Another Interview with Richard Marshall

ManInWhiteTshirt

(c) istockphoto.com, john shepherd, 2009

I met Richard at his townhouse this time around. It was late at night by the time we both found a few minutes to talk that day. He opened the door and greeted me with a smile and a nod. He was in faded jeans, a plain white T-shirt, and equally white athletic socks with no shoes. He looked good doing the casual thing.

He leaned against the open door, and I could tell he was happy to see me, not the least bit nervous of what I might ask. He’d given this interview more consideration than the last one. Now he had me all figured out.

Or so he thought.

As I made my way inside, I mentally tossed out the questions I’d prepared, trying to come up with new ones that he wouldn’t have anticipated.

I sat in a chair in the living room, and he chose the couch across from me. I crossed my legs and opened my notepad, clicked my pen so I was ready. He rested one ankle on the opposite knee, his left arm draped over the back of the open space on the couch beside him. He looked at home in that pose. Or maybe it was the room we were in. Maybe it was just him and where he was in his life.

Or maybe I was wrong about all that.

The living room wasn’t as neat as I’d expected based on my first visit to the same house. Although, nothing much was out of order. The only signs of disarray were a haphazard stack of magazines on the coffee table between us and loose office papers on the far end of the couch.

The room just seemed to project a sense of unease, like his carefully ordered life had been altered slightly by something—or someone.

I gave the papers on the couch a quick glance, trying not to let him see my attempt at determining if the unexpected clutter was his, Matthew’s, or Luke’s.

“You’re awfully quiet this time,” he said. “Is everything okay?”

I was taken aback by his words, and even more by the concern in his voice.

“I’m fine.”

I hadn’t expected him to give me much thought. I always figured he spent our time together thinking about the reason I was there—to learn more about him and the men in his life.

I should’ve known better. This was Richard.

I was touched that he considered me at all, and even more that he genuinely cared if I was okay.

His relaxed demeanor had slipped away. He was intensely scrutinizing me. “Are you a happy person, Sloan?”

I watched him in return. I wanted to remind him he wasn’t writing a book about me, but I didn’t want to give him any ideas. “I just get focused when I’m writing.” I probably came across as too serious, too internally preoccupied. “Yes, I’m happy. More than I’ve ever been. You?”

“Ditto.”

“Really?”

The surprised, almost angered look that flashed across his face wasn’t something I’d seen from him before. He unfolded his leg, leaned forward, elbows on his knees as he kept those serious green eyes focused on me. The empty space between us seemed to shrink in an instant, and he hadn’t left the couch.

“No matter what is going on with me or my business, I have them. That’s what matters to me. That’s all I need to be happy.” He’d pointed toward the stairs in the hall on the word them.

“Just because you want something to be true doesn’t—”

“Watch it…”

The tone of his voice convinced me to move on.

I indicated the staircase with a tilt of my head. “Are they in bed?”

“Yes.”

“And you’re stuck here talking to me?”

He nodded, then eased back against the couch again, his voice returning to the more casual tone he’d started our conversation with. “You like to do that sometimes, try to throw me off my usual routine, shake me up a bit.”

Apparently he did have me all figured out. He really needed to stop giving me that much thought.

I said, “You know, I was thinking about Luke the other day.”

“Yeah?” He glanced into the hall, and a grin hit his lips. “I do that a lot too.”

That I do know about you.”

We both laughed.

“Is he happy?” I asked when the laughter died off.

“Luke? Yeah.”

I could hear the hesitation in that last word.

When I didn’t ask anything more, he looked my way and added, “He has a few things to work out.”

“About his dad?”

He didn’t say anything to that. Instead he asked, “Is that why you were thinking about him? Wondering if he got his happy ending?”

“Actually, no. I was thinking about how very different the two of you are. Despite how closed off he was, Luke just jumped into my skin and started typing, telling his story, the words flowing as if he’d been dying to get them out, whether he wanted to admit that in the beginning or not. But you… You’re a conundrum. You rely on communication like it’s the air you breathe, yet you hold a lot inside. You have no trouble telling me the details of events. Sometimes you even share what you’re feeling, and then sometimes you don’t. Why is that?”

He hesitated again. Or maybe he was trying to find the right words. “What I’m feeling, my emotions… Those are things people will use against me if given the chance?”

“What people? Luke and Matthew?”

“No!”

“Me?”

He laughed again at that. “If it were just you, I might be compelled to share more, but you’ll just end up telling everyone else.”

“That’s what a writer does.”

He gave an amused snort and nodded. “Touché.”

“So I’ve got most of your story figured out, but there are just a couple of holes I need to fill in.”

“And you would like me to make that easier for you?”

“I would, yes.”

“All right.” He was back to his signature knowing grin that slightly curled the corners of his lips. His arm was lounging over the top of the couch again. “You went into this thinking it would be Luke who’d pushed me to see things more clearly. You forget that ultimately change comes from within. That certain spark, that characteristic that I need in order to overcome my greatest conflicts, is already a part of me. I just have to push aside my own obstacles—the ones I’ve been pretending don’t exist.” He stopped, and I knew he wouldn’t admit what those obstacles were. Not out loud. Not yet.

Then he spoke again. “You also forget how smart Matthew is about these things. He knows what he wants now, and in the end, he won’t settle for less.”

“The end of this book or the next?”

He raised an eyebrow. “Now that’s a good question for the writer.”

And with those words, I knew that was all I was going to get from him right then. We’d get a chance to talk more when we got back to working on the story.

As we said our good-byes, I was left pondering what exactly it was that Matthew wanted.

*Richard is a character in MORE and MORE THAN MOST (the in-progress sequel to MORE). You can read the first interview with Richard on my website.

 

Short Interview with Richard Marshall from MORE

I shared this on my Yahoo group a few weeks ago, but thought I’d post here as well.

I’m going to be writing More book 2 very soon. Since this one will be written in Richard Marshall’s point of view, I decided to sit down with him and ask a few questions, take the time to hear things from his perspective. Here’s how our talk went…

I sat across from Richard in the small coffee shop. He was in casual slacks and a dress shirt, but he carried himself like he was in a suit and tie. He gave the waitress a smile as she brought out our coffees, and then after she left our table, he leaned back and watched me. I got the feeling I was being interviewed as much as I was planning to interview him, only he didn’t ask me a single question.

“Thanks for agreeing to do this,” I said.

“You’re the one running the show.” He gave me that knowing smirk I’d come to expect from him.

“Okay, first question. What drew you to Luke that first night?”

“His eyes. He was hiding a lot behind a cool I’m-not-taking-anything-seriously facade, but his eyes gave away the truth. Something about that mask he wore and those eyes told me there was a lot of passion hidden behind the nonchalant exterior. I wanted to see what he’d be like once we closed the bedroom door.”

“You’re a pretty take-charge, protective kind of guy. Is there anything you wouldn’t do for your men?”

“Sure. I wouldn’t…well, I can’t think of anything off the top of my head. I guess kill someone, but that’s a boring answer. I’d be lying anyway. I would do that to protect them. To save their lives, I’d do just about anything. But I’m guessing you already knew that, that’s why you asked. To get me to admit that in the right—or wrong—situation, I’d go too far. You’re one sneaky author.”

I laughed. It was fun pushing his buttons, seeing if he could figure out my motives. “Do you worry about being in a threesome? If you guys can really keep this going long-term?”

“No.”

“Do you wonder what people think about you guys together?”

“No.”

“Do you have any doubts about your age difference with Matthew?”

“No.”

I kept my gaze locked on him.

He stared back at me. Slowly, he took a sip of his coffee, set the mug down, and said, “He’s still finding his way, and I know I can help him in that, help him reach the goals he sets for himself, help him get everything he wants out of life. That’s not a bad thing.”

“No, it’s not, but are you sure you can help him get everything he wants?”

“You’re thinking of something I haven’t?”

“Maybe.”

He considered me. “What will it take to get you to tell me?”

“Hey, it’s about you and him. You probably already know, deep down. One more question.”

He gave a sharp nod, threw me that smirk again, like he just knew I’d have a tough time keeping it to one question. “Go ahead. Last one, and then I have to take off.” He seemed reluctant to admit that.

“You’re almost too perfect at times. There has to be something about you that you haven’t shared with your men yet.”

“That’s not a question.”

“Can you think of something you haven’t wanted to tell them?”

“Yes.” He stood, threw down enough cash to cover our coffees and a generous tip, and said, “I’m sorry that I have to go. I liked talking with you more than I expected.”

“Don’t worry. We’ll be talking again.”

He laughed at that. “Yeah, I guess we will.”

This interview was also posted on my website’s Behind the Story page for MORE.

 

Ask Sloan Day & An Interview With Richard from MORE

Today (September 1st) is another ASK SLOAN Day on my Yahoo group. Stop by to see what questions readers are asking or to post your own question. You can also send your questions anonymously via email, and I’ll post it along with my answer to the group.

I’ll also be featuring a short interview with Richard Marshall from MORE. I’m gearing up to start writing book 2, which will be in Richard’s point of view, and it was fun to sit down with him and ask a few questions. I hope you can stop by and check it out.

All posts are archived at the group so if you’re reading this after Saturday, you can still join to see what I’ve shared.

Sign up below or via my Yahoo page.

MORE Now Available in Print and a Deleted Scene

I’m thrilled to share that MORE is now available for the first time in print. It’s the same story as the e-book version with a few minor wording corrections/tweaks. The trade paper is available at Amazon, Amazon UK and CreateSpace. It may take several weeks for it to appear in any other bookstores.

To celebrate the release, I’ve updated my website with a deleted scene that never made it into the final manuscript. This is the original scene for what happened when Luke came home early after meeting with his dad for the first time, then Richard arrived, having left his office early. Some of it may sound familiar as a few descriptions and Luke’s internal realizations were eventually merged into the next scene or moved elsewhere. I think this part of the story turned out much better without this sex scene, but I was still sad to hit the delete key. I’m glad I can share it with everyone now.

I hope you enjoy visiting with Luke, Matthew, and Richard.

Cover for Print Edition of MORE

I’m thrilled to share that the trade paperback edition of MORE is almost here. Check out the cover art…

After getting the print rights back from my publisher and doing a bit of research, I decided to go the self-publishing route. I don’t have a definite release date yet as I need to review the final proof before it can go live. It should be available for purchase in the next few weeks. Keep an eye on my site for more details.