Wednesday 1 February 2012

Pimping Z Allora...

 I am going to start off by saying I absolutely love this person - Z has turned into a very good friend of mine, & I have Kris Jacen to thank. I first became a stalk... I mean fan of Z when Kris posted and excerpt for The Dark Angels: With Wings, and then I happen to be lucky enough to win a copy of that very book and I fell in love with every character... especially Robin (for some reason his shyness called to me). So without further delay here is my friend Z Allora.

Book Two

Tell us how this particular story came about? Was there a particular instant when it all just fell into place and you thought that is my next story? 
The Dark Angels: Tied Together is the second book in The Dark Angels series. I usually write in a series format because if I am writing about a character I find out his whole story and then I just want to share it. As I was writing The Dark Angels: With Wings, The Dark Angels: Tied Together was being written…as well as parts of the third book in that series (The Dark Angels: Finally Fallen). 
How long have you been writing? 
For as long as I can remember I have always written. I started publishing because I believe gay romance helps promote equality and some of my characters demanded it. 
How do you choose which genre and flavour your story line will take, and what influences your choice? 
I love romance, happily ever afters and sex. Too many times life doesn’t allow happy endings, so I write them. Currently, my characters are gay, bi-sexual, straight but open-minded and a couple of them are transgendered so you could say they picked the genre: erotic gay romance. 
What is your specific writing style, if any? 
Yaoi-style. I write a bit over the top. My characters are larger than life. I allow them to feel their emotions as strongly as they make me feel them. As a reader, I want to get swept away by a story so as a writer I just follow my characters wherever they wish to go…and they all seem to go Yaoi.
Book One
Is there anything you find particularly challenging about bringing a story to life? 
Sometimes, my characters are doing or saying things contrary to reason and it drives me nuts. A good example of this would be Darius Stone in The Dark Angels: With Wings, he made me (and many readers) crazy because he really struggled so hard by refusing to accept a label for his sexual orientation. But he needed his circular thinking to finally follow where love was leading him. Thankfully, by the second book he is happily exploring parts of himself he never did so before.
 Who is your favourite character you've written to date and why? 
I love them all. It’s like asking a parent who is their favourite child. Robin (The Dark Angels: Tied Together) is just too sweet and his conflicting desires make him infinitely appealing to me. But the one character that is really breaking my heart right now is Tai-hua Zhehao from my Made In China series (not yet uncontract). His nephew is the main love interest in the second book of that series and his story involves being separated from the man he loves for twenty years. He plagued me with a reunion scene. Then followed that by a super hot sex scene…Anyway, I love them all!
Which character in your body of works was the hardest to write? 
Boon-nam (from The Lady Boy Chronicles: Illusions & Dreams) born genetically male, she had the surgery that made her outside match her inside. However, she still has some male energy that couldn’t be ignored during the sex scenes. I spent time in both Bangkok and Pattaya with the Lady boys in an attempt to portray the characters in this series as realistic as I could. 
I had a difficult time writing some of the love scenes for Boon-nam because she was recently transgendered person. I couldn’t write it as m/f sex scene because it isn’t. It has a very different feel to it. The katoey I spent time with have a very different energy. I had to really think about Boon-nam as an individual who wasn’t going to fit in the preconceived boxes we like to put people in. So I wasn’t writing a sex scene for a transgendered person but for Boon-nam. I found writing her best friend who maintained her male parts but lived as a woman much easier to write. The difficulties with Boon-nam caused me enough stress to write the first book with two loving couples and not just one. 
Which stories have you enjoyed working on the most and why? 
Anything that is edgy and different. (If you couldn’t tell) I like playing with labels and re-examining what the definitions society has assigned and shake them up a bit. I like working on something that brings ‘normal’ into question so we can take a look at the boxes we tend to put things in. 
Of course, hot rockers will always have a soft spot in my heart. Fantasies of a rock star falling in love and sweeping someone off their feet is too delicious not to enjoy writing. (Okay, not to mention the sexy makeup!)
 What will people come away with after reading your books? 
I hope people come away from my books renewed belief that love is love and gender really shouldn’t be an issue. I want the reader to have a feeling of love and happiness that follows them through their interactions with others. And of course, leaving the reader with a few good sex scenes that replays themselves in a sexy loop. LOL
 What are you currently reading? 
I will be reading NJ’s Rules Are Meant To Be Broken…. as soon as it comes out!!! Have you seen that cover??? Damn!
 (I will let you know as soon as I know. I am still in edits.)

What music is in your stereo at the moment? And does it influence the way you write? 
Tokio Hotel
Absolutely! It helps me focus. When I have trouble getting into a writing space, I watch some music videos. For the series Made In China, I find my focus by watching the Black Veil Brides music video- Fallen. Seeing those sexy rockers in their glam make-up screaming the lyrics puts me in a place to write. 
Are you still as passionate about writing as you were when you first started? 
Yes.  I am looking forward to my life calming a bit because I have a bunch of stories plotted out and I want to give them time to develop. 
Name three Authors you read over and over again? 
Only three? Even NJ couldn’t give only 3 and it was her question! LOL 
Jet Mykles: Heaven Sent Series (on my 15th read) 
GA Hauser: Action Series (Mark Richfield is one of the best characters ever written) 
SJ Frost: Conquest & Black Heart Down. 
Clancy Nacht & Eucid Thursday: BlackGold (Goldie is too delicious!)
JL Langley (Regency Series-virgin princes’…need I say more? Sexy shifters) 
Ayano Yamane: Crimson Blood & Viewfinder Series (Manga) 
And I have a feeling The Lines of Marsden will be joining this list! 
(I can only hope The Lines of Marsden lives up to your expectations.) 
Can you share any of your current WIPS? 
Made In China- a new band is forming in China. My five and half years of living in Suzhou China helped me write very specific details of the culture that may be missed if my time there was shorter. Most of the characters really struggle against the society that doesn’t even acknowledge ‘gay’ is an option. 
The Lady Boy Chronicles: Illusions & Dreams- This series is about performers in a Bangkok lady boy show. The club owners assist the performers to better themselves as well as helping those who are in a bad situation out.
 Viking Haven- Futuristic, sci-fi space opera. This series will explore life of the lord warriors and the pretty slaves that serve them. In the first book, the punishment wall and The Feast of The Virgins is experienced. We get glimpses of the ruler who wants nothing more than to be a slave himself. Maybe with the invasion of The Black Night Rebels will allow him the opportunity?  
Cambodian Dreams- Brad is almost done with his graduate degree and goes to Cambodia for a little relaxation. Shane is an adorable little do-gooder who dreams of a strong Dom to make all his BDSM dreams come true. 
The Dark Angels: Finally Fallen- This is Dusty’s story. I enjoyed seeing more of his life. He is a very good big brother even though it has made his life much more difficult. His love interest has been horribly violated but is trying to overcome the demons of his past that still plague him.
For those readers that have yet to know you please tell us something about yourself. 
I have lived in Singapore, Israel and China. I don’t think a book can ever have too much sex. I believe in true love and everyone getting their happily-ever-afters.
Z ALLORA - AVAILABLE FROM.





4 comments:

  1. I love yaoi ^.^ I'll probably love your book as well if it's written in that style. I'll admit I was heavily influenced by yaoi when I was writing ALWY - that's not the style I was going for though.

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    1. Yaoi rocks!!!! So yummy. Delicious brain candy!!!! (My Made In China series was not supposed to be Yaoi-ish... but it is who am I to argue!)
      Hugs,
      Z.

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  2. Both books are exceptionally written and wonderful reads. I love yaoi I am going to have to check out Crimson Blood. LOL Thank you for sharing your characters with us.
    Cinders

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  3. Z,
    It was really great getting to know just a little more about you. I love the eclectic taste you have in all the different books you're working on. You will be a name to keep an eye out for my dear.....I for one can't wait to see what you come up with next..

    (((hugs)))
    Embry

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