Happy Pride Month everyone! Twinsie Tenise here. I would like to take a moment to thank everyone who took the time to answer the questions for our pride month celebration. I thought hard about the questions and had fun coming up with them. I love that the authors seemed to have as much fun answering them. We will be celebrating all month with author spotlights as well as reviews for some of the LGBTQIA books we’ve read this year. Check back daily to learn more about that days featured author or book and add to your TBR piles. I hope you enjoy getting to know a little about all of these wonderful authors and their work.
🏳🌈Tell us your name and a little about yourself?
I’m Maria Vickers. I got into writing again when I was diagnosed with myasthenia gravis. It gave me an outlet, and I began to write MM when I saw a TankJoey calendar shoot. LOL. I’d been wanting to write one, but when I saw the pics, I had the story and the cover. I write both MM and MF, my dog is a hermaphrodite (which means both male and female), and I come from a large family that encourages me to write and keep going. It’s not always easy though. When I got sick with MG, I got really depressed. My younger sister had to convince me to start writing. I wanted to give up, but writing gave me a purpose and something to do again. I say getting sick changed my life, but it didn’t take it from me.
🏳🌈How many books have you written? Do you have a favorite?
In total, I’ve published almost 30 books, including anthologies. My favorite is Unbreak Me. It is an MM ghost story that is full of angst and emotion. I’ve had readers cuss me for that one. LOL.
🏳🌈Do you write one book and finish it completely before starting the next? If not, how do you keep yourself from confusing the projects?
Usually I finish before starting on another, but sometimes I go off the rails like right now. I have 4 or 5 books going at the same time. Because the characters are all different, it is easy for me to compartmentalize the stories. To me, the characters are real and they tell me what to write, so for me, it is harder to get them confused.
🏳🌈What font do you write in? Do you actually care or is it a default setting?
I don’t care. Whatever the document pulls up is what I write it, but I will say when I accidentally click on something and the font changes, I can’t do it. I have to go back and fix it so it is all one font.
🏳🌈How do you ensure your LGBTQ characters feel authentic and mutifaceted, rather than just serve a plot function?
To me, they are real. I want to write about my friends, myself as a bi author, my family. I pull in real aspects of everyone, and my stories are very character and emotionally driven versus relying only on plot. I think that’s why people connect to them. People can see themselves or others they know in the characters. I want them to be real and not just throwing an LGBTQ character in there for whatever reason. They have to have feelings, a personality, and be a person.
🏳🌈Do you have a favorite piece of LGBTQ history or fun fact you would like to share?
Mae West wrote and produced one of the first plays to open that depicted men in drag. She was a woman ahead of her time in many ways, but sadly, she was forced to close it down because of backlash.
🏳🌈What is one of your favorite books or movies with LGBTQ representation?
Feel free to share more than one, I know it is difficult as a reader to pick one favorite of anything. Especially if its book related.
Right now, I’m on the Heated Rivalry wagon. LOL. I read the books a few years ago, and when I found out about the TV show, I got excited. While there are differences, I love the way they brought the books to life. It was more than the gay couples, it was about real feelings and real emotions. It was about real relationships that defied what others might have thought. I also love the book The Wanderer by Dahlia Donovan. If you haven’t read it, you need to. The book will rip you apart, but by the end, you will be whole again. She has this ability to really pull out the emotions of the characters and lean into the good and bad situations she puts her characters in. It is one of my favorite by her.
🏳🌈What is something you have used for a bookmark that IS NOT a bookmark?
A poker card is something I’m using right now. LOL. I’ve also used a leaf, flower, tissue, and gum wrapper.
🏳🌈Do you listen to music while you write? If so, what are some of your favorite genres or songs?
No. I can’t do it. When I’m editing or designing my covers, I will have music, a podcast, or the tv on. When I write, the only music or noise I listen to is the sound of my pug snoring.
🏳🌈What is a super specific detail you know about one of your characters that has no relevance to the story?
In Somebody 2 Love, Declan is a doctor and can be a little uptight. His best friend Baker wanted him to loosen up, so he dared him to take a belly dancing class. It never made it into the book, but it is something I always had in the back of my mind.
🏳🌈What are your purchase links?
