Author Interview: LORI L. LAKE

Author Interview by A. J. Llewellyn

1. Hi Lori, welcome to the Dark Divas den! First of all I have to day how jealous I am that you got to do a book tour with Victor J. Banis…you even got to touch him. You…you hugged him! Was it as wonderful as it looked?

~Victor is a delightful man – full of love and light and humor. We had so much fun that night in Madison. I just wish we’d had more time. I’m hoping to meet up with him again at another event in the near future. From the moment we first “met” online, we hit it off. I’m not even sure why we clicked so readily, but perhaps it’s because he’s a kind soul who is open to anyone trying to flex creative muscles. I’ve had the honor of editing two of his projects, Come This Way and Angel Land, and he was a joy to work with.. That latter novel is brilliant. He *so* deserves awards for that. I hope he gets shortlisted for a Lammy.

2. I read and reviewed Angel Land and loved it. He is really amazing. Now back to you…your sixth book Snow Moon Rising is a consistent seller for you and has also won some significant awards: 2007 Ann Bannon Popular Choice Award Winner, the 2007 Golden Crown Literary Award Winner - Best General/Dramatic Fiction, the 2007 Alice B. Readers Award Winner, and the 2007 Lesbian Fiction Readers Choice Award Winner. How do you top this?

~Good question. I’m not sure that I’ll ever be able to top the experience of walking up to the podium in a giant banquet hall to receive the Ann Bannon Award from Ann Bannon herself! I am so very content about the accolades I’ve received. I feel very blessed.

3. Content? Man, I’d be delirious. Did you find support from other authors…or a lot of jealousy?

~I’ve found only support. I’ve always spent quite a bit of time serving as a resource for other writers and doing whatever I can to help writers network. Other authors seem to recognize that, and no one has ever begrudged me anything. People have seemed quite happy for me and celebrated with me like crazy.

4. That is heartening to hear! Lori, I really like your “Gun” books. Dez and Jaylynn are a dazzling duo and very believable characters. How much research did you in the area of police enforcement for this series?

~Thanks! I did a lot of research and continue to expand my knowledge base about all things related to police, firearms, and crime. For the “Gun” books, I had cop beta-readers. I spent a lot of time with women officers and went on several ride-alongs with both male and female cops. I’ve participated in a Citizen’s Police Academy and also worked hard to understand firearms and become a decent marksman. I even wrote an extensive, 3-part series for writers about guns at retired police officer Lee Lofland’s website:
Part I - Guns, Guns, Guns
Part II - Outfitting Your Sleuth(s)
Part III - Outfitting Your Crooks - and Yourself

5. What surprised you most about the ride-alongs? I ask this because I did one in San Matteo County, CA and was surprised this tiny force has five cops who are a bit like the blokes out of Mayberry. However these guys deal with consistent cases of robbery, shootings…stuff I wouldn’t associate with small town life. I was also surprised in one day we dealt with three different guys recently released from prison who were out doing stupid stuff again.
What about you? How was your experience?

~I’ve ridden along with cops from the big city (Saint Paul, MN and Ann Arbor, MI) and also with a woman officer in a Minnesota town of 20,000 which had only about two dozen officers. For a couple of years I also updated the website for the Minnesota Association of Women Police, so I was able to tap a lot of information there. I think what surprised me the most about every ride-along was the level of professionalism and knowledge that the officers possessed.
Each had his or her own personality, but they really knew their jobs, the area, and a lot of the people we ran into. Cops practice a lot more restraint than anyone ever gives them credit for. After my experiences with them on traffic stops and in highly charged confrontations, I really respect the fact that there are, statistically, not very many shootings by police after all. They get into some highly stressful circumstances with tense and fearful people, many of whom lack brains, and they defuse those situations with real skill. I don’t think people realize how hard a police officer’s job can be.

6. Absolutely! Can we look forward to more books coming out in the "Gun" series?

~Yes, I hope so. I have an entire contemporary mystery series in mind for Dez to investigate. I’ve got about 9,000 words written on a 4th as-yet-unnamed "Gun" book. I just have to get back to it and focus.

7. I know you have some stories in two upcoming anthologies…can you tell us a little about these and what else are you cooking up there in Minneapolis?

~The amazing Earl Kemp, who first published all those pulp novels in the early days of gay fiction, posted a memoir piece I wrote (http://efanzines.com/EK/eI42/#reason) at his e-zine. And I also have a short story called Den of Iniquity coming out in a print publication from Nodin Press. I just got word about that recently, so I’m not sure about the details yet or the name of the anthology. But a bunch of Minnesota crime fiction writers will be featured.

Also, I’m teaching some classes here pretty quick:
Novel Writing from Start to Finish
True Colors Bookstore (formerly Amazon Feminist Books)
Thursdays - 8 Meetings: 6-8:00PM
April 9 - May 28

Novel Writing from Start to Finish
The Loft Literary Center
Wednesdays - 8 Meetings: 6-8:00PM
June 17 - Aug 12 (no class July 1)

Writing "Queer" Fiction
The Loft Literary Center
Saturdays - 6 Meetings: 1PM-4PM
July 11 - Aug 15

I love to teach! And I welcome anyone who can get to the Twin Cities area.

7. You have some famous kin. You are fifth cousins of Orville and Wilbur Wright, but is it true you hate to fly?

~Oh, yeah. It’s so incredibly uncomfortable and claustrophobic. I hate those lousy tin cans. The train is more comfortable. When I flew in January, the man ahead of me put his seat back, and I’m not kidding when I say I could have licked the bald spot on the top of his head. Flying is just awful.

8. That has happened to me…it’s icky…although I kinda get a kick out of you licking the guy’s head…ahem…I read a beautiful quote on your website: "That's what makes [writing] so painful. Eventually at some point you're cornered and you have to deal with all of those monsters you've awakened. So I always feel like with every book, I come out different on the other side. Of course, that's also how you make sausage, so you can draw your own conclusions." ~Libba Bray, American Young Adult author of Rebel Angels, The Sweet Far Thing, and A Great and Terrible Beauty.
It is so strange – well maybe not that strange – that I read this quote on a day when I had two books being released the same day and I felt as if pieces of my soul left me.
Do you ever feel this way about your work?

~Yes, I have. Not only do many writers deal with the monsters they awaken, but also we eventually must let go of the work and allow the rest of the world see it – even if we aren’t as ready as we’d like. I remember when I was working on edits and revisions for Snow Moon Rising, and my mom was dying. I’d flown out to Oregon twice in early 2006 to care for her, and then when I was working madly on the final revisions, she fell ill again. She died in September ’06, and the night before I flew off to her funeral, I stayed up until 4AM proofing the final version of the novel before it went to the printer. To this day, I still think I could have created a tighter, better book, but I didn’t have the time or the energy.


9. I am so sorry for your loss. I am really awed that you managed to turn your book out. Don’t you think though, seriously, we could go back and do ‘fixes’ on every book we write?

Every book poses problems, whether it’s with the actual story or with the living of our personal lives. They never turn out perfect. I’ve been lucky and have had the opportunity to do second editions on Ricochet in Time, Gun Shy, and Under The Gub, and while I wasn’t able to do full-scale edits, I did clean up typos and some awkward phrasing. Congratulations on your two books on one day – I hope you’ve recovered! By the way, you have a terrific website. I was so impressed with all the color and photos. You get around, too!

10. Lori, thank you. No wonder Victor loves you. May I ask a personal question? You recently ended a long relationship after 27 years, according to your website. First of all, may I say how sorry I am and secondly can I ask if this huge change in your life has impacted your writing?

~Thank you for your kind comment, AJ. I was in a committed, secure relationship for so long that this change really threw me for a loop in every way. I haven’t been able to write since before Thanksgiving. I haven’t been able to read either. Until just recently I’ve been so busy dealing with relocating and settling in and trying to get accustomed to a new home, a new town, a new everything that I’ve had no energy for anything else but grief. But I managed to get my office organized last weekend so that I can find things, and after four months I’m feeling like I’m bouncing back. So I’m finally managing to focus on reading and writing again.

11. Good for you, Lori. It is an achievement…believe me, I know. So, can you tell me a little about your writing routine – when you are in the groove?

~I’ve never had a very reliable routine. I’ve always had a lot of activities to squeeze in, including those that bring in revenue. Unfortunately, writing royalties are never enough to live on, so I have many other ways to earn my coin of the realm. When I’m immersed in a first draft, I tend to get up in the morning, work as long as I can, and try to plow through the whole book in three to four months. But once that draft is written, the subsequent revisions and edits I always have to squeeze in between a lot of other things: teaching, editing, working various part-time jobs and projects, taking care of my partner and the house, etc. Now that I’m single, I’m hoping to do a much better job with a regular routine.


12. Every writer I know hates edits. Are you one of them? (laughing)

~No, I don’t really *hate* editing . . . it just takes so long! And at that point, all the joy of discovery is gone from the process because the first draft is plotted and the story is pretty much told so it’s not as much fun. I’ve gotten a lot better about both editing and revising. I’ve learned quite a bit, and that has helped me be able to accept suggestions and edit advice. It’s an uncomfortable and hard process, but so very necessary. I always tell my students that if you aren’t prepared to grow a thick skin and take in diverse opinions on your work, you shouldn’t publish. It’s a long, hard process to go through, and you have to be able to assimilate quite a bit of information and parse out what’s useful and what isn’t.

13. Quick, I just made you Ruler of the World for 10 minutes. What do you do with your time?

~Only ten minutes? Hmm… I’m afraid that anything I’d do in those 600 seconds would be very quickly reversed after my ruling time ran out. I can’t lie though – maybe what I’d do is make sure my next several books would sell!


What a fantastic answer, Lori. On behalf of Dark Diva Reviews, I’d like to thank Lori L. Lake for stopping by today. I could ask Lori questions all day. To learn more about this talented author, please visit her links:

Author Website: http://www.lorillake.com/

Teaching Website: http://www.lorillake.com/loft/

Conference Where Lori Will Lead Workshops this Summer: http://www.goldencrown.org/site/index.php/conference-conference/schedule

Articles Lori has Written: http://www.lorillake.com/articles.html

Publishing Leads for Aspiring Writers: http://www.lorillake.com/glbt_pub.html

AUTHOR INTERVIEW: VICTOR J. BANIS Pt. 2

Victor J. Banis is a Writer - Author Interview by A.J. Llewellyn

Photo: Victor J. Banis with author Lori L. Lake at their recent book signing

1. Where do you stand on this growing dissent from some gay authors about women writing gay erotic fiction? If it was okay for men to write as women, is it okay for women to write as men? And can you tell the difference personally in the well-written stories?

Oh, that's such a complex subject, I know there's a lot of argument back and forth. Personally, I don't give a hoot about the gender of the author, I'm interested in the quality of the writing. Brokeback Mountain gets mentioned a lot, the short story, and it was written by a woman, and, frankly, there are damn few men who could write anything that real and true to the gay experience. I knew those guys, in my own life.
When I read it, I was totally shattered, all I could do was sit with my mouth hanging open. Okay, we can't always write at that exalted level, I know I can't, but the truth is, there are lots of very good women writers in the field today and, yes, some lousy ones, and the same with the men. So, for me, again, it's how well you do the job. But, to answer the other part of the story, yes, I can generally tell the difference, as to whether something was written by a man or a woman, but not always. But, if the writing is right, I never even think of that.

2. You are such a prolific, multi-awarded author in so many genres with over 150 books published, is it fair to ask you which genre you prefer?

The best answer to that is I love whatever I'm working on at the moment. I truly loved writing those romantic suspense novels in the 70s, but, honestly, I never wanted to be limited to any one genre. Mostly, an idea for a story or a book comes to me, and the genre is set, and I just go ahead and write it. And I'm never altogether comfortable with the labels, either. My short story, If Love Were All (it's in MLR's Hard Working Men anthology) is an example.
To me, it's about two damaged people trying to make a connection, and that's kind of universal, isn't it? But, the two happen to be guys, so it is considered a gay story—meaning, there are lots of folks who won't read it, who might enjoy it and get something out of it, and I think that's unfortunate. And, sometimes something comes along that I haven't done before, and then I ask myself, why not, and I sit down and write it.
I'm still trying to stretch myself as a writer.
When the idea for Lola Dances (MLR again) I thought, well, gee, that's a great idea, but I'm not the one to write it. I mean, it's about a cross dresser, and except for one amusing story (you'll have to read my memoirs to find it) I've never been in a dress – although, really, I had great legs. But, the idea wouldn't go away, and finally I said, Oh, Victor, don’t' be a wuss, it's just a novel, and I wrote it, and I think it's very good, and lots of folks have said so as well. And, I ended up loving my little Lola, as I love all my characters, all of whom come to live with me for a while, and end up staying forever.
Now, here is something interesting, I'll leave it up to you to think what it means: in all those years and with all that writing, I have never been given a single award. I was nominated for a Silver Spur once, which I kind of thought might have had something to do with some fantasies I wrote about Roy Rogers, and just this last year, I was actually short-listed for a Goldie; otherwise, not even close.
The NYC pink Mafia has always preferred to pretend that I don't exist, I guess because of the colorful paperback background. But, readers still like me, I get fan mail all the time, from around the world, in fact – just recently New Zealand, where it seems I'm a big hit. And those are the people I write for, so as long as I make them happy, I'm happy.

3. Wait, you didn’t win any awards? Are you sure? I think I am in shock. But um…new Zealanders love you? Aussies do too! I’m Australian! And your work makes ME happy! So let me ask you. If you could pick ONE book that wins an award, which one would it be and why?

Holey Moley, one book? I loved Longhorns, and I loved Lola Dances, and wait till you read Angel Land…no, I can't do it. They're like my children. It's the characters in the books I love. I mean, did you read Longhorns, I was totally in love with Buck, and Les too, and Red – oh, hell's belles, all those cowboys. Same with little Terry in Lola, he was so vulnerable and sweet; and, Harvey and Aram, that's Angel Land. Oh, and Mar, in Kenny's Back, and… well, you see my problem.
I could go on forever. Plus, not to mention Jackie, and if I get him sore at me, think of what trouble I'd be in. No, I'm going to take a pass on this question.

4. I know you’ve said that gay stories are not the only ones you’ve written but that in the last few years, you’ve made a return to your roots. With some of your early titles being re-released, how will the gay novels of the current period differ from the earlier ones?

Not much, I think. I like to think I've gotten better at it, with all that practice. But, if you read my Longhorns, which I wrote in 2007, and then read Kenny's Back, which I wrote in the 60s and which I thought was one of the best things I did then, I think you'd find them pretty akin.
Well, I venture into different realms: Lola, as I said, was about a cross dresser, and Longhorns the macho gay-male fantasy cowboys, and the upcoming Deadly Nightshade is a cop/partners story, which I hadn't done before, and a departure for me because I'm really not a detective story kind of writer; which is to say, when those things are done well, it's a lot about the complicated plot structure, and that's not my strong suit; I'm more about character and style. Really, I'm a storyteller more than a novelist.

The main difference in what I do today is, I think, that most of it I do now on automatic pilot. When I sit down to write, the inner writer, the muse, my subconscious, whatever you want to call it, takes over, and my job is just keeping me out of the way. I do very little thinking about the mechanics. But that's the privilege you get for hanging around so long (I suspect some think, too long).

5. You’re fond of saying “Victor J. Banis is a writer.” So can you tell me something about your writing routine? Since your characters come up and tell you their stories, I am assuming they don’t keep office hours. Do they arrive at inopportune times, say like in the middle of a hot date?

Hot date? Gosh, I had to think about that. Yes, now I remember those. You take hold of this big hard thing, and you throw it…oh, wait, that's bowling. I get things confused.
Because in my early career, I treated writing as a job, I trained myself from the beginning to writing discipline. I write every morning, after coffee and the crossword puzzle. In the old days, it was all day. Now, I'm a little easier on myself, but it's still seven days a week, including Christmas and New Years. A day when I don't write is like a day when you forget to brush your teeth, you just don't feel right the whole day.

6. Do you read as much as you appear to? Which authors do you like the most?

Honey, I don't do anything as much as I used to. I read a lot, some of it for pleasure and some for work. I'm working with my friend Nowell Briscoe right now on a zany kind of would be crime novel and I am re-reading a lot of Carl Hiaasen's novels, dissecting them, really, to see how he makes it work, the machinery of it, if you will. But, that kind of reading is work rather than pleasure. I like some of our glbt writers today – I'm going to get in trouble mentioning some and forgetting others (my memory never was what it used to be), but Dorien Grey and Rick Reed and Lori Lake pop into my mind immediately, and Neil Plakcy, and Ruth Sims.
William Maltese is a friend who goes nearly all the way back with me, and he's terrific, and I read a manuscript recently by Alan Chin, whose first novel, Island Song, has just been published, and I'm really looking forward to reading that, he is so marvelously talented. And I know I've neglected to mention some deserving names.
There are so many very talented writers around these days, and it breaks my heart that they have such a rough row to hoe. So, I try to do what I can to encourage them, which isn't much, and I so very much wish it were more. I've said often, anyone could name a hundred or so writers who write better than I; but only a few who worked harder or longer to master their craft; a mere handful who are more supportive of other writers; and none, I am firmly convinced, more committed to gay and lesbian fiction.
And, you know, it's a funny thing, and I don't mean this to sound patronizing, but I have this sense that they are all in a way my protégés. It ain't a bad feeling. I'm well along in years, and it is gratifying to be able to look back and know that you made a difference, even a small one. Trust me, you don't want to get to this stage and look over your shoulder and see nothing behind you but a trail of wasted moments. Make some of them count, at least. You'll be in much better shape when you finally face that Heavenly tribunal (and, Lord knows, I'm going to have a hard enough time of it; I need all the help I can get. There's that incident with the dress, and the time at Camp Pendleton, and that business with the priest and the snail and…oh well, never mind, I may use that one in a book)

7. What ever happened to Aday and Ortega?

That question has come up before, and I'm embarrassed to confess I don't really know. I'll have to figure how to find out. I believe they did go to prison, but I doubt that they served the 25 years.
Wait, wait, wait, you didn't ask the one thing everybody always asks me, which is what advice I have to offer young writers.

8. I never ask that question precisely because everybody asks you that question. I’m trying to make you remember me. To add to your list of exciting new authors! So, I wasn’t going to ask you The Question, but anything that keeps me near you a moment longer, Victor J, it’s groovy with me. Go on, I’m keen to hear it. I bet it’s brief and involves bowling balls, right?

Okay, are you sitting down? Want to get a cup of coffee. Here it is, big fanfare: Have fun!
That's it. Have fun. I know it doesn't sound like much, but, hey, if it's just going to be work for you, you might as well be selling shoes at Macy's. For me, it's the most fun of anything I can think of, the ultimate high. I have said repeatedly, I am constantly drunk on the magic. If that ever wears off…but it hasn't yet. It's all still just as fresh and as wonderful to me as it was at the beginning. There is still no thrill as great as opening that package from a publisher and holding a real live copy of my book in my hands.
I hope every writer shares that kind of thrill. It makes all the rest, and there's a lot of "rest," worthwhile.
Thanks for having me. I'm still not sure about that bowling thing.

10. I liked the bowling thing, Victor J. I feel like I brought out the sexy beast in you….grrr. Which leads me to my final question: You play a lot of personal details very close to the chest such as where you live etc. even on your official site, but I did notice on your MySpace page that you are single. Oh, yes, AJ did the happy dance when he read that! So, the question is, Victor J. Banis, will you marry me?

Wait, shouldn't there be champagne flowing, and soft music? You're proposing to me on top of a bowling ball? This is Aussie romance? You're just lucky I'm a crotchety old bachelor, what if I got reckless and took you up on that? Next I suppose you'll want your towel back. I'm not going to launder it, I swear it.


On Behalf of the Dark Divas, I’d like to thank Victor J. Banis for stopping by today…no Victor J. About the towel? It’s embarrassing. Please...let’s keep it our little secret.

To learn more about Victor J. Banis, please check out this link:
http:www/vjbanis.com