My guest author this week is prolific author, M. Christian. I would like to extend my thanks to Mr. Christian for joining us today.

Q: To start, would you please tell us what genre you write in?
A: I like to call myself a ‘literary streetwalker with a heart of gold’ — in other words a noble hack: anything for anyone at any time. I’ve written loads in a wide range of genres: mystery, horror, non-fiction, romance, science fiction, and even more loads of erotica (gay, straight, you name it). Here’s a quickie bio:

M.Christian is an acknowledged master of erotica with more than 300 stories in such anthologies as Best American Erotica, Best Gay Erotica, Best Lesbian Erotica, Best Bisexual Erotica, Best Fetish Erotica, and many, many other anthologies, magazines, and Web sites. He is the editor of 20 anthologies including the Best S/M Erotica series, The Burning Pen, Guilty Pleasures, and others. He is the author of the collections Dirty Words, Speaking Parts, The Bachelor Machine, Licks & Promises, and Filthy; and the novels Running Dry, The Very Bloody Marys, Me2, Brushes, and Painted Doll.

Q: How long did you write before you received your first contract for publication?
A: I first decided I wanted to be a writer back in high school, but it took me close to ten years before my first story appeared in print (FutureSex Magazine, if you want to know). But ten years after THAT I have 300+ stories in print, five collections, five novels, and have edited over 20 anthologies. Making up for lost time you could say.

Q: So, if you don’t mind sharing, would you tell us about your latest work in progress?
A:I’m a very hard working writer and so I have oodles of things in the works right now. And, yes, ‘oodles’ is a technical term. Let’s see: a new novel (a gay thriller), a new collection (Licks & Promises) new editions of two of my favorite short story collections (Bachelor Machine, and Dirty Words), a film that should be shooting soon, a comic project, two new anthologies (Best S/M Erotica 3 and Sex In San Francisco), my regular column on writing smut (”Confessions of a Literary Streetwalker” for the Erotica Readers and Writers site) and other stuff that’s slipped my mind ….

Q: Out of all the stories you’ve written, which is your favorite?
A:While I have some that I think came out rather well I don’t really have a favorite because … well, because that means looking back, which is something I try not to do. So I’d say that my favorite is the story I haven’t written yet.

Q: Do you need to be in a specific place or atmosphere before the words flow?
A:Not really. I like to say that I had a muse but then I tracked it down and beat it into submission. By that I mean I work, I don’t get inspired — so I can pretty much work anywhere at anytime. One of the weirder things about me is that I need stimulus to work: I can’t stand silence. Right now, for instance, I’m writing this while the the Iron Man movie is playing. In fact I very often pick movies or TV shows to play while I work that add to what I’m working on — which also explains why I write very ‘cinematic’ as if I’m viewing the story I’m working on as a film or TV show. Writers are queer beasts, eh?

Q: What’s the strangest source of inspiration you’ve found for a story?
A:I usually start with a base idea, which is what the editor or publisher wants (romance, horror, etc). Then I try to put my own ’spin’ on it, make it very much my own … which is the fun part. I’ve done queer smut that is basically rewritten classic movies, I’ve written stories inspired by Native American myths, I’ve done books about man’s lack of true individuality, I’ve done stories spun from classic paintings … inspiration, for me and for a lot of writers, is all around. The main thing is to have fun and not take yourself, or writing, too seriously.

Q: If you could offer one tidbit of information for new writers, what would it be?
A:Two things, I think: the first is that the only time a writer fails is when they stop writing. In other words rejection is part of the game, as is frustration, disappointment, envy, depression — but the only time any of us really fails is when we stop doing what we love. The other thing is not thinking of writing as a divine process, that creativity somehow comes from outside of ourselves (that muse thing again). I didn’t know I could be a good pornographer until I tried. I didn’t know I could write a script until I tried. I didn’t know I could write novels until I tried. A writer should always be stretching, seizing every opportunity no matter how small or strange. That’s how we grow and that’s how we get to be better and better at what we do.

Q: Do you have an evil day job or do you write full time?
A:I am a victim of the recent economic downturn. If anyone out there needs an office manager, production manager, or (naturally) a writer please write me at zobop@aol.com. I wish I could write full-time but the money just isn’t out there .. and, frankly, it wasn’t ever out there. Our culture just doesn’t support the arts so we all — with rare exceptions — have to do whatever it takes to pay the bills.

Q: What do you like to do in your spare time?
A:I have a lot of hobbies, which is another thing a writer should have: they keep you interested and interesting. I’m a gamer, I adore comic books and TV and films, I love food and travel, I play with art, and I’m fascinated by science and history (the stranger the better). I also have a few fun blogs I play with: Meine Kleine Fabrik (http://meinekleinefabrik.blogspot.com) is where I post my weird history articles and whatever else I find that’s bizarre and wonderful, Frequently Felt (http://frequentlyfelt.blogspot.com) is the same but with an erotic edge, and my personal/writing site is at www.mchristian.com.

Q: Name one thing readers would be surprised to learn about you.
A:I guess that would be that despite the fact I’ve written a huge number of gay and lesbian stories (including several novels and three collections) I’m actually a straight guy. Just to be clear I’ve never lied about my own orientation — in fact I consider it a very special compliment that I’m so accepted in the gay and lesbian community. I think it’s because when I write I don’t write about a character’s sexual orientation: instead I write about people, about our commonality and not the differences. Luckily it seems to be working … so far

Q: What’s your favorite dirty word?
A:I don’t have a favorite, per se. But I like to say that the alphabet makes me hard

Q: What’s your favorite holiday, and why?
A:Since I’m an atheist Xmas and Easter don’t have much of a meaning for me — aside from family stuff. I don’t have a green thumb so arbor day is out. I’d probably have to say halloween which is the only holiday that matters here in San Francisco.

Q: Do you have any tattoos or piercings?
A:I have two rings in my left ear (pierced by my ex-wife), a navel ring, a red lightning bolt on my left thigh, and the ‘change’ in Kanji on my right shoulder.

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:Lordy, what a question … not to sound lovey-dovey I have such a sweet and wonderful and special lady in my life I seriously can’t think of being with anyone else. But if I had to ’screw’ someone I think it would have to be Ronald Reagan, Jessie Helms, and Pat Robertson … to do to them what they’ve done to the queer community and the free-thinking world

Q: If you were stranded on a desert island, what three things would you want with you?
A:My laptop and internet access would be essential since with that I can do pretty much whatever I need or want. Beyond that I don’t really need anything else: I’m a serious web-head and technophile. Digital is the way to go!

Q: If you won the lottery tomorrow, what would you spend the money on?
A:Healthcare for me, my lady, my brother and my mother. Then I’d like to make them all as comfortable as possible. After that I’d like to put back in print some of the books that are my favorites, that changed my life. Beyond even that … have you ever read The Magic Christian by Terry Southern? The movie is good as well but is very different. The book’s a delightful dark comic romp about a Mr. Guy Grande who screws with the world on a grand and bizarre scale. I’d love to be able to do the same. The world needs some good messing with, don’t you agree?

Q: Which household chore do you abhor and why?
A:I don’t believe in folding clothes. I prefer to use a complex system of fabric manipulation called ‘wadding.’ My lady, alas, does not appreciate my skill in this area.

Q: What’s your favorite comfort food?
A:Anything cheese related. I have cheddar running through my veins.

Q: Do you have any guilty pleasures you feel comfortable sharing?
A:I love a good villain. I’m the guy in the audience cheering Hannibal Lecter or Hans Gruber. I just wish I was better at writing them. One of these days I will. It’s something I have to work on.

Q: Do you have a favorite book or movie?
A:Pompous classics first: Kim by Kipling, Grapes of Wrath by Steinbeck, and anything by Dickens or Victor Hugo. But honestly: Eye in the Sky By Phil Dick, Nimbus by AlexanderJablokov, High Atech by Ernest Hogan, anything by Henri De Monfreid or Karl Taro Greenfield, Evolution’s Shore by Ian McDonald, anything by Silverberg or Alfred Bester; any comic by Alan Moore or Adam Warren; in films Id have to say Frankenheimer’s Seconds, Seven Days In May, and the Manchurian Candidate, plus almost anything Japanese or British; on the tube I’d say the same (loveanime ) plus I have a weakness for classic TV shows or the seriously twisted (Le Femme Nikita, The Prisoner, etc), plus a lot more I know I’m forgetting.

Q: In closing, tell us a bit about your latest release
A:Let’s see … I have a new collection of my straight-ish erotica coming out from Phaze books called Licks & Promises, a reprint of my gay erotica collection, Dirty Words, from Lethe Books, and my science fiction erotica collection, The Bachelor Machine, from Circlet Books. Beyond that I have some other long-term things that should be coming out soon enough. Keep an eye on www.mchristian.com for updates and general fun and M.Christian weirdness ….