My friend Sid is stopping by to talk about his new release, Let It Go. (One hopes parents looking for something related to the very very popular kids song of the same name from the movie Frozen realize this is not the same 😛 ) Read on to learn more about what makes him tick and be sure to enter the contest at the end of the interview.

Guest Author: Sid Love

Welcome back Sid, it’s been a while since you’ve last been here. So much so that I know a few things have changed for you so start by telling everyone a bit about yourself.

Hi Andrew *hugs* It’s true I haven’t been here as a guest author, but I am a frequent visitor to your blog as a reader. This is one of my favorite places to come and get updates on you and other authors you host. 🙂

Things have definitely changed for me. So let me introduce the new me to you all – I am Sid Love, a successful blogger, reader, an ex-reviewer, an author of M/M fiction and now, a virtual promotion business owner. As of today, I’ve got two published books – one under the DSP banner and the other self-published. Creative Minds – Book & Author Promotions, is the new venture I have begun to help fellow authors promote their books. Currently, through CM, I work as a personal assistant for the authors Sue Brown & Lou Sylvre.

I know you’ve been writing for a while, how long would you say you’ve been writing seriously?

I wrote my first story back in 2007, but I have to admit – it sucked. 😛 It wasn’t until 2009 that I started to write more meaningful stories and the serious writing that I did with all the research and all was in the month of November that year. Yes, a NaNoWriMo story. A lot of people liked that story and suggested that I get it published – which I haven’t done yet – but that made me think that maybe I did have some potential to satisfy the readers through my writing.

What was your first story?

Okay, without going into details, it was a Halloween story that I wrote in 2007 (the one that sucked). It was M/M.

What was your first published story?

Holding on to Hope – the book that came out from Dreamspinner Press on the Valentine’s Day. Here’s the blurb and the link for it if anyone is interested –

Bradley Parker has waited twenty years for Mr. Right, and on Valentine’s Day, he finally finds him. It’s love at first sight, and Brad even loses his virginity to the man of his dreams. But when he wakes up the next morning unable to remember anything—even what the man looked like—his best friend, Leslie, is convinced he imagined the whole thing. Brad knows he didn’t make up the best night of his life, but he has no idea of the danger he’s putting himself in as he struggles to recall the details of his perfect man. His search may lead him to parts of New York City he never dreamed existed and a war being waged in the shadows.

Link: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=4724

Your latest book is Let It Go. You do realize that is the title to a song from the movie Frozen that all the eight and under girls sing non-stop right?

Hey! Are you calling me a girl?? 😛

Yes, I know that and if you check out the dedication page of my book, it says –

To Idina, simply because you are an inspiration…

I’ll assume Idina is a young girl who sings it non-stop like my daughter does.

Talk a bit about your book?

Let It Go is the story of Damon O’Neil – a guy from California, USA and an Indian man named Virat Panchal, who happen to meet in Goa by fate.

Goa isn’t supposed to be one of the stops Damon O’Neil was taking while in India. It becomes a mere substitution to his big plans of visiting his sister in Paris for holidays. Because his boss, Mr. Boyles, ruins it all for him. He arranges an urgent visit for Damon to tend to all the system upgrades they needed for the company’s offshore units and Damon is too good to say no.

When a situation arises in a restaurant, a handsome Indian guy named Virat comes to his rescue. Damon is instantly smitten with his looks and especially, with his cute smile. Soon, he realizes that Virat is very much out of his league when the guy introduces him to his new wife.

However, there might just be a chance that Virat isn’t all what he pretends to be …

Your book is set in India. That’s not a common setting for a book. Why use Goa for the location?

That’s easy. Goa is one of the most beautiful places in India. The story takes place in December during the holidays and everyone – in India and around the world – make plans to visit Goa. The hotels there are booked solid at this time of the year and it’s almost impossible to get any last minute bookings done.

I have been there multiple times and I simply love spending time on the beaches – there are several. Calangute beach is the most popular one and the hotel Damon and Virat are staying at is mentioned to be near it. Let me tell you, it’s not just the beaches but Goa has got some beautiful tourist spots too. The Portugese heritage that the place has possessed for centuries is what makes the place so distinct.

India isn’t know for its tolerance of the LGBTQ community, can you talk about that for a bit? 

It’s very hard being part of an LGBTQ community in India and I’m not just saying that. People here have got a very conservative mindset. If you are even a bit different, you’ll become the laughing stock of the society. I see a guy on a street wearing heavy eye-liners and there’ll be people around pointing fingers, whispering and laughing looking at him. It makes me sad that even after years this is how you are treated in India.

Can you believe there’s a law in India that makes homosexuality a crime?

But we’ve got support groups, not that we are totally helpless. Even among the conservative Indian minds, we have people who understand us and are ready to voice out their opinions. Celebrities have started to come forth and stand by the people protesting against that one law that criminalizes love between two men. But I still say we have got a long way to go!

Is this going to be part of a Series?

No, I believe Damon and Virat have got a good, satisfactory ending to their story.

What part of the book was the most fun to write and why?

It has to be the beginning of the story, the part where my two MCs meet. India is known for its spicy foodstuff and when Damon orders one, he isn’t able to eat it. That’s when Virat comes over to help him. The interaction between them is quite interesting.

What part made you struggle them most?

Virat’s dilemma of being attracted to a man while he is still married to a woman. Alongwith him and Damon, I struggled through the pain they both were in being apart.

Tell us something interesting that is not in the blurb?

There’s a very intense love scene in the book that I am quite proud of. That scene is packed with a lot of emotions and I have taken my time writing it.

What’s your favorite part of the writing process?

Picking my characters and studying them. It is really amazing how well you can get to know a character as if he is a real person. To be honest, Damon became my best friend by the time I ended the story. So, it was really hard letting him go.

What’s your least favorite?

Rewriting something I do not like! I rewrote the love scene in Let It Go thrice in order to perfect it.

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

My current WIP is a romance fiction based on the idea of second chances. Timothy Collins, a filthy rich Harvard student and Blake Perkins, an erotic dancer are my main characters. I had planned to write it out for NaNoWriMo last year (2014) but unfortunately, it didn’t happen. So, it’s still a WIP.

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

Being Sue’s PA, I get to pre-read a lot of her books! So, I recently had a chance of reading The Next Call from her and I really liked it. It comes out next month from Dreamspinner Press and everyone definitely should to read that book, I believe. It will be up for pre-order soon.

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

Oh there’s this author in the M/M genre, I’d really really like to meet. He’s such a sweetheart and a very good friend 😀 Andrew Q. Gordon? You know him by any chance? I am a big fan plus I wanna meet him so that I can demand those sequels out of him which I’ve been dying to read. 😀

I’d like to meet Sue Brown, Leighton Rose and Susan Mac Nicol in person too because they’re simply awesome and good friends to me. Also, I would have loved to meet Agatha Christie and Jane Austen because they have inspired me to write!

Don’t know that Gordon guy, but Susan Mac Nicol I know a fair bit and she’s also high on my list of people to meet.

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

Do you really get those fun non-writing days?? Seriously? My EDJ usually keeps me from having any kinda fun 😛 Finding time to write itself becomes a struggle.

Besides reading and writing, what else do you enjoy?

Listening to music, catching up on my favorite TV shows. I hardly get time for that anymore.

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

I just want to thank everyone for their love and support. Thank you Danielle, Sue, Lisa, Chris and Alex for making Let It Go possible. I had given up on it but you motivated me to go ahead, finish it and publish it. J And thank you Andrew for having me here today. It’s always nice to talk to you!

BLURB:

“Everyone tells me to stay away from him. But if only I knew how to resist him…”

Goa isn’t supposed to be on Damon O’Neil’s list of places to stay while working in India. It’s merely a substitute for his planned trip to visit his sister in Paris for Christmas and the New Year. His boss had other ideas. He’s sent Damon to carry out urgent upgrades to the company’s offshore units and Damon can’t say no.

When Damon encounters an extra-spicy curry, a handsome Indian guy named Virat comes to his rescue. Damon is instantly smitten with his looks, and especially with his cute smile. But Damon soon realizes he is very much out of his league when Virat introduces his new wife.

However, there might just be a chance Virat isn’t all he pretends to be …

Buy Links:

Amazon:

ARe:

About the Author:

Sid Love grew up in one of busiest cities in the world, Mumbai, listening to the excerpts of Indian epics from his father every night. While it served as an inspiration back in time, he has always had an ambitious mind. In 2007, when he had just turned sixteen, he decided that he would make his lifelong dream come true—to become a well-known, respected author some day.

Ask him and he would refuse to accept that he is obsessed with books. Or movies. Or TV shows. Addicted may even be the right word. He is a die-hard fan of Jane Austen’s romance novels and loves to reread them time and again.

Social Media:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sid.love.16?ref=tn_tnmn

Twitter: https://twitter.com/FatefulMercy,

eMail: sidlovethewriter@live.in.

Giveaway:

Leave a comment below to be entered for a chance to win an eCopy of Sid’s new book, Let It Go.

Contest will run until midnight EST on Friday January 9, 2015.  Winner will be selected at random from all entries before the deadline.