Please welcome this week’s guest, author JM Snyder. Thanks for playing along, JM.

Q: So, JM, which genre do you write in?
A: I write gay fiction. Some of it is erotic, some romantic, and some people may classify it as “M/M,” but to me, it’s just gay, and because it’s not real, it’s fiction. As to why, it’s just the genre my thoughts turn to when I’m thinking up stories. I can’t watch a movie with two men in it without thinking about them “like that.” So it’s natural to me that when I think of a story idea, it always involves men in a sexual relationship. I guess I’m just twisted that way.

Q: How long did you write before you received your first contract for publication?
A: To be completely honest, I’ve been writing since I was 8 years old. Not gay erotica, obviously but writing stories to some degree, whether finished or unfinished (for a long time, I was the Queen of Unfinished Prose). In high school I first began writing seriously with publication as my goal, but I didn’t get published until I graduated from college. That first publication was nothing more than a short story that appeared in a now defunct small press ‘zine, but it was something, at least. By the time I received my first contract and monetary payment for publication (in 2005, for a short story published online at Ruthie’s Club), I’d been writing for 23 years, and writing seriously for 15.

Q: So, if you don’t mind sharing, would you tell us about your latest work in progress?
A: I’m in the middle of two stories at the moment. One is a short piece which started life as a short story I submitted to an anthology. After not hearing back from the publisher, I decided to rewrite the story, originally called As Sparks Fly, to make it fit in as book 2 in my upcoming V series, published by Amber Allure Press. Currently, I’m not sure what the new title of the story will be. It features my superhero characters, Vic and Matt, and deals with vandals who break into Matt’s car one evening.

The second story I’m working on is a historical western novel about a young cowboy named Tommy who has a fierce crush on his foreman. He’s too embarrassed to approach the man, but befriends someone who wants to help him snag the foreman’s attention. In the process, Tommy finds himself falling for the other fellow. The working title is Soiled but that’s subject to change. At 26k it’s about halfway finished.

Q: Out of all the stories you’ve written, which is your favorite?
A: That’s a hard call! It’s like choosing your favorite child or pet. Of my novel-length stories, I’d have to say my favorite is Stepping Up to the Plate. It took me three years to write and turned out to be everything I had hoped it would when I started it. From my shorter-length stories, I’d have to say Persistence of Memory is one of my favorites. I wrote it years ago and just love the theme of the story so much. Even though I wrote it, the ending still chokes me up (can I say that without sounding cheesy?). And short stories … hmm, I don’t know. I really like “Afflicted” and “Henry and Jim,” both of which appeared in the Best Gay Romance series by Cleis Press.

Q: Do you need to be in a specific place or atmosphere before the words flow?
A: Not really; I just need peace and quiet. I can’t write with music on (or rather, any song that has lyrics to it, because I start listening to the words and can’t write my own). I can’t write if the TV is blaring or if kids are bickering outside, or if someone’s making any kind of noise whatsoever because I fixate on that and lose my train of thought. But I can write just about anywhere — at home, in a hotel room, at work, on the bus. Wherever I have pen and paper and a few minutes, I can get into “the zone” and work a bit more on my current WIP.

Q: If you could offer one tidbit of information for new writers, what would it be?
A: If you want to write, then write. Don’t waste time telling people what you want to write — you’ll talk out the story and lose it. I meet so many people who say they want to be writers, but that’s like saying you want to be an athlete — you can play the game or you can sit it out, but you can’t do both at once. You either write, or you don’t. Don’t worry if anyone else will like it; don’t worry if it makes sense. Just silence your inner critic and get the words down on paper. The only way to be a writer is to write.

Q: Do you have an evil day job or do you write full time?
A: I work full-time from 8:30 to 5:30, forty hours a week, but I write more than that. My free time is spend writing, marketing, promoting, or editing. You could say I have two full-time jobs, and you’d be right. My writing takes up every waking hour, and sometimes overtakes the day job, too!

Q: What do you like to do in your spare time?
A: What spare time!? Writing is very much a labor of love for me, and I don’t see it as “work.” In my spare time, I write. When I’m not writing, I love to read, go to the movies, watch Dirty Jobs on the Discovery channel, play video games, and update my website.

Q: Name one thing readers would be surprised to learn about you.
A: I can’t ride a bike. When I was young, my parents never had enough money to get me a bike, so I never learned how to ride one. And now that I’m older, I drive everywhere. I did get on a bike once in high school and promptly crashed, and I’ve never really been all that motivated to try again.

Q: What’s your favorite dirty word?
A: Fuck. I say it often. I also like “Goddamn it to hell.”

Q: What’s your favorite holiday, and why?
A: Everyone always says Christmas, don’t they? So I’ll say Juneteenth, just for the hell of it. And to make those of you who don’t know what Juneteenth is look it up.

Q: Do you have any tattoos or piercings?
A: I have a tattoo on the inside of my left elbow that is a small pink triangle, and plan on getting another tattoo right above it this weekend. That will be a small rainbow flag. Piercings … eh, I used to have my ears pierced (3 holes in one, 2 in the other) but they closed up years ago.

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 a very intimate person, even among my family and friends. But hey, if I ever got a call from Britney Spears, Michael Pitt, or James Franco, I might hook up. Yes, I like Britney. So there!

Q: If you were stranded on a desert island, what three things would you want with you?
A: The latest copy of The Norton Anthology of World Literature, the soundtrack to Young Guns II, and a pencil. That way I can listen to kick-ass music while catching up on my reading, and there should be enough blank pages in the book left over to write my own stories, as well. If not, there’s always the margin.

Q: If you won the lottery tomorrow, what would you spend the money on?
A: I’d pay off my student loan, my car, and my credit cards (in that order), then offer the rest to my family to pay off their bills, as well. Oh, maybe I’d buy a house, too, if I win enough. I mean, if you’re going to dream about winning the lottery, you might as well dream big, no?

Q: Which household chore do you abhor and why?
A: I hate all chores. Seriously, I need a maid. Maybe that’s what I’ll buy with my lottery winnings. I hate doing dishes (I even hate just putting the dishes into the dishwasher, how sad is that?) and I hate doing laundry. I hate vacuuming, dusting, cleaning windows, cleaning the bathroom, cleaning anything. About the only chore I do on a regular basis is clean out the litter box, and that’s only because in my world, the cats come first.

Q: What’s your favorite comfort food?
A: It depends. I love Asian food — Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Vietnamese. Something with rice or noodles is always a comfort food, and my current fave is Pad Thai from Noodles and Company.

Q: Do you have any guilty pleasures you feel comfortable sharing?
A: I’m a sucker for books — I can’t go to the store (any store!) without buying something new to read. I literally have over 880 books on my shelves waiting to be read. It’s sad, really! I can’t not buy books, especially those marked down or used.

I’m also very addicted to video games. The Legend of Zelda, Tomb Raider, and The Sims are among my favorite series, but I’ll play any RPG or action/adventure game once.

Q: Do you have a favorite book or movie?
A: My all-time favorite book is Watership Down by Richard Adams. I’ve loved it since I was little and I reread it as often as I can because I think it’s a wonderful story and very well-written. It has everything you could possibly want in a good book. My favorite movie is The Thing Called Love, which probably none of your readers has seen. It’s awesome, though. Go rent it!

Q: Anything else you’d like to share?
A: Visit my site at http://jmsnyder.net for free short stories, book excerpts, and tons of giveaways every month! I run contests each month for copies of my latest releases and also choose one winner for every 100 members who join my Yahoo! Group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/jmsnyder/. Authors who write M/M or gay fiction can post excerpts to my group on the 23rd of every month. I also run Rainbow Reviews, a GLBT review site updated weekly at http://www.rainbow-reviews.com. Thank you so much for having me on your blog!

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: My latest release is a short story called Play On, which is book 3 in my bimonthly series, Playing the Field, available from Amber Allure Press. Each story stands alone, involving new characters who meet through their love of a particular sport.

Play On centers around soccer; Sean Mason is a wingman on the college soccer team. His interest in a sexy rookie threatens to disrupt his game. In the excerpt below, Sean and Cordero have just met, and Sean makes his feelings for his teammate clear:

All throughout practice, Sean can barely concentrate. His mind is on Cordero, his gaze constantly drawn to the new player until he feels like the whole team knows he’s staring. It’s hard to play soccer with a hard-on shoved down the front of his shorts. Thank God for the long jersey he wears, or everyone would know he’s sporting wood. He thinks once practice is over, he’ll skip the communal showers and head back to his dorm, lock the door behind him, and jerk one out. Damn, that bro is tight.

Cordero plays midfield, not a stone’s throw from Sean’s winger spot. Whenever Sean tries to follow the ball, his attention is snagged by the new guy—the coach made Cordero put back on his shirt before play and the bright white T-shirt seems to glow against his dark skin, more distracting than his bare chest had been. As Sean watches, Cordero pulls up his shirt, exposing that flat stomach of his. He bends down, tugging the shirt to his face to wipe the sweat beading on his forehead.

Sean can’t look away.

After a moment Cordero senses he’s being watched. As far as Sean’s concerned, there’s nothing else worth looking at on the field today. Cordero’s hands freeze, shirt still pressed to his face, and he glances over at Sean from the corner of his eye.

In that instant, Sean knows they’re getting together.

When? He isn’t sure. But didn’t Cordero pass that “D and A” comment back to him, keeping it in play? There’s no denying something arcs between them, a sizzling energy that sparks along the base of Sean’s spine to invigorate his cock. A slow grin eases across his face and he calls out, “Hey, rookie.”

Cordero snickers into his shirt. His face disappears into the bright white cloth as he rubs away the sweat, then he ducks under the hem and tucks the shirt behind his head, wearing it like a bolero. Sean’s gaze drops and, because he knows Cordero’s watching, he licks his upper lip.

“You bad,” Cordero says with a laugh. Propping his hands on his hips, he shakes his head like he can’t believe Sean’s audacity. “Better watch out for Barrett.”

“Barrett can bite me,” Sean replies.

With a smirk, Cordero jokes, “And here I thought you was wanting me.”

Encouraged, Sean takes a few steps closer—not enough to get out of position, but he doesn’t want to flirt across the length of the pitch if he can help it. Turning his back to the game, he drops a hand to the front of his crotch and makes a show of adjusting the budding erection in his shorts. “Tell me you don’t want a piece of this.”

The message is clear—he’s sprung.

Cordero’s grin turns shy and he ducks his head. “I’m considering it.”

The rest of the field has disappeared for Sean—nothing exists but Cordero and his sexy grin. Taking another step closer so he doesn’t have to shout, Sean asks, “How about after practice? I’ll give you a good look at what I have to offer, help you make up your mind. You fine, bro. I’ll tell you straight.”

“Nothing straight about you,” Cordero says.

Sean laughs and moves closer still. Grabbing his crotch, he admits, “I got one thing, straight and hard, just begging for—”

“Mason!” the coach shouts.

Quickly Sean drops the act. Releasing the front of his shorts, he smoothes his hands down his jersey and backpedals to his spot, unwilling to look away from Cordero just yet. “Don’t think I’m through with you.”

Buy Playing the Field: Play On by J.M. Snyder today at Amber Allure Press — http://amberquill.com/AmberAllure/PlayOn.html