The second of the Men for Hire 2 anthology authors is being
interviewed today…. Over to you, Bella Settarra.
I’ve been hanging out with my
‘imaginary friends’ in the book world for a couple of years now and love it!
Although I am English, I really enjoy writing about Americans and Cowboys,
probably because they are so different from my own life, and therefore offer me
some degree of escapism. I hope my readers enjoy my stories and get as much fun
out of reading them as I do while writing them. J
Your Writing
The ‘Men for Hire 2’ anthology has a specific
theme. That of a firm in London run by Jennifer
Archer offering ‘men for hire’ to do any job from dog walking, house sitting,
DIY, chauffeuring, etc…. How did you find this theme easy (or
hard) to work with?
The hard part was deciding which occupation to
choose! I don’t think there’s any job that wouldn’t lend itself to a bit of
smutty goings-on if you just use your imagination.
(haha! JD)
This is Luminosity’s second anthology
following the success of Men for Hire 1. Have you had any short stories
accepted in an anthology before and tell us the title of your story in the Men
for Hire 2 anthology.
I had another short story, ‘Ménage at Mealtime’
published in the first ‘Men for Hire’ anthology so was really thrilled to get
another story, ‘Three’s a Crowd…?’, accepted for this edition.
‘Men for Hire 2’ is contemporary
MM/MMM stories. What other genres do you normally write or are you solely an MM
writer?
Actually, I don’t usually write MM stories; my only
MM novel being ‘Red-Light Wrangler’ (part of The Men of Moone Mountain series) which will soon be released in
paperback, although I did write a MM sex scene in ‘Secrets of the Siren’, which was fun.
I write Contemporary BDSM MF (Collar & Cuffs series, Etopia Press), and Cowboy/Western books
(The Men of Moone Mountain Series,
Etopia Press and Midnight in Montana
Series, Siren Publishing) which contain both MF and ménage stories (MFM and
MMF) as well as Myth/Fantasy novels (Sirens
& Sailors series, Siren Publishing) which were mainly MF stories with
the exception of Ménage of the Siren.
The stories in the anthology are all
between 8-12,000 words. What is good (or hard) about writing a short story?
It was fun to write a story of this length for a
change, although I did find it hard not to expand on the characters too much. A
part of me wanted to give each main character a story of his own!
(I know what you mean! JD)
Tell us about the characters in your
story (eg, a short paragraph describing them like Matt is 30 and he works as a
plumber. He has dark hair, piercing blue eyes and is SOOO sexy).
Callum is in his late twenties. He has short, dark
hair, brown eyes and is very handsome (of course!) He is a science teacher. Callum
is very muscular and about 6’ tall. He really likes Sean Flynn but is insecure
about his feelings.
Sean Flynn is Irish and could charm the birds from
the trees. He is very slightly taller than Callum and really likes the guy. He
is absolutely gorgeous and has big grey eyes and auburn hair. His happy-go-lucky attitude adds to his appeal.
Tristan Makepeace is a friendly, good-looking guy
who wears his sandy-coloured hair in a ponytail. He has a strong jaw line and
is a whizz with computers.
Harrison Parker is cheerful, friendly and gorgeous.
He has blond hair which curled around his collar, and has deep blue eyes. He
also has bulging biceps and is quite confident. He works for Men for Hire, which means he has to turn
his hand to whatever job is required, and on the night in question is called
out to help with Callum’s car.
Abe is a really big guy; tall and muscular. He has
very dark hair and even darker eyes. He is a capable vehicle mechanic but is
used to turning his hand to all sorts of jobs for Men for Hire ;) He is confident and quite dominant as well as
caring and thoughtful. He also has a wicked sense of humour.
Blurb for Three’s a Crowd:
When
Callum sees his boyfriend, Sean, drinking with handsome Tristan Makepeace he
fears the worst. Knowing Sean is a very adventurous lover he is concerned that
his own staid attitude may have sent his partner into the arms of another.
Upset,
Callum quickly leaves, but his car breaks down. ‘Men for Hire’ send Harrison
and Abe, two hunky mechanics whose ‘roadside manner’ exceeds all Callum’s
expectations.
After
having the ‘ride of his life’, ménage-style in the back of their van, an
enlightened Callum decides to confront Sean, but discovers that Tristan is with
him. Callum now looks at Tristan in a new light.
About You
Although Luminosity Publishing is
based in the UK, we have had authors from several different countries in the
two anthologies. Which country are you from (and name of county/state). Did you
grow up there?
I am from the UK, currently living in the beautiful
Shropshire countryside. My dad was in the army so I grew up all over the world,
and, although I have British citizenship I was actually born in Germany.
When was your first book published
and with whom?
My first book, Last
of the Sirens, was published in November 2013 by Siren Bookstrand.
Interestingly enough, it began life as a short story.
(Don’t tell me – Mr
Settarra is a sailor you seduced….! JD)
Give one thing about yourself that
you would like to change?
I procrastinate too much. A job will take me
forever because I spend too long thinking about it instead of getting on and
actually doing it!
Name three people you would like to
be shipwrecked with (and why)?
Stephen Fry – I think the man is a genius and would
be fascinating to talk to.
E.L. James – love her or hate her, the woman is a
phenomenon and I’d love to chat about her life, her writing, and what’s in
store for her future.
Jamie Dornan – well, who wouldn’t???? ;)
What’s the strangest (bravest,
funniest etc) thing you’ve ever done?
OK, I think the oddest thing I’ve ever done (if
that counts?) is pretend not to notice my idol, Michael Ball, when he suddenly
showed up in my local shopping centre. I spent loads of money going to his
concerts up and down the country and drooled over him from afar, but when he
actually walked towards me, without a hoard of screaming fans, or an entourage
or anything I just smiled and pretended I didn’t know him. (I had no
self-confidence and deemed myself unworthy of his attention).
(Hahaha! Actually I might
do the same if George Clooney turned up in my local shops!)
Please give links of how fans can
find you on the internet/buy your books.
I love hearing from readers – please feel free to
contact me on any of the following:
Thank you, Bella. That was fun to read.
Your Writing
Thanks so much for inviting me over, Jen, I really enjoyed it! ��
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