A Talk about how Monogamy Sucks!!!

Continuing to introduce you to some of my Lazy Day Publishing peers, George Pappas' Monogamy Sucks introduces us to Jake Dalmas and his sexy adventures.
George has become another great friend that I've made and here he is!




Welcome to the blog George

Tell us a little bit about yourself.

I am a Los Angeles-based novelist, blogger, poet, freelance public relations consultant and former newspaper reporter. Monogamy Sucks is my second novel. I launched the first six chapters of my novel on my blog in summer 2010 after more than 12 years of writing and researching my work. I am a lifelong resident of southern California and have been writing fiction since I was 15.
What can you tell the readers about Monogamy Sucks.
Monogamy Sucks is an erotic fiction novel exploring a Long Beach, Calif. man’s sexy, humorous and intriguing adventures into the swinging lifestyle. The book is told in the form of a fictional diary by the book’s protagonist Jake Dalmas, who is searching for answers and solutions for his frustration and boredom with conventional relationships and monogamy. Along the way, he discovers some of the truth behind the myths and common misconceptions about swingers and the swinging community.
You have said you share some similarities with your main character Jake, tell us about them and why do you decided to write this story.
Well, I went through a similar monogamy and relationship crisis , which led me on my own interesting journey into the swinging lifestyle in the mid to late 1990s. My novel is loosely based on my experiences, but this is also a fictional account and not a memoir. I took liberties in describing a number of real life events and created others to emphasize the humorous aspects of my character Jake Dalmas’ adventures.
Jake says a lot things that I wouldn’t. He comes from the darker side my personality you could say. Jake doesn’t hold back in any way in talking about sex, relationships or monogamy, but he’s not ugly or disrespectful to women in his sentiments.
I recently created a Twitter account for my book’s protagonist -- @jakedalmas -- so I could explore his views on sex, relationships and monogamy in real time without turning off the followers of my author Twitter account. I wanted people to separate my character’s views from my own on Twitter. It has been very useful.



I know you have a background in Public Relations and are also a journalist, did any of those experiences shape this book or any of your previous stories?

One of the more intriguing chapters in my book happened at PR firm that I worked at. LOL
Aside from that, the ability to tell stories in a descriptive but direct manner, which I learned as a journalist, helped a lot in developing my novel’s straightforward style. I am able to effectively cut right to the heart of a scene, which is what you have to do as a features reporter. My public relations background didn’t have an impact on the writing of my novel, but only in the promotion side of it. It has helped immensely having PR experience in knowing how to publicize my novel. In fact, I believe it was my tweeting about my blog and novel, that has led to the Lazy Day opportunity and has brought my book to the attention to a number of potential readers, many who are fellow writers.

Do your friends and family know you are about to be a published author?

Oh yes. My family and friends have known about my book from the beginning even though they didn’t actually see it until I launched the first six chapters on my blog. They were as thrilled as I was when I received the offer from Lazy Day Publishing to publish my book.

Explain your writing process. How long do write for? Do you write in the morning? Evening?

I typically write late in the evening. It is the best time for me to collect my thoughts and focus. But really I am writing all the time. Ideas for chapters, new books, stories will come to me during long walks at the ocean or while I am sitting in a Starbucks.

Who are some of your influences?

Some of my main influences for this novel were Henry Miller (Tropic of Cancer, Tropic of Capricorn), Anais Nin (Henry and June, her diaries), Charles Bukowski (Women, Post Office, all of his poetry), Bret Easton Ellis (American Psycho, Less Than Zero), and Armistead Maupin (Tales of the City). They were fearless in delving into controversial sexual and societal issues in a frank, unsentimental manner exposing truth and hypocrisy alike.


Do you listen to music when you write? Any must haves on the playlist?

Actually, I do listen to lot music on my iPod when I write. My tastes are very eclectic from old blues and jazz, to every kind of rock and roll and modern musical genre you can imagine. No must haves on the playlist, though. I am open to all kinds of music and artists.
In fact, music played a big role in the development of Monogamy Sucks. The unofficial theme song for Monogamy Sucks is Naughty by Nature’s hip-hop classic from the 1990s “OPP.” “Are you down with OPP?” was a title of chapter for a while, but I later changed it. Techno music and references to songs from Prince and Bob Seger also figure in key scenes in my novel. So it is safe to say music inspires all facets of my creative process.

What made you want to be a writer? When did you know that this is what you wanted to do?

I’ve always been interested in telling stories from a young age. When I was younger, I wrote a lot Science Fiction short stories. I wrote my first novel by hand when I was 15. It was a 70-page Science Fiction story called Jake’s War. I always knew I wanted to be a writer in some capacity. I went into journalism and later public relations after college, but I always knew I would return to writing fiction someday.

Why Lazy Day publishing as opposed to another publisher?

Well, Lazy Day Publishing found me. I had no intention of seeking out a traditional publisher for Monogamy Sucks after my bad experience of trying to find an agent and publisher for my first novel. I put the first six chapters of Monogamy Sucks out on my blog and figured eventually I would bring it out myself, but Lazy Day spared me that possibility when they contacted me on my blog with an offer to publish my novel last July.

What was your reaction when you got the “call?”

It was e-mail, not a call, but I was stunned when Staci Helling, co owner of Lazy Day Publishing, informed me that they wanted to publish my manuscript. I was awe stuck and it took a while to sink in. It had taken almost 13 years to reach this point. I still can’t believe it sometimes.

What are some of the things that you are working on now?

I have written another novel and I am currently editing it. This novel has a provocative celebrity angle, but it is not directly about the particular celebrity and it focuses on the romantic, erotic adventures of a man in his late twenties. I can’t reveal much more than that right now.
I am also nine chapters into the sequel of Monogamy Sucks, which picks up six months after where the first novel ends. I am eventually looking to turn Jake Dalmas’ erotic adventures into a trilogy of books.

Any advice that you want to give any author?

Don’t wait to be discovered. Get your work out there on the Internet. Don’t leave your book in your computer or laptop because you’re worried about what others might think. We truly are not the best judge of our own work. Find your own readers, fans and supporters. Be your own agent for change. Also learn the ins and outs of book promotion and explore social marketing. Get on Twitter and build up your Twitter contacts, and followers. Twitter is a great resource for meeting other writers and finding potential readers. Create a Facebook fan page and ask your Facebook friends to be fans. Blog about your book and tweet about it on a regular basis. Write guest blogs on writers’ and publishers’ blogs. Comment on other blogs, too.
This is an amazing time to be an aspiring writer with the rise of social networking and blogs. Use that resource as an opportunity to create your own big break. It has worked for me.

Twitter: @gpwriter @jakedalmas
Blog: http:\\www.monogamysucks.wordpress.com
Publisher: http:\\www.lazydaypub.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Monogamy-Sucks-An-Erotic-Fiction-Novel/171812426178729?v=wall


Thanks George!