Friday's Guest : Michael Mandrake

Welcome to one of my best pals, Michael Mandrake, who is joining me today on the sofa to shoot the breeze, dabble in cucumber sandwiches and talk about his latest release....

MM: Thank you Lisa for having me today. 

1.               So who is Michael Mandrake?

MM: Who isn’t? *grins* I’m the gay male muse of Sharita Lira, you know, that one that claims to have 3 personalities? Crazy girl? Yes. I’m a Brit, 39 years of age actually. Yes, I have my own story, we all do. *snicker*

2.              Tell me a bit about your current WIP / latest release.

MM: Ah well there’s two. A Second Chance is out from XOXO publishing, a story about 2 cops who’ve lost their partners and are looking for love and then, my first full length paranormal vampire, m/m, The Power of Muse and Inspiration also from XOXO. Very excited about both.

3.             How do you work, do you pick a title first, or characters names, or how they look?

MM: Well, after I outlined the story through character arc and the synopsis with blurb, I pick my characters. I might already have a title in place, sometimes not.

4.              When did you know that writing was your passion?

MM: Sharita knew when she subbed last year that this was what she wanted. She’d been writing on and off, fanfiction, shorts on free sites and such and then eureka, all the praise about how good she was. That’s when it all started.

5.              What was your first book and how long did it take to get it published?

MM: Our first book, True Meaning of Love through XOXO only took 4 months to be published. Outstanding!

6.             What some don’t realize is that writing is a discipline and you have to proportion a part of your day to it – how long does it usually take you to complete a manuscript?

MM: Really depends on the story. True Meaning 2 only took about 3 weeks. *laughs*

7.             Do you outline your plots first?  Or are you like me and just go hell for leather?

MM: Now, I’m more disciplined. I write with a character outline as taught by my editor Sascha Illyvich from Sizzler Editions, then I write a short synopsis, the blurb, which both may change. If the story calls for it, I’ll do a detailed scene by scene. I did that for my last subbed story, The Professor.

8.               Out of your body of work – do you have a favourite character?

MM: They change daily but right now, Daniel Declerc from A Second Chance. Jude from Muse is growing on me though as is William Chatterley who mentions me in the book. *grins*

9.             If you were to offer advice to someone starting out, what would you say?

MM: Keep writing, don’t let the naysayers get to you. If it’s your passion, continue to do it to the best of your ability.

10.          Who are your favourite authors, in any genre?

MM: Anne Rice, VC Andrews, Edgar Allen Poe, new faves Sue Brown, Tara Lain, Rick Reed among many others.

     11.        If you hadn’t chosen writing, or rather, writing hadn’t chosen you, what do  

                 you think. You would be doing for a living?

     MM:  Most likely, a diplomat. *giggles* Working for gay rights er something but  

     then again, I am only a muse.

12       12.          What do you do in your free time?  And don’t say writing!

MM: Reading! I love a good book to sit down with.

          13.            What makes you laugh?

MM: Occasionally, some funnies on Youtube or maybe something BL would say. *grins*

         14.              What irritates you most about other people?

MM: Being rude. It’s not becoming.

  And finally….

        15.                Would you like to share with us your favourite joke? 

MM: Oh I’m afraid, joking is not my department. That’s BL’s. *laughs* Thanks for having me.

Thank you for coming to chat, Michael Mandrake and I wish you many sales. 

It's been a pleasure talking with Michael Mandrake and you can find him at:-

The Literary Triad - http://www.thelitriad.com/#!
Michael Mandrake - http://tabooindeed.blogspot.com

BL/Rawiya - http://blrawiyaerotica.blogspot.com

Twitter - http://twitter.com/#!/rawiyamikembl

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorSharitaLira
Goodreads - http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/3542690

And here’s a little taster of The Power of Muse and Inspiration coming this month.

Blurb: No such thing as vampires!

William Chatterley is an up and coming author looking for a partner after many dead end dates. Finally, he believes he’s found a suitable mate in Andrew and they see one another.

The vampire Jude is weak from being without love in his life. When he sees the author, he desires him right away but his companion is a stumbling block.

How will he get passed it and when he does, will the mortal want to be his partner? What will he choose? Will Jude convince him to become his eternal lover?

PG Excerpt

“Yes, yes, come to me my child!” Jude lay his head against a dead tree. He sensed two virile young men he might like to enjoy for a double entree. Since he couldn’t have love why not fill up his belly with young blood for nourishment. He waved his long fingers and opened his eyes, gazing around the open field till he caught sight of the two he’d seen in his mind’s eye.

As always the faces were skewed when he looked deep within to see his prey but now that they’d come into view, he noticed one he didn’t want to destroy.

“Wha…I…” At a loss of words was Jude, gawking at the handsome man running away from another. “My, I’ve never seen in all my years a more gorgeous sight.” That moment the old immortal felt his muscles strengthen and his face tightening. A new feeling of love and inspiration came over him.

A mortal, so lovely and beautiful, the desire to live started to return.

BIO: Michael Mandrake is a BRIT!
A 39 year old Brummie who loves to write tales of love and romance between two men that aren't afraid to show their sexuality.
At least that's what this 39 year old mom from the US thinks he is. They talk on a regular basis, Sharita and her muse.
Now for the truth, Sharita, who also writes under Rawiya and BLMorticia is a happily married mom of 2 who loves everything about British culture and hopes to visit someday.
Michael M is her most successful pseudonym. To date, he is the only muse with 2 sole author books, 2 more coming before the end of 2011. He is contracted through XOXO publishing, Sizzler Editions, and does shorts through STARbooks Press.
Michael shares Sharita's love for writing tales where the characters aren't perfect, they cross into new territory and resolve their struggles through communication and mind blowing sex.
At the moment, Mandrakes books are only small steps into what’s to come. Look for longer works from Sharita and the muse, Michael very soon.