Author Interview: Will Parkinson

09/25/2014

Andrew

Sep 25, 2014

Author Interview: Will Parkinson – Wet Paint Blog Tour and Giveaway

About a year ago I had the chance to ‘met’ Will Parkinson when he’d released his first novel – Pitch. So when the chance to be part of the Wet Paint blog tour came up, I took it. This time, I got him to ‘sit down’ and answer a few questions about himself, writing and of course his latest release. There’s a video trailer for the book, an excerpt and a giveaway so keep reading until the end for a chance to enter.

Welcome Will, though most people know you, why don’t you start by telling everyone a bit about yourself anyway?

I live in Milwaukee, WI with my four dogs, three cats, and one husband. For the entirety of my fifty years on the planet, I have lived within ten miles of my birth city.

When did you first start writing and what made you want to be a writer?

I began writing as a teen. As I began to understand my sexuality, I wrote stories about gay teens who fell in love with Mr. Right and overcame adversity to fall in love. I was so deep in the closet at the time, I couldn’t show them to anyone. The first story I thought I could show was about a science experiment gone wrong and a beast who ate all of my science class. If someone were to write this story today, they’d probably be arrested.

I took it to my father who, without even opening it, said ‘what are you wasting your time on this shit for? It’s never going to amount to anything.’ I was so hurt and upset, I took everything I ever wrote, threw it in a box, and stopped writing for many years. Eden Winter reminded me that stories don’t go away and need to come out.

Wet Paint, is the follow up to Pitch. Where did the inspiration for Benny and Addy come from?

Benny was Taylor’s best friend. He was the protector, the brick wall you had to get through to get to Taylor. As my friends read the story, they kept asking if Benny was going to have a tale of his own. He wasn’t supposed to. He was only going to be the straight best friend and that was it. Then Addy came onto the scene and everything changed.

Wet Paint is Benny’s story – tell us a bit about the book?

In Pitch, Benny and Taylor go to summer camp as peer counselors for abused youth. Addy is their camper. He’s surly, unhappy, and wants to be left alone. That doesn’t happen. Taylor shows Addy a new way to channel his hurt, and Addy opens up to them a little and tells them some of what happened to him at his father’s hands. Benny begins walking with Addy, prompting him to talk. Addy begins to develop feelings for Benny, and then one day he decides to tell Benny how he feels.

Addy has had a rough start to his life, what made you write about this subject?

Addy was another character who was supposed to be a one-off. He was going to be at Camp Care and get Taylor to realize some things about himself. Yet as he came onto the page, he took on a life of his own, and became someone who Benny would come to care for.

Tell us something interesting that isn’t in the blurb?

Benny is a vegan, like me. Several of the places they visit in Wet Paint are actual places in Milwaukee – Babe’s Ice Cream, Classic Slice Pizza, and the Pfister Hotel are all real and I have a connection to each of them. (Love the shakes at Babe’s, delight in the pizza at Classic Slice, and used to work at the hotel.)

What’s your favorite part of the writing process?

Fleshing out the characters. Finding their quirks, their talents, and what makes them real.

What’s your least favorite?

Edits. Ick.

Since there is always another story to tell, what are you working on now?

I write under two pen names (Will Parkinson does young adult and Parker Williams does the adult stuff). I wrote ‘Damian’s Discipline’ with K.C. Wells which comes out next month from Dreamspinner Press, and turned over a story to my editor called ‘Protector of the Alpha’, which will be a self-published tale.

What have you read lately that most people haven’t read but should?

The Pulp Friction series from Laura Harner, Tom Webb, Lee Brazil, and the delightful Havan Fellows. Each of them take their characters and put them in a place (this year is Arizona) where they interact with one another. It’s fascinating watching the world unfold. Apparently I’m going to be writing with them next year.

If you could meet any writer, alive or dead, who would it be and why?

Oddly I’ve met most of the writers I’ve gawked over. There are a few, K-lee Klein for example, I’d love to be able to sit down and talk for hours about shifters.

What’s a fun – non-writing – day for you?

I own Pride-Promotions, an LGBT book promotion service. Most days I answer mails, set up tours, do graphics, and then write. Occasionally I might go to a movie (one of the benefits of working at the hotel for 25 years is a lifetime movie pass that gets me in for a buck.)

Besides reading and writing, what else do you enjoy? I love learning new things. One of them is making movies on my new Mac. I’m not that great at it yet, but I’m learning. My favorite one is a video for Wet Paint that can be seen here:

Last question is all yours – feel free to talk about anything you want your readers to know about you, your book, anything at all.

Don’t give up on your dreams. I cannot say you’ll ever achieve them, but I do know that if you stop trying for them, you’ve failed yourself. I’m grateful to Andrew for giving me an opportunity to talk with you, and hope you’ll always pass on kindness to another person who might be in need.

Blurb:

Although Addy’s heart and body bear the scars from his life before he was adopted by the Deans, he’s ached for something he thought he would never find. Until he met Benny. He isn’t sure how anyone can care for someone as broken as he is, even though he wants it desperately.

High school senior Benny Peters has his whole life planned out for him, until a chaste kiss at summer camp opens a new world of possibilities. Determined to erase Addy’s insecurities, Benny works to take away his boyfriend’s pain and replace it with love.

When Addy’s past intrudes on their future, it’s going to take everything Benny can muster to show that no matter what – or who – they face, they belong together.

Cover Artist: Reese Dante

Publisher: Harmony Ink Press

Sales Links:

E-book: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=5417

Paperback: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=5418

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Wet-Paint-Transitions-Book-2-ebook/dp/B00MV8VGCU/ref=la_B00J4NUCT8_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1411611459&sr=1-2

Excerpt:

ADDY SAT in the car, worry creasing his brow. Not even an hour ago, he’d been so happy. Why was he so nervous now? His thoughts drifted back to his conversation with his dad. Would Benny still want him when he found out what had happened? Would he think Addy was too broken? Addy shivered. He tried to tell himself Benny would never be like that, but how could he know for sure?

“What’s up, little man? I can hear you thinking from over here.” Benny chuckled.

“Nothing, Benny. I’m okay.”

“Addy, c’mon. I can tell you’ve got something on your mind. I need to know what it is. I can’t help if you won’t let me.”

Addy took a deep breath. “I’m afraid,” he admitted. “Of what? Camp?” “No… of losing you.”

“I don’t understand. Why would you think you’d lose me?”

“Benny.” Addy sighed. “I need to tell you some stuff. It’s not going to be easy, and it’s really not going to be nice.”

Author Bio:

WILL PARKINSON believes that no matter what obstacles are thrown in the path of young love, it will always find a way to win in the end. He wants his characters to have their happily ever after, but that doesn’t mean that it’s going to come easily.

None of this would have happened if he had followed the advice he was given many years ago. “What are you wasting your time on that for? It’s never going to amount to anything.” He believed it for the longest time, abandoning characters he’d created in his childhood.

He picked up his very first m/m story by a writer named Eden Winters, who was an absolute joy when they corresponded. She asked him if he wrote and he told her the story. Eden explained to Will that the voices in his head would never go away and how he needed to let them out. With that thought in mind, Will put e-pen to e-paper once more. It was truly a liberating experience and one he has no intention of giving up again.