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I
really enjoyed your recent release, Cry Wolf. Can
you tell us a bit more about this story and its origins?
Cry Wolf
was one of those stories that came to me almost
fully-formed. The title just popped into my head one day
and the story followed close behind. It’s the only story
that I’ve written set in another time. It has the feel of
medieval times about it, although I didn’t set it in any
specific time. It’s really quite a gentle love story –
though it has its drama.
You
have written many wonderful short stories, including Best
of Enemies, Have a Little Faith, What the
Heart Wants and A Perfect Match included in
Taste Test: Boys Next Door. Are short stories easier or
harder for you to write than novellas or novels? What is
your favorite of all your short stories?
Short
stories are easier for me. I have to take meds for Bipolar
Disorder which affects my concentration sometimes.
E-publishing is great in that it allows me to publish short
stories as well as long. I love to write long stories – to
really get my teeth into something, but that isn’t always
possible.
I think my
favorite short story is Suddenly, Finally, in the Spring
Fling Taste Test. It’s a story about best friends realizing
that they have more than friendship between them. It also
has a baby – the first time I’ve written about children. I
followed this story up with a little freebie in the Torquere
Route of the Relationship that took the guys story a little
further, and at Christmas they will appear again in a Sip
called The Gift of Love. I love writing about this family –
it’s the only time I have ever written a sequel of any kind.
Your novel, Sleeping with the Past, was published
with Torquere, and did so well it was also released in
print. Can you tell us a bit about how Nathaniel and Asher
came about?
I wanted to
write a romance with an element of mystery to it. Sleeping
was a story that I’d had kicking around for years, but had
always been m/f in my head, and had never really taken off.
In February 2007, having given up my job for health reasons,
I decided that it was time to put pen to paper, finally. I
had just heard of NaNoWriMo, but didn’t want to wait until
November, so I decided that I would do it unofficially in
March. I spent weeks plotting and planning on another
story, doing endless research. Then, on the first of March
I sat down at the computer and out came Sleeping with the
Past – but with two male characters instead of one male/one
female. I had such a great time writing that story. To
this day I can’t remember what I had intended to write!
A
favorite among many of your fans is the story Fortune’s
Favor. What was your inspiration for this story?
I wanted to
write something in the line of opposites attracting, and
they don’t come much more opposite than Hayden and Cal! I
also love reading and writing about small towns, where
everyone knows everyone’ business. I wondered how difficult
it would be to keep a secret in a small town.
A
few of your stories have paranormal characters. What is
your favorite type of paranormal character to write and to
read about?
I’ve
written a werewolf (Cry Wolf) and a vampire (Best of
Enemies) and I had fun with both. Cry Wolf is quite a
gentle romance about the heart, while Best of Enemies is
much more visceral – it’s all about the loins! The love is
right there for everyone to see in Cry Wolf, but I think
there is a lot of love in Best of Enemies too – you just
have to look a little deeper. I love vampires – there is
something so seductive in their darkness. I have the
beginnings of a vampire hunter novel on my computer that I
add a little bit to it every now and then. Maybe someday it
will actually get finished!
You
recently published your first m/f story, Interlude. Can you
tell us a bit more about this story and do you have plans
for any other m/f stories?
I don’t
really know where Interlude came from! I hadn’t written m/f
in a long time. I wrote the story – which is quite short –
in one sitting, and I really enjoyed it. It’s a story about
a rather heated encounter between a happily married couple.
I have
other m/f stories in mind. Now to find the time to do it
all!
What is your favorite published story?
Since it
was my first, Sleeping with the Past will always have a
special place in my heart.
If
you could bring one of your characters to life, who would it
be and why?
I don’t
have a maternal bone in my body, but I adore Noah – the
little boy in Suddenly, Finally and The Gift of Love. I
think he’s just a sweet little boy; not super bright or
precocious. I think if I had a baby I’d want him to be like
Noah. But I have a kitten instead, and am quite happy with
that!
When you start writing, do you already have the story
plotted out or do you let the characters dictate what will
happen?
I usually
have major scenes that I build the story around. The
characters will often take a path I didn’t plan for them,
but mostly I manage to keep them in line! I don’t have hard
and fast plans – usually the outlines are pretty fluid, but
I do need to have some kind of framework or my brain just
meanders all over the place!
Do
you draw inspiration for your characters from real life?
I’m a
writer – I don’t have a real life! I live on my computer
and in my head!
How
much do you love the television show House?
LOL! I
love House. He’s so wonderfully grouchy, but under it all
he has a big heart – deep, deep under it all! I love all
the allusions to Sherlock Holmes and the interactions
between House and Cuddy are fabulous – they really seem to
spark off each other.
Name one thing that your readers would be surprised to know
about you.
I’m really
an open book – no mysteries here! But, given that I seem to
have a reputation for writing happy ever after romances,
then my fascination with serial killers might surprise a few
people. I like to read about them and watch documentaries
on TV – I’m interested more in what makes them tick than in
the crimes they have committed. What happened to these
people that broke them?
Do
you have a guilty pleasure?
I love
stationary shops – I could spend all day flipping through
notebooks. And book shops with coffee shops in them – the
combined smell of new books and coffee is just orgasmic!
Oh, and
pink jelly beans.
What are you currently working on?
I have a
few projects on the go, but my most pressing one is a
novella for an anthology about gay weddings. I have a
January deadline for this and every idea I have just keeps
slipping away from me – I’m keeping my fingers crossed for
the latest idea!
Where can readers find Cassidy Ryan?
http://cassidyryanwrites.tripod.com
http://cass1969.livejournal.com
Any
other tidbits you would like to share?
I have two
f/f stories coming soon – A novelette in December, For Love
of Laura, and a novella in February (probably), In My Skin.
Both will be released by Torquere Press.
I also have two m/m Christmas stories, also from Torquere
coming soon: A Single Shot, A Family Secret, and the Sip,
The Gift of Love.
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