Ethan Stone is the author of several M/M romances, all available from Dreamspinner Press. He is in love with an amazing man who also drives him nuts.   Living in a Nevada town that is neither Reno nor Las Vegas, he is raising a teenage son with the help of two cats and a dog who do their best to push him over the edge and make him lose what is left of his sanity.

Being Taught

ISBN 978-1-61581-542-5

eBook

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In the Flesh

ISBN 978-1-61581-552-4

paperback

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Starting Over

ISBN 978-1-61581-802-0

eBook

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Flesh & Blood, Sequel to In the Flesh

ISBN 978-1-61581-972-0

paperback

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Wolf Moon

ISBN 978-1-61581-813-6

eBook

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Blood and Tears

coming later this summer from Dreamspinner Press

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1.        How much writing did you do before seeing your first story published?

A lot. A lot. A lot. I have lots of partial stories. Many years ago, I wrote a pretty bland novel about a former government agent who is dragged into a dangerous situation. It has tons of serious writing errors and several extremely huge plot holes. For example, my hero is able to learn about a building’s security system simply by visiting the security company who sold the system. For years the only writing I did was my very own soap opera. I called it Fortune and it followed the lives of the uber-rich Fortune family.

2.        Do you work with an agent?

Nope. I’m pretty new in the business and haven’t seen the need for an agent as of yet. If my writing takes off I would consider using an agent down the road.

3.        What is your ideal writing environment? Have you ever been able to create it?

My ideal writing environment involves almost total quiet and absolutely no interruptions. And as of yet it’s been a myth. Well, I’ve been able to create the proper environment for a short period of time—never more than an hour. Between my son and my boyfriend I always get interrupted. Sometimes I can get into the zone and I am simply unable to stop writing.

4.        What is your favorite digital or electronic writing tool?

Most definitely my computer. I’m all about writing directly to the screen. If I tried writing with pen and paper I’d never be able to decipher my chicken scratch. I have the handwriting of a doctor.

5.        What is your favorite non-digital writing tool?

Chisel and hammer.

6.        Your blog bio states that “…due to the community I live in and the job I have, hiding my sexuality is a necessity at this point in my life.”  At what point in your life did you come out to yourself, your family, and close friends?

I was pretty sure I was gay when I was 19 and had my first sexual experience with a guy. Despite that certainty, I tried to deny it for many years. At some point during my marriage I realized I could no longer deny that I was gay. I told my parents and brother after I had been with my boyfriend for awhile and knew we were meant to be.

7.       Do you encounter homophobia on a daily basis? Or is it rare and distant in your personal life?

Homophobia is a constant in my work life. Just recently one co-worker said that if he found out his son was gay he would force him to change his last name and would never see him again. I often wonder how many of these men are living in the closet and spout the homophobic nonsense in an attempt to throw people off the trail.

8.       Do you think that human sexual orientation can be strictly divided into categories labeled heterosexual, homosexual, and bisexual, or is it more complicated than that?

I think those three terms are decent labels, though I don’t really like labels that much. But I tend to believe in the Kinsey scale where people are different percentages within those labels. I believe that very few people are 100% heterosexual or 100% homosexual.

9.       I have heard rumblings of criticism that straight women should not write romance or erotica between two male characters. Do you think it is possible for a person to write about sexual and romantic situations that they themselves do not experience?

The idea that women shouldn’t write M/M is complete and total bullshit! I’ve read really bad M/M written by men and truly awesome M/M written by women. Authors are always writing about situations they haven’t experienced why would romantic and sexual situations be any different? Did Stephenie Meyer fall in love with a vampire? Just because gay men have had sex with another man doesn’t mean they are infallible when it comes to writing sex scenes. If only gay men should write M/M then gay men who label themselves as tops should only write from the perspective of a top. Beta type males should only write from the perspective of betas. There is one thing that I believe in—only werewolves should write werewolf stories. Wait…I wrote a werewolf story. Interesting!

10.   Do you think it’s possible for a novel that includes a non-heterosexual romance to be released by a mainstream publisher? Does the inclusion of such a romance automatically dictate that the book will be shelved in the gay/les/bi/trans section?

I do think it’s possible. It’s also possible for me to walk on the moon. Is it going to happen. Not bloody likely. I think the minute the main character is homosexual, whether or not romance and sex is involved, it will be shelved in the LGBTQ section.

11.   Should it be?

Well, since I only read M/M I like knowing where to be able to find the types of books I want. But I do think fiction should be categorized apart from the sexuality of the protag. I don’t want to be known only as a gay man. I’m that and so much more. I’m a father, a grandfather, friend, lover, boyfriend and more.

12.   Do you have rules for how steamy you write your sex scenes? Are the rules different for a story that will be classified as erotica, as opposed to a story that is strictly romance?

I don’t have any specific rules, I just write as the spirit moves me. I think erotica is 80 % sex and 20% plot. And romance is the opposite.

13.   You recently went to Las Vegas and got a tattoo. Where did the symbol come from?

The symbol is from an awesome comic book called “The Mark of Aeacus” published by Class Comics.

14.   “May the Force Be With You” is on your blog’s home page! Can we assume you are a Star Wars fan?

I am a huge Star Wars fan. I had tons of toys when I was a kid, I still have them in fact. In my storage I have lots of tubs full of Star Wars memorabilia. Not just toys, but collector glasses, posters and even a radio controlled R2D2.

15.   Who shot first, Han or Greedo?

Without a doubt, Han shot first. I even checked with my Assistant Star Wars fan, my son. He confirmed that it was indeed Han.

16.   Did the three prequel movies do justice to the epic?

Absolutely not! I wouldn’t say I despise the prequels, but I certainly didn’t enjoy them. I would’ve done SO many things differently. Revenge of the Sith was pretty good but just like every other fan boy I wanted more scenes of Anakin as Darth Vader. I am not a Jar Jar fan and wish he could be erased from Star Wars lore.

17.   Will we ever see some science fiction from you?

I love watching science fiction movies but have never been able to read science fiction books. The chance of me writing one are pretty slim.

18.   Does “Wolf Moon” represent a genre shift in your writing?

It was a different genre than my other books. Wolf Moon sprung from a short story I wrote years ago. It ended up vastly different than the original, which is both good and bad. When I was writing Wolf Moon I swore I would never, ever write a paranormal story again. But you know the saying, Never say Never.

19.   Many writers go through a stage when they hate the words they are writing.  Is this true for you?

Only all the time. I hate revising. Absolutely despise it. During the revising is when I hate not only the words in front of me, but also my decision to be a writer. It’s usually at this point where I send a message to my good friend Marie Sexton and ask why she let me start the project.

20.   When the day comes that you are on stage, receiving some prestigious award, who are you most likely to forget to thank?

The lady who cuts my dog’s hair.

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