FIGHT HOMOPHOBIA: Interview/Score a Copy: Marie Sexton

To find a full list of participants look HERE

Today is International Day Against Homophobia. Homophobia is everywhere around us. Sometimes it's so slight that the majority of us wouldn't notice it. Sometimes the haters make themselves heard loud and clear. Then everybody notices it. Either way, it's effects can be detrimental. As many of you know, victims of homophobia have suffered so greatly that they've taken their own lives.

This is such a horrible shame.

This has to stop.

We need to stop the hate.

We here at Riverina Romantics take a stand against homophobia and hope that you'll stand with us as we let those homophobes know that

xoxo The Riverina Romantics Team

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Marie Sexton lives in Colorado. She’s a fan of just about anything that involves muscular young men piling on top of each other. In particular, she loves the Denver Broncos and enjoys going to the games with her husband. Her imaginary friends often tag along. Marie has one daughter, two cats, and one dog, all of whom seem bent on destroying what remains of her sanity. She loves them anyway.

Visit Marie’s website at http://mariesexton.net/,or join her for Coffee and Porn in the Morning athttp://cupoporn.wordpress.com/.

It is my supreme pleasure to introduce you all to Marie Sexton! I met Marie when I attended the workshop on writing erotic sex scenes she paneled with Heidi Cullinan, Damon Suede and Z. A. Maxfield at the RT convention in Chicago. I was practically clicking my heels in delight because all four are m/m authors and I have been looking to have some new authors on here for you to try out. I found out during the workshop that not only does she know her stuff but she is funny as hell and I knew right then and there I had to bring her on Riverina Romantics!

Delilah: Welcome Marie, we are so happy to have you here with us today!

Marie: Thanks for having me!

Delilah: It was literally standing room only at that workshop. You guys were great and kept us all in stitches!

Marie: Well, anytime you have Damon Suede in front of an audience, you have guaranteed entertainment. :-)

Seriously though, the workshop turned out better than any of us anticipated. We were afraid nobody would show up, and instead, we had a packed room. The funny thing is, we had a Powerpoint presentation ready to go, but then we didn’t have the right attachment for the projector. We kind of had to do our presentation off-the-cuff, but in the end, it was better that way.

Delilah: Can you tell us a little bit about how you got your start as a writer and what your favorite thing about writing in the m/m genre is?

Marie: I’ve actually only been writing since the summer of 2009. I’d quit my day job of eleven years in December of 2008. I was doing a lot of reading, and I’d just fallen down the slippery slope from fantasy to m/m. Sometime around May or so, I woke up with these two men in my head. They were standing in a hallway doing naughty things to each other. I got out of bed and I started writing, and that turned into Promises.

My favorite part of writing m/m? Probably seeing the various responses I get when I tell people.

Delilah: You have written quite a selection of books, from your Coda series to your many stand-alone books. For those who have not had the pleasure of reading your work yet can you tell us a little about what you have out there? I have to say that I read Promises (Coda #1) which I loved and Between Sinners and Saints which I thought was one of the best love stories I have read!

Marie: Thanks! I’m so glad you enjoyed them!

My first novel was Promises. I didn’t anticipate it turning into a series, but that’s what ended up happening. The Coda books are all contemporary romances. The three novels in the series are Promises, A to Z, and Strawberries for Dessert. Although they are loosely connected, all three novels work as stand-alones. A to Z has two sequels, The Letter Z, and Paris A to Z. There’s also a free short story on my website about Matt and Jared called The Promise, and a short Valentine’s Day story (also about Matt and Jared) called Putting Out Fires available from Dreamspinner Press.

Now, outside of the Coda series, I have a pretty wide assortment of stories:

One More Soldier: a bittersweet story set during the Vietnam era.

Between Sinners and Saints: a contemporary romance that deals heavily with family and religion. This book was awarded the 2012 CRW Award of Excellence for Best Single Title.

Blind Space: a fun, slightly kinky sci-fi story.

Song of Oestend: This one is hard to describe. It’s sort of an old-west paranormal fantasy.With mild bondage. This book won 1st place in the 2011 Rainbow Awards for Best Gay Fantasy and for Best Character Development. It also received an Honourable Mention for Best Gay Novel. Its sequel, Saviours of Oestend, will be released on June 25th.

Cinder: a sweet retelling of the Cinderella fairy tale.

Did I miss anything? No. I think that’s it. LOL. You can view the list here:
http://mariesexton.net/book-list

Delilah: Some of our readers are new to m/m so if they would like to read one of your stories which one would you suggest for them?

Marie: Probably Promises. I’ve been told by many people that it’s a good “starter” for m/m. It’s kind of sexy, but it is first and foremost a LOVE STORY, not erotica. Strawberries for Dessert is the book that most of my fans seem to love best. And if somebody really wanted to start out on the clean side, I’d recommend Cinder.

Delilah: Of all the stories you have written which is your favorite and why?

Marie: Ooh. That’s tough. I love Paris A to Z, because I was able to put all three couples from the Coda series together. Making Matt deal with Angelo and Cole together was TONS of fun. But of all my books, I’m probably proudest of Song of Oestend.

Delilah: I know that you have a sequel to Song of Oestend coming out on June 25th and a release in August or September to go with Tucker Springs http://www.tuckersprings.wordpress.com/. Is there anything else you have coming up that we have to look forward to, say con appearances?

Marie: I do have a few events I’ll be at: RomCon in Denver in June, RWA in July in Anaheim, and GayRomLit in October in Albuquerque.

Delilah: I ABSOLUTELY LOVE your blog name, Coffee and Porn in the Morning (wine and sex in the afternoon), that you do with your good friend, Heidi Cullinan. You have some pretty nice pictures up on there. *wink* How did you guys come up with the name?

Marie: OMG. Well, it’s funny. One morning, we were sitting in our respective homes (I’m in Colorado, and she’s in Iowa). We had a chat window open (we usually do). And we had this conversation:


The very next day, we had this exchange:


About two minutes later, Heidi said, “You’re going to think I’m crazy, but I just set up a Wordpress blog for us.”

And the rest, I suppose, is history.

Delilah: Ok, I know you are a Denver Bronco’s fan so I have to ask. Which would you have preferred in the QB position, Peyton Manning or that sexy beast Tim Tebow?

Marie: Hooray! Nobody ever asks me about football!

Tim Tebow was fun to watch. My hubby and I have had season tickets for the past eight seasons, and I can tell you that it’s been YEARS since we’ve had that kind of electricity at Mile High. That being said, if Peyton can win us some games and get us to the playoffs, I’ll be behind him 100% of the way! :-)

Delilah: Ok last question! Name five things that we might be surprised to know about you.

Marie:

1. I’m a Star Wars geek. All of my pet’s names come from the Star Wars universe.
2. I love to shoot guns, but I’m a total sap and could never shoot an animal. (I don’t even kill spiders.)
3. I have a serious phobia of earwigs.
4. I can count the number of heterosexual romances I’ve read in my life on my fingers, and probably have a couple left over.
5. I may not be a rocket scientist, but I did manage to marry one. No kidding. He’s actually a rocket scientist.

Delilah: Thanks for hanging out with us today Marie!

Marie: You bet! Thanks so much for inviting me!

Delilah: If you haven’t had a chance to read Marie Sexton you should! You can find more about Marie at the following links:

http://www.mariesexton.net/
http://www.cupoporn.net/

I’m so thrilled because Marie is giving away to one lucky reader their choice of one copy of any of her books from her backlist. This copy is in ereader form and will be international. For those of us who live is the U.S. she has offered the choice of any of her backlist in paperback if you prefer instead. Let me tell you she has some amazing stories out there, good luck trying to choose just one! If you would like a chance to win all you need to do is fill out the rafflecopter form below. Good luck everyone!

a Rafflecopter giveaway