Still Here…Writing and Dreaming: Completed first draft of sequel to MONOGAMY SUCKS

I am still here…writing and dreaming.

Just wanted to leave a short update for the readers of my blog about my current writing and upcoming books. As I hoped, I was able to finish the first draft of the sequel to my novel MONOGAMY SUCKS before the close of 2012. This was a satisfying personal achievement for me considering I don’t have as much time to write these days since taking a full-time public relations job this past August.

However, I will never abandon my writing dreams as I don’t write for a paycheck. I write for me. I could never hope to explain the joy writing brings to my life and how it feeds my passionate and creative soul.

My sequel to MONOGAMY SUCKS I believe will be sexier and even funnier that the original. The narrative follows my protagonist Jake Dalmas’ continuing naughty journey exploring wild swinging adventures, including sexy interracial threesomes and other hot encounters.  Jake’s honesty diary and sardonic voice remains the constant as a humorous self-deprecating guide for the readers into these naughty worlds. And I promise you there will be shocking scenes you can’t read anywhere else.

Yet there is a serious side to my writing that rarely gets mentioned in reviews. My MONOGAMY SUCKS sequel also addresses the potential pitfalls of relationships, even open relationships and the limits of love. In the frank way my original novel questioned monogamy, the sequel will take aim at romantic and sexual relationships through the eyes of a male swinger who is a little more wiser but no less vulnerable this time around.

However, dear readers, don’t look for my sequel any time soon. I plan to spend 2013 editing and shaping my MONOGAMY SUCKS sequel toward a possible summer 2014 release. After that, I am planning a sequel to my novel DEAR HEF as well for the fans of that humorous book.

Although I have no plans for a third MONOGAMY SUCKS novel right now, you never know. I am also planning at some point to take on other non-erotica genres such as Science Fiction, work life novels, thrillers, etc.

Please check my blog from time to time for updates on my writing, interviews and the progress of my MONOGAMY SUCKS sequel and other upcoming books.

And thanks for coming along for the naughty ride so far. Get ready. You haven’t read anything yet.

GP

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

2011: A Remarkable Year on My Writer’s Journey

This has been a remarkable year for me as a writer.

2011 saw the publication of two of my novels — MONOGAMY SUCKS and DEAR HEF — and a paranormal erotica story Swinging with the Supernatural that was included in the Lazy Day Publishing print anthology INDULGENCE: Tales of the Cirque Romani.

However, the year started in a much darker place with me receiving hostile indifference toward my novel MONOGAMY SUCKS from some critics and readers. Yet through steady persistence of promoting my books in social media and in the mainstream press, I have been able to overcome a lot resistance to the explicit nature of my work.

MONOGAMY SUCKS continues to perform well in the Amazon Kindle sales rankings consistently placing in the top 50,000 out of 800,000 books. My others books are also slowly finding an audience.

I make no apologies. Frankly, I don’t write for the faint of heart. I try to depict sex without the rose colored glasses typical of mainstream erotica. I call it real life erotica with all the messy parts left in.

I must admit I do revel going into other areas that many other writers avoid — male sexual insecurity, disappointing swinging and casual sex encounters, the limitations of monogamy and traditional relationships, the honest  truth about the swinging lifestyle, and how the Internet distorts our sex and romantic lives. I try keep things humorous as means to engage my readers as I delve into thorny and uncomfortable issues.

Still, each day it seems I find new readers who embrace my vision. That support is priceless for a writer, and so rewarding when you can find it.

I will have more to offer in 2012 as I am half way through writing the sequel to MONOGAMY SUCKS which I hope to finish by this summer or fall. It will be just as sexy and controversial as its predecessor.

Take a chance on my three books.  You will not be disappointed. You might even enjoy yourself and find out something about how other people live.

Isn’t that why we read novels in the first place?

Happy New Year to all my readers, supporters and fellow authors, writers, bloggers, poets, artists, musicians, filmmakers and songwriters.

GP

My Interview About MONOGAMY SUCKS on First Word Radio Show 10/24

Today my blog tour for my novel Monogamy Sucks continued on the First Word Radio show hosted by entrepreneur and author Michelle Gamble-Risley and Sonja Fisher, an actress, model, entrepreneur and former Miss Corporate America. Our lively discussion which begins 15 minutes into the show focused solely on the topics of my book –  monogamy, swinging and relationships.

You can click the link below to listen. Enjoy.

First Word Radio Show 10/24 by First Word Radio | Blog Talk Radio.

This is the 46th interview in support of my novel Monogamy Sucks. More to come.

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

******

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

Get Ready for a Snarky Authors’ Cage Match Rumble: Rachel Thompson Vs. George Pappas, A Walk in the Snark Vs. Monogamy Sucks: May the Best Snark Win

George Pappas’ novel Monogamy Sucks takes on the Mancode in Rachel Thompson’s novel A Walk in the Snark in a titanic battle of shocking, explicit humor versus funny, sarcastic wit in today’s stop of the Blog Tour de Force’s author Cage Match.

Jake Dalmas, the protagonist of my latest novel, Monogamy Sucks, defies all mancodes and he is truly the male sexual psyche unleashed in literary form. And Jake also goes out of his way NOT to understand a word of Chickspeak…

In fact, there is no mancode created that could completely explain the motivations for Jake’s quest for a more fulfilling sex life. Monogamy truly sucks for Jake, and his predicament leads him on a fascinating and at times bizarre journey into casual sex and the swinging lifestyle.

It’s a wild ride that I DARE you to embark on.

You can win a FREE e-book copy if you comment on my blog today, and you will NOT regret it.

Just check out my glowing Amazon reviews. Why would I do this? Well, this is only the start of Jake’s taboo shattering journeys.

I have two sequels planned. I dare you to not get hooked on Jake’s humorous and sexy adventures and can’t wait to read more.

Not only will you get an e-book copy of Monogamy Sucks, but those who leave the most intriguing and hot comments get entered to win a Swinger’s Survival Kit complete with the Beginner’s Guide to Swinging, the Worst Case Scenario Guide for Dating and Sex and the Lifestyles Pleasure Collection condoms box.

My fierce foe, Rachel Thompson, is the queen of snark and Chickspeak, and a deft translator of the strange behaviors and customs of the male species with her blog and novel A Walk in the Snark (containing the aforementioned Mancode.) Rachel is what the “Real Housewives of Orange County” would be if they actually possessed brilliant wit, humor and intelligence.

Rachel’s novel is hilarious, wonderfully sarcastic and touching in describing her travails as married woman with two kids trying to grapple with the ups and downs of married life and her husband’s very male way of thinking.

However, don’t skip past what she calls “the poignant alerts,” where Rachel explores the darker aspects of her relationship past. These passages contain some of the most powerful writing in her book and provide women (and men, too) tough lessons of what NOT to put up with and do in relationships and love, and provide keen insight into her life’s journey.

Please don’t skimp on those comments here or on Rachel’s site. While I love her book, I’m in cage match to win it with the most comments today.

There are three more days of the tour for you to discover hot new authors, including Kimberly Kinrade’s truthful and poignant novel Bits of You & Pieces of Me, award-winning authors Ann Charles (Nearly Departed in Deadwood) and Gary Ponzo (Touch of Deceit), and other writers to watch -- John Sunderman (Acts of the Apostles), Suzanne Adair (Paper Woman) and A.M. Harte (Hungry for You). And don’t forget our opening day Cage Match participants — authors Amber Scott (Fierce Dawn) and Cristyn West (Plain Jane). This is about leaving the most relevant comments and discovering new writers, not which book or author is the best. That being said you will love these impressive writers.

No matter who wins I am honored to be among so many talented authors, and I also get to read new talents as well. Make sure to comment on each post so you can get your free e-book.

The real winner of this battle of raw humor and funny sarcasm  — Monogamy Sucks vs. A Walk in the Snark –  will be the reader discovering a wealth of laughter and humorous truth by two talented writers.

George Pappas