Ask the Author: Rick R. Reed
Answered Questions (16)
Rick R. Reed
No, I don't self-publish for the most part. Almost all of my books have been published by small presses, although the first two were published by a major NYC publisher, Dell. I use Audible's ACX service to find narrators and produce the audiobooks.
Rick R. Reed
How odd. I have no idea what this is about. I never wrote a book called Closer. I will look into having this deleted. Thanks for bringing this to my attention. Update: Goodreads took down this mysterious book that never existed. Thank you, Goodreads librarian!
Rick R. Reed
THE MAN FROM MILWAUKEE will be out from NineStar Press on July 20 in both ebook and paperback editions. It will be available globally at all major online retailers, like Amazon, at that time. Thanks for asking! I'm very excited for the world to read this story!
BLURB
It’s the summer of 1991 and serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer has been arrested. His monstrous crimes inspire dread around the globe. But not so much for Emory Hughes, a closeted young man in Chicago, who sees in the cannibal killer a kindred spirit, someone who fights against the dark side of his own nature, as Emory does. He reaches out to Dahmer in prison via letters.
The letters become an escape—from Emory’s mother, dying from AIDS, from his uncaring sister, from his dead-end job in downtown Chicago, but most of all, from his own self-hatred.
Dahmer isn’t Emory’s only lifeline as he begins a tentative relationship with Tyler Kay. He falls for him, and just like Dahmer, wonders how he can get Tyler to stay. Emory’s desire for love leads him to confront his own grip on reality. For Tyler, the threat of the mild-mannered Emory seems inconsequential, but not taking the threat seriously is at his own peril.
Can Emory discover the roots of his own madness before it’s too late and he finds himself following in the footsteps of the man from Milwaukee?
BLURB
It’s the summer of 1991 and serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer has been arrested. His monstrous crimes inspire dread around the globe. But not so much for Emory Hughes, a closeted young man in Chicago, who sees in the cannibal killer a kindred spirit, someone who fights against the dark side of his own nature, as Emory does. He reaches out to Dahmer in prison via letters.
The letters become an escape—from Emory’s mother, dying from AIDS, from his uncaring sister, from his dead-end job in downtown Chicago, but most of all, from his own self-hatred.
Dahmer isn’t Emory’s only lifeline as he begins a tentative relationship with Tyler Kay. He falls for him, and just like Dahmer, wonders how he can get Tyler to stay. Emory’s desire for love leads him to confront his own grip on reality. For Tyler, the threat of the mild-mannered Emory seems inconsequential, but not taking the threat seriously is at his own peril.
Can Emory discover the roots of his own madness before it’s too late and he finds himself following in the footsteps of the man from Milwaukee?
Rick R. Reed
I've recently let the rickrreed.com domain go and now use http://rickrreedreality.blogspot.com/ as my blog AND website. It has all the same information as my old website, plus a lot more...and it's much more interactive and dynamic. I hope you'll check it out!
Rick R. Reed
That's a good question, much better than "where do you get your ideas?" I think what inspires me is the characters inside my head, nudging me forcefully to tell their stories. And those stories are often drawn from my own life, even if that journey wouldn't be immediately apparent to the casual reader. I'm inspired because I can't imagine life without doing so, without telling my stories.
Rick R. Reed
Asking the question, "What if..." and needing to quiet a character in my mind who simply will NOT shut up until I tell his or her story.
Rick R. Reed
Thanks for asking! It was actually just re-released earlier this year in a brand-new, full-length edition, called M4M. The new book contains the stories, "VGL Male Seeks Same," "NEG UB2," and a brand-new story, "Status Updates" all revolving around VGL's main character, Ethan Schwartz. This new version, from Dreamspinner Press, is available both in ebook and paperback. Here's the Amazon link for the ebook (you can also find the paperback edition on Amazon...and at Dreamspinner Press): https://www.amazon.com/M4M-Rick-R-Ree...
Rick R. Reed
LOL. And thank you...you do my "older" man's heart good. And so glad you loved my modern take on a classic fairy tale. Um, no brothers...only two sisters. Sorry!
Rick R. Reed
Wow. That's tough. It's like 'what do you want on your tombstone'? I think it would be something along the lines of A Journey from Darkness into Light.
Rick R. Reed
My books are listed on my page. I'm confused why you'd ask that.
Rick R. Reed
Thank YOU, Alan, for the kind words! CAREGIVER means a lot to me. One of the characters, Adam, was based on my own AIDS buddy in the early 90s and everything that happened to Adam in the book really happened in real life. The book is a tribute to my buddy, Jim. Glad it resonated with you. I appreciate your taking the time to write.
Rick R. Reed
You know, maybe 7 years ago it did surprise me a bit, when I just assumed most of my readers would be gay men (since that was who I was writing about). But I've come to discover that straight women are some of the most devoted and passionate fans of m/m romance and I love them for that. There are also some great female straight writers of the genre, as I'm sure you know. One reader once told me she loved romance, but had grown tired of the power dynamic in M/F romances, which was why she came to prefer the more equal relationships in M/M fiction. Whatever the reason, I'm simply grateful to all of you for reading!
Rick R. Reed
I'd love to narrate my work for audio. Alas, while I may have the voice skills, I don't have the tech skills to do it at the level I'd like it to be for public consumption.
Rick R. Reed
Read a lot. Write a lot. Lather, rinse, repeat.
Rick R. Reed
The answer is kind of boring, but the real truth is I sit down every morning at my computer and task myself with writing at least 1,000 words on my current work-in-progress. Once I do my prep, which means re-reading what I wrote the day before, I sort of "go under" and get in the mood to enter the world of my characters and let them speak to me.
Rick R. Reed
You know, I don't really believe in writer's block. Yeah, it's hard to sit down and face a blank screen or piece of paper, but if you've decided to walk this walk, that's what you gotta do...every day. There are a million ideas out there--just write.
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