Tuesday 30 October 2012

Welcome Siren Publishing author, Daisy Harris!



 Hi, Daisy! Nice to meet you - I think I'm right in saying we haven't met before. Wishing you all the best with your tour and sales of your latest release - can't wait to find out more about you and your writing. Let's get started....

1)   Did you set any goals for 2012?

Yes! I made a plan to release a dozen books with a single publisher before the end of the year. And I managed to do eleven with Siren before life got the better of me and I ran out of steam. That said, I had thirteen releases total in 2012. (Two were with Ellora’s Cave.) So I figure I met my goal.

I am working on another book right now and I hope to have it contracted by the end of the year, but I’m pretty sure it won’t be released until 2013.

 2)   What is the best part of the writing process for you?

I love when I get in the flow of a story and it just starts writing itself. Surprises are the most fun I have at this job. I’m a horrible planner, so whatever I think the characters are going to do is never what they end up doing.

However, when I reread what I’ve written I can see patterns and plot points. It’s just that I never seem to know what’s going to happen in my books until I’ve written it.

3)   The worst part?

The worst part is the same as the best part—getting into the flow. Near the end of writing a book I get completely manic. All the connections come together and I can’t write fast enough. This leads to a breakneck revision phase where I go faster and faster until I can make changes to the book in one sitting, or at least one day. And by the time I’ve got something ready to submit, my kids have eaten nothing but take out for days, I haven’t slept or showered and I’m flying so high on endorphins I probably shouldn’t be driving.

By that time, I’m so raring to submit a story that I often can’t even wait for feedback from beta readers. I know I’m done. I can FEEL it. And, okay… It pains me to admit it, but I’ve been known for the occasional drunken, late-night, impulse submission.

So, yeah. By the time I finish a story, I look like David Hasselhoff asking for a cheeseburger. But I’m trying to pace myself better… >.<


4)   What is the book you wish you’d written?
Hmmm… I wish I could write books like Maybe with a Chance of Certainty, by John Good. His work is so sweet. But I think maybe you need to be a gay man to write the gay high school experience convincingly. I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t attempt it.

Then again, I often wish I could write YA, but I probably wouldn’t attempt it from a female point of view, either. My characters always end up having sex. Graphically. So, I guess that pushes me out of the YA fold.

5)   Favourite author/s & book/s?

I love Marie Sexton, John Goode, KA Mitchell and Anne Tenino. All their books are favorites of mine. Then there are books I love—Country Mouse by Amy Lane and Aleksandr Voinov and Muscling Through by JL Merrow. But my favorite books and authors change from moment to moment. I’m really excited about Brien Michaels’ upcoming releases (which I’ve had the luck to have critiqued) and I loved Jumbo by Todd Young.

Oh, and I adored Grown Men by Damon Suede. I know it’s sci-fi, but everyone should read it!

The individual books I like best are usually the ones that pose a question or present a theme I hadn’t considered before. However, the authors I like best are the ones whose voice most resonates with me.

6)   Tell us about your latest release?
It’s the most straightforward premise I’ve ever written: dork with a giant penis.

That’s really about it. Harold is a socially inept college freshman with a penis so big he’s embarrassed about it. Owen is a golden-boy popular kids who runs into Harold in the showers and becomes fascinated by making Harold over. At first, Owen wants to help Harold break out of his nerdy shell, but later, he just wants Harold.

Hijinks ensue.

7)   What is your favourite attribute of the hero and heroine?

I like my heroes to be vulnerable. I know that puts me in a minority among romance writers, but there you have it. I love tentative sex scenes, and nervousness, and breathless excitement. They don’t need to be naïve or waifish. But a degree of self-consciousness always makes a hero feel more real to me.

9)   What’s next?
I’m working on a story about a college guy who loses his home in a fire, and a sexy firefighter helps him rescue the deadbeat neighbors’ dog. It’s a story near and dear to my heart as I once had a house fire. But overall, it’s more of a comedy than a drama, as my small town college boy and his newly rescued bull mastiff end up living with the firefighter and his extended Latino family.

10)                  Tell me where you write?
In a word: Starbucks. I write at home sometimes, and I do have a desk. But I do more blogging and brainstorming there. To really buckle down and write, I need to be out of the house. With coffee.


11)                  Where would you like your career to be in 5 years?
That’s a toughie. I guess I’d want to have at least one book with decent print distribution. But really, I just want more fans.

Holsum College fans are so awesome. They’re dedicated to the series and the characters, and they’re so supportive of everything I do. I want to keep building on that base of support and continue to produce great stories for my readers.

12)                  Where can we find you?
I’m on Twitter all day and all night. I’m a complete tweet-a-holic, and am hardly on Facebook at all. Follow me on Twitter as @thedaisyharris. Of you can “like” my Fan Page on Facebook. I make a point to update my Fan Page with all relevant news.

Oh, and if you live in Seattle, you can find me at Starbucks!



My Fair Dork (Men of Holsum College 8)
by Daisy Harris

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BLURB:

They say a guy can never be too hung. Well, Harold Jacobs doesn’t know who they are, but they’re wrong. Socially awkward for as long as he can remember, Harold feels his enormous package is just one more thing to be embarrassed about. Especially once hunky and popular
Owen McKenzie notices it in the showers.

Owen knows he’s bi, but he keeps that secret close to his chest. He likes Harold, and wants to help him shed his dorky image and maybe even find a boyfriend. Still, Owen can’t stop obsessing about Harold’s equipment. And much as he doesn’t want to flip-flop on his sexuality, Owen does want to test-drive what Harold has between his legs.

Their friendship erupts into full-blown lust. But can Owen accept the loss of his golden child status and be Harold’s boyfriend? And can Harold outgrow his insecurity in time to keep the man he loves?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~

EXCERPT

Harold held up yet another striped T-shirt, a hopeful look on his face. “How about this one?”

“Still too big.” Owen shook his head. Man, the kid needed his help something awful. “Maybe you’re better off borrowing something of mine.”

“Yeah, right.” Harold turned away, blushing. It was pretty funny how he did that all the time. His skin was so pale, he couldn’t hide it at all when he turned pink. That milky, English tone probably sucked when Harold had a zit. Owen remembered how when he’d had acne first semester, the redness had shined like a beacon.

But his blushes were sort of cute.

“What’s your middle name? Maybe we could do something with that.” Actually, Owen was starting to think it was a lost cause, cool-ing up Harold’s name. But he was having fun with the process.

“Eugene.” Harold folded up his shirt and laid it neatly in his drawer.

“You’re kidding.” Owen could stop the snicker that escaped his lips. Wow. Harold’s parents had really screwed him over in the name department.

“Don’t laugh.” But Harold was smiling, too.

Owen’s belly got warm, the way it did when he found someone he really liked to hang out with, or a girl he wanted to date. Why hadn’t he and Harold gotten to know each other sooner? The guy was funny, and had this great, deadpan sense of humor. But his personality was like his dick—something people would be amazed by if they ever saw it, but that Harold felt the need to hide.

“Okay.” Owen bounced off the bed. “We’re gonna have to stick with the name you’re currently using.”

“That’s good to hear. It’s on all my school forms,” Harold said.
  


AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Birkenstock-wearing glamour girl and mother of two by immaculate conception, Daisy Harris still isn't sure if she writes erotica. Her romances start out innocently enough. However, her characters behave like complete sluts. Much to Miss Harris's dismay the sex tends to get completely out of hand.

She writes about fantastical creatures and about young men getting their freak on, and she's never missed an episode of The Walking Dead

            Links:
            My website: http://www.thedaisyharris.com/
            Twitter: @thedaisyharris
            Siren Page: http://www.bookstrand.com/daisy-harris
            Book buy link: http://www.bookstrand.com/my-fair-dork

Daisy will be awarding a large-size dildo, a scented penis candle, as well as a $20 gift certificate to the winner’s choice of Barnes and Noble or Amazon to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour. 
Follow the tour and comment; the more you comment, the better your chances of winning. The tour dates can be found here: 
Comments??

13 comments:

  1. Thanks for having me on the blog today, Rachel.

    How are you today? Hope you're not on the East Coast!

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  2. I like vulnerable heroes, too...and thirteen releases in 2012, wow! Impressive.

    vitajex(at)aol(dot)com

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  3. Yeah, that was a lot of releases. LOL. I just hope I can get out some early in 2013! I'm writing some longer works now, so the process is not quite as quick as with novellas.

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  4. I've read some of your work and love your voice! Nothing like switching from fanning myself to laughing out loud :-)

    This one sounds just as awesome. Good luck with it!

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  5. Thanks for the comment! Yeah, it's tough to balance humor and sex, but I love doing it. Happy reading. -D

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  6. This soumdd really good,adding to my list
    cvsimpkins@msn.com

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  7. Thanks, Cornelia! Hope you enjoy it.

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  8. Hello Daisy,
    Wow that's a lot of brain power, 13 books in one year. I can't wait to read more.

    Is there one place more than all the others where you would say your ideas come from?

    Leela Lou Dahlin

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    Replies
    1. That's an interesting question. More than anything else, my ideas come from my experiences. Sometimes I think I'll run out of ridiculous dating stories, but it never seems to happen. In fact, just today I was writing a character with a backstory that came from my own life. (Well, from a date I went on once.)

      I seem to have a never ending supply of bad-date stories to tell!

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  9. All your releases is awesome! I love the series and have read them all. I can't wait to read new stories.
    Yvette
    yratpatroL@aol.com

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  10. I can't wait to read this newest installment of the Holsum College guys. They are all great characters that I would love to know in real life. They seem so realistic and fun, quirky, and loving.
    June
    manning_J2004 at yahoo dot com

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  11. Thanks for a fun interview! I really loved Harold!
    OceanAkers @ aol.com

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