About Geoffrey Knight:
From palace-hopping across the Rajasthan Desert to sleeping in train stations in Bulgaria, from spinning prayer-wheels in Kathmandu to exploring the skull-gated graveyards of the indigenous Balinese tribes, Geoffrey Knight has been a traveler ever since he could scrape together enough money to buy a plane ticket. Born in Melbourne but raised and educated in countless cities and towns across Australia, Geoffrey was a nomadic boy who grew into a nomadic gay writer. When he’s not traveling the world, Geoffrey is traveling the world of his imagination—where the adventures, thrills and romance are limitless.
He currently owns his own advertising and design agency which he runs from his island home on the Great Barrier Reef, and can't wait to buy his next plane ticket—whether it’s real or imaginary.
1. Geoffrey, you’re a world traveler, so where do you get your inspiration from?
I truly love traveling and wherever I go, stories are always hatching in my head. I think experiencing the world and other cultures is one of the most important thing a person can do in their life. There’s so much to learn when you step out of your comfort zone and walk in someone else shoes, and it can really put things in perspective. Earlier this year I cycled down the side of a volcano in Bali (the outside, not the inside). I rode through all the villages on the way down and had lunch at a villager’s house, and in every village I passed through all the local kids came running out to high-five me as I rode by. These kids have virtually nothing—no electricity, no TV, just a roof over their heads—yet they were the happiest kids I’ve ever seen in my life. Now that’s inspiring! And there is so much visually in other cultures that I find inspiring. The sight of temples in the jungles of South East Asia or volcanoes in the Pacific or coastal towns perched on the cliffs overlooking the Mediterranean. There’s a story in every place you see…or at least a chapter :)
2. What’s your process when it comes to writing? Are you a plotter, or a pantser?
I’m definitely a plotter…but a very messy one. I have pieces of paper all over the house with hand-scribbled notes on them. I have to write down each move and motive, even if it’s something I then cross out and change, I keep that crossed out note so I remember why I crossed it out and don’t go around in a circle. With a lot of my books, there are lots of subplots that interweave and tiny clues planted here and there that lead to bigger things later, so those things definitely need to be plotted well in advance. I really need to have things very clear in my head before I start writing, otherwise I’ll lose the thread in my head and the whole thing will fall apart. I’m not one for padding or fluffing about. I used to write screenplays and there is zero wastage in a screenplay. You really learn the art of economic writing—if it’s not vital, don’t write it; if a scene doesn’t raise the stakes, don’t use it. I think that’s one of the most important lessons any writer can learn. Only write it if it’s important to the development of plot or character, otherwise you’re wasting your time and the readers’. Make every word count!
3. What do you hope your readers take away from reading one of your books?
I think that depends on what I’m writing, whether it’s a romance or an adventure or a thriller or just a plain, fun romp like Paperboy. If it’s something fun and escapist, like Paperboy or one of my gay adventures of mysteries, I hope they enjoy it and get to escape from the world for a little while. If it’s one of my romances, I hope that it touches them and let’s them into the world of being gay, overcoming obstacles, falling in love and being accepted for who you are.
4. How do you juggle writing into your work schedule?
Ugh, that’s the biggest challenge!! I once read a saying that being a writer is like having homework every night for the rest of your life, and it’s true! I have to admit I’m very fortunate in that I run my own business from home so that gives me a lot of flexibility, I can make the hours work in my favor and once or twice a month I get a few days when my business work is light so I can get some writing done, but on the flipside of that there’s other times when I’m working 24/7 on the business and I can’t think about writing for a week or so. The thing that gets exhausting is that you really never get a day off…if I’m not working on my business, then I really need to seize those moments and get some writing done. But NOT writing is not an option. Any writer knows it’s not a choice, it’s an obsession!
5. What are you working on now?
Right now I’m doing a lot of editing. I’ve just had Paperboy released, as well as my non-fiction book Why Straight Women Love Gay Romance, and coming up between now and GayRomLit in mid October I have a bunch of books due for release including my sweet romantic novella Hotel Pens, my thriller Harm’s Way, a coming-of-age novel called On The Overgrown Path, as well as my mystery To Catch A Fox which I co-wrote with Ethan Day. It’s a deluge of books, but timing just worked out that everything was due out at once, plus I wanted to make the most of GRL to let readers know what’s out. During all that I’ll be working on my shifter book Serpent for SRP, which I’m really excited about. It’s the first in a series of gay shifter action novels called The Ark. I haven’t written a gay adventure since the beginning of the year, so I’m keen to jump into the action again!
6. Quick run answers:
a. Out to eat, or cook at home? Cook at home, definitely. With a glass of wine.
b. SCUBA or snorkel? Snorkel (I live on the Great Barrier Reef and snorkelling here rocks!)
c. Deserted island or mountain getaway? Deserted island. I’m already on it! :)
d. Sweet or salty? Salty.
e. Computer or laptop? Laptop.
f. Red wine or white? White. Red wine gives me headaches.
g. Dogs or cats? Both. I have two of each.
h. Pedicure or backrub? Oh backrub! Right now please!! :)
7. Is there anything else you’d like your readers to know about you?
The two most important things to me as a writer are character and story construction. Something I touched on earlier is that I write with meaning. Every word I write has meaning and motive, it is there for a reason. Everything that appears in my books is a pre-meditated, calculated choice. I don’t just write to fill pages. Sometimes that means a story will be 20 pages long, sometimes it’ll be 400 pages long, but nothing is there for padding, nothing is there to waste your time, it’s all there for good reason…even if that reason isn’t immediately apparent, especially in my adventure and mystery stories. Some people think that adventure and action are shallow, but I try to make my stories as multi-layered as possible to make your reading experience as enjoyable as possible. So look closely for the clues, the metaphors, the hints, the hidden meanings and messages...they’re all there :).
Geoffrey, thank you for taking the time to answer a few of our burning questions! Your life sounds glamorous... and busy! Getting to experience even a fragment of what you've learned traveling makes the plot journey all the more rewarding.
How about we cut to the chase and get some blurbs posted! Geoffrey has THREE upcoming books with us. We know you're going to love them as much as we do!
AVAILABLE NOW!
PAPERBOY
Boys of Perfection Series, Book One
Welcome to Perfection, California. The year is 1961. The picket fences are white, the lawns are green, and the sprinklers are shiny and new. But they’re not the only things spurting high into the summer air.
Because behind every closed door in Perfection, there’s a perfect ass, including that of Clark, Perfection’s 18-year-old paperboy, who on his last day in town before leaving on a Greyhound bus for Harvard, delivers more than just the news—
—thanks to the help of the town’s dashing, silver-haired dentist and his retractors—
—followed by the town’s handsome Chief of Police, his Deputy and a pair of handcuffs—
—followed by the burly, bear-hugging owner of the local hardware store who, with the help of Clark and a few other close buddies, gets to test out that new swinging contraption in his workshop.
Yes, this paperboy is destined to leave Perfection… with a smile on his perfect face.
COMING SOON!
TWIN FIN
Who are we to choose the one we love?
After the death of their Balinese mother and American father in a plane crash, twins Logan and Landis Bradshaw are sent to live with their eccentric Aunt Maggie on a remote island off the coast of Java. A bestselling romance author, Maggie instills in the boys all they need to take on the world: a sense of passion, creativity and adventure. Or so she believes.
For in her efforts to equip the boys for the outside world, Maggie has instead created for them the perfect world on the island.
Untouched.
Untainted.
Unhindered by the rules and reasoning of a society built on tradition and religion.
But as the boys reach adulthood, tragedy will once again strike Logan and Landis, and when the outside world invades their island paradise, the twins are faced with a choice:
To let the world in.
Or seal it off forever.
It is a decision prompted by the arrival of a single stranger. A man who is handsome. Quiet. Clever. And completely unsuspecting of the journey to Java that will change his life forever.
Taboo - Gay - Ménage/Multiple Partners
COMING SOON!
SERPENT
Book One of The Ark
Welcome to The Ark, a top secret government agency established some thirty years ago after proof of the world’s first recorded werewolf was verified. Since then, not only has the U.S. government has been tracking down and ‘recruiting’ countless shifters around the world, but more importantly, a deal has been struck: the government will protect all shifters and keep their existence a secret from the media and the masses, and in return, shifters will be called upon, when needed, to help deal with situations of global concern.
Fast Forward to Present Day Thailand.
Ark Agent Seth Kane is a snake shifter, thriving in the jungles of Koh Ngu, the island of serpents off the coast of Thailand, until the day Ark Director Noah Nightingale appears out of the blue. She has a mission for Seth: to find Cleopatra’s Key, the legendary key that will unlock the long lost tomb of Cleopatra, the last pharaoh of Ancient Egypt, who took all of Egypt’s true secrets to the tomb with her.
Ark knows that their best hope of getting hold of the Key is a snake shifter, swift through the sand and able to slither through the cracks and crevasses of any temple, tomb or trap!
But Seth has more to contend with than simply finding Cleopatra’s Key. Handsome, young and very clumsy British Egyptologist, James Somerset, is the one person with all the information needed to find the Key… which makes him the number one target of an extremist Middle Eastern cult that will stop at nothing to destroy the secrets of the past to prevent humankind from ever seeing a future.
From the islands of Thailand to the banks of the Nile, from the Gulf of Aqaba to the buried temples of Sinai, you’re invited on a journey that will shift your definition of love and adventure.
Gay - Action/Adventure - Paranormal/Dark Fantasty
COMING SOON!
THE BOSS' SON
Anson Tate has it all—charm, a sense of adventure and gorgeous looks. He’s also the son of the most successful investment broker in New York. As the sole heir of Tate & Partners, Anson has free reign to service the company’s most important clients as he sees fit. And service them he does!
Perry Scott doesn’t have a lot, at least not compared to Anson. His rent is overdue, his credit card is maxed out and his folks need another hand-out to stop the bank from repossessing their home. So when he lands a gig at Tate & Partners as Anson’s new PA, Perry hopes things are looking up. Little does he know how far up he’ll go for Anson!
For several clients abroad desperately need Anson’s up close and personal advice on their investments. And within days of starting his new job, Perry is about to get to know his new boss very well…
In the English countryside, Anson will be cracking the whip to make sure Lance Lancaster, the son of the Queen’s saddler, has a vested interest to ride his father’s stocks as hard as he can.
In Paris he’ll be burning the midnight candle at both ends to make sure world renowned perfumier Christophe Delacroix’s investments don’t lose their sweet scent.
In Rome he’ll be strutting his stuff and exposing a brand new portfolio of assets that’ll give fashion extraordinaire Massimo de Marco a reason to take off his trademark sunglasses.
And from one continent to the next, from one client to another, Perry Scott will learn one valuable lesson from the Boss’ Son.
Business is pleasure.
Mainstream - Gay - Contemporary
You can find Geoffrey Knight on Blogger, Twitter and Facebook by accessing his "Contact Me" tab from his website. Follow the link to www.geoffreyknightbooks.com!
No comments:
Post a Comment
We love to hear from readers. We are proud to present our talented authors and welcome you to Stiff Rain Press!