?
The slog of writing when you seem to chip away day after day, only adding a few hundred words at a time, and you think you’re never going to get the story finished.
What have you read lately that most people haven't read but should?
I recently enjoyed reading L.A. Witt’s first story in the
Cover Me series. (Currently free on Amazon). The writing is excellent in my opinion. It was one of those books I thought about when I wasn’t reading it and was eager to pick it up again to see what would happen next. This story has all the elements I enjoy in the m/m genre. I became involved with the main character's feelings from the start and loved Nick and Andrew's interaction and their hot scenes together. I felt their longing for each other and their need to be together as they fell in love. Tense and full of suspense, the story was not predictable, although I knew something 'bad' would happen at some point.
If you could meet any writer, alive or dead, who would it be and why?
I would love to be able to travel back in time and question the men who wrote the original Gospels and the other books in the New Testament. I know it was more than one person, but their writing has changed the course of history. I'd like to know how much of their work was based on historical events.
What's a fun – non-writing – day for you?
Spending the day relaxing in the Aqua Sana at Center Parcs. I especially love the steam rooms and the massaging water jets in the pool.
Besides reading and writing, what else do you enjoy?
Walking. I walk locally at least once a day, usually with my daughter and her dog, plus we often go on hiking holidays. Austria is our favorite location. If you read Opposites Attract, you’ll see it inspired the main location, the beautiful scenery, and even parts of the plot were based on some things that have happened to us on our trips. Not the sex in the mountain hut, though :(
Since there is always another story to tell, what are you working on now?
I’m currently working on a short story for another anthology submission. The theme is rough and tumble blue-collar workers. My main character falls for the muscle-packed and sexy handyman he employs to take care of his garden. It’s with one of my beta readers at the moment and will need a bit more polishing before I send it off. I have several rough plans and ideas for other stories, but haven’t decided which one will be my next focus yet.
Last question is all yours – feel free to talk about anything you want your readers to know about you, your book, anything at all.
I'll be at the
Queer Company event in Oxford on May 9th and the
UK Meet in Bristol in September. Hope to meet some of you there.
Lily writes contemporary gay romance and erotica. She loves to explore the relationship between two men and the intensity of their physical and emotional attraction. Angst often features in her stories as she feels this demonstrates the depth of the men's feelings for each other. Lily is forever writing imaginary scenes and plots in her head, but only a few ever make it to the page--there never seems to be enough hours in the day despite having left the teaching profession to concentrate on her writing!
Lily discovered the wonderful world of m/m romance novels four years ago via fan fiction and went on to write stories in her spare time. With the encouragement of her friends and readers she decided to publish some of her work.Lily has several self-published stories available on Amazon. She is also published with Torquere Press and Wayward Ink Publishing.Easily distracted from her writing, Lily makes videos using clips from gay-themed movies and posts gorgeous pictures of men kissing or making out on her tumblr and Facebook pages. Lily is also an avid supporter of GLBTQ rights and advocates equality for all.Lily lives in central England with her rather bemused husband, two twenty-something children, and a 'mad as a bag of frogs' Shetland Sheepdog.
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