Please welcome Totally Bound Alum, N.R. Walker for an author interview and a peek at her latest release Breaking Point, the second book in the Turning Point Series.
What was your favourite book as a child/teenager?
The Little Prince by Antione de Saint-Exupery
Who was the first author or what was the first book you read that introduced you to the genre that you most enjoy writing in?
The first m/m book I read, not including any slash fanfiction, was Breathe by Sloan Parker. Needless to say, it was a great way to start…
Do you believe in love at first sight? And if so have you ever been so afflicted? Did you do anything about it? (Did you go for it?)
I do! I believe in instant connections, whether it be love or lust, or something in the universe telling you you needed to meet this person. There’s usually a reason behind it, this person was meant to be in your life for a reason. Sometimes it’s to change your life forever, and sometimes it’s just to make your day.
Is there a particular word you overuse or writing technique that your editor(s) ride you about?
Ugh. Lots. The one I notice more, and the one I’m consciously aware of when writing and change as I go, is the word ‘it’. I will say, It wasn’t a pleasant feeling, where I should say Being left alone wasn’t a pleasant feeling. Or It tasted awful, and I should elaborate and say The coffee tasted bitter. I know it doesn’t always work, especially if the sentences before are leading into it, but it’s a reoccurring writer/editor problem.
I also have a tendency to start sentences or paragraphs with the word And or But.
Have you ever suffered from writer’s block? (Or do you even believe in it?) If so, how were you able to overcome it?
Oh, boy. I sure do. I’ve suffered through it. It was a few years ago, when I was writing fanfiction. I went eight weeks without the ability to write a word. Not one word. I would sit at my laptop, all keen, motivated, inspired and ready… and, and, and nothing. I had no words. Zero.
In the end, I started reading the story (250K words) from the very beginning as though someone else wrote it, and by the time I got the part where I was stuck, I knew the exact direction I had to go. I had to change the last chapter slightly and presto! It worked. Usually when there’s a block, it means something isn’t right and you need to fix that before you can move forward.
More recently I’ve experienced writers exhaustion. It’s awful. Almost the opposite to writer’s block. I have the words in my head ready to go, patient characters, but my brain is just mush. I’m taking things easy at the moment, trying to reduce stress, but if anyone knows how to shut a writer’s brain up, some advice would be great. LOL
If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be?
If money was no problem, I’d have a Chateau in the French Alps and a villa in Bora Bora. LOL Not that I have expensive taste or anything ;) Just a place to go when the season and mood takes me. Oh, plus I’ll need the wait staff to go along with these gorgeous places, and not having the need to work and pay mortgages.
If you could bring one of your own characters to life, who would it be and why?
Oh boy, great question… Jeez, it’s like picking between your kids… Okay, I’d have to say Mark Gattison from my Blind Faith Series. Just for the laughs alone. J
What are you reading right now?
I haven’t started it, but it’s the next one in my Kindle ready to go, is S.A. McAuley’s Dominant Predator. It’s the sequel to One Breath, One Bullet. I’ve been meaning to read it for a while now, but life’s been busy.
When you read, do you prefer a stand-alone or a series?
I don’t mind a series, but I’ll be honest in saying if there’s more than four or five and it’s still not completed, I’d be hesitant to start. I don’t have that much time to read seven books in quick succession. If I start a series when it’s first published and read them as they’re released, it’s different. But I doubt I’d start a series of say seven or eight books because I can’t commit to that right now.
If you were to do a reality show, which one would it be?
If there was a show called Master Procrastinator, I would win. Every year. LOL
What is the craziest, most exciting, or most dangerous thing you’ve ever done?
I skydived. It was the first time I’d ever been a plane. LOL It wasn’t until my second flight that I’d been in a plane when it landed.
Name a celebrity, athlete, musician, etc. you’d most like to get naughty with.
Oh good lord, how much time do you have? LOL My list is long. Can I give you my top five? Daniel Feuerriegel, Daniel Craig, Jeremy Renner, Jared Leto, Chris Pine.
What is your favourite way to promote or connect with fans?
Facebook. It’s immediate and personal and I love that interaction.
Favourite movie?
The movie I can’t stop watching and am driving my family insane with is Star Trek (2009) and Star Trek: Into Darkness. I love them.
But if I had to say favourite movie of all time, I’d have to give The Wizard of Oz kudos. The fact it was made 74 years ago is incredible.
Dream Vacation?
Anywhere where there is no housework, no day job, no fighting kids and food delivered on request. Oh, and free wifi. LOL
Dream Car?
An Aston Martin.
Favourite Ice Cream Flavour?
Boysenberry swirl.
What can readers look forward to next?
The second book in the Thomas Elkin Series, Clarity of Lines has a pre-release date with Totally Bound of December 13th.
Please tell us about your newest release.
Breaking Point is the second book in the Turning Point Series, in which we see the main character, Matthew Elliott struggling with the events of the first book. It’s a gritty, violent look at the underground fighting scene in LA.
Author: N.R.Walker
Title: Breaking Point
Genre: Gay romance
Release Date: General release date November 22 2013
Blurb:
A fight for what's right becomes a fight for his life.
As guilt plagues him, Matthew Elliott’s world begins to spiral out of control. The harder he holds on, the more it slips through his fingers, and he’s helpless to stop it.
Entering into the underground cage-fighting scene, he starts out fighting for what’s right. The deeper he gets, the more guilt consumes him—the more pain he takes for his penance—and he’s soon fighting for more than justice.
He’s fighting for love.
He’s fighting for his life.
EXCERPT:
Kira came out of the bar, wide-eyed and with pure disappointment written all over his face. He threw his arm around my shoulder and led me forcefully to his car. He opened the door, and gritted his teeth. He was so fucking angry with me. He was so angry he couldn’t speak.
The entire trip home was quiet. Not a word, not a sound, nothing but my pulse hammering in my ears. When we got home, I followed him inside. He threw his keys on the kitchen counter, turned to me and finally he spoke. “Want to tell me what the fuck that was all about?”
I shook my head. “I don’t even know,” I answered, louder than I intended. I tried again quieter. “I don’t know. We were just talking about work”—then I corrected—“his work, and I said something about him having a new partner…” I shook my head at how easy the lies just spewed from my mouth.
“You might not work with them anymore, Matt,” Kira spat at me. “But I do. I have to face those guys every day! What the hell am I supposed to say them when I walk in to work tomorrow?”
“I’m sorry.”
He shook his head, still too angry with me. I didn’t blame him one bit. “And Mitch?” he cried. “Your best friend! What the fuck am I supposed to say to Anna on Monday when I see her for class? You just tried to take her fiancé’s head off.”
“I’m sorry.”
He threw his hands up and stopped pacing to look at me. “Just what exactly are you sorry for?”
“I had my fists up at you,” I answered, on the verge of fucking tears. I shook my head. “I would never hurt you.”
His head fell back and he sighed through a frustrated groan. “Not physically, Matt. I know that. You put your hands down as soon as you saw it was me. I know you’d never physically hurt me,” he said with a calmness that scared me. “But emotionally…well, I just don’t even know what page you’re on anymore.”
“I’m dealing with everything the best I can,” I told him. Probably the first honest truth I’d said in far too long. Then like the idiot I was, realisation hit me that he could be trying to tell me goodbye. I gasped as a sudden pain ripped through my chest, and tears sprang to my eyes. “No.” I shook my head. “No, no.”
Kira looked at me, even more confused.
I sucked back a breath. “You can’t leave me.”
Kira’s eyes widened and his mouth fell open. “I’m not leaving you, Matt. I’m fucking mad at you, but I’m not leaving.”
I almost sagged and my heart seemed to start beating again. “I’m so sorry.”
He walked over to me and sliding his hand around my head, he pulled me into his chest. “I’m worried about you.”
I nodded. “I’d be lost without you.”
“Matt, I said I’m worried about you,” he repeated. “Did you hear me?”
I nodded again. “I’m sorry.”
When he realised I wasn’t saying anything else, he said, “I’m going to bed.” It wasn’t an invitation, it wasn’t anything of the sort. It was a quiet, resigned, I-don’t-know-what-else-to-do thing to say.
And he left me standing alone in the kitchen.
I knew then, as much as I’d tried to deny it, or wish otherwise, I really knew then I’d crossed a line somewhere. And even though the whole fight at the bar was staged so Tressler wouldn’t discredit me, when I thought back to Mitch, Kurt and Tony in the bar, and the way they looked at me as I was being dragged out, I saw it on their faces.
Something I think I’d known for a little while.
I wasn’t a cop anymore.
Bio:
Who am I?
Good question...
I am many things; a mother, a wife, a sister, a
writer.
I have pretty, pretty boys who live in my head,
who don't let me sleep at night unless I give them life with words.
I like it when they do dirty, dirty things...but
I like it even more when they fall in love.
I used to think having people in my head talking
to me was weird, until one day I happened across other writers who told me it
was normal.
I've been writing ever since...
WHERE TO FIND N.R. WALKER
Blog: http://nrwalker.wordpress.com/
A full list of all participating stops in this blog tour!
Morticia Knight - http://morticiaknight.blogspot.com.au/
Lisabet Sarai - http://lisabetsarai.blogspot.com.au/
S. Dora - http://sdora.wordpress.com/
West Thornhill - http://wthornhillauthor.blogspot.com.au/
Ashe Barker - http://ashebarker.com/
H K Carlton - http://pickagenrealready.blogspot.ca/
Nancy Adams - http://fancynancyadams.wix.com/erotic-nancy-adams
C.A. Szarek - http://www.caszarekwriter.blogspot.co.uk/?m=1
Desiree Holt - http://www.desireeholt.com/