Hi there everyone, happy October! Can you believe that 2020 is almost over? And thank God for that!! This month I decided to do something a little different for my guest post, an interview with my good friend, Author Ann Lister, in anticipation of her new collaboration series… The Road to Rocktoberfest. Check out our interview below and stay tuned to the end for her stalker links and a giveaway.

Where are you from, and where do you call home?

I am originally from Massachusetts but I am now calling Florida home.

What inspired you to start writing?

There are two reasons why I decided to write. One reason is I just couldn’t find the right kind of story I wanted to read that had all the ingredients I loved. I found a few authors that came close to the “heat factor” I enjoy but most fell just short of what I liked. Then I stumbled upon Hot Head by Damon Suede and all the pieces clicked together for me. 

Combine that story formula and my vivid imagination and my friends were urging me to write my own book. And so I did. I write several MF stories for fun but then one night I had a dream – a very explicit dream involving a male rockstar and a journalist interviewing him. I had the first draft of that story written in just a couple of weeks because it was so vivid to me and I ended up churning out entire series from that one book and The Rock Gods were born!

How long have you been writing?

I started writing short, erotic stories for Men’s Magazines back in the early 1990’s, then decided to write full-length novels around 2007 or 2008. My first novel released in 2009, titled Sheet Music: A Rock ‘n’ Roll Love Story and the rest is history, as they say. I have just over 30 novels in print now. Most are in the MM genre with a rockstar theme. 

What advice would you give a new writer just starting out?

Know your target audience and write to them. Read as many books in that target market as you can too. Read the reviews for those books and learn what worked and what didn’t work in the stories. Write about something you know and write from your heart. I like to add personal experiences into my stories which adds a layer of realism that can’t be googled.  As an example, one of my books (Beyond The Music, Book 7 in The Rock Gods series) has a character with MS. I used a lot of my own personal history with that disease and wrote it into the story to give the reader an authentic reality for the story. Doing things like that to your story will always make it better and more visual to a reader.

Do you ever suffer from writer’s block? If so, what do you do about it?

I’ve been stuck in places sometimes but it usually clears itself if I go back several chapters and start re-reading the story. Then my brain opens back up and new visuals pop into my head for me to write. It doesn’t usually last long but it does happen. 

Another thing I will do is jump onto a completely different writing project and work on that for a few days. Then I’ll go back to the one where I was stuck and usually things will start flowing again.  I try and have 2-3 projects working at any given time exactly for that reason.

What Author’s in the genre do you read? 

I read all the big names in MM genre but I love discovering new authors (new to me) and then devouring all the books on their backlist. I’ve found some real gems that way!

What comes first, the plot or characters?

Oooh, that process changes with every project. Sometimes the story starts with the title. Other times a title doesn’t come to me until after I’ve completed the writing process. Mostly, the characters come mind first and as I’m fleshing them out in my head the plot will start to take shape and it rolls from there. It can change 100 times by the time I get to the end of the story though. The first plot I start with most often does not end up being the final plot of the story. It evolves as the characters take shape.

Are you working on anything at the present you would like to tell us about?

I’m working steadily on my first FF rockstar story that I am loving! I hope to have this ready for a late Fall release. It’s titled, Weeping Willow and it’s about two childhood girlfriends who have a dream of stardom and having a band together. Their plans to leave for LA after graduation hit a snag when one of the girl’s parents push a different path onto her which requires her to stay behind. The other friend heads off to LA and achieves everything the girls dreamed about, and then some. Now they’re older and although some wounds still feel fresh, they’re working on things and hoping to heal the old hurts. Sometimes too much time can pass and it makes the hurdles enormous to scale. If they want this, they’re going to have to work harder than they ever imagined. But inside, they know the victory will be worth it. 

Describe the perfect writing space.

A sunny space with a wide desk and a comfortable chair. Writing outside is nice unless there’s too many distractions or it’s too hot.

Do you do research for your books? If so, what does that entail? 

I absolutely do research on my stories! It could involve a professional in the field I’m writing about, a google search on the internet, “how to” videos, and so on. I recently published a short, erotic story titled, Bending For Him and in the story there is some very “bendy” choreography between the two main characters. I had to watch several specialized videos to make sure I was describing the position correctly! The internet has a ton of places you can learn about different things, so if I don’t fully know about a topic, I will research it until I understand what I’m writing about. 

How many books have you written? Which is your favorite?

I have a little over 30 titles in print and a bunch more that are unpublished. I’m not sure I have an “all-time” favorite but I do favor a few titles for different reasons. Fall For Me, Book 1 in The Rock Gods series was the launch for me in the MM genre and it was the first story where I felt like I was in the “right place”. There was something beautiful about the way two men can find love that checked off all the boxes in my head for writing. I finally felt like I’d found my niche – especially once I combined my second love which is music and musicians! 

Do you hear from your readers much? What do they say?

I do hear from my readers and I love getting emails or messages from them! Authors release their books and we never get to see how our stories affect a reader. Did they laugh, cry, swoon in the places you wanted them too? So, if they can message me to tell me how my story affected them, that’s wonderful!

Fighting His Fire, Book 6 in The Rock Gods series has a story line involving childhood sexual abuse. I got a ton of messages from readers thanking me for telling “their story” and  for putting a face to this crime. They also expressed the comfort they felt after reading the story and had a better sense that they weren’t alone. I didn’t anticipate that kind of outpouring from that story but I was thrilled I was able to help them through the long process of becoming a true survivor of that crime.

Beyond The Music has a character struggling with a chronic illness which I happen to share with him. The same outpouring of messages came from readers after that book released from those also dealing with MS and they loved how they were able to watch Lincoln (my character) rise above his illness and become strong. The MS community has a mantra, “I have MS but MS doesn’t have me” are truly words to live by and I was proud to help the readers through it with my story.

There are pieces of me in every story I’ve written. It’s cathartic to do and it helps me to heal from my childhood traumas. I guess it also translates with the readers because they seem to enjoy the stories a lot!

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The Road to Rocktoberfest series coming soon! Here’s the series link as well as each books individual release date and link. All pre-orders are available and all books will be in Kindle Unlimited. 

Series link: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08HPMNZ96

​10/9/2020 – Ann MacConnell Lister – Strung Tight
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08HL9L5C6
10/16/2020 – Author Layla Dorine – Tattered Angel
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08HHSK4TT
10/23/2020 – Nic Starr – Wild Card
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08HHTTJTG
10/30/2020 – Jenna Galicki – Street of Dreams
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08HHYFVKQ
11/6/2020 – TL Travis – Rhone’s Rebel
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08HHSQVWJ
11/13/2020 – BL Morticia – Bad Blood
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08HHTNR76
11/20/2020 – Morticia Knight – VIP Access
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08HLN7PPD

​#MM #LGBTQ #Rocktoberfest #Rockstar #Romance #KindleUnlimited

Author bio and links…

Ann Lister is a native New Englander currently living in Florida with her husband. She has pulled details from her years living in the New England area and uses many local settings and landmarks in her novels.

After graduating art school, marrying, and raising two daughters, she established her own video production company. Her nearly two decades working in video production included work within the music industry and won her a coveted Telly Award. Her ‘behind-the-scenes’ exposure to the music world and her love of rock music is the inspiration for her erotic rock star romances.

The Rock Gods series gave her Bestselling Author status on Amazon. Beyond The Music, Book 7 in the series, reached #1 in Gay Erotica in the Pre-Order and held that spot for several weeks. The last book in the series launches the spin-off series, Guarding The Gods, which is releasing in early summer 2016.

Fall For Me, Book One in the series was a Finalist in the 2013 Rainbow Award. Each book in this series brings her two favorite elements together: musicians and the love between two men. These stories focus on what it truly means to love; love unconditionally, love without restrictions or labels, love without fear or judgment – to just simply love.

Website: http://www.annlister-author.com Twitter: @AnnListerAuthor Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1673855842830676

Enter the Giveaway here: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/bde26371365/?

One winner will receive an eBook from Ann Lister’s backlist (excluding any Road to Rocktoberfest titles)

And remember to grab your copy of Strung Tight when it release on October 9th! https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08HL9L5C6