Am I the NEXT BIG THING?: Check out my author blog interview

Am I publishing’s NEXT BIG THING?

Well, fellow author and sweet friend Shannon MacLeod seems to think so. She has tagged me as the NEXT BIG THING on Nai’lah Carter’s blog tour. Shannon is a cool author I met on Twitter. If you aren’t already, you should follow her at @themacleod.

The purpose of this promotion is to be able to discover new books you may not have heard about or for works that are still in progress. This is week 22 of the NEXT BIG THING blog tour.

So what what follows is the NEXT BIG THING interview — 10 questions about my writing, novels, etc. At the end of the interview, I will include links of authors I think will also be the NEXT BIG THING. Enjoy

What is the working title of your book?

Well, I actually have four books out right now on Amazon, including novels MONOGAMY SUCKS, DEAR HEF, an anthology INDULGENCE: TALES OF THE CIRQUE ROMANI, and my first novel LETTERS FROM CYBERSPACE. And I am finishing up the first draft of my sequel to MONOGAMY SUCKS that will focus on the topic of open relationships. I am hoping to have my sequel out in early to mid 2014.

 Where did the idea come from for the book?

The ideas for my novels came from my own life and the lives of people I met or from close friends. Through writing we explore our true selves even if the characters are nothing like us. Our lives ultimately shape our words.

What genre does your book fall under?

Erotica. Or what I like to call real life erotica. One reviewer described my novels as “Tucker Max meets Sex in the City.” I think that is a pretty good description.

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

I would say either Jason Schwartzman or Luke Wilson would make an interesting Jake Dalmas, the protagonist of MONOGAMY SUCKS, or Jimmy Rausch, the protagonist of DEAR HEF, if  movies or TV series were ever made of my novels.

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

Novel MONOGAMY SUCKS is a provocative peek behind the scenes of a Long Beach, Calif. man’s mid-thirties lust crisis and his ensuing sexy, intriguing, humorous journey into the swinging lifestyle.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

Three of my novels — MONOGAMY SUCKS, DEAR HEF, INDULGENCE  have been published by digital publisher Lazy Day Publishing.  I published my first novel first novel LETTERS FROM CYBERSPACE.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

I started writing my novel Monogamy Sucks in March 1998, however, because of my fears and doubts that anyone would interested in my story, I kept my novel hidden in my computer for more than 12 years as I worked on many drafts. Early in 2009, I read an article on the Huffington Post about how a number of best selling books started out first as blogs. So I decided to launch my novel on a blog one chapter a time in May 2010. Several months later, digital publisher Lazy Day Publishing offered me a book deal. I seriously doubt if that would have happened if I hadn’t put my novel out in the blogosphere and tweeted about it on Twitter. I believe Twitter is an essential tool in promoting my books and novels, writing in general as is Facebook, blogs and the Internet overall.

 What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

Charles Bukowki’s “Women,” Henry Miller’s “Tropic of Cancer,” Anais Nin’s “Henry and June,” to name a few.

Each of them bravely and uniquely explored controversial sexual and societal issues in a frank, unsentimental manner exposing truth and hypocrisy alike. I treasure novels that truly take me on a journey and challenge my preconceptions about life.

 Who or What inspired you to write this book?

The two most influential books on me as a writer are Henry Miller’s “Tropic of Cancer” and Anais Nin’s “Henry and June.” Miller’s and Nin’s eagerness to explore erotic subjects in a serious way that were considered taboo at the time (1930s and 1940s) has always impressed me. Miller’s frank and brutal honest prose and Nin’s sensual, erotic and insightful diaries and description of her own sexual awakening have impacted my own writing. I say this humbly, but I view my novels MONOGAMY SUCKS and DEAR HEF as my attempts to write modern versions of Miller’s and Nin’s seminal novels. I would also have to mention Charles Bukowski’s novel WOMEN as having a huge impact on me. His honest prose and humor really impacted me. Bukowski, like Miller and Nin, went places most writers would avoid.

I wanted to write honest books about swinging, monogamy, sex, Internet sex, but leave in all the troubling, shocking and funny encounters most other erotica books leave out. Despite its explicit content, I don’t consider what I write erotica.  I call it real life erotica or reality fiction without the erotic trappings of your typical erotica novel. I want to make you think and laugh not just turn you on.

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

I hope you’re readers will take a chance and read my provocative novels and won’t be put off by the controversial content. They are really like no other modern novels they have read.  My books have some relevant and interesting things to say about sex, relationships and monogamy, and are an intriguing exploration of the male sexual mind. I think my novels appeal to both sexes, but really have seemed to have struck a chord among women, which was unexpected. Yes, my books are explicit, but I believe its themes are more universal than one might think.

You can find me on Twitter at @gpwriter. 

I tweet a lot about my books, writing, sex and life.

Check out these amazing writers, who along with Shannon MacLeod, I believe could be the
NEXT BIG THING:

SID KALI

RANEE DILLON

PENELOPE JONES

AMBER GRAYSON VAYLE

Tomorrow Night at 7 p.m. PST I will be a guest on the NAUGHTY SLOT radio program to talk about my novels MONOGAMY SUCKS, DEAR HEF and INDULGENCE

Tomorrow night at 7 p.m. PST I will be a guest on the Naughty Slot radio program to talk about my novels MONOGAMY SUCKS, DEAR HEF, and INDULGENCE: Tales of the Cirque Romani.

I was invited on the show by Amber Grayson Vayle, who I met on Twitter — follow her @thenaughtyslot   She is also an author in addition to her role as the host of the Naughty Slot radio show and TV series.

This is the 50th interview on my blog tour in support of my novel MONOGAMY SUCKS.

Enjoy. It will be a sexy conversation without a doubt.

GP

MONOGAMY SUCKS Was Downloaded More Than 2,500 Times Last Week on Amazon Kindle

This past week my novel MONOGAMY SUCKS was downloaded more than 2,500 times on Amazon Kindle. My novel had 2320 free downloads in U.S and 210 in the UK as part of Amazon’s borrowing program.

Thanks to all who took a chance on my brand of wild real life erotica. You will not regret it. My novel will make you laugh, shock you and it may even turn you on.

I’m a little more than halfway through the sequel to MONOGAMY SUCKS, so thanks again for embarking on this opportunity to follow Jake Dalmas’ adventures from the beginning.

GP

Starting Today Don’t Miss the Chance to Take a Walk on the Wild side of Erotica for FREE all week: Download MONOGAMY SUCKS on Amazon Kindle

Don’t miss the chance starting today, if you dare, to download my sexy and controversial novel MONOGAMY SUCKS for FREE on Amazon Kindle.

You can get it here.

My book will be available to download for free for the next five days as part of Amazon’s book borrowing promotional program. I recently participated in this promotion with my current novel DEAR HEF,  and had an amazing response with more than 1,000 readers downloading my e-book.

So take a chance on my brand of wild real life erotica and find out how swingers really live.

Oh, and remember — Monogamy Sucks, too. Discover more about one man’s journey for sexual fulfillment. And I promise my novel’s ending will also surprise you.

I’m also halfway through writing the sequel to MONOGAMY SUCKS, so take this opportunity to follow Jake Dalmas’ adventures from the beginning. It is worth your time and you can’t beat the price.

GP

Listen to my interview about Monogamy Sucks on the Mancow Muller Show

This morning I was a guest on the Mancow Muller Show to talk about my novel MONOGAMY SUCKS and the topic of monogamy. Mancow’s show is the No. 4 ranked radio in the country and reaches approximately 11 to 12 million readers in more than 200 markets.

You can listen the 11/29/11 show here. My interview starts at the last 4 minutes of the two hour show.

Enjoy. This was the 47th interview for my novel MONOGAMY SUCKS.

More to come as always.

GP

REAL LIFE EROTICA: WRITING ABOUT SEX WITHOUT THE FANTASY TRAPPINGS — BY GEORGE PAPPAS, THE AUTHOR OF MONOGAMY SUCKS AND DEAR HEF

This post is also featured today on my publisher Lazy Day Publishing’s Web site.

I thought I’d also share it on my blog.

GP

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Now, this may sound like heresy coming from a so-called erotica author –

But I have no desire or interest in writing conventional erotica based on the typical and well worn fantasy elements.

What I write in my latest novel Monogamy Sucks and also in my upcoming novel about online sex entitled Dear Hef released on Sept. 14 as an e-book,  is what I like to call real life erotic or reality fiction. Keeping it real was my mantra during the creation of my two novels.

It was my intention with my raw fictional diary of Jake Dalmas, the protagonist of Monogamy Sucks, was to depict sex, and particularly the swinging lifestyle, as it truly is — not as we fantasize it to be.

I have come to realize through some of my detractors that my kind of erotica is too explicit and honest for some readers, who would prefer the fantasy escape represented by the traditional erotica trappings. I wanted to write a book I’ve never read — at least not by many modern erotica authors. I knew by delving into such controversial areas most writers avoid — problems with monogamy, sexual escapades gone wrong, male sexual insecurities and the real skinny on the swinging lifestyle — I could turn off potential readers. However, I didn’t try to sugarcoat the swinging lifestyle in any way.

Yet as Rick Nelson sang in his song “Garden Party”…”Ya can’t please everyone, so ya got to please yourself…”

Honestly, most conventional erotica seems contrived to me. Yes, we all have great sex in our lives, but that doesn’t mean that every experience is perfect. We all have our share bad sex, too. A lot fantasies have a dark side, and I wanted to include that and keep things as real as possible. I don’t write sex scenes to get people off, but to understand my character’s motivations, and possibly make a bigger comment about how we all live our lives and society at large.

I used the diary format to truly bring the reader into the mind of Jake Dalmas, and to explore the male sexual mind. I wanted the reader to feel they were seeing this hidden, mostly unexplored sexual world of the swinging lifestyle, through his eyes.

Employing a traditional literary approach or writing Monogamy Sucks in the third person I think would have set up a distance between my character and the reader that I strived to avoid.

I was actually influenced by the literary geniuses of Henry Miller, Anais Nin and Charles Bukowski — particularly his frank novels “Women” and his poetry — in developing my novels. I attempted to write modern versions of their brave books. They also didn’t pull any punches or hold anything back in their fiction.

I also relied on humor to enable readers to relate or at least understand Jake’s and my new book’s character Jimmy Rausch’s journey, as I knew I was exploring touchy and controversial issues that might offend some. I worried at times that I might go too far and lose my readers, but I let the truthfulness of the story I was trying to tell be my guide.

I researched and the swinging lifestyle for many years. I didn’t just write this as an outsider. However, it would have been disingenuous for me to leave out the more awkward moments of my and other’s swinging pursuits.

Most of the swingers who have read my book have lauded it for its accuracy. Check out the reviews on my Amazon site as a guide. I have no interest in feeding the myths or lies about the swinging lifestyle or casual sex.

Whether writing about sex or any other human endeavor, I believe it is crucial as an author to not cheat your readers through depicting life’s very real and intriguing implications with concocted characters and scenes that simply don’t ring true. Just because the subject is erotica there is no need for the author to figuratively put their hands over the reader’s eyes and show sex and love in only the most positive light.

My favorite novels from Lolita to Henry and June showed life the way it is with all of its thrilling, absurd, humorous and heartbreaking dimensions.

That is what I strive to do with my frank brand of real life erotica.

GP

My Interview about Monogamy Sucks on Casey Ryan’s Cutting Room Floor Podcast

Today I was an interview guest of Casey Ryan’s podcast The Cutting Room Floor. Our discussion covered my novel Monogamy Sucks and my upcoming novel Dear Hef, swinging, Internet hook ups, the intriguing celebrity angle of my next book (i.e., Hugh Hefner),  the writing process and future of publishing.

You can listen to my interview here.

I met Casey through fellow author Eden Baylee, who suggested I contact him for an interview. This was the 42nd interview for my blog tour for Monogamy Sucks, and my first in support of Dear Hef. Enjoy. More to come as always.

GP

Listen to my Naked Talk Radio Interview about novel “Monogamy Sucks”

Today I got naked on the radio when I joined Elaina McMillan on her WKRP radio show Naked Talk Radio to discuss my novel Monogamy Sucks. It was an informative and even quite personal interview about my thoughts on swinging, monogamy, relationships, polyamory and the motivations behind writing my novel. I really enjoyed my discussions with Elaina, who I met on Facebook and Twitter. You can follow her at Twitter here.

You can check out our interview here.

This is the 40th interview on my blog tour for my novel.

More to come…as always.

GP

A Thinking Person’s Erotica Novel: My Review of Author Eden Baylee’s Novel “Fall Into Winter” For Menage A Blog

Today I will review fellow author Eden Baylee’s novel Fall into Winter as part of my sponsorship of her participation in the Indie Book Collective’s Menage a Blog.

Do yourself a favor and please head over to Eden’s blog and leave a comment to receive a free copy of her book, and earn a chance to win a kindle.  Also leave your e-mail address in your comments here and on Eden’s blog to be eligible to win her author’s prize. Check out her blog for more details.

Facing off against Eden in a three-way cage match are Theresa Ragan’s Finding Kate Huntley and Jacquie Rogers‘ Much Ado About Marshals. My vote is for Eden’s hot, sexy and thoughtful novel, and as you’ll find out when you read her book — she is very adept in writing about threesomes among other intriguing situations.

Please support all the writers on the tour by leaving comments on their blogs as well.

What follow is my review of Eden’s excellent novel:

Don’t be fooled by the title. Author Eden Baylee’s debut erotic novel Fall into Winter
is anything but chilly. This is hot, scintillating erotica that will turn you on, make you think and move you.

Eden’s collection is composed of four separate novellas  — each story depicts the erotic adventures and romantic lives of four women in their mid to late thirties. Although the stories are vastly different and separated by seasons — two for the fall and two for the winter –  they share an overall theme of self discovery, reinvention and the rebirth of erotic desire and romance that each of her characters seek.

You will not be disappointed with Eden’s racy tales as her well written sex scenes will captivate you from the start.

Still, I must stress that this is not your typical fantasy laden erotica novel.

Eden is not afraid to delve into the mysterious nature of desire and love, and to explore some controversial subjects such as role-playing and threesomes — specifically a MFM threesome.

However, this is a thinking person’s erotica novel. Eden creates multi-dimensional, intelligent and passionate characters who live in the real world fraught with regrets, fears, consequences, heartbreak and disappointments. Her characters are not simply erotic props to tell nasty stories as you can find in so much erotica today. Her realistically drawn erotic scenes serve the overall story and are not gratuitous in any way.

Eden also writes poignantly about death, loss, haunting romantic decisions, overcoming cultural divides and the potentially thrilling and yet heartbreaking nature of love.

The book’s varied settings, including a blues club, a dungeon, and locations in  Toronto and Austria, rely as more than a backdrop, but are also essential characters in the telling of her stories. The harsh elements and intriguing conditions her characters face contrasts nicely with their deep passions and set the scene nicely for the metaphorical emotional thawing they each experience.

Eden is truly a talented author to watch. I highly recommend her collection. I’m looking forward to her next collection Spring into Summer later this year and when she branches out further into writing full-blown novels.

Discover this author now. You will know her name in the future.

GP

Today OC Register columnist Barbara Venezia features my writing journey and Novel “Monogamy Sucks”

I was an  avid reader of the Orange County Register   as a youngster growing up in Costa Mesa, Calif.

Now, things have gone full circle. Today OC Register columnist Barbara Venezia features my intriguing journey about how my novel Monogamy Sucks was published. It is a heady feeling to see my story covered in my hometown newspaper.

Barbara’s interview — which you can read right here – focuses not only on my novel, but how I used my blog and social media to finally achieve my dream of being a published author, and my thoughts about where the publishing industry is heading and the rise of e-books.

Please enjoy. This the 34th interview in support of my novel. Much more to come.

GP