Thursday, November 13, 2014

So very excited to be bringing you this stop on the blog tour for Meredith Shayne's latest release Cutting Out.




An Interview with Meredith Shayne

Hi, Meredith. I get this question a lot from my friends and family, so I thought I'd ask you...what draws you to write M/M stories?

I come from a fan fiction background, so “slash” is pretty much in my blood at this point. But that doesn’t explain why I lean towards writing about two men. I find it a difficult question to answer, but the nearest I can get is that I like men, and I like writing about people falling in love. I think you when you’re writing about two men falling in love, you have more scope for exploring different characterisations, events and themes than you do when you’re writing about a man and a woman falling in love.

In your new story Cutting Out, you write about sheep shearing. How much time did you spend on research for this book or did you have some personal inside information about the subject that helped with the story line?

I make no secret of the fact that I love reality TV, and there just so happens to be a reality TV show that airs in New Zealand called Shearing Gang, which follows the shearing teams hired by a particular south island contractor to work the Otago region sheep stations (an example of it can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTwou0xTjcE). After the show sparked the initial idea, I listened to a few radio interviews about the show, and started investigating shearing from a (much more mundane, admittedly) career perspective – the different roles, what you had to do to train, when the seasons ran, how much you got paid, etc. I watched a lot of competitions on You Tube! There are a lot of sheep in New Zealand, so country-specific information about sheep and shearing is fairly plentiful.

I read your bio and it seems you are quite the traveler. Where's the one place your heart keeps calling you to return to?

That’s a difficult one. It’s true that I have travelled a lot and every place is interesting in its own way. I do love Italy though. If I was to choose a favourite Italian city… there was one time in my life when I visited Rome so often that I could get around it without a map, and it’s a fascinating city, but I’d have to say Venice – a lot of people hate it, but I think it’s beautiful. There’s no other city like it.

Do you read other M/M authors books and if so, who?

I do, although I am one of those rare people who reads both M/M and M/F fiction. In terms of the M/M authors I read… I tend to pick up random things that catch my eye, but if I look on my e-reader my most frequently bought authors are Jordan Castillo Price, Josh Lanyon, KZ Snow, Lyn Gala and Cari Z. I could rave at you regarding at least one aspect of these authors’ backlists in a way that would make you want to poke your eyes out, so I will resist. J


Which one of your characters would you most like to share a drink and a chat with? And why?

I have to say Shane. Australians are as rare as hens' teeth in New Zealand, so meeting one is like getting back in touch with a long-lost friend. We could have a drink, talk Aussie slang at each other and mercilessly tease the New Zealanders surrounding us (I love them, honestly! They’re just fun to rile up).

What's the one classic book, that you just couldn't finish reading?

Hah! It’s a funny thing to have to admit, since I love the screen adaptations of it, but Pride and Prejudice. What a tedious experience trying to read that book was, and yet I really can’t get enough of both the Colin Firth/Jennifer Ehle and Matthew MacFadyen/Keira Knightley adaptations. I love them to pieces.

Which would be more difficult for you to write...a stand alone story or a series?

I’d have to say a series. I really admire people who can keep a thread going through multiple novels, and I would like to try it, but I’m not sure my brain works in a way that’s good for series writing. I guess I’d have to try it to find out!

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Bottom Drawer Publications is proud to present Cutting Out by Meredith Shayne, a contemporary mm romance based in New Zealand.


Book Details: Novel
Genre: Contemporary MM Romance
Release Date: October 11, 2014
Blurb

Lachie wouldn’t mind a piece of Shane, but the gorgeous gun shearer from Australia is soon forgotten when the Christchurch earthquake hits, and tragedy strikes Lachie’s family. Lachie deals with it the best he can, cutting himself off from all he knows. A year later and he’s back in the shearing shed, out of practice and lacking confidence. That Shane’s there to watch him flounder doesn’t help his nerves.
As Lachlan struggles to re-acclimatise, Shane can’t resist giving him a hand to get back on his feet. As they move from friends to something more, Shane finds himself wanting to know everything he can about Lachie. But Lachie’s got secrets he desperately wants to keep, and when things come to a head, those secrets might just mean the end of them before they’ve truly begun.


Buy Links


The e-book is available for sale for $5.99 via the BDP Digital Shop
and other online booksellers.







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About the Author

Meredith Shayne

A scientist in a past life, these days Meredith Shayne mainly uses her scientific training to poke holes in television pseudoscience. Originally from Australia, she moved to New Zealand to start a new life a few years ago and hasn't regretted it for one minute, even if she frequently wishes that the New Zealand weather was a little better; if she's forced, she'll admit that the refreshing lack of animals that can kill you in New Zealand makes up for a little rain.

Meredith travels a lot, so much so that she has developed a shameful love of airplane food and knows her passport number by heart. When she is at home, she enjoys baking, horrible music from the 1980s, reality television, and gloating any time Australia thrashes the living daylights out of New Zealand on the sporting field.

Find Meredith at her website:
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1 comment:

  1. Thanks so much for having Meredith on your blog today, CJ :-) Great questions!

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