Author Visit: RJ Scott Q&A and Giveaway!

Today we have our author of the month, RJ Scott, visiting us for a Q&A session. She brought along a goodie, too, so check out the interview and then enter the giveaway below! :D

BMBR: When we had our happy hour chat, there was a divided line between those that wanted more story (filling in the time gaps and making a full length novel) and those who were perfectly content with the jumps and the novella length. Was there ever any consideration to making this story full novel length?

RJ: Throwaway started out as a short story, and when I say short I mean half the size of chapter one. I wrote it for a friend who was ill a few Christmases before it was published and it ended with Zach having a Christmas miracle in that Ben found him. Then when I decided it would make a book I just sat and wrote it. I don’t really consciously decide how long a book will be until I sit and am typing. With Throwaway the first draft ended without the last chapter, but when I re-read I knew I wanted to write that last chapter, and it certainly wasn’t a story I could write THE END on because for Zach and Ben it really was THE BEGINNING. 

I have had *quite a lot* of people want a sequel, but whilst I have a story in my head I am utterly scared I will not do it justice. Throwaway is by far my best selling book (along with The Heart Of Texas) and it would be very easy I guess to write a sequel with the story I have. I just don’t feel I am ready to do it yet. Maybe one day.

BMBR: We have incredibly grand plans (in our own minds) to one day have the UM Production Co. that will produce our favorite MM reads into film. The powers that be at the currently non-existent holiday division want to see The Christmas Throwaway put into production. Who would you see playing the main characters?

RJ: Oh Jeez, I would adore Throwaway to be made into a film… playing the main characters, that is a difficult one. 

Colin Donnell (from CW's Arrow) would make a great Ben, serious, dark haired, heroic, I like that. For Zach, jeez, that is the hardest every question… I was asked this last December and the two I chose are no longer what I want… I have no idea… I liked the young actor who played wee Sam in Supernatural (Colin Ford) he’s all gangly and cute so maybe him.

BMBR: A couple of us were introduced to the term ‘throwaway’ when we are so used to hearing ‘runaway’ when talking about the kids tossed out by their bigoted families. It’s such a hard, but unfortunately real, concept for us to understand. Was there a particular story or event that prompted you to make Zach a ‘throwaway’ vs a ‘runaway’?

RJ: The first draft of this book was called The Christmas Miracle. The miracle being that Zach found safety and love even though his life had basically disintegrated around him. When I researched the course that Ben attended to be able to support teens I found all these articles about Throwaways. Like you it wasn’t a term I had come across before. I always thought a person who wasn’t welcome at home was a Runaway, but then it made sense, kids like Zach didn’t want to leave home. They always, every day, hoped for a better family, and understanding. Zach wanted to be there to protect his sister but he had no choice but to go, he was in fact thrown away out of the home he knew.

BMBR: While all the abuse Zach suffered was off page and not described in overly graphic detail, the reality of what he went through was painfully clear. We were all impressed with how the characters treated Zach like an individual and not a victim. How hard was it to balance Zach’s past with the potential romance with Ben?

RJ: I wasn’t ready to detail the abuse. I wanted to show it through the panic attacks, and the wood slivers in Zach’s back, and the skittish way he was with people. I wanted to show the damage done to him, psychologically and physically, had taken the most valuable of things we take for granted, such as trust and hope. Thank you for your comments on this and that I managed to show the other characters and how they approached Zach. Zach is a strong person inside, he has to be to have even survived the things he has gone through. I tried to show the other people around him could see this strength and that their role in the story was to get him to see it for himself. 

Zach hadn’t really fallen in love before, and it takes him a long time to realize that is what is happening. But before he could give any part of himself wholly to Ben he has to be able to get things straight in his head. Some reviewers say I left any sex scenes until he was 18, but actually that wasn’t my intention, I simply wanted time for Zach to begin healing. I always wanted to write hope that Zach could feel like he was normal, that he was okay and that he hadn’t deserved any of what was thrown at him.

BMBR: You have a number of lengthy series going at once. With so many characters and so many plot lines, I’m imagining all kinds of flow charts and spreadsheets. How do you keep them all organized and on track?

RJ: I have A3 sheets that I plot family trees on. From main characters to small details, such as the fact Riley and Jack in Texas have platinum wedding bands, or that Connor the werewolf from The Vampire Contract has three younger sisters. I always re read the other books before embarking on another book in a series. For example writing Texas 4 had me re-reading T1 – T3 with a whole pile of post it notes so I could collate all the information. Also, especially with T4, it’s vital the part that my editor, Erika Orrick, played in seeing holes in any of my plots. 

When I am mid story I tack the A3 page to the wall in front of me then I can glance up if I need to recall the colour of the coat that character X was wearing in Chapter Y.
I also have all my plot lines in my head for series where I have already planned the whole series. For example Ellery with Totally Bound, or Supernatural Bounty Hunters with eXtasy, I already know what will be the main story arc.

BMBR: Now, when you aren’t writing, and looking at your works in progress on your blog that isn’t too often, what is that you like to read? We’re big fans of ‘under the radar’ books, what would you recommend to a friend? Also, what would you recommend to a reader new to the MM genre?

RJ: I read everything, from books to the back of sauce bottles. Honestly. I can’t sit down and just relax with nothing to read unless I am watching TV. On my website I recommend books, and this is fraught with danger for a writer. I only EVER post reviews of books that really blew me away, because I have a responsibility not to guide any readers who might try my recommendations astray. People who like my writing (and gah, thank you all so much!) may well see something I have recommended and go buy it. 

I have my favorite authors, and authors new to me. Any reviews I have posted are here. To anyone new to reading in the MM genre, I would suggest going to the top 100 on Amazon gay fiction and have a rummage. Read the blurbs and the reviews, download the excerpt and see what you think. There are some classics out there but you can often find them through recommendation on review sites, especially when they do *bump* posts looking at older books.

BMBR: Of all your characters, which has been your easiest and hardest to write? And, we promise not to tell the rest, but which character of yours is your all time favorite, the one you would most like to meet in real life?

RJ: My Texas boys are my easiest to write in way of character, but hardest to write with stories. I feel a huge responsibility to my readers with this couple and their growing family and after the Heart of texas with all it’s soap opera drama I have a lot to live up to. 

Writing The Journal of Sanctuary One (Sanctuary book 6) was one of the hardest books I ever wrote for many reasons, not least personal turmoil I was experiencing at the time, but Worlds Collide (Sanctuary book 7) flowed like warm honey! 

To meet one of my characters? I have to pick one? Jeez… *thinks* Riley from Texas is all mine, in case anyone is thinking of dating him, he’s the character I would want to meet the most, all six four of blond Texan. Sighs. I would love to meet Zach and Ben as a couple and see how they’re doing. And, the same with my couple from The Decisions We Make now they are at college. Oh and can Meredith Russell and I go visit Sapphire Cay for real? ROFL

BMBR: We have to know, exactly how many ugly Christmas sweaters do you own?

RJ: ROFLMAO… actually none. Although I am a ho for all things Christmas, my boobs are too big and the snowman’s head would disappear into my cleavage.

While RJ might not be wearing an ugly Christmas sweater, she definitely arrived at unipornian headquarters full of holiday spirit! She's offering a giveaway of any one ebook from her backlist. Woohoo!

To enter the giveaway, leave a comment below with a method of contacting you (e.g., email, Twitter handle, or Goodreads profile link if you accept messages on GR, etc.). The contest to win one ebook from RJ Scott's backlist is open until 11PM Pacific time on December 22nd, and a winner will be announced on BMBR shortly thereafter.

Thanks for stopping by the clubhouse, RJ! We, too, are hos for all things Christmas and really enjoyed chatting with you about The Christmas Throwaway. =)

The Christmas Throwaway is available now at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, All Romance eBooks, and Love Lane Books. Also check out RJ's latest holiday story, Christmas in the Sun (written with Meredith Russell), now available at Amazon, ARe, and Love Lane Books! You can find out more about RJ online at http://www.rjscott.co.uk/.

P.S. As December's author of the month, we've made RJ Scott an honorary unicorn! RJ's unicorn secret (or not so secret?) identity is Violet Dapple Foal.