Exquisite Quills Welcomes Missy Welsh
EQ: Welcome to EQ!
Tell us a little bit about yourself!
MW: Hello! Thank you
so much for letting me stop by today. I’m Missy Welsh and I write erotic m/m romances.
I’ve written college age coming out stories, short story collections, and
paranormals with vampires and werewolves. In fact…
EQ: Tell us a little
bit about your most recent release.
MW: My last release
was ISHERWOOD, a werewolf story in this world I’ve been building for the last
few years. What I like best about all my stories are the characters I get to
create, and ISHERWOOD’s Finn Webb and Cas Maine are no exception. They have
lives and problems independent of their budding romance that I try hard to
explore and give page time to as I build their story. It’s important to me that
they feel like real people, even if one of them spends time as a wolf every
month. In fact, I got so attached to one member of Finn’s family, his nephew
Kieran Talbot, that I had to write two free short stories featuring him because
I just couldn’t stop thinking about what happened next. Even now, I’m working
on two sequels to ISHERWOOD that will explore the lives of Finn’s beta, Varick
Ward, and also the youngest member of their new pack, Sawyer Croft. Both men
just have to find their love and have an adventure too.
EQ: Describe how you
create characters.
MW: I’ll do a lot of
things to suss out a character. Sometimes, it’ll start with a photograph of a
man with an interesting expression or one in just the hint of a situation. So
I’ll ask myself who is he? And,
sometimes, he’ll answer. I’ll get a snotty voice telling me to mind my own
business, or an embarrassed laugh, or a monologue about the crap-tastic day
he’s been having. Then I’ll ask him what he wants and, if he’s been talking,
he’ll keep going. Yes, it’s like interviewing myself and there’s probably a
padded room for me somewhere, but hey, it works because one thought builds on
another and another until there’s this guy in my head with a story to tell. And
then I really give him a crappy day…
EQ: Describe how you
came up with the plot of your novel.
MW: I have to have at least a basic
understanding of the characters before I can think about plot. Once I know who
they are, then I start asking what if?
Say he’s controlling, likes to know what’s going on and be able to lead the
way. Well, what if something happens that takes away all his control? What if
it makes him have to follow someone else? I might not immediately know what
that “something” is, but I already know this guy isn’t going to be happy about
it and he’s going to work like mad to get his control back where he wants it. I
try to keep taking away the things that are important to my characters, so
they’ll have to struggle to get those things back. And there’s my plot!
EQ: What was your
defining moment as a writer?
MW: I’ve had many
defining moments, but this was the earliest. As a freshman in high school—so
age 14—I had an English Lit. teacher who I’ll call Mr. Schmidt. He was a slight
man who wore bow ties and wire-rimmed glasses. Sharp, fun, he is still one of
my favorite all-time teachers because he got us all to talk to each other about
reading and writing, thereby making us think so much more deeply than I ever
had before. I started imagining myself in other people’s shoes and trying to
figure out what they would do if this thing happened or that one. I wrote my
first story during the free-writing time in his class, and it was an epic
adventure about myself and some of my classmates who went on a disastrous camping
trip. There was romance and adventure and those who didn’t make it back expired
in the most passionate ways. Mr. Schmidt loved
it. We discussed it several times, and he taught me about constructive
criticism and how good writing could always become better writing if I kept
learning and applying. Then, one day in the middle of the school year, Mr.
Schmidt “left” and we had a substitute for the rest of the year. We were told
he’d decided to retire. I’m sure the sub tried, but it wasn’t the same for any
of us, and I can’t even remember his name. I know I felt abandoned. It was near
the end of the year when we were told that Mr. Schmidt had passed away after
being very sick. It was several more years before I learned that Mr. Schmidt
and his partner had died of AIDS-related complications within weeks of each
other. Twenty-four years later, I still remember his quirky smile and how he made
me feel brilliant for being a writer. I’d like to think he’d be proud of me for
writing about gay men falling in love and happy that he left such a lasting
impression.
Find Missy Welsh at these places:
Website – http://www.missywelsh.com
Twitter: http://bit.ly/175mnsl
Facebook: http://on.fb.me/175mi7V
Newsletter: http://bit.ly/1coHgOY
Read these titles by Missy Welsh:
ISHERWOOD
YOURS FOREVER
MY SUMMER OF WES
YOUR BIGGEST FAN
