An Appetite for Storytelling: The Petit Morts series

Today, I have some fantastic authors talking about their stories.  Here we go!!!!

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Jordan Castillo Price: When I watch DVDs, if I find a show I like, I’ll usually watch it a second time with the commentary playing. As I listen to the writers and directors chatting about the various stages of production their projects go through, it always strikes me how difficult it must be to work on something as collaborative as a film or a TV series—especially a show with multiple writers. I’ve always wondered what it might be like to work with multiple authors—bouncing ideas off one another and sending each other into upward spirals with our contagious enthusiasm.

Since television writing seemed so collaborative by nature, an idea came to me that could only have been influenced by some of the series I grew up with in the 1970’s, like Love Boat and Fantasy Island. You have your characters and settings that stay the same from episode to episode, but then every week, someone new gets to fall in love, or have their fantasy fulfilled. We needed a setting—how about a chocolate shop? Sweets to the Sweet materialized. And we needed a recurring character. Enter Chance—sardonic, mysterious, and deliciously dark.

Then the stories began spilling out, quirky things with strange twists and hints of magic. The novelette form proved to be the perfect vehicle for telling unconventional stories in which we could take plenty of risks and try something different and fresh.

Since Josh Lanyon and I had previously worked together on the Partners in Crime series, he was the first author to hear my pitch about sharing a character as well as a series. Since we unveiled Petit Morts on Valentine’s Day 2010, Petit Morts has swelled to four talented authors and seventeen novelette-length stories.

Josh Lanyon: I love creative collaborations -- short of actually cowriting! -- so when Jordan cooked up the idea of dark and delicious bittersweet short stories set in a shared and slightly supernatural world, I told her to count me in. One of the things I loved best about the series was the creative freedom. We agreed from the start that sex was not mandatory, that even happy endings were not mandatory. Of course most of the stories have ended up both sexy and surprisingly sweet in their resolutions. It's been a real pleasure being part of the series -- Sean and Clare have proved wonderful additions -- and I'm proud that these stories are something unique in m/m fiction.

Sean Kennedy: When I first read and loved the Petit Morts series I never thought I'd be asked to become a part of it.  Getting to play in someone else's sandpit was a lot of fun, although it could be tough at times to make sure your work fits in seamlessly with all the others!  What I loved about PM is that you could take Chance anywhere, and being from Oz and wishing there were more romances set here I loved making Chance work in both of my hometowns - Melbourne and Perth.  I'm not sure why one was set in a funeral parlour and another on a ghost tour, but maybe I've been a little morbid lately?  But what was most exciting was writing my final story - it sees Chance in a variety of locations, from Belfast in Northern Ireland to Auckland, New Zealand.  I got to explore Chance more as a character, rather than the people he affects.  It's sad to let go of him!

Clare London: I'm the new girl, the latest recruit, but I've been a fan of the series from the start. I love the way that Jordan creates individual delights for each story, but with a continuing thread of mystery and mayhem from Chance, everyone's favourite chocolatier. And I'm thrilled to have been welcomed into such great company, so graciously. "London Eye" gave me the opportunity to invite Chance to my home city, mixing his rather wicked, worldly and sexy manipulations with the prim British reserve. I wanted him to meet our characters, suffer our indomitable spirit, and learn some new, rather odd slang! And as an added bonus for me, I also co-wrote "Media Naranja" with Jordan, this time taking Chance and Hunter to sun and sangria in Majorca, where they prove - nay, insist! - that the most timid of people can still be seduced by holiday love and passion.  I've been seduced myself from day one by the Petit Morts series - and couldn't be more excited to be part of it.

The Petit Morts series:

#1: Hue, Tint and Shade by Jordan Castillo Price

Yellow is as yellow does.

http://jcpbooks.com/ebook/hue.html

#2: Slings and Arrows by Josh Lanyon

It's a fine line between "secret admirer" and "stalker".

http://jcpbooks.com/ebook/slings.html

#3: Moolah and Moonshine by Jordan Castillo Price

If you ever go to France, watch out for those ticklers.

http://jcpbooks.com/ebook/moolah.html

#4: Other People's Weddings by Josh Lanyon

Pulling off the perfect wedding can be murder.

http://jcpbooks.com/ebook/other.html

#5: Spanish Fly Guy by Jordan Castillo Price

A new twist on liquid courage.

http://jcpbooks.com/ebook/spanish.html

#6: Pretty Ugly by Jordan Castillo Price

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder...usually.

http://jcpbooks.com/ebook/pretty.html

#7: Sort of Stranger Than Fiction by Josh Lanyon

They always say to write what you know.

http://jcpbooks.com/ebook/sort.html

#8: One Less Stiff at the Funeral by Sean Kennedy

Chocolate makes everything better. Even a eulogy.

http://jcpbooks.com/ebook/one.html

#9: Critic's Choice by Josh Lanyon

It was a dark and stormy night. No, really, it was.

http://jcpbooks.com/ebook/critics.html

#10: Wishink Well by Jordan Castillo Price

You can't get something for nothing.

http://jcpbooks.com/ebook/wishink.html

#11: Happily Neverafterby Jordan Castillo Price

All's well that ends well.

http://jcpbooks.com/ebook/happily.html

#12: London Eye by Clare London

Give credit where credit is due.

http://jcpbooks.com/ebook/london.html

#13: Spirits and Second Chances by Sean Kennedy

The past can come back to haunt you.

http://jcpbooks.com/ebook/spirits.html

#14: Just Desserts by Josh Lanyon

Pick your poison.

http://jcpbooks.com/ebook/just.html

#15: Loose Change by Sean Kennedy

If there's one thing you can always count on, it's change.

http://jcpbooks.com/ebook/loose.html

#16: Media Naranja (Other Half) by Clare London and Jordan Castillo Price

There's someone for everyone.

http://jcpbooks.com/ebook/media.html

#17: Immortal Coil by Jordan Castillo Price

Love is more than skin deep.

http://jcpbooks.com/ebook/immortal.html

Petit Morts Authors

Jordan Castillo Price’s influences include Ouija boards, Return of the Living Dead, “light as a feather, stiff as a board,” and boys in eyeliner. She lives in rural Wisconsin where she wanders through the woods and finds mysterious bones littering the ground. www.jordancastilloprice.com

Josh loves old books, old films, good wine and long walks on the bea--oh. Wrong bio. Josh lives in Los Angeles, the capitol of dark, gritty, and violent crime stories -- exactly the kind of thing Josh does NoT write. www.joshlanyon.com

Sean lives in the most isolated city in the world, and wishes he could get a better cup of coffee there.  He tries to write in between being bothered by two extremely clingy cats and the distraction of the TV set and internet.  His website needs to be updated more regularly but you can find it at http://www.seankennedybooks.com

Clare’s pen name comes from the city where she lives, loves, and writes. She’s devoted to strong, sympathetic and sexy characters in her male/male stories – but, then, aren’t we all? Find Clare at http://www.clarelondon.co.uk and http://clarelondon.livejournal.com

Josh Lanyon - All She Wrote - My Book, My Journey

 Behind each book is a tale of how or why the author wrote their book. It is my great honor to introduce Josh Lanyon as my first guest blogger.  Welcome, Josh! I would love to hear the story behind All She Wrote.

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I’ve only once started writing a book with the conscious understanding that it would be the first in a series. I knew a short way into the first Adrien English novel that here was a character I was going to want to write for a long time, but I began Adrien’s journey believing he’d purchased a one way ticket.

That’s what I love about the creative process. Even when it’s structured, it’s organic and free-flowing in ways you, the creator, can’t anticipate. The effect fiction has on us all is too profound to be dismissed as anything short of magic.

All She Wrote was the first time I made the conscious decision to commit to a series before I’d written a word -- right there that’s a little frightening because there’s absolutely no way of knowing ahead of time whether readers are going to connect to a character or not.

And, in fact, I stacked the odds against poor Kit Holmes by announcing I was writing a new series at the same time I was wrapping up a beloved one. Inevitably, Kit and J.X. were viewed (by some) as replacements for Adrien and Jake -- much as first born toddlers skeptically eye Mommy’s swelling belly and the monster inside.

Worse, in order to distance the second series from the first, I made it…er, funny. I don’t mean “funny” in the sense of a few amusing lines or witty dialog, I mean comical and slightly unrealistic situations. I mean a balance of slapstick, satire, and whimsy that would guarantee skimming a number of potential readers right off the top. Finding people who share your sense of humor isn’t easy. There’s nothing trickier than writing comedy. Any halfway competent writer can make readers cry. Getting them to laugh? When they’re not in the mood?

But this was the book -- the series -- I wanted to write.

I wanted to focus first and foremost on the romantic relationship and I wanted to write from the viewpoint of a character different from all the characters I’d previously written. Christopher -- Kit -- Holmes is slightly older than most of my protags. He doesn’t have the advantages of Adrien’s wealth, privilege, and beauty. He’s attractive enough but he’s turning forty and that’s a vulnerable age for a guy. He’s talented -- even gifted -- but his first successes are behind him now and he’s suffered a number of serious setbacks both professionally and personally. He’s at a point of great change -- a turning point. I think we all reach this point in our lives, the point where we’ve met a lot of those first goals -- and had to accept that some of our dreams are just not going to happen -- and we wonder what’s next? Where do we go from here? Do we stumble along following the same deep carved ruts in the road or do we take off into the woods?

Left to his own devices, Kit would stick to the safety of the road, but fate has a way of delivering what we most need in the shape of what we least want. So Kit Holmes, a mystery writer, finds himself suddenly involved in real life murders; and newly dumped and emotionally raw, he keeps crossing paths with J.X. Moriarity, a sexy, younger ex-lover who sees him with painful clarity -- and cares for him anyway.

All She Wrote is the second book in the Holmes & Moriarity series. If the series follows the traditional pattern, it won’t really break out until books 3 -5 and it will be a good five years after Somebody Killed His Editor before anyone knows if Holmes & Moriarity really has “legs,” whether it’s destined to become one of those that lives forever on a reader’s bookshelf. Meanwhile I have to suffer through reviews of first reads, book by book, in a way I didn’t with the Adrien series (which was nearly complete by the time most readers discovered it).

It’s weird because this time around readers and I are both discovering the series together, and frankly, I have to struggle not to be unduly influenced. Reader response is one of the best parts of writing, but the temptation to write to that can be almost overwhelming. Fortunately I have a very clear vision of where I’m headed and the best way to get there. I just hope readers will stay the course -- and enjoy the journey as much as I do.

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A whole new journey begins with this series--I love the way you view this as a journey not only for you but the readers also. Thanks so much stopping by and sharing with all of us the path you walked to create this book.

Josh can be found hanging out at his website, www.joshlanyon.com
All She Wrote is available here.