INTERVIEW: Forever New by Laura N. Andrews
Hi Laura and welcome to Two Men. Firstly, congratulations on the release of your new book, Forever You, and thank you for allowing me to ask you some questions.
I see Forever You is your second book, your first book being an M/F romance. What made you decide to venture into the world of M/M romance?
Hi and thank YOU for asking them! I’d actually explored the idea of M/M romance writing before this one, as the second book in my Timeless Love series will also be a romance between two men. However, I was inspired to write Forever You when my publisher decided to do an M/M romance collection called, Trade Me. It was a few years ago now when I was first introduced to this genre and ever since then I’ve tried my hand at writing it as well. Plus, I’m a big QAF (Queer as Folk) fan!
Can you tell us a little about Forever You and the inspiration for the story?
The Trade Me collection had only a few stipulations. Two of them being that the story had to be M/M romance and one or both men had to have a trade. As soon as I saw this I was inspired to write from a mechanic’s point of view and then the story grew from there. Forever You is a romance between one openly gay man Matthew, and another man who is entranced by him, Benjamin. They meet through Matt’s twin sister and Matt ends up working for Ben at his garage. Ben’s interest in Matt makes Ben question his sexuality.
Your bio shows you have a law enforcement background but currently work in pharmacy. Is law enforcement something you think you’ll get actively involved in and can we expect to see some of this knowledge come through in your stories?
I hope so! Ever since primary school and high school, law has interested me. For a while I wanted to be a police officer or a lawyer, and after finishing school I figured I’d delve into that subject by studying it and seeing how I go. After completing the diploma there were some areas I was more interested in, like criminology, than others, like jurisprudence. However after getting a job as a pharmacy assistant, I’ve kept at that the last few years and am quite happy with it. I do hope I’ll incorporate my experience and intrigue in the law, into a book or two!
I was thrilled to see you live in Australia. Although Perth is across the other side of the country from me, it’s nice to meet new Australian authors and people in the same (sort of) time zone. 🙂 Forever You is set in the US, will we see any stories from you set in Australia? And why did you choose the US for the setting of this book?
Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, oi, oi, oi! This was actually another condition of the Trade Me collection, it had to be set in the US. My first book, This Time, and any others in that series (the Timeless Love series) will be set in Australia. At this stage they will all be set in Perth, but that may change. I also have a few more ideas in the works that’ll be set in Australia.
I write books set in both Australia and the US and find it has its challenges. Do you need to do anything special when you are writing a book set outside your own country?
Research! I find the main struggle is the language. It’s often I’ll include a phrase or a word that I later find out is completely Aussie that no one else understands lol. So if I’m writing a story based in the US and there’s ever something I’m not sure of, I’ll look it up and see if there’s a more American way of explaining a certain situation. Overall research is needed for a lot of different aspects that differ between the US and Australia. One thing for example when it comes to law is gay marriage, its legal in the US but unfortunately Australia isn’t there…yet!
Now that you’ve written and published both M/F and M/M romance, do you have a preference? What can your readers expect to see from you next?
I love writing romance full stop, but I think if I had to pick between one or the other, I do prefer writing M/M romance. I mean, two men are better than one! I’ve recently sent my publisher the second book of my Timeless Love series which is also an M/M romance, so that’s hopefully going to be published next. This series changes main character/s with each book, so it allows me to broaden the scope and because new characters are introduced I feel like there’s no limit. I don’t have a clue how many I’ll end up writing and I love that!
I’ve also started writing a YA paranormal trilogy which will be based in Australia.
Thank you so much for joining us and sharing some things about your writing. Best of luck with your release.
Blurb
Matthew Price travels across the country to join his twin sister in Brooklyn. As an openly gay man who appreciates casual flings, the last thing he expects is to meet the man of his dreams.
Benjamin Stokes has always considered himself straight. When he hires Matthew to work at his garage and finds himself captivated, his sexuality comes into question.
From the moment they meet, their sexual desires grow fierce. Will they discover a deeper connection than just the physical? Can theirs be a love story that will last forever?
Buy Links
Amazon UK
Author Bio
Canadian born Laura N. Andrews moved to Australia when she was three years old. When she finished high school, she successfully completed her studies in law enforcement. Since then, she’s been working for over five years as a pharmacy assistant. When she’s not working or spending time with family and friends, you can find her either curled up with a book or writing one of her own.
Facebook: www.facebook.com/lauranandrewauthor/
Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/authorlauranandrews/