Friendy Friday with Rick R. Reed
Welcome to Friendy Friday, that day of the week I bring you some of my favorite authors to read as well as people I’ve met along my authory journey that I absolutely think you need to know about!
I met Rick in April at the LA Times Festival of Books along with several other authors from my new publishing family at Dreamspinner Press. I was incredibly nervous the whole drive down there and had no idea what to expect. Rick was sitting in the lobby along with Andrew Grey when I arrived and after receiving hugs from both of them, I felt instantly at ease. Rick, I soon learned, just has that effect on people. Over the course of the weekend I got to spend time chatting with him and It was one of those experiences that leaves you feeling inspired and gives you faith in humanity. Plus, he digs horror, and that’s totally my gig!
On the drive home I listened to one of Rick’s audio books, I Heart Boston Terriers, and it was so adorably sweet and touching, sorta like having a conversation with Rick himself. When I saw that he had a new book coming out, I had to have him on the blog.
Rick’s new release, SKY FULL OF MYSTERIES, was an auto one-click buy for me and I can’t wait to have some spare moments to dive in! In the meantime, I laughed out loud over his answers to The World’s Most Dangerous Interview and I hope you will check him out!
WARNING: Ahead lies an excerpt from Henry Miller that may shock you. I’ve heard so many folks refer to Tropic of Cancer as being one of their first naughty reads, but apparently I didn't read far enough when I tried it out because OMG! Haha So be forewarned, the excerpt is NSFW.
The World’s Most Dangerous Interview RL Merrill Interviews Rick R. Reed, author of SKY FULL OF MYSTERIES What’s your favorite music to dance to? Seriously, it’s got to be 1970s-80s era disco, something like Amii Stewart’s “Knock on Wood” or the Gap Band’s “You Dropped a Bomb on Me” or the Morris Day and the Time’s “Jungle Love.” I could go on, but I’ve got ants in my pants. Hold on, I’ll be right back.
Name the first book you read as a young person with sexy times in it. How many times did you read it? My father, who was a welder and who surprised me with his taste in literature, had a copy of Henry Miller’s Tropic of Cancer hidden away in his closet. I read certain passages over and over, countless times, usually resulting in the same climax, and we are not talking a literary thing here. Anyway, here’s an example of my earliest influence for writing with sexy times in it, courtesy of Mr. Miller. I’ll leave it to you and other people who’ve read my work to decide if this is scarring or inspiring—or both: “O Tania, where now is that warm cunt of yours, those fat, heavy garters, those soft, bulging thighs? There is a bone in my prick six inches long. I will ream out every wrinkle in your cunt, Tania, big with seed. I will send you home to your Sylvester with an ache in your belly and your womb turned inside out. Your Sylvester! Yes, he knows how to build a fire, but I know how to inflame a cunt. I shoot hot bolts into you, Tania, I make your ovaries incandescent. Your Sylvester is a little jealous now? He feels something, does he? He feels the remnants of my big prick. I have set the shores a little wider, I have ironed out the wrinkles. After me, you can take on stallions, bulls, rams, drakes, St. Bernards. You can stuff toads, bats, lizards up your rectum. You can shit arpeggios if you like, or string a zither across your navel. I am fucking you, Tania, so that you’ll stay fucked. And if you are afraid of being fucked publicly I will fuck you privately. I will tear off a few hairs from your cunt and paste them on Boris’ chin. I will bite into your clitoris and spit out two franc pieces…” What is the most fascinating thing you’ve discovered because of writing? That I can, but not without touching myself.
Name a reading guilty pleasure Henry Miller. Charles Bukowski. Dennis Cooper. Marquis de Sade. Jean Genet. Allen Ginsberg. Charles Baudelaire. Hubert Selby, Jr. John Cleland. I could go on and on, but the more names I come up with, the less guilty I feel. Guilt is a useless emotion.
Name a book that scared the bejeebers out of you and why it scared you. Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood, because it really happened and because it can really happen again. The scariest monsters are the most prosaic ones.
If you had to choose a movie or book to live in, what would it be? The Italian coast portrayed in The Talented Mr. Ripley.
Name your author superpower and how does it come out in your writing? Self-hypnosis. When I go under and truly follow my characters instinctively, I’m doing my very best work. The odd thing, and the thing that took me a long time to realize, was that my best work wasn’t the hardest to do, it was the most effortless.
Which book do you wish you’d written? To Kill a Mockingbird, which I think is one of the most perfect American novels. Maybe that’s why Harper Lee left things alone after that (sort of).
Which musical describes your life? Cabaret. ‘Nuff said. SKY FULL OF MYSTERIES BLURB What if your first love was abducted and presumed dead—but returned twenty years later? That’s the dilemma Cole Weston faces. Now happily married to Tommy D’Amico, he’s suddenly thrown into a surreal world when his first love, Rory Schneidmiller, unexpectedly reappears. Where has Rory been all this time? What happened to him two decades ago, when a strange mass appeared in the night sky and lifted him into the heavens? Rory has no memory of those years. For him, it’s as though only a day or two has passed. Rory still loves Cole with the passion unique to young first love. Cole has never forgotten Rory, yet Tommy has been his rock, by his side since Rory disappeared. Cole is forced to choose between an idealized and passionate first love and the comfort of a long-term marriage. How can he decide? Who faces this kind of quandary, anyway? The answers might lie among the stars…. BUY Amazon paperback https://www.amazon.com/Sky-Full-Mysteries-Rick-Reed/dp/1641080086 Amazon Kindle https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07G4WZVNV Dreamspinner Press paperback: https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/books/sky-full-of-mysteries-by-rick-r-reed-9807-b Dreamspinner Press ebook: https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/books/sky-full-of-mysteries-by-rick-r-reed-9808-b RICK R. REED BIO Real Men. True Love. Rick R. Reed draws inspiration from the lives of gay men to craft stories that quicken the heartbeat, engage emotions, and keep the pages turning. Although he dabbles in horror, dark suspense, and comedy, his attention always returns to the power of love. He’s the award-winning and bestselling author of more than fifty works of published fiction and is forever at work on yet another book. Lambda Literary has called him: “A writer that doesn’t disappoint…” You can find him at www.rickrreed.com or www.rickrreedreality.blogspot.com. Rick lives in Palm Springs, CA with his beloved husband. FIND RICK ONLINE Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/rickrreedbooks Twitter: www.twitter.com/rickrreed Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+RickReedWRITER Blog: http://rickrreedreality.blogspot.com/ Website: www.rickrreed.com Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/rick-r-reed Email: rickrreedbooks@gmail.com
