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#AADSAV interview with Lissa Matthews
I met Lissa last year before AAD NOLA. She was kind enough to do a guest post for us, and ever since then we’ve had a great friendship. We got to hang out in NOLA and eat some delicious Cajun food while chatting. Today. I’m sitting down with Lissa so that you can get to know her a little better and see why I love her as much as I do. She’ll be at AAD in Savannah, so if you want to chat with her IRL, I suggest you register while you still can!
1. Tell us a little about yourself. Well, ummm… Can you be a little more specific? I don’t answer this kind of question well because I never know what anyone is going to want to know or not know. The most important thing is my coffee addiction. It’s serious and you’d do well NOT to suggest I give it up in favor of things more healthy. <g> Let’s see… NASCAR, College/NFL football, Golf fan. Deep thinker. People watcher. Home schooler. Foodie. Student of BDSM, fetishes, and kinks… Always learning, always asking questions. Lover of the printed word. Road trips. Southern girl (or, a G.R.I.T.S.). I’m 42, live in North Carolina with my family and a crapton of cats.
2. Did you dream of writing when you were a little girl or did you dream of other thing like being a ballerina (or world domination, like me)? I dreamed in fairy tales and a different life when I was growing up. Where I wasn’t left behind, or hurt.
3. You originally started out writing m/f. What made you decide to take the leap and start writing m/m? I’ve loved the genre since being introduced to it several years ago. I’ve tried writing it as you said, but it doesn’t seem to be translating as well from my head to the page. Hopefully, I’ll get better at it and knock one out of the park soon…
4. What is the first book that you can remember making an impact on you? Why did it make such an impact? The first book ever that I read that kept me coming back for more was called Good Queen Bess about Elizabeth I. I was in 3rd grade when I first checked it out of the library and was fascinated that she was a real life princess turned queen. I was enthralled with her story and still am. I still read almost everything I can get my hands on about her.
From there I read Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys. These kids had guts, far more than I did, and I loved immersing myself in their worlds.
My first romance was The Bride by Julie Garwood. I read everything she had out at the time in a very short span of…a couple of weeks. I didn’t put the books down. I’d read one every night. She and an earlier college professor are where the seeds for writing began…
5. What is your writing process? Grab coffee, turn on computer, add in music, grab more coffee, tweet, Facebook, goof off, grab more coffee, and then stay at computer and write for several hours. Once I walk away, I have a hard time walking back so I try to get the majority of my words down in that first few hours.
6. How do you approach revising? With a lot of tears, grumbling, griping, and alcohol infused coffee, and junk food.
7. What authors inspire you? Vivian Arend, completely. Her work ethic is awesome. Delilah Devlin.
8. What are your top 5 comfort reads? After the Night, Linda Howard; Suddenly You, Lisa Kleypas; Dancing at Midnight, Julia Quinn; My Fair Captain, J.L. Langely; Love the Sinner (Brooklyn Sinners #1), Avril Ashton
9. How much of what you do in your day-to-day life goes into your writing? Day to day, not much at all. But life in general…cars breaking down, household repairs, people in the coffee shop, cars on the road, etc… That has about a 90% chance of making its way into a book somewhere down the line.
10. Do you write to music? If so, what’s your favorite music to write to? Yes, I always write to music. It’s a necessity. But it also has to be something I can sing along to without even realizing it. It can’t be new or I have to spend time listening for hours until it’s so deeply ingrained in my head that it’s just…there. What I write to depends on the story. Currently, I have one book I’m writing to country music in my ears, and another book I’m writing to some classic 80’s glam rock…
11. Describe your latest book. It’s a sexy romp about two long-time friends taking the leap into becoming lovers. It’s personal. It’s a fantasy. It’s called Trouble In The Making.
Johnny Trouble. He’s a commanding presence in leather and tattoos, both on stage and off. He’s had more than his fair share of groupies and lovers, but it’s time for a change and he reconnects with the one woman whose memory has driven him crazy since high school. Liz.
She’s a quiet, shy romance author who likes her comfort zones. But when Johnny comes back into her life after years of living in the spotlight, Liz’s private fantasies shift into overdrive and she nervously asks him to fulfill them.
Just one weekend is all she proposes, but the sparks flying between them when Johnny touches her aren’t temporary. She’s the particular brand of trouble he wants in his bed, bent over, or crawling all over him. Forever.
He just has to convince her by any means necessary…
Buy Links: Ellora’s Cave, Amazon, All Romance eBooks, Barnes and Noble
12. What do you love most about writing? When I get into the zone and the words flow.
13. What do you hate most about writing? When I can’t get into the zone and the words hurt worse than having teeth pulled.
14. What are you reading right now? Non-fiction: I’m reading Different and Talent is Overrated. Fiction: I’m inbetween books and haven’t decided what I’m going to pull from the TBR pile next.
15. Is there anything else you would like to share with us? Website |Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest
(I’d love for you to click that Facebook link and Like my fan page! Please…)
THIS OR THAT
1. Peanut butter or jelly? Both. Together. On a spoon.
2. Chips or cookies? Depends on the mood. Right now? Cookies.
3. Best talent: music or art? Music. Played flute and piccolo for 12+ years. I can’t draw a straight line to save my life.
4. Print or eBook? eBook
5. Pen or pencil? Pencil
6. Best friends: as many as possible or only need one? Very few.
7. Notebook or computer? Hard to say. Evernote or notebook for notes and outlines and fixing plots and immediate after shower revelations. Computer for everything else.
8. Print or cursive? Mish-mash of both.
9. Zombies or vampires? Vamps.
10. Angel or Spike? Never watched Buffy.
Review: Double Up by Lissa Matthews
Jared and Bryson started their life together by leaving their childhood homes to make their way west. Ending up in a small community near Livingston, Montana, with a small horse ranch, life is just about perfect for the two men until Jared gives Walt, a Native American drifter and horse trainer, a ride.
Sparks fly in the truck cab and when Jared gets him home, Walt finds himself caught between two hot-blooded cowboys, a place he never expected to be and one he doesn’t want to leave. Their idyllic ménage of love and lust hits the skids though when Jared experiences jealousy and fear. He issues an ultimatum to Bryson and Walt…either they leave, or he will.
Hoping Jared will come to his senses with time and space, Bryson and Walt wait. But after three months, Jared hasn’t budged. On his birthday, Bryson and Walt steal into the house they all once shared and wake him with a kiss, a grope, a thrust of hard bodies, and a birthday spanking he will never forget.
Will Jared be able to conquer his doubts and insecurities, or will he lose the only two people who will fight to keep him?
- Publisher: Loose Id
- ISBN: 978-1-62300-055-4
- Genre: GLBT, Menage, Cowboy & Western
- Buy Links: Loose Id, Amazon Kindle, All Romance eBooks, Barnes and Noble
- FTC Disclosure: given to me by the author for the purposes of an honest review.
I love Lissa Matthews, both as a person and as an author. So when she asked me if I wanted to read Double Up, I leaped at the chance – especially after I’d read the excerpt she posted on her webpage. Yowza!
Double Up is the story of Jared, Bryson, and Walt. Three men who share something special – a Triad that actually works. Well, it works until Jared’s demons from his past come to haunt him in the form of a dream. Because of his insecurities, he pushes Bryson and Walt away, even going so far as to make them move out of the home they share or he’ll leave.
The story starts three months after Jared makes Bryson and Walt leave, and it’s obvious that they’re all in misery. When Bryson and Walt sneak into the house they once shared to give Jared a special wakeup call on his birthday, things quickly heat up. Once it’s all said and done though, Jared is still under the impression that he has to push them away or they’re going to leave him.
I can’t tell you how many times I wanted to smack Jared in his stubborn head. But I realized that it wasn’t just Jared being stubborn – he really is that insecure. His father was a jerk of the highest (or lowest, depending on your point of view) caliber, and growing up with a man like that is bound to leave you emotionally scarred, to say the least.
Lissa did an excellent job of keeping the three men as distinctly different people – Walt is the strong one, Jared is the loving although insecure one, and Bryson is the glue that holds them together. It’s rare that I see three totally different men in a relationship written so beautifully.
My one complaint is that I wish that the book had started prior to Jared sending Bryson and Walt packing. I would’ve loved to have seen how their relationship developed and how Jared got to the point where he felt like he couldn’t keep them in his life.
Overall, Double Up is a great read for those who love some hot cowboys, hotter sex, and a good angsty storyline (which is just how I like them!)
Rating: 4 meows
Review: Malachi’s Word by Lissa Matthews
Drunken confessions. Sobering friendship. And two cowboys gambling on love…
The Bar Next Door, Book 1
Could he love me? Malachi has wanted to know the answer since his best friend, Daniel, confessed to being gay. He has never forgotten that long-ago conversation, or the secret hope that another confession would follow: that Daniel is in love with him.
Daniel is—and always has been—in love with Malachi. But how is he supposed to share that information without risking the only friendship that has ever mattered to him? He couldn’t handle it if he were kicked out of Malachi’s life. The best Daniel could do was move home to Texas, buy a little rundown ranch to work outside Austin, and visit the watering hole where Malachi tends bar.
Malachi knows that something heavy is riding his friend and he’s tired of watching Daniel’s downward spiral of too much beer and too many meaningless flings. Enough is enough.
Except, when he gets Daniel home and some strong coffee down his gullet, the truth comes pouring out. A truth that nearly knocks Malachi out of his boots.
Courage like that doesn’t come easy…and Malachi can only pray his answer is enough to turn lifelong friends into forever lovers.
Warning: This little tale tries to contain a gay bar, a lot of beer, a hot cowboy with a pitchfork, another one with a serious addiction to boots and coffee, and a secret yearning between the two for hot blooded, can’t wait to get naked, just leave your boots on sex. Oh, and there are doughnuts…
- Publisher-Samhain Publishing, LTD (November 6, 2012)
- Sold By- Amamzon Digital Services, Inc.
- Language- English
- ASIN- B00A2RAZO2
- FTC Disclosure- Copy provided by author for the purpose of a honest review
Malachi is the owner of a gay bar in Austin, Texas. Ever since he was a boy he knew he was in love with his best friend Daniel. Only Daniel doesn’t know it, and Malachi doesn’t want to ruin his relationship with his closest friend by revealing this information. Daniel is desperartely in love with Malachi, to the point that he has to drink himself into oblivion just to keep it to himself. Both men just can’t seem to see what is they feel for each other. Until Daniel spills the beans and thier lives are forever changed.
Again, Lissa Matthews delivers another great book. I fell in love with these cowboys right away. You could see from the start the feelings they had for each other. Of course since they are men, they are too stubborn to see this truth. These cowboys went off as young men to begin thier lives, but were both drawn back to thier hometown where they were again near each other. Neither one able to fully sever the feelings they had for the other.
This was a quick, enjoyable read. I only wish that I had a little more back story on these boys. To know how thier lives started out together with both of thier mothers dying and being raised by their fathers. Fathers that could not have been very happy to find out that they were gay and in love with each other. They have a very intersting story that I would like to know more about. All in all it was a great book, one that I would recommend to anyone who likes to read m/m.
Rating 4 of 5
Review: Pink Buttercream Frosting by Lissa Matthews
Desire: Blend sinful with sweet. Whip to perfection. Don’t forget to lick the spoon…
Aidn Greer is a much-sought-after Dominant in the BDSM lifestyle with an unusual problem. He hasn’t owned a submissive in more years than he cares to think about. He’s bored with unchallenging women, yet mentoring other Doms and training subs has left him cold as well. He’s craving something other than plain old vanilla—a taste of something sinfully sweet that, for once, he can really sink his teeth into.
Professional cake baker Bailey Harris wasted ten years bored to tears with her marriage, enduring a job she hated, and harboring a secret desire for something passionate, fulfilling and dark. Then she found it…in the world of BDSM. Exploring on her own brought the kind of mind-opening experiences that led her to declare her independence—and exposed a yearning to find the one Dom for whom she’s willing to kneel. Permanently.
When Aidn and Bailey meet, it’s fire and ice. Sugar and spice. And an experience that satisfies every detail of both their fantasies. Almost. While the big, beautiful sub is everything Aidn wanted, her fierce independent streak could be more of a challenge than he bargained for…
Warning: This book brings together scorching-hot counter sex, decadent pink frosting, and no-holds-barred BDSM play for a spanking good time. Be sure to bring an ice-cold drink along…
- Publisher- Samhain Publishing, LTD. (October 2009)
- Sold By- Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
- Language- English
- ASIN- BOO2R20F8M
- My Copy- Purchased with my own money
I just want to start by saying that I loved the characters in this book. Aidn and Bailey were both so realatable( is this a word?) Anyway…. Aidn was so hot and steamy, he was the main character of many of Bailey’s hot, wet dreams! Who could blame her though really, he is one man I wouldn’t mind to licking a little frosting off of! Ohhh LaLa!! But enough about my fantasies:) Bailey having left her husband for a life living the lifestyle of BDSM has not found the right dom for her, until she meets Aidn at the club. She just knows that he is the rigt Dom to make her submit like she has wanted for so long. She wants to be owned and willing to meet all of Aidns’ needs. Athough Aidn had also seen Bailey at the club, she is not the typical girl that he would find sexy. She is not tall,slim or does she have long hair but he can’t help that he has some real lust for her. He thinks she seems to shy and innocent for what he is really looking for. He has not had a successful D/s relationship and is hesitant to start one with Bailey but his body is telling him that he wants her collared and at his feet. Add in a little pink frosting into the mix and Voila, you have a delicious read!
There story was sweet and sexy. My heart even skipped a couple of beats during this read. I fell in love with Bailey and Aidn and think that many others will do the same. It is a definite recomend and possible re-read. Which doesn’t happen very often!!
I give this book my hightest score of 5. I loved it!
#AADNOLA Author Spotlight – Lissa Matthews guest post
Today, we have the pleasure of Lissa Matthews joining us. She has been a joy to converse with and I truly can’t wait to meet her at AAD!
It’s less than a month away. I know so many people are looking forward to it, to visiting New Orleans, to seeing friends they’ve made over the years going to conferences, to seeing familiar faces and meeting new readers.
But me? Well, I’m gonna be honest here. I can do that, right? Be honest? Good. 
I’m nervous as sh*t. There I said it. I’m nervous. Why? Well, a couple of reasons really…
For one thing, I’m an introvert. I think the term was invented for me. I don’t do large crowds for extended periods of time very well. Or constant activity. Drains me of any kind of energy. The heat and humidity are going to be bad enough for that, but add in the crowd and noise and I start twitching, looking for an escape route. 
For another thing, I’m on panels. I don’t speak well in front of others. I’m the one who hangs out in the back, in the corner and watches, taking it all in. I observe. I’m not a snob. I simply would rather watch and listen. I don’t talk about myself well, so panels are going to be interesting. It’s amazing I passed speech class in college and that I was in the band and could get up on stage to perform.
Incidentally, if you’re curious, I’m on the Male/Male Panel (which is cool since I have a new M/M series coming out with Samhain Publishing starting in
January), the Contemporary Panel (which I write contemporary erotic so, makes some sense), and the Keeper Shelf Panel (which is taking some serious thought on my part). These should be interesting. There were several other panels I’d have loved to have a chance at being on, despite my nervousness in talking in front of people, however I was a late addition to the panels and AAD in general. Maybe next year… 
What I am looking forward to is seeing fellow author friends and meeting new ones, getting away from home for a few days, hopefully meeting readers, getting some New Orleans Iced Coffee, delighting in a few beignets, and showing off the hot men in my promo designs…lol. There will be fangirl moments, as well.
So, if you see me, feel free to say hi. I’d like to meet you…
Thank you MK for having me and letting me ramble a bit. If any of you wish to find out more about me, please visit me in one or all of the following places: Website | Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest
Living in North Carolina, talented, multi-published author, Lissa Matthews, has many loves in her life: Family, friends, NASCAR, football, music of all kinds, cooking, BDSM, and last, but not least, coffee. She loves it so much, in fact, she and those who know her are surprised she hasn’t floated away on a caffeine-induced cloud while giving life to feisty heroines and hunky heroes.
AAD2013
