Arts

Today I’m welcoming S.L. Danielson and Nephy Hart (Cheryl Headford) to the blog. While I’m familiar with (and love) Nephy Hart’s work, S.L. Danielson is new to me.

Interview

Let’s get right into it. How and why did you chose your genre?

NH: To be honest, I didn’t chose my genre. It was more than my genre chose me. I have been writing stories since I was able to write. Even in primary school my stories ran to pages where other’s barely made paragraphs. My first primary school teacher would joke that she wanted a dedication in my first book. Well, it wasn’t the first one but it’s in there.

I never did anything with my stories, though. Most of my early stuff is still around, hand written in books and folders and will probably never see the light of day, other than as curiosities among my family. Then two friends came to stay from London and suggested I post on some online sites. I was terrified. As my friends were gay I wrote a story for them and tracked down a site called Gay Authors I published my first story there about 10 years ago.

Gay Authors isn’t just about the stories. There’s a lively community there that I got heavily involved with. I met a lot of people, gay and straight, who opened my eyes to a lot of things. When my daughter came out to me at 13 I naively thought things had changed to when I was young and that being gay was no big deal these days. Oh boy did I have my eyes opened. The biggest heartache I experienced in my time at Gay Authors was how isolated and unrepresented the young people were. I made a promise to them and myself that I would write stories just for them and that’s what I’ve been doing ever since. Without Gay Authors and the support I received there I probably would never have been published at all.

Moving along, what is the hardest part of publishing?

SLD: For me the hardest part of publishing is marketing. I took marketing classes in university, but they are geared towards the physical products; nothing like ebooks. Blogs, websites, sell sites, networking, etc, etc, are all very time-consuming. You build a fan following, but there’s no guarantee that will turn into sales. Ads, keywords, etc all help, plus a great cover, blurb, and getting the word out. I’m quite shy actually and hate blasting people with just constant ads…buy the book! There is a fine formula to it that I am finally learning I must figure out.

What cultural value do you see in storytelling?

NH: When I was younger, and fitter, I belonged to a re enactment society. I think Americans refer to it as “renaissance”. Basically, I was an Iron Age Celt at weekends. I loved it; so much so I was married in an Iron Age Celtic ceremony, in full kit, at an Iron Age village. It was amazing. We had warriors in full armour, druid priests and about 3000 visitors, as the village is part of a living history museum (The Welsh Folk Museum at St Ffagans). I digress. One of the things I learned about the Iron Age, was the importance of stories and storytellers. Back in the day, there were no telephones, televisions or newspapers, so the only way news could be spread would be by word of mouth. The wandering bards would move from place to place, taking their stories with them. They would witness the great events of the day first hand, weave them into stories and pass them on. To them, fairy tales were as real as accounts of weddings and great battles, and were often woven in among them.

In Wales, the bards developed a method of poetry called cynghanedd which had a very strict form that made it easier to pass information on without corrupting it, so the only changes were the embellishments of the tellers, which also had strict rules regarding what could be changed and what couldn’t, ensuring the core of the information was always accurately reported, in theory at least.

It wasn’t just the big news bards carried. They brought stories from all over, some their version of the truth, others wholly fictional. Their poems were epic and it was big thing when the bard came to the village. They were the first celebrities.

In agricultural communities, the changing of the seasons, planting and ploughing schedules, the phases of the sun and moon, the movements of the clouds and overall an intimate relationship with the land was vital for survival. Their gods and goddesses mediated the powers of earth, air, fire and water, because misreading the signs, or having a flawed understanding of the lands in which they lived could literally lead to the deaths of the entire village. (Pompeii was a tragic example of people who were out of touch with their environment and unable to read the warning signs that started coming weeks before the event)

During the dark times in winter, when there was nothing to do but sit around the fire, the only entertainment (apart from drinking, singing, fighting and…er…the other “f” word) was storytelling and those who could weave a good yarn were very much in demand, and often travelled to other villages. The stories would contain a lot of the wisdom needed to survive, often heavily disguised as fiction. Gods, goddesses, faeries and humans wove together to teach history, geography, medicine and agricultural wisdom. A lot of what people believed at a particular place and time can be gleaned from the stories they told.

The point of this rambling tale is that the entire culture of a civilization is encapsulated within their stories and to fully understand a people you have to immerse yourself in their stories, which really get to the heart of their beliefs and teach more truths than any other kind of exchange of information.

Are there any common themes you see in your work?

SLD: A common theme for mine is imperfect boys. No Fabios need apply! My boys (or older men) are flawed, likely have a physical or mental ailment or suffered abuse at some point. They range from 17-47 years old and have siblings or none at all (I’m surprised how many only children I’ve written)…but their parents are a driving force in their lives. Either for good or bad. Phillip had supportive folks, as did Scott. Jared had a single mom, as did Bernard. But they all have parents. Mostly because I still have my parents and they are still (blessedly) doing well and married and still like each other. LOL  I came from a nuclear family and that’s a big theme for me, even though my characters don’t live in that same world.

What are some of the jobs besides writer that you’ve held?

SLD: A short while back I took a career interest test and it scored me out high on artistic and conventional. Odd combo! But it’s true for me. Most of my jobs have been very conventional, from working in a supermarket in my early 20’s to office jobs (vast majority) in accounting, administrative, all computer-based processing (or mostly) sit down in a cubicle farm gigs.  The art side has always been there and I would write a couple pages on my breaks/lunches. Soon I brought a notebook with me to scribble down ideas as soon as they hit.

So as for my jobs, very run of the mill, conventional, corporate slave jobs. The coolest two (a tie) were a code enforcement officer and a training coordinator. Two vastly different jobs but I really enjoyed them both.

Have you ever been to a writing conference? If so, how was it? If not, is there one you want to attend?

NH: I’ve been to the UK Meet three times and I’m going to Euro Pride in June. I guess you’re expecting me to say how wonderful conferences are, but to be honest that wasn’t my experience.

My experiences at the UK Meet were mixed. I met some wonderful people and had a great time on the whole, but also experienced some of my greatest lows. It’s a myth, and somewhat foolish to think, that every member of our community is open and welcoming to every other member of the community. As an autistic person, venturing out into the world on my own for the first time, I existed in my own personal nightmare for much of the time and there were few people who really reached out and took me under their wing. I’m not saying that anyone was deliberately cold or cruel to me, it’s just that most people either didn’t notice or didn’t care. To be honest, I never felt I “belonged”.

Some of the worst days of my writing life came during conferences, when I spent time setting out my stall, taking extra care, adding little touches, like chocolates, gifts and glitter, only to have people walk past as if I didn’t exist to get to the stalls of bigger names. In each conference I’ve had one or two at the most. Don’t get me wrong, sales would have been nice, but that was the very least thing I was concerned about. All I wanted was some acknowledgement. To feel invisible in the middle of a group of people who are supposed to be your community is the loneliest thing in the world, and on the last occasion I vowed that I will never again attend a conference as an author. I’m going to Euro Pride as a reader.

Note from A.M.: NH suggested I might not want to include this, but it’s such an important issue. I really feel like we need to do better with our conferences. This is a common theme I see, that people feel left out unless they can fit into a very narrow demographic. It’s true almost regardless of book genre. This is an accessibility issue, and it’s important to me to address ableism at conferences (as well as sexual harassment, racism, and antagonism in other forms).

How do you handle a story that doesn’t go as you planned?

NH: My stories hardly ever go as planned. Fortunately, I rarely have concrete plans. Usually, I start a story with a couple of scenes and a rough structure in my head, although with strong characters who drive it forward. I put my characters in certain situations that (hopefully) lead to a logical conclusion and see where it takes them. Then I take a good hard look at the story I’ve created and really think about the technical stuff, like character development, story arcs etc etc. When the story is set to my satisfaction, I then go through again looking at the other “rules” and hating that I have to. Only after all that do I submit.

To step back a few stages, when I’m actually writing the story, I rarely have any clue about where it’s going to end. A few scenes and a general trajectory are usually the best I get. Endings come as much of a surprise to me as the reader. I like it that way. I’ve tried planning, and I’m actually writing a series where eight stories/books are set in the same hotel. I’ve had to plot and plan in order to keep everything consistent, so I have floor plans, staff sketches and all kinds of details and information regarding themes that run through the books. The books themselves though are still entirely freeform and all I have is a few paragraphs and a lot of word connections. Even so, I’m struggling with the constrictions at the moment. How many different way are there for someone to arrive at a hotel? I’m committed to finding eight of them.

Time for some word sprints!

Cats or dogs?

SLD: Cats definitely. I love most animals, but adore cats.

What’s your favorite movie?

NH: It’s impossible to choose just one – Practical Magic (I want to live in that house), Boy Meets Girl, Pride, The Crow, Voodoo Moon.

What are you currently wearing?

NH: I have to answer this one because it’s one of the rare days I’m not wearing all black. I’m wearing grey leggings, a black t-shirt and black cardigan. I’m also wearing two elastic bracelets, one rainbow and the other ace spectrum (I don’t think it’s fair that ace’s rainbow runs to black, white, grey and one splash of pink, but it suits me fine)

What’s one of your hobbies?

SLD: One of my biggest hobbies is gaming. I got started on Sim City in 1997 and the Sims shortly after their intro in 2000. I love city building, micro-managing, and creating my characters in the Sims and playing out different scenarios.

What’s on your playlist?

SLD: I haven’t made one yet, but it would be a mish mosh of pop, alternative, classical, Scottish and Irish music.

Thanks for stopping by! Be sure to let us know when future books in the series release.

About the Book

Title: Opening Act (Upstaged #1)

Series: Upstaged

Date: March 30, 2018

Publisher: eXtasy

Length: 75,385 words

Categories: M/M, Contemporary, New Adult

Synopsis

Boys will be boys no matter how different they might be.

Wannabe singer and band front man Erik Von Nordgren hates snarky brit Asher Berkley with a passion. From the moment he turns up at practice with his twin sister Daisy, who is one of the band the two have hated each other.

Through a series of ‘tit for tat’ incidents they annoy, frustrate and exasperated each other. The die hard goth with purple eyes and the hard core rocker with dreams of the big time have nothing in common and no need to cross paths. Except to wind each other up.

Until the day that Erik throws Asher in the school pool, when everything begins to change. Erik is so far in closet he’s in Narnia and Asher has a dark past and trust issues that stand in the way of any relationship, let alone one with the brash American who hurts him every time they try to get together.

A relationship doomed from the start, or so you’d think.

Purchase Links

eXtasy | Amazon | Amazon UK | Kobo

Excerpt

Asher wasn’t even sure what he was doing here. Okay, he’d promised, but he still wasn’t convinced it was a good idea. Erik was a complication, one he could do without.

His parents were at him again, his father rumbling on about more therapy. Asher agreed with everything just to make them go away. He had no intention of following through on the assurances. Like fuck he’d sit through more of that shit. If he could just fend them off until after graduation, he could concentrate on the job he’d landed at a local art gallery and maybe look for somewhere to live so he could move out. Then they’d have no more control over his life.

Ah, well, Daisy wanted him to be here, so here he was. At least it was acoustic guitar this time. He didn’t think he could have stood the drums and loud electrics. His head was still sore.

Erik unfolded a piece of paper he’d pulled from one of his pockets. “This is a new song I scribbled out a couple nights ago. It’s called Viper. I, um, I hope you like it.”

The shadows fell in just such a way across the planes of Erik’s face that his blue eyes gleamed like twin sapphires, shining in the darkened garage. Asher shot a look at his sister, but Daisy was discussing something urgently with Erik. Then Daisy plucked the first chords, and Erik began to growl.

“I can see you lookin’ at me, I can see your smile. But baby you ain’t foolin’ me. Coz I know that’s not your style.”

Asher’s heart jolted with shock. The expression in Erik’s eyes bored straight into him. The song was about him and meant for him. He felt sick. Erik had written a song for him? It wasn’t even his usual kind of song. Softer, gentler, but so intense.

“Spit your poison at me. Spit it while you can. Coz baby I got the antidote. I’m a be your man.”

What did that mean? What was he trying to say? The walls closed in around Asher. His heart beat fast, and his mouth was dry. This didn’t sound as if Erik only wanted to be friends.

Wiping sweaty hands on his jeans, Asher shivered and panicked. He wasn’t ready for this. He wasn’t ready to let Erik—much less anyone else—in. But he’d written a fucking song about him.

“I can see what’s hidden. Behind that viper smile. Your fangs are filled with venom. But your heart’s filled with pain. They got you good.”

That was too much. Asher didn’t know what it was supposed to mean. What did Erik know? What had Daisy told him? Did he know about James?

The rest of the song passed in a whirl, and Asher didn’t hear a word of it. He didn’t even notice when it stopped. When silence fell, it was a completely unexpected silence.

Erik panted. He glanced over at Daisy, who smiled at him.

What the… She smiled at him?

Erik pushed back his blond hair and shot a look at Asher. “Um, what did you think of it? I wrote it…”

Asher came back to the room with a jolt. He raised his eyes. Erik gazed at him expectantly. The expression on his face was… No, oh no. This was going too far, and he just couldn’t handle it, not now. Before he had time to think, he bolted for the door and fled out into the warm afternoon sunshine.

About the Author

S.L. Danielson

S. L. (Stephanie) Danielson began writing at the tender age of five. She knew it was her calling from the moment she put pen to paper. In her teens she began writing alternative works and the genre stuck. She created ever more elaborate tales and finally in her early 20’s years began to create works with her new love; male/male romance. She has since written more than 30 works (both solo and collaborations).

Stephanie is classically trained in business, accounting, and HR/training, possessing both an undergrad and graduate degree. She also owned and operated Romance First Publishing where the ultimate goal was to help other unknown, as well as known authors get their start in the publishing world.

Beyond writing, her other hobbies include: painting, gaming, and spending time with her husband and two cherished cats.

Nephy Hart

Nephy Hart was born into a poor mining family in the South Wales Valleys. Until she was 16, the toilet was at the bottom of the garden and the bath hung on the wall. Her refrigerator was a stone slab in the pantry and there was a black lead fireplace in the kitchen. They look lovely in a museum but aren’t so much fun to clean.

Nephy has always been a storyteller. As a child, she’d make up stories for her nieces, nephews and cousin and they’d explore the imaginary worlds she created, in play.

Later in life, Nephy became the storyteller for a re enactment group who travelled widely, giving a taste of life in the Iron Age. As well as having an opportunity to run around hitting people with a sword, she had an opportunity to tell stories of all kinds, sometimes of her own making, to all kinds of people. The criticism was sometimes harsh, especially from the children, but the reward enormous.

It was here she began to appreciate the power of stories and the primal need to hear them. In ancient times, the wandering bard was the only source of news, and the storyteller the heart of the village, keeping the lore and the magic alive. Although much of the magic has been lost, the stories still provide a link to the part of us that still wants to believe that it’s still there, somewhere.

In present times, Nephy lives in a terraced house in the valleys with her son, dog, bearded dragon (called Smaug of course) and three cats. Her daughter has deserted her for the big city, but they’re still close. She’s never been happier since she was made redundant and is able to devote herself entirely to her twin loves of writing and art.

Social Media

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Nephy Hart

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