"Heart of the Pines."
Lily, thanks so much for having me today. I think it’ll be
a blast. Fire away with the questions! I’ll do my best.
1-How long have you been writing?
I haven’t been writing fiction
for very long actually, two or three years at the most. I’ve been a voracious
reader for as long as I can remember, though. The library was my favorite place
to visit during the summer, cool and quiet, a fantastic place to lose myself.
But I don’t remember feeling an urge to write. High school and college English
classes were more tedious than anything else. I have always enjoyed telling
stories though, apparently I was a spinner of tales from the time I started
stringing together sentences.
But you asked about writing. I
started writing for a few of the on-line erotica websites. The reason was
straight forward enough, I couldn’t find what I wanted to read. I grew up in a
very rural setting, and I thought a lot of the rural characters of the stories
I was reading were insulting. They were portrayed as backward and stupid, and I
certainly couldn’t relate to that. So I decided to do some of my own writing.
Oh wow, those first pieces had
so many issues, but I still get fan mail about them. Some of the technical problems
they have make me cringe now, but we all have those first stumbling writings I
suppose.
2- What is your favorite genre to write?
Favorite, huh. I’d find it hard
to choose. I’ve always been a huge fan of science fiction and fantasy, more
fantasy probably. But like I said earlier I can really relate to the westerns.
Recently I’ve started enjoying some of the urban fantasy genre. But to write, I
think I’d have to say the M/M westerns. Those are still the characters and
settings that flow easily from my fingers and give me the most satisfaction.
3-What are you working on now?
Oh wow, did you open a can of
worms. I tend to need several things to work on so when I get bored or stuck on
one story I can grab a different one and write or edit on it. So as a result I
have several things in the works.
I’m continuing with my on-line
writing with a flash fiction serial titled “Controller”. It’s a M/M romance in
the setting of the college gaming crowd. This is the story I’m working on as
part of the Wednesday Briefs author group. It’s been great fun to write with
the limits of no more than a thousand words. Most of my sex scenes are longer
than that.
I’m finishing the editing on a
novel set in the rodeo circuit between a bullrider and one of the rodeo clowns
titled “Drawing the Devil”. It’s been a fun write with a crazy young bull rider
falling for one of the bullfighters and how they learn to trust and depend on
each other as they fall in love. I’m hoping to send it off to a publisher
around the first of the year.
I’m also working on my first ménage
story. I like to keep challenging myself as a writer and trying to grow. It was
certainly a challenge to write a college love story between three people.
Juggling the views of two guys and a girl while keeping their unique
personalities separated was an interesting experiment. The rough draft for “Three
is Just Enough” is written, and as soon as “Drawing the Devil” is sent off,
I’ll start the editing work on it.
I was also a participant in
NaNoWriMo this year and finished my novel. Yay! “Obsidian Sun” is a hero’s
rescue fantasy set in an alternative Iron Age with a cool magic system based on
weaving. The rough draft for it is finished, but it needs to rest for a while.
It and I both are tired after our intense month together.
Otherwise there are herds of
plot bunnies out grazing in the pasture as well as two submissions still out to
publishers. So, lots going on.
4-When you begin a story do you start with character or
plot?
Oh, I’m a character first kind
of guy. I almost always have a main character that I think is interesting and
has enough depth to have an attention-grabbing story. From there I pretty
quickly build the setting for my character, whether it’s another time and world
or western Nebraska.
Once I have those two elements
I begin to flesh out the idea, add other characters, find a bad guy, or some
kind of struggle. I tend to outline the main story arc, but I’m usually open to
ideas that come up during the writing.
5-Tell us about your latest/upcoming release. What inspired
it?
“Heart of the Pines” was
partially inspired by a comment from a fan that he wished there was more M/M
romance with mature characters. I’m always a sucker for the holidays but I
wanted something a little different than your standard trope. From there it was
a fairly short leap of imagination to finding Chris, the Christmas tree farm,
and Wade.
blurb
Christmas is the worst time of the year to find yourself
alone. Chris Moss, owner of a tree farm, knows this down to his bones as he
makes his way through his first holiday season after losing his wife to cancer.
When Wade Hart, an annual customer at the farm, visits, they find common
ground: Wade lost his own longtime lover to a parting of ways and is lonely
too. The constant, gentle companionship provides fertile soil for an attraction
neither expects, but nurturing a new relationship is a tough proposition. With
the encouragement of family and friends, Chris and Wade may yet find that a
second love later in life can be just as fulfilling as the first.
Excerpt from Heart
of the Pines.
Jets of
steamy breath shot from Wade’s nostrils as he struggled to drag the enormous
Christmas tree across the loose Michigan snow. The bells on Chris’s Santa hat
jingled merrily as he hurried out to help his friend pull the tree up the final
hillock to the barn.
“Here,
let me give you a hand.” Stepping along the slowing tree, Chris wrapped a
glove-covered hand around a branch and lent his strength to the effort.
Wade
nodded and smiled. “Thanks, it’s a little much by myself.”
“No
problem, happy to help. Looks like you got a beaut,” said Chris.
Wade
pulled off his knit hat and wiped the perspiration from his head. “It’s a good
one. I think I’ve covered your whole farm, several times, to find the perfect
tree.”
They
pulled the tree into the work area and hoisted it onto the sawbuck. “Want me to
trim it up for you?”
“Sure.
One less thing I’ll have to do.” Wade laid the handsaw he’d used on the table
behind them, then tugged his thick cap on while Chris made a few quick cuts
with the chainsaw to ready the tree for his stand. The roar of the saw faded,
and Chris struggled for a few minutes as he tried to push the tree into the
netting. As he began his second attempt, Wade woke from his stupor and grabbed
the other side of the tree.
“Sorry,
I’m a little spacey today,” said Wade.
With
his help, Chris slid the tree into the tube of netting, getting it ready for
Wade’s SUV. “No problem. It’s a huge tree. I hope Jeff will be around to help
you unload.”
Wade
folded his arms over his chest, a pained look on his face. “Jeff moved out.
Last week. I thought makin’ our annual trip to your farm for a tree would keep
me from thinkin’ about it.” Wade turned his head and let out a shuddering sigh.
“I guess it’s not ‘our’ trip anymore.”
Chris
gave Wade’s shoulder a squeeze. “Sorry to hear that. You guys always seemed happy
together. Jeff was always cutting up and flirting with Mary.” I haven’t forgotten you attended her
funeral.
“It
happens. I guess we lasted longer than a lot of couples. Ten years isn’t bad.”
Wade’s fingers ran over one of the fir boughs edging the barn windows. “It was
good in the beginning, like newlyweds. Jeff loved our loft in Chicago. But ever
since we moved to Traverse City, the relationship had slowly gone downhill. Our
business downtown was an attempt to find something to keep Jeff happy.”
The pain
in Wade’s eyes sparked a wave of bitter nostalgia for Chris. He missed Mary so
desperately some days. She always was the caretaker of the family, even when
they got the diagnosis of stage-four cancer; she still took care of everyone
else until it was impossible for her to keep doing it. He turned to the barn
behind them, pulled off the Santa hat, and held it tight in his hands as the
frigid air gusted through his short white hair.
The
farm was always beautiful this time of year, the ground covered with
crystalline flakes in a white carpet that extended to the steps of the house,
which he kept carefully swept. He hadn’t changed anything since Mary died. It
had been more difficult in the summer when the beds that hugged the foundation
of their house were ablaze with flowers Mary had planted and nursed through the
years. The winter covering had been a blessed relief, but his heart still ached
at the lack of holiday decorations. Mary had loved the season, and given half a
chance, she covered everything within striking distance with lights. Without
her, the trimmings just hadn’t mattered.
He
shook himself and focused on finishing with Wade’s tree. He tied the bottom of
the netting and turned to Wade. “There you go. All bundled and ready to put in
that great foyer you have.”
“Not so
grand this year. It’s kind of tough to get into the spirit of the season.”
Chris
gave Wade a sympathetic smile. “It could be worse….”
Realization
hit Wade. “Oh my God! I can’t believe I’ve been such an ass. This is your first
Christmas alone. I’m so sorry, Chris. I feel awful.”
“It’s
not your fault. It’s been almost a year since her funeral. It’s ancient history
to most people.” Although it seems like
yesterday to me. I can still feel her soft hand in mine as we picnicked on one
of Lake Michigan’s sugar sand beaches on our first date, playing in the chilly
crystal clear water. Even then, she’d taken care of everything and had the
perfect lunch basket packed.
“Yeah,
but Mary always said Christmas was her favorite time of the year.”
“It
was, and I haven’t felt like doing much. It’s a lot more work to take care of
the farm alone too. But the income for the whole year happens in the next month
or so. Doesn’t leave me with many choices.” Chris smiled at Wade. “Bad thing
about a Christmas tree farm, firs just aren’t that tasty.”
Wade
gave a nod, and then his eyes lit up. “Hey, what if I do it? I’ve helped Mary
put up the decorations before. It’ll keep me busy, and Santa’s Tree Farm needs
to look more festive than either of us feels.”
Chris
couldn’t help but smile at the sudden enthusiasm. “If you’d like, that would be
great. I just can’t face the stuff. Too many memories.”
“Southern
boy to the rescue! I got this covered.” Wade clapped his hand on Chris’s bicep
and squeezed it. Chris found a comfort from the contact that surprised him.
Mary’s touch had always had that unique ability to soothe him. Some nights its
absence had left him curled around her pillow with tears streaming down his
face.
Chris
fished a ring of keys from his pocket, flipped through them, and held one out
for Wade. “This unlocks the storage padlock. Anything you want to do would be
great. I have a few customers wandering around looking for trees. I better go
check on them.”
Chris
raced through the light snowfall while Wade started for the storage building.
Bio:
Jon Keys’ earliest memories revolve around books; with the
first ones he can recall reading himself being “The Warlord of Mars” and
anything with Tarzan. (The local library wasn’t particularly up to date.) But
as puberty set in he started sneaking his mother’s romance magazines and added
the world of romance and erotica to his mix of science fiction, fantasy, and
comic books.
A voracious reader for almost half a century, Jon has only
recently begun creating his own flights of fiction for the entertainment of
others. Born in the Southwest and now living in the Midwest, Jon has worked as
a ranch hand, teacher, computer tech, roughneck, designer, retail clerk,
welder, artist, and, yes, pool boy; with interests ranging from kayaking and
hunting to painting and cooking, he draws from a wide range of life experiences
to create written works that draw the reader in and wrap them in a good story.
E-mail: jon.keys@ymail.com
Blog: http://jonkeys.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jon.keys.773
Twitter: @Jon4Keys
