Author Spotlight: An Interview with Pinkie Parker

 Today's Author Spotlight is on Pinkie Parker! Please sit back and enjoy the interview, read the blurb for her upcoming release and make sure to comment to let her know you stopped by. :) 

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Welcome Pinkie, can you tell us a little bit about your background?
I was born in the southern United States, and I “inherited” the nickname “Pinkie” from my paternal female relatives (the oldest female child is always “Pinkie”). No one is quite sure how that tradition got started, but I also have cousins named Bootsie and Newtsie, so we are a slightly eclectic bunch.

I had my first short story published in 2004 through a college literary magazine, and Dreamspinner Press published my first m/m short story this year with two more on the way.

When did you start writing m/m romance and why were you drawn to it?
I first started writing m/m romance at age twelve. It began with fanfiction for the Japanese animation Sailor Moon. I had been watching the American dub of the show when a friend showed me the original Japanese version. In the original, two of the main villains in the first season were male lovers. However, the show had been censored for American audiences by the U.S. distribution company, and one of the males had been airbrushed to have breasts and was given a female voice actor in order to make the romance “acceptable.” Watching the original, I realized that the love between the two characters was the same, regardless of gender. As I began writing, I wanted to explore that, and I have never really stopped.

Do you write full time?

 The simple answer is yes, but, sadly, I am not always writing fiction. Usually, I am being crushed beneath archival material for research.

How long did it take you to get published? Was your book/novella accepted on the first submission or did you have to submit to more than one place before it was accepted? 

I have been trying to get published in starts and stops since I was about eighteen years old. After getting a lot of rejections, my college’s literary magazine published a short story of mine in 2004. After that, I gave up the idea of being an author while I was getting my undergraduate degree. In 2011, while doing some thesis research, I began to write again, and, after nine months of submitting to a dozen or more  publishers, Dreamspinner Press published my short story “Curtain Calls” in their Snow on the Roof anthology.

What event(s) in your life helped you to decide to become a writer? 

 I think that I have spent most of my life alone with my own imagination. I do not have any siblings, and I have always been a bit of a loner. Writing my characters having social lives became a lot easier than having one of my own.

Are you the type of writer who edits as they go along or do you finish and then go back to the beginning to start the 'polishing' process?

I do edit as I go, but it slows me down terribly.

Do you write from experience or are you the type who researches a subject until you feel you know it inside and out?

As a cultural historian, my brain will not leave me alone unless I have thoroughly researched everything I want to write about. In my upcoming short story “Joie de Vivre,” I had to research several French locations along with recipes. I even tried cooking a few of the dishes that I wrote about to limited success.

How do you come up with the title of your works? Is it during the writing process, before, after? Do you outline or fly by the seat of your pants when you start a new piece?

I would have to say that most of the titles do come about during the writing process, usually when I am doing an overall outline of the story.

How much of yourself do  you incorporate in your characters? Is it intentional or does it come out subconsciously? Do you ever use people in your life for inspiration?

I do not see much of myself in my characters, but I am told that many of my characters speak like me. I have a tendency to overuse the word “indeed” in my regular speech, and my characters do it as well, so I have to be mindful of that. It is probably more common for me to use people in my life for inspiration. When I spot a quirk or a unique mannerism in my colleagues, sometimes that gets thrown into the mix during my character creation process. In “Joie de Vivre,” the character Henri has a lot of mannerisms that come from a close friend of mine, particularly the weird way he eats bread.

 What do you hope your reader feels or experiences as they read your work?

I hope that my reader feels like that they are truly experiencing a vignette in someone else’s life. I hope the atmosphere is tangible, and the emotions relatable. I try to strive for a sense of genuineness in my work.

Since your first publication, has there been any surprises or funny/interesting stories you'd like to share?

When I visited my family for Christmas, my  grandmother kept asking to see my story that was published in the Snow on the Roof anthology. While there are members of my family that know that I write romance fiction, my grandmother does not, and it made for a very awkward holiday.

What are you currently working on?

I am currently writing a fantasy novel set in medieval England, so I am doing a lot of research into the fourteenth century.

How do you overcome writer's block?

I start working on my academic writing. Imagining all those far off places and time periods I will never get to experience usually recharges the old inspiration batteries.

Do you like to read as well as write? What types of books do you enjoy? Do you ever find yourself incorporating pieces of books you've read into your stories?

I love to read, but I am normally stuck reading economic records from the eighteenth century. For pleasure, I enjoy fantasy novels, such as Jim Butcher’s The Dresden Files or George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire. I think that enjoying those books inspired me to write a fantasy novel myself, and I adore the world-building process.

Where does your inspiration come from?

History inspires me most of all, both for fiction and nonfiction writing. Reading the letters of Katharine of Aragon or even the records of the menagerie at Versailles under Louis XIV gives you glimpses into a different world. You can become attached to people and places in ways that are hard to describe.

Any special projects coming out soon that we should watch for?

“Joie de Vivre” will be featured in Dreamspinner Press’s Closet Capers anthology, coming out on April 22nd, and another short story, “Luck of the Dice” will be published in DPS’s 2012 Daily Dose anthology.

What do you like to do in your spare time?

I spend an inordinate amount of time on the Internet, watching video game reviews. I also love to draw comics and make delicious baked goods.

Please tell everyone where to find you  on the internet.

https://www.facebook.com/PinkieRaeParker

http://pinkieparker.tumblr.com/

http://pinkieraeparker.wordpress.com/

 

My story "Joie de Vivre" will be featured in the upcoming Dreamspinner Press anthology, Closet Capers, which will be released on April 22nd.

Story Blurb:

Aspiring restaurateur Jules hopes to honor his aunt’s memory by placing one of her recipes on his menu. However, while visiting the farmhouse he inherited from her, he discovers her treasured recipe box has disappeared and encounters a host of needed repairs that make staying in the house impossible. When a childhood antagonist, Henri, reappears, can Jules take him up on his offer of help… and maybe more?

Buy Links:

Paperback- http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3770&cPath=55_767

E-book- http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3769&cPath=55_767