The 'Dirty Dozen' blog hop | *12 Authors * 12 Days * 12 question Q&A * 12 e-book giveaway | Let's say hello to @Carter_Quinn

"Dirty Dozen" 

blog hop

12 GRL Authors | 12 Question Q&A | 12 book Giveaway

Thank you all for stopping by, today I am hosting Author Carter Quinn for the 'Dirty Dozen' blog hop, Q&A and Giveaway! 

About the Author 

Carter Quinn was born and raised in a very small Western Kansas town where cattle vastly outnumber humans. In the 90s he read enough depressing gay fiction to give up on it. He discovered M/M in 2010 and started writing again. Now he's told Corporate America to kiss his books. Carter recently left the Denver area, meaning he is entirely too far from his beloved Colorado Avalanche.

Author Links:www | facebook | twitter | goodreads 

It's only been three weeks since Henry woke up to discover his husband, Tom, had vanished. He's still struggling to come to terms with his new reality when he receives a haunting phone call: “Henry. Help me.” It’s Tom's voice, but Henry is afraid to believe. His world has already come crashing down around him twice in the last six months. Is Tom really alive, or is Henry losing his grip on reality again?

Buy Link: Amazon

Dirty Dozen Q&A with Carter Quinn

1)Do you fully outline a book? Or do you sit and let the thoughts flow as you type?

CQ: It depends. Usually I’ll outline just the first half so I have a bit of direction. The last two have been fully outlined—and they’ve changed from what I initially put down. That’s okay. It’s part of the process.

2)Describe your writing style in five words and what about that style sets you apart from other authors in your genre(s)?

CQ: My tagline is: “More Than Just Friction Fiction.” I’m not interested in providing one-handed stories. I want to make readers feel—laugh, cry, hate, love—and think. I don’t think that sets me apart, but I believe it’s essential to my writing.

3)What are you currently working on, and what can we expect from you in 2016?

CQ: I’m writing a book about the presidential election right now. It’s fun and difficult. Hopefully, you’ll see two novels and two short stories from me in 2016, including a full novel for Trick and Nate.

4)What's the answer to the one question no interviewer has ever asked? 

CQ: I should have asked an easier question! Like, what is the one question you never want to see in an interview again? (Uhm, this one?) The answer is, quite obviously, 42. How’s that?

5)When you're stuck on a story, what do you do to get the words flowing again?

CQ: I get on the phone and brainstorm with my bestie in Florida. We always come up with the best stories. Trouble is, neither of us writes them down so it sort of defeats the purpose. But a lot of creativity results from those conversations.

6)What's your favorite scene from your own work, and the one that's lingered longest from someone else's? 

CQ: That’s tough. One of my favorites of mine is when Avery gets angry at Noah. That’s a huge thing for Avery—to allow himself to feel anger and then to act out. I don’t really have specific scenes from other people’s books that stick out in my memory. It’s more an impression of the book as a whole. Imagica by Clive Barker was life-changing at the time, but I couldn’t give you details of a specific scene.

7)What is your favorite genre to read? Least favorite?

CQ: I’m the history and biography reader, although I haven’t done much of that lately. I’ve read a ton of M/M in the last 5 years. I don’t do horror well. I don’t like to scare myself. There are some energies I think we just need to leave alone until we understand them better.

8)Tell us about your writing environment and where your writing time fits into your daily or weekly schedule?

CQ: I have a small writing desk under a window that looks out onto miles and miles of nothingness. The tranquility of it calms my mind and opens it to possibilities. When I lived in the city, I looked out into a courtyard that was always full of activity that distracted me. This is much better. I try to write Monday-Friday, from 9 or 10 until I hit my word count. Could be noon, could be 4 o’clock or later.

9)How do you manage all of your new plot bunnies and what is your process to work on one?

CQ: Most of mine come at the least opportune time—in the shower, when I’m driving, as a dream, on a phone call. I’m never able to write them down right away, so then I struggle to remember them. I start with impressions and a general feel, then I’ll sketch a scene if one came to me. The Vanished trilogy came from this: “What would it feel like to wake up one morning and your spouse isn’t there? Is he dead? Alive? Did he ever exist at all?”

10)What keeps you focused when writing?

CQ: Music and frequent breaks. They’re both essential. I need to have the background noise, but it can’t be new music or I’ll focus more on that than writing. The breaks allow my mind to regroup. Before I incorporated the breaks, I could sit all day and get 700 words done. Now I can do 800-1200 in a 35-minute sprint and know I’ll have a break when that’s done.

11)In a perfect world, would you write full time? If so, would it ll be mm/LGBT or would there be some mf in there too? 

CQ: Definitely. It’s a million times better than slaving away for Corporate America. I have no desire to write het or ff. I’d love to write an incredible, strong heroine, but I don’t have the story for her—yet.

12)What influenced your decision to write in this genre?

CQ: I’m a gay man. My brain has always put two men together. When I came out, I started reading gay histories and biographies (And the Band Played On, The Mayor of Castro Street) to learn about my people. That led me to incredible fiction (Armistead Maupin, Sandra Scoppettone, Michael Nava, Felice Picano, etc.). It was hard to find gay voices in the early 1990s. And then it became impossible to find any happy gay voices, so I moved back to general histories and biographies. I found a couple of m/m titles once in a desperate search for something gay to read, and I fell in love. A year later, Jessewave was having a contest for readers to submit a short story, so I thought why not? “In the Crease” was the first piece I’d ever let myself finish (if I didn’t finish, I couldn’t fail). By the time the contest was cancelled for lack of participants, I’d already started on what would be The Way Back. The rest, as they say, is history.

Follow the tour 
{You can leave comments at each stop for additional entries}

September 24th | AE Via is hosting Wade Kelly

September 25th | Aisling Mancy is hosting Tempeste O'Riley

September 28th | Alexa Land is hosting TM Smith

September 29th | Carter Quinn is hosting Nicole Dennis

September 30th | Jeff Adams is hosting Nic Starr

October 1st | LE Franks is hosting Morticia Knight

October 2nd | Morticia Knight is hosting LE Franks

October 5th | Nic Starr is hosting Jeff Adams

October 6th | Nicole Dennis is hosting Carter Quinn

October 7th | TM Smith is hosting Alexa Land

October 8th | Tempeste O'Riley is hosting Aisling Mancy

October 9th | Wade Kelly is hosting AE Via

"Dirty Dozen" e-book extravaganza giveaway... 

ONE lucky winner will receive an e-book from each Author on the hop. Most Author's have submitted winner's choice from their backlist, but a few have listed a specific title.

AE Via: Winner’s choice, one book from the Nothing Special series

Aisling Mancy: Joyeaux Noel by Aisling Mancy (adult) or Safe by C. Kennedy (young adult)

Alexa Land: One ebook copy from the  'Coming Home' series, or Winner's choice from my backlist.

Carter Quinn: Winner’s choice, one book from Carter's backlist

Jeff Adams: Winner’s choice, one book from Jeff's backlist

LE Frank: Winner's choice, copy of 6 Days to Valentine or Can This be Real

Morticia Knight: Winner’s choice, one book from Morticia's backlist

Nic Starr: Winner's choice, copy of Andrew's Promise or More Than a Friend

Nicole Dennis: Winner’s choice, one book from Nicole's backlist

TM Smith: Winner’s choice, one book from TM's backlist

Tempeste O'Riley: Winner’s choice, one book from Tempeste's backlist

Wade Kelly: Winner’s choice, one book from Wade's backlist

Just think, you could have every book you see pictured above on your e-reader. That should keep you busy for a while! 

Be sure to follow the hop and see how all 12 questions might be the same, but the answers will be wildly different. And show your support by sharing each days post on your social media accounts!

Good luck everyone, see you in San Diego!!

**** to enter the giveaway leave a comment below - you can visit EACH stop on the hop via the links above by their name, and leave a comment at EACH stop for additional entries. At the end of the hop I will put EVERY comment from EACH stop into a hat and draw ONE lucky winner ****

REMEMBER TO LEAVE YOUR EMAIL WHEN YOU COMMENT SO THAT I CAN CONTACT YOU IF YOU WIN. NO EMAIL, YOU FORFEIT