This week’s guest is Alan Chin, author of ISLAND SONG.

Q: Good morning, Alan. Please tell us which genre you write in…
A: My first two novels, Island Song and Changi, both published by Zumaya Publications, are basically gay romance novels. There are romance subplots going on in my third and forth novels, Match Maker and Butterfly’s Child, but I’ve recently broken away from the romance genre to write what I believe is more literary work. I find that my plots and characters are getting more complicated, deeper, and I’m dealing with more compelling issues. I’m finding that to be more satisfying to write.

Q: How long did you write before you received your first contract for publication?
A: I wrote for about ten years before I got serious about being published. From the time I started Island Song until the contract was signed was about five years. Three of those years were dealing with rejection after rejection, which caused me to rewrite the story more than once.

Q: So, if you don’t mind sharing, would you tell us about your latest work in progress?
A: I don’t mind at all. I’ve started the first draft of a futuristic story about two brothers, one straight and one gay, told from the point of view of the straight brother. It’s a story of brotherly betrayal and redemption. It’s my first work that is not strictly gay-themed, and I’m getting very excited about it.

Q: Out of all the stories you’ve written, which is your favorite?
A: That’s like asking a mother which of her children are her favorite. At this point in my career, if I was forced to choose only one, I would have to say my third novel, Match Maker. It’s the story of a gay tennis coach and a straight, teenaged, tennis star trying to make it in the world of professional tennis. It’s my favorite only because I think it’s some of my best writing and because I love tennis and have played in amateur tournaments in the past. That story is currently searching for a publisher.

Q: Do you need to be in a specific place or atmosphere before the words flow?
A: I prefer to write in my office at home, and mostly before noon. But I can write almost anywhere. I’ve been in Southeast Asia for the past three months and have managed to get a reasonable amount of writing done. When traveling, as I am now, I try to write at least two to three hours each day.

Q: What’s the strangest source of inspiration you’ve found for a story?
A: I wrote a short story about gay bashing that was inspired by a true event in Arizona where a teenaged gay boy was beaten to death by four classmates who happened to be football jocks. They killed him solely because he was gay, and different. The jocks plead guilty and the judge let them off with 6 months of community service, saying that he, the judge, was impressed that all four boys were active members of the high school football team and that’s what this country needed more of. So murderers got way scott-free simply because they were jocks and the victim was gay. I was so outraged that I wrote a short story about fighting back against gay bashers. That story eventually grew into Island Song, my first novel.. Readers can find out more about it on my website: http://alanchin.net

Q: If you could offer one tidbit of information for new writers, what would it be?
A: About Writing? I’d say: if you have a dream or an idea you want to develop and share, don’t let anything stop you. Do it, work at it every day, do it to the best of your abilities, and don’t stop until it’s better than you thought possible. Learn your craft, then learn it better, then apply it. And while you’re applying it, learn more. That’s the journey, and in the end all we’re really left with is the journey. So set a course, unfurl your sails and travel well.

Q: Do you have an evil day job or do you write full time?
A: I retired from business in April of 1999 at the ripe age of forty-five. My partner and I traveled constantly for a few years after that, then I began writing full time.

Q: What do you like to do in your spare time?
A: Spare time? Since Island Song was published I have very little spare time. When I’m not writing I’m on the internet promoting my book. But my two other hobbies are traveling and tennis, both of which I’m able to share with my husband, Herman Chin.

Q: Name one thing readers would be surprised to learn about you.
A: With a last name of Chin, they might be surprised to find out I’m not Asian. I was christened Alan Lewis Hurlburt at birth, but back in 1999 my husband, Herman Chin, and I wanted to share the same family name. So it was going to be either Alan Chin or Herman Hurlburt… Guess who won that argument? So I legally changed my last name to Chin.

Q: What’s your favorite holiday, and why?
A: New Years, mostly because Herman and I travel during that time of year and I love traveling. Also because I love new beginnings. Finishing up the old and starting something new. I’m not big on holidays. I write everyday, so weekends and holidays don’t mean much to me. They’re simply another opportunity to write and be with my man.

Q: Do you have any tattoos or piercings?
A: No, I was too old by the time that fad became fashionable. And I haven’t seen a single one that I would want to look at every day for the next twenty or thirty years.

Q: If you could be intimate with three people (not necessarily all at one time *g*) without getting in trouble with your significant other, who would they be?
A: I’m not going to answer that one, because my husband is bound to read this interview, and I want to keep a little mystery in our relationship. Keep him guessing….

Q: If you were stranded on a desert island, what three things would you want with you?
A: My laptop, a solar battery charger, and an internet connection.

Q: If you won the lottery tomorrow, what would you spend the money on?
A: Traveling. I haven’t been to Europe in five years simply because it’s gotten so expensive. I would spend a year in Europe, then spend another year making my way down the eastern coast of Africa.

Q: Which household chore do you abhor and why?
A: Cooking. Herman does all the cooking in our house. Food is not something I get excited about. I prefer to eat in, rather than go out to a restaurant, but only if Herman cooks.

Q: What’s your favorite comfort food?
A: Soup, any soup except split pea. My favorite is any kind of Asian noodle soup: Vietnamese rice-noodle soup, ramen, Udon, Laotian Khao Soy, Chinese noodle soup – I love them all.

Q: Do you have any guilty pleasures you feel comfortable sharing?
A: One of several reasons that I love spending time in Thailand, as I am now, is that there are any number of young, very cute, Thai guys who flirt with both me and Herman. I am, of course, fully aware that their only motivation is financial gain, and I’m also wholly aware that the relationship Herman and I have is monogamous, so there is no chance anything will happen with these Thai guys, but it still gives me a little thrill when these guys come on to me. It brings back memories of when I was much younger, much cuter, single, and on the hunt…

Q: Do you have a favorite book or movie?
A: No favorites. I have a stack of books and DVDs at my house. I love rereading great books, and also watching good movies over and over. Some of my favorite movies are Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, Cabaret, Moonstruck, Victor/Victoria. Last year I watched a ton of gay-themed flicks, and saw some notables: Shelter, The History Boys, Callas Forever, Big Eden, Burnt Money.

As for books, I love anything by: Hemingway, Capote, Marguerite Duras, Edmund White, Michael Cunningham, Jim Grimsley. Last year I was impressed by two novels from John Le Carre, and this year I’ve read two novels by Cormac McCarthy that I couldn’t put down. I just finished All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque, that I picked up in a used bookstore in Cambodia for $2, and I was completely blown away, both by the intensity of the story and the awesome writing style.

Q: Anything else you’d like to share?
A: Herman and I have been partners for over fifteen years. The day after gay marriage became legal in California, we marched down to the Civic Center and became the first male/male couple to be married in Marin County, California. I’m very proud of that. Not so much proud of being the first couple, but of being in the front ranks of that movement, and being able to make that social statement about our relationship. And I can tell you that even after living with Herman for fifteen years, I got choked up while repeating the vows. It was a very emotional experience.

The other thing I’d like to share is that people can find out more about my writing at my website, http://AlanChin.net, and my writer’s blog, http://AlanChinWriter.blogspot.com. You can also read about Herman and my travels at http://HermanAndAlan.blogspot.com.

Q: In closing, tell us a bit about your latest release (& share a yummy excerpt for those who aren’t yet familiar with your work)
A: Island Song is a story that I’ve had a love affair with for well over fifteen years. It started as a short story about gay bashing which I wrote for a class project when I was in college earning my Master’s degree in writing. After I retired from life in the corporate world and began traveling the world, I read a book, Soul Mountain, that expertly wove Zen philosophy into the fabric of the story, and I thought, that’s what I want to do. So I picked up Island Song again and developed it into a novel-length manuscript while trying to weave my philosophy on life into the story.

Island Song touches on many topics concerning the gay community – losing a long-time partner, coming out, relationships that span age and cultural boundaries, gay bashing, alternative families – and it makes a statement about all those issues. But I think the overall message is that gay men and women can be both strong and courageous in our own unique way, finding inner strength without reverting to hatred or violence, and in so doing we will win in the end with our dignity intact.

An Excerpt From ISLAND SONG:

He spots Songoree above him, swimming beside a seven-ton monster, performing an acrobatic dance that captivates him. With outstretched limbs and his long hair billowing outward from his head, Songoree moves through shafts of purple light filtering down from above.
Awed, Garrett slowly ascends while enjoying the performance. Songoree is truly a creature of the sea. He seems as delicate as a seahorse and as graceful as a manta ray.
More moans erupt from the whales, and the pace of their dance speeds up. Their sublime movements increase in acrobatic skill.
Songoree moves faster as well. He seems as fluid as the water. He breaks away from the beast and swims all out for the boat. The whales move away with remarkable speed.
Garrett’s lungs begin to burn, and he is still fifteen feet from the surface.
Now he feels it…
In a flash, the universe transforms. It comes straight up from the dark water below at horrifying speed. An immense shadow slides just below him. Goosebumps spread over his body. It feels like someone has a grip on his throat. His legs kick wildly now, his eyes on the surface ten feet above.
Twelve hundred pounds of gray flesh and teeth and fin rocket directly in front of him. Even at that terrific speed it takes an ungodly amount of time for the shark to pass. It circles.
It has eyes the size of baseballs and a mouth three feet wide with rows of serrated teeth, all pointing inwards. The mouth turns up at the ends and makes the shark look like it is grinning. It has no fear—rather, everything in the water fears it.
My God, Garrett thinks, a great white.

.
.
.

Garrett is no longer in the world of men and sky and water, a place of light and darkness. There is only his mind and the terror that rips at him. He has always thought of evil as being a black shadowy form, but now he sees the obscene whiteness of the teeth ripping into his side, and he realizes that evil comes in many colors. He is beyond pain, and his mind no longer functions. There is only terror and the crushing grip of white teeth. It all happens in super-slow motion—no time and no pain, only teeth.
Garrett surrenders to the terror. Locked together in this bizarre universe, he can’t tell where he ends and the fish begins.
He feels a pressure on his neck. Something has a firm grip on his throat, as if his head is locked in a vise, and all at once he bursts into the world of sound again. He hears distant screams, and he feels the sweet relief of air rushing into his lungs.