Welcome to Queer in Color! Please introduce yourself to our readers.

Hi! My name is Meg and I’m from Queensland, Australia. I currently write gay romance, straight romance, and am about to dip my toes in some YA. I love to read and write everything. I’m just a lover of words. I have my Bachelor of Psychology and I’m about to head back to dreaded university to study my Master of Social Work. I am very passionate about mental health, which I think shows in my books.

Tell us about your one of your books!

North to Zombieville isn’t my latest book, but it’s one of my favourites. One of the characters is Dallas Jenson, a half-army soldier. In this story, Dallas and his husband Raleigh, are stuck in a zombie apocalypse. It’s set in my beautiful city of Townsville, Australia. In the beginning, they are separated, and Dallas is desperate to be reunited with the man he loves. It’s about the trial and tribulations of living in a world infested by zombies.

1) What inspired you to write this story?
I’ve always loved zombies. My love began before The Walking Dead. It began thanks to a ‘little’ computer game called Left 4 Dead. Much like most zombies games, it involves players who have to shoot zombies to survive. Ever since I began playing it, my obsession grew. I wondered to myself, “What would happen in Townsville if there was a zombie apocalypse?” and suddenly, the idea of North to Zombieville was born.

2)How did your characters come into being? Were you inspired by your own life experiences, by travels, someone in your neighborhood, etc.?
I’ll begin with Dallas. I chose Dallas to be a half- man because of my experience of a cruise around New Zealand. For those who aren’t familiar with the , they are the indigenous, Polynesian people of New Zealand. They are beautiful people and a stunning culture, and that trip inspired me to write a

Raleigh is a white male, and he’s very different from Dallas. He’s sheltered, and unlike his husband, has never laid his hands, or gaze, on a gun. This might seem surreal to some, but due to the extensive gun laws in Australia, it’s a very possible thing. I was born before the laws, and I remember being a young child around some guns. My pop held my hands around a shotgun as I shot a cane toad (which are considered pests in North Queensland). But the gun laws came into effect when I was a child and many were forced to either surrender their guns or forced to buy a gun license and lock their guns up. Since those laws, I have never seen a gun because I don’t hunt and I live in a city. With Raleigh, I wanted to explore the idea of a character who isn’t some action hero. Someone who isn’t that great at shooting a gun because he’s never seen one, let alone touched one.

3) What is your most cherished writing accomplishment/accolade/memory?
Being published by Dreamspinner. I never, in my wildest dreams, thought a publisher would want to publish any of my work, but that didn’t stop me from trying. In 2015, I submitted a short story to one of their anthology calls and received a rejection letter. I wasn’t surprised, but I forced myself to keep writing. At the time, I was writing North to Zombieville, and even though I submitted it to them, I never actually expected to be accepted. I waited for more than 13 weeks, and I’d gave up on the idea of it happening, so when I received the acceptance email, I was beyond overjoyed. I couldn’t believe it. My greatest dream had come true. I will never forget the moment I got that email. At one in the morning, I was ringing my mum and dad, my nanna, and my uncle to tell them the good news! Haha.

4) What are you planning to write next?
I have so much work I need to write. My second Zombieville book is half completed and its story revolves around Slade and Matt. The third will be about Fijian Cade (I admit, I LOVE Polynesian people) and his love interest. I’m also working on some shifter stories and a contemporary. I write whatever inspiration hits at because sometimes, inspiration likes being annoying.

5) What are some of your favorite resources for writing and/or publishing?
My tribe. An author is nothing without their social support, whether it be their family, their real life friends, or some of the most important people in the world: their fellow authors. I have so many amazing author friends who have commiserated and celebrated with me. They’ve given me the amazing support I need. They know what the struggles are and that’s what I love about the writing community, 85% of us are in together. I won’t lie and say there aren’t people who think of it as a competition (That’s just **cocky** right?), but there are a much larger community in it together. I would be nowhere without my beautiful author friends.

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Welcome to Queer in Color, Morticia! Please introduce yourself to our readers.

I’ve been writing since I was a kid and actually got quite serious about it when I was twelve—at least as serious as a twelve-year old gets! But I wanted to be a published author even then and subscribed to the Writer’s Digest, had a book that listed literary agents, learned how to write a query letter and so on. I was a bit over the top lol. But then, rock music changed everything and being a musician took over for the next twenty years.

At the end of my music business career, I began to drift toward writing again. This included bios and press releases for bands, magazine articles and working with a rock guitarist from a famous 80s rock band and a Rolling Stone journalist on their memoirs. But the urge to tell my own stories was the real dream. Any type of writing gig that paid the bills was great, but the muse wanted more.

Tell us about your latest release!

Several of my BDSM Kiss of Leather series books feature PoC, but the most recent one was my first MMM in the series. Switching Places tells the story of characters who have made brief appearances throughout the series and how once they get together, this unlikely threesome finds the HEA that has always alluded them. The silver fox Dom, supermodel switch and virginal sub discover that what they each bring to the romance table makes them perfect for one another.

1) What inspired you to write this story?
I love the idea that everyone has someone out there who would be perfect for them, but sometimes we disregard people who on the surface don’t seem right for us. However, if we let them in, we might discover a true gem.

2) How did your characters come into being? Were you inspired by your own life experiences, by travels, someone in your neighborhood, etc.?
Sub Elliot is inspired by a man who opened an Armenian restaurant in a sort of biker/rural area where I used to live (The River with Dennis Hopper was filmed there to give you an idea of what I mean). Not so much who Elliot is as a person, but his family history and the struggles they endured. I was practically the restaurant owners only customer back in the day, so he would sit with me and tell me about where he was from, what his life was like there and about the Turkish Armenian genocide—something I’d never known about. Elliot’s family history and business is based on that restaurant. Man, I miss that place! The food was amaaaazing.

3) What themes and/or tropes are in your story? Have you written these themes/tropes before?
There are a variety, which is the most satisfying for me to write. There’s age gap, interracial, BDSM, D/s, virgin, and body image issues. I’ve written all of these, but Elliot’s worry over his weight and having a crush on a supermodel who he’s convinced could never be attracted to him was new for me. I’ve felt these same concerns before for myself and wanted to explore them from a different standpoint than writing a bear, where the bear is confident and has a positive body self-image.

4) What are you planning to write next?
I have way too many projects planned, but one that I’m very excited about is a pirate standalone with a very naughty theme that I’ll share at a future date *wink*. I’ve been doing lots of research and even though I have other projects I need to finish first, I can’t wait to begin. I’m hoping I can have it out late 2018/early 2019.

5) What is your dream story, the story of your heart, that you hope to write someday?
Truthfully, I feel as if I’ve written it. Rocked Hard comes out later this month, and it draws from a lot of my experiences in the music industry. I even used lyrics to songs from my own band. But the two main characters, a rock star making a comeback and a younger journalist who idolized him as a kid and is questioning his sexuality, ended up becoming very dear to my heart.

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Tai wishes Master Lucas wasn’t such an adamant Top, but he’s also crushing on the sweetly submissive Elliot. Could he have it both ways?

Tai has hit a wall in life. From all outward appearances, he’s the guy who has everything—looks, personality and money. But the modeling gigs are drying up and he still hasn’t found that special someone to call his own. The part-time work at Kiss of Leather is quickly becoming full-time to prevent the drain on his dream-business savings.
Elliot fell for the stunning Tai from almost the moment he met him. If he wasn’t so self-conscious about the weight he’s recently put on, maybe he could work up the nerve to make a move. However, not only is he a virgin who’s never done a scene before working in a BDSM club, but he’s also sure that Tai has a thing for Master Lucas. There’s no way he could ever compete with the handsome silver fox.
When Master Lucas confesses to Tai that he doesn’t only see him as a hookup and offers him a contract, there are a ton of considerations. They both realize that serious compromises would have to be made for them to have a relationship. But what if they found a third, a sub who could bottom for Tai and also do TPE with Master Lucas? Once the idea takes hold, Tai knows just the perfect boy for them both. Even better? He’s right there at Kiss of Leather, and Tai can’t wait for Elliot to turn them all into a throuple.