Posted by Matthew Lang, on January 16th, 2012% 
Matthew Lang will be live on blog talk Radio’s Other Worlds of Romance net radio show on the 16th of January @ 11 PM(American Eastern Standard time), or the 17th of January @3 PM Australian Eastern Standard time. He’ll be reading an excerpt from The Secret of Talmor Manor, and will also be available for questions. He’ll also be giving away an ebook copy of the novel to one lucky listener. So if you’d like to hear him read live, win a book, or just ask a really embarrassing question, tune in and chat to one of the hottest young authors on the m/m scene!
Technical details: You can listen live at the the show’s website, call in to the show (see webpage) to lodge a question or head to the show’s chatroom. Basically, come hang out and immerse yourself in mystery.
Posted by Matthew Lang, on December 28th, 2011% I don’t know about you, but I’m not quite ready to give up on Christmas–I’m stuffed, probably a few kilos heavier than I was this time last month, and still have leftovers in the fridge. So for the final touch of Christmas this year, please welcome the amazing Karenna Colcroft, who’s new book, Tofurkey and Yams, is now out at MLR Press.
Story 3 in the to Real Werewolves Don’t Eat Meat series, I asked Karenna what the story behind the story was.
It’s part of my Real Werewolves Don’t Eat Meat series. Book one in the series, Salad on the Side, which MLR Press released in June, introduced us to Kyle Slidell, vegan turned werewolf (who still refuses to eat meat, even in wolf form) and his mate, Tobias Rogan, the too-serious pack alpha who’s afraid to be seen as weak. Book 2 in the series, Veggie Burgers to Go, will be out soon. When I saw Kris Jacen talking about Christmas stories that some MLR authors were doing, I said I wanted to write a story about Kyle and Tobias’s first Christmas together, and she told me to go for it. So here we are.
For those who are curious, Tofurkey and Yams takes place about three months after Veggie Burgers to Go, or about six months after Salad on the Side.
Does this mean you can give us a sneak preview of Veggie Burgers to Go?
A member of the Boston North Pack is attacked by humans who say they were hired by a shifter. The same night, Melia, the wolf who changed Kyle Slidell, returns to Boston. The pack suspects Melia of arranging the attack, but Kyle believes someone else is behind it. He just doesn’t know who.
The next day at the regional alpha meeting in Pennsylvania, Kyle finds his answer. Saul Hughes, another alpha, has a long-standing grudge against Tobias. Saul claims Tobias is too weak to control a pack and makes it clear that he wants control of Boston North. But no one suspects how far he’ll go to get it.
So, aside from your books—which everyone should buy—what do you think is a failsafe Christmas Gift?
I think you can’t go wrong with a gift card. I know a lot of people think those cards are impersonal, but honestly if you don’t know what to buy for someone, what’s wrong with letting them choose for themselves? You don’t have to buy a card for a specific store; you can get them a prepaid “credit card” gift card that they can spend wherever and however they want.
What do you love best about this time of year?
The way my younger daughter enjoys getting ready for the holiday. I’m kind of a humbug myself; if you read Tofurkey and Yams, the way Tobias views Christmas is pretty much my viewpoint. But my daughter still gets excited about it and loves to . . . → Read More: Tofurkey with Karenna Colcroft
Posted by Matthew Lang, on December 21st, 2011% Christmas is just around the corner, and in celebration of the festive season, I’m very happy to introduce the fantastic Charlie Cochrane, author of Wolves of the West and one I owe a great debt to for the fantastic advice she gave me when I was first starting out. She does, of course have a fantastic new story out, entitled What You Will, which is out right now, but I started by asking her what the funniest Christmas Memory she had that she’d like to share with you all.
So many to choose from. The year the younger Cochranes ate so much they had to lie on the dining room floor? The Christmas Mr C put so much sage in the stuffing it tasted like disinfectant? The year I ended up buying two lots of pressies because I’d misplaced the ones I bought earlier in the year and put “somewhere safe”? The Christmas people sat sending each other blackberry messages from settee to settee as they didn’t like what was on telly? The year I had to label all the food so it wasn’t eaten before the appointed day? Oh, hold on – that’s every year!
Aside from What You Will—which everyone should buy—what do you think is a failsafe Christmas Gift?
Boring answer – Amazon vouchers. Then everyone can get exactly what they want. More interesting answer – something linked to a particular family/friendship event. Specially made mugs with holiday pictures and catchphrases. Personalised calendars or cards. There are loads of companies producing them and they’re really cost effective.
What inspired your new story, What You Will?
Shakespeare himself. He’s got two plays – Merchant of Venice and Twelfth Night – both of which feature guys called Antonio, both of whom seem to be in love with younger men. And both the younger men are pretty ungrateful wretches. They take Antonio’s money, let him risk his neck for them, then run off with women! I’ve often wondered if the based the character on someone he knew, who’d been taken for a similar ride. Anyhow, I’ve always wanted to write a “fix it” version of the Twelfth Night story – especially after seeing the wonderful version of Twelfth Night at Chichester (Patrick Stewart as Malvolio) in which the gender complications were accentuated). When this series of stories came up, I knew my idea had found a potential home, especially when i added a bit of steampunk (another thing I’ve long fancied dabbling in).
What’s your best Christmas Recipe for dinner party success?
Best recipe is not to try anything too OTT and fiddly, especially if that a) courts disaster and b) risks you not spending enough time with your guests. They’ve come to you for your company, not to be waited on by Michel Roux, so be with them, chat with them, marinate them with wine. If . . . → Read More: Lycanthropy and Charlie Cochrane
Posted by Matthew Lang, on December 14th, 2011% Today I’d like to introduce author Cherie Noel, here to share some Christmas cheer and some stories to stuff in your stocking…or for stuffing inspiration anyway. She has not one, but two Christmas stories out at the moment and I caught up with her to grill her about life, writing, and holiday silliness.
What do you love best about this time of year?
Huh. The twinkling lights. No, really. They make me think of every single magical moment in my life.
What inspired your new story?
*blinks* Which one? Christmas Rum Balls was inspired by Tony, Neil, and Kevin, the main characters, who were originally inspired by a picture chosen by a reader from the M/M romance group on Goodreads. Thanks Heather C. for giving me the boys…Or, I also have Cuddle Time Chicken Soup…and that was inspired by Robert and Christie of The Soldier and the State Trooper…hmm. My characters seem to love Christmas and food as much as I do.
Have you got any funny tales from the holiday season you’d like to share?
Hmmm. I dunno. Funny? Not so much. Maybe the story of the time I burned the Thanksgiving turkey…well, it was more a case of broiling rather than baking. The poor bird looked golden and beautiful on the outside but was still bloody on the inside.
Well, if not funny, what’s the most meaningful Christmas Memory you’d like to share?
The best Christmas memory ever? Waking up early…my sisters and I had been sleeping in the living room, and woke to find a gingerbread tree under the tree. So magical.
Aside from your books—which everyone should buy—what do you think is a failsafe Christmas Gift?
The gift of self. In my family, we take little slips of paper and write out little gifts of service we can give to one another. Foot rubs. Cups of tea. Doing a chore. Stuff like that, just—little things…and then we roll the paper up, tie a ribbon around it, write the person’s name on the outside and hang it from the tree. How fun is that?
What’s your best Christmas Recipe for dinner party success?
Lots and lots of Dancing Bull Merlot. That way if I burn the roast, I’m too toasted to care.
You write a lot about soldiers. What draws you to them as characters?
I come from a long line of military people. I myself served as a soldier during Operation Enduring Freedom. I…geez, I guess I really believe one should write what one knows. And I know soldiers. I love men in uniform, and I was damn proud to be a dragon soldier. That’s Chemical Operations to you civilians, lol.
Keep reading for a very special excerpt from Cuddle Time Chicken Soup.
~*~
“Cuddle Time Chicken Soup? You’re kidding, right?”
Christie rolled his eyes.
“Evans, does . . . → Read More: Cherie Noel on Cuddle Time and Christmas Memories
Posted by Matthew Lang, on July 1st, 2011%
Kathy of Top2BottomReviews has had a squizz at The Secret of Talmor Manor, and she’s given it a rating of four kisses (out of five) and the cover four out of five as well!
“It didn’t take very long for me to find myself lost—all in the best way of course—in Matthew Lang’s The Secret of Talmor Manor. And lost is a good description, because it’s not just us, but Jake as well, struggling to discover what is going on. What’s better is that we have front-row seats to the untangling of the mystery. And tangled it is! Lang does a fantastic job keeping—okay me, he kept me—guessing right up to the end.”
Read the full review here. Read an excerpt here. Buy the book here.
There’s also a bit of an interview over here, if you’re interested in seeing what goes on in my strange mind at any given point in time.
Posted by Matthew Lang, on April 12th, 2011% I was very excited to find out I was in Southern Star Magazine this past week. I’m on page nine and talking a bit about writing and The Secret of Talmor Manor, funnily enough.
You can read the entire issue online here, or you can just click the image below to read the whole thing!
Posted by Matthew Lang, on March 11th, 2011%
So it was MLR Press author chat day at the LR Cafe yahoo group yesterday, and I thought I’d post the Q&A here for you all to enjoy, or laugh at. Either one’s good really.
Please tell us about yourself. What got you interested in being an author?
Well, about ten years ago, I was living in Hong Kong–my dad got a job over there and moved the whole family–and I ended up in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia because of Model United Nations. I honestly can’t even remember which country I was representing. Possibly Sudan, although I think that was the year before. Anyway, it was cool because the host family I stayed with was Australian–I’m an Aussie, by the way, hello from down under–and it turned out Simon and I both liked writing, Australian comedy (can’t wait for the festival) and Warhammer (okay, I’m a geek). Anyway, he introduced to an PBeM egroup called Imperial Secrets (IMS) that is now sadly defunct, but um… I got home to HK, was up at 2 AM in the morning and created a character to post with and discovered what I wanted to do with the rest of my life.
Can you tell me a bit about your most recent/upcoming release?
My debut novel is called The Secret of Talmor Manor. It’s a modern paranormal mystery–although some people are classifying it as historical–the main conceit is that my main character, Jake, falls asleep and finds himself in a Victorian era manor inhabited by a number of ghosts–and then one of them (the hunky one) appears in Jake’s living room. Then it’s a case of, why is the ghost, Nathaniel, in the waking world? Why is Nathaniel corporeal? WTF is up with this sexual chemistry thing, who is trying to kill them, and what should he wear to the upcoming Halloween party? You know, all the important questions!
For any readers who may not have read any of your books, can you just give us a little sneak peak into world (i.e. the type of genre you write, type of stories you like to write…etc)?
So that would be every reader here, right? Um…well see, typically I write fantasy fiction, so this novel was a bit of a departure for me, and of course it’s the one that Laura and MLR went ‘Yes Please’ to. Um… I guess I like to write stories that are really less ‘romance’ stories than other stories that just happen to have a male/male romance built in to them as part of the overall plot. I tend to push myself to give characters real reactions, and I also like to be funny, which sometimes doesn’t work with the real reactions, so it usually comes down to finding the place where the story sits and forcing myself to stick to it. It usually works.
How much of yourself, if any, do you put into your characters?
That depends entirely on the character. Jake got a few of my pet peeves, but there’s bits of me in just about every . . . → Read More: Q&A @ LoveRomances Cafe
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