Interview with Heidi Cullinan

Books-n-Kisses is pleased to welcome Heidi Cullinan to the blog today.  Heidi can you please share with us a little about yourself

I’m an author of gay romance, I’m an Iowan, a wife and a mother, and I’m very tall. I’ve battled chronic pain and mysterious health ailments over the years, a journey which has led me to many interesting things, at this moment including being a gluten-free vegan eating a stupid amount of kale. I tweet too much and post pictures of my cats and what I’m eating on social media. I can’t remember the names of the characters I create (sometimes losing/changing them within the same book), so you can imagine what I do with real people.

Have you always wanted to be an author?

I think yes, probably before I even understood what that was. Mostly I have always told and played with stories. I scripted Barbies and Weebles until I realized I was holding plastic, and then I started writing things down. I wrote my first novel at twelve and published it in the school anthology. It was a romance, and it was also half of the anthology.

What is your most interesting writing quirk?

I auto-write with my characters. I have no idea if this is creative insanity or a parceling-out of my consciousness or if I’m actually communicating with a character void. All I know is I talk, they answer, and I sort things out. They answer with stuff I didn’t know a lot. LIke in the drafting of Family Man I asked Vinnie what his favorite music was and he said Coltrane. Somehow I had it in my head this was an alternative singer, but I ended up with John Coltrane, the jazz singer, and Vinnie all but hummed. So who knows how it works. I honestly don’t care so long as it continues.

Can you please tell us about your latest book(s)?

My current release is Love Lessons, a new adult gay romance set in a fictional university. It’s standard virgin reforms rake…except there’s a lot of role reversal once we get going, and it doesn’t stay that simple very long. Here’s the official teaser blub: When Kelly arrives at Hope University, he realizes finding his Prince Charming isn’t easy. Worst of all, he’s landed the charming, handsome, gay campus Casanova as a roommate, whose bed might as well be equipped with a revolving door. Walter thinks everyone is better off having as much fun as possible…except his shy, sad little roommate is seriously screwing up his worldview. As Walter sets out to lure Kelly out of his shell, he discovers love is a crash course. To make the grade, he’ll have to overcome his own private fear that love was never meant to last.

My next release is in November, a Christmas romance called Let It Snow. It started because I was seriously in the mood for a snowed-in story (LOVE those) but couldn’t find one I wanted to read. It’s also a little golidlocks and the three bears, but mostly it’s a snuggly snowed-in story with a grumpy bear and a hairdresser who knows how to tame him. The lightning blurb: Frankie’s malfunctioning GPS sent him to Logan, and a blizzard ensures he won’t be leaving anytime soon. Being rescued by three sexy lumberjacks is a nice fantasy, but the biggest of the bears seems cranky…and ready to gobble Frankie right up. Once a high-powered lawyer, Marcus has no interest in a sassy city twink who might as well have stepped directly out of his past. Yet as the snow falls, the deeper they fall in love. Though all they want for Christmas is each other, the gift of forever may be too much to ask.

How did you come with the idea for this story?

I wanted to write about college romance because I’d been reading it and it made me feel good.  I had this idea Love Lessons would be 50-60k, sugar-sweet and simple and take me a few months to write. It took me six, I routed about thirty demons from my college years, and at one point I had a three foot-stack of philosophy books on my reading stand and twice as many on my kindle. So the sweet and simple thing didn’t work out quite so well. The other irony is I intended it to be a series initially, but it became a stand alone…and now it’s a series again.

Kelly and Walter started out as a rake/ingenue dichotomy, a pretty standard trope. It didn’t take long for them to do the character equivalent of, “No, listen to me,” and they ended up tangling themselves, switching roles, and in general making a mess. As soon as I took my expectations and rigid schedule out of the way, though, everything lined right up.

Can you share with us your current work(s) in progress?

I’m writing a second book in the Love Lessons series, Fever Pitch. Walter and Kelly are secondary characters, but mostly this book will be the story of Aaron and Giles, whom I’m confident every fan of Love Lessons will be happy with. Next I’m due to write a second book in the Minnesota Christmas series, which will feature recurring characters from Let It Snow. I’m pretty sure Arthur will hook up with the librarian.

Who is the one author that you would love to meet someday and why?

I’d like to shake Terry Pratchett’s hand. I don’t think I could manage coherent conversation. But I’d like to tell him thank you in person. Then I’d go off quietly and sob until I couldn’t breathe.

What is the best piece of advice you would give to someone that wants to get into writing?

I forget who said it first, but I stand by the adage, “If you can stop writing, you should.” If it’s about money, there are a million easier, more reliable ways to get it. If it’s about fame or attention, ditto. If you imagine yourself not writing and you feel happiness and relief, stop writing immediately. If thinking of writing makes you angry or exhausted, if it’s a drain on your system, at least take a break and let ceasing be an option. Everything else? Everything from loving the challenge to gritty determination to climb this mountain to a sense of soul-sucking darkness if you stop? Come on in. The water’s abysmal, but you don’t have much choice so you might as well.

Can you share with us something off your bucket list.

I’d like to get back to Prague, to rent an apartment and stay there for the summer. Write, cook, soak up the city. There’s nowhere else like it in the world.

What is in your To Read Pile that you are dying to start or upcoming release you can’t wait for?

I seriously require more Vlad from Jeaniene Frost. As soon as possible.

Is there anything else you would like to add? 

Thank you very much for having me!

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Love doesn’t come with a syllabus.

Kelly Davidson has waited what seems like forever to graduate high school and get out of his small-minded, small town. But when he arrives at Hope University, he quickly realizes finding his Prince Charming isn’t so easy. Everyone here is already out. In fact, Kelly could be the only virgin on campus.

Worst of all, he’s landed the charming, handsome, gay campus Casanova as a roommate, whose bed might as well be equipped with a revolving door.

Walter Lucas doesn’t believe in storybook love. Everyone is better off having as much fun as possible with as many people as possible…except his shy, sad little sack of a roommate is seriously screwing up his world view.

As Walter sets out to lure Kelly out of his shell, staying just friends is harder than he anticipated. He discovers love is a crash course in determination. To make the grade, he’ll have to finally show up for class…and overcome his own private fear that love was never meant to last.

Warning: This story contains lingering glances, milder than usual sexual content for this author, and a steamy dance-floor kiss. Story has no dairy or egg content, but may contain almonds.

Expected publication: October 1st 2013 by Samhain

A little about Heidi:

Heidi Cullinan has always loved a good love story, provided it has a happy ending. She enjoys writing across many genres but loves above all to write happy, romantic endings for LGBT characters because there just aren’t enough of those stories out there. When Heidi isn’t writing, she enjoys cooking, reading, knitting, listening to music, and watching television with her husband and ten-year-old daughter. Heidi also volunteers frequently for her state’s LGBT rights group, One Iowa, and is proud to be from the first midwestern state to legalize same-sex marriage. Find out more about Heidi, including her social networks, at www.heidicullinan.com.

Author Links:

Website | Blog | FB Author Page | Twitter | Goodreads | Pinterest

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