This week in The Loft: Author T. S. McNeil!

Joining me in The Loft is fellow Extasy author T. S. McNeil. A writer of romantic comedy, his stories center around likeable misfits finding love and a place for themselves in a largely random and uncaring world. Born in the far north, T.S. McNeil grew up on novels and comedy movies. Moving down south, he earned a degree in Art History form the University of Victoria in 2009. Discovering the legit jokes in "Four Weddings and A Funeral," and realizing romance really could be funny, he took on romantic comedy as his main genre. He lives in a cabin in the woods with his dog and several squirrels, and firmly believes The Smiths would have been better as a trio!

Author T. S. McNeil

S:  Welcome to the Loft! 

Book banning is back in the news and some very popular romance authors' books are being removed from school libraries. How do you feel about this trend? How do we fight it?

TS:  I absolutely hate it and it represents the sort of thing I am most against. I fight it by, with a large group of like-minded friends, going through the banned list and doing everything we can do to bolster banned and potentially banned books. Whether it means letting others know about a potential or current ban, or going out of my way to read them, whether or not the ban has officially gone through or not. No book should be illegal. Regulated and annotated like "Mein Kampf "and "The Anarchists Cookbook," but not illegal.

S:  It's hard to believe that book banning has again reared its ugly head. You expect that in dictatorships, not in the "free" world.

Are you self-published or traditionally published? Why did you choose that path?

TS: Technically, I am traditionally published, but I have found a bit of a middle-ground by focusing on either eBook publishers or at least publishers who do eBooks. I am much better at novellas than longer books and am far more likely to get them published in digital form. eBooks also have the advantage of a relatively quick turnaround compared to print publishing. 

S:  Do you write in other genres?

TS:  Not anymore, at least in fiction. Romance, with all its various sub-genres, gives me everything I need. I do still write a lot of nonfiction though, particularly in terms of literary history. It is something I have always done and have a deep interest in. It's sometimes a bit of a challenge to balance between fiction and nonfiction.

S:  Do you think romance books have become too spicy?

TS:  I don’t think there is such a thing as too spicy. Like food, it is more of a matter of taste and preference. I only care if the writing is good and properly researched, consistently representing the characters and the reality of the world.

S:  After the publication of the “Fifty Shades” trilogy, it was reported that some readers ventured into the BDSM world seeking their own Christian Grey. Some were scammed, sexually assaulted, or otherwise harmed. Does an author bear any responsibility for those types of consequences?

TS:  Absolutely. It was a total misrepresentation of BDSM and how it is done. Christian isn’t a dominant, he is a sadist, as he said. The author clearly knows as much about BDSM as I do about nuclear physics. The difference is, I don’t claim to know anything about nuclear physics. Anastasia never signed the contract which is a huge no go, and some of the things they imply, like using zip-ties for bondage, are just plain dangerous and potentially fatal.

S:  I have to admit, the scene where he shops for zip-ties was alarming. However, by the time I finished the entire series, I was irate. Sure, it was fiction, but it was also misleading. 

How do you get in the mood for writing?

TS:  Music, usually something neoclassical or some of the more melodic/atmospheric metal.

S:  My son is a metal musician. Between practices and house shows, it is always playing in the background. Unfortunately, not all of the bands who play know what a melody is and that is not conducive to writing. They make noise-deafening headphones for a reason.

What do you want inscribed on your tombstone? How do you want to be remembered?

TS:  "Don’t Let the Buggers Get You Down." I want to be remembered as someone who was who they were and stood up to bullies no matter what guise they might take.

S:  I like that.

What inspired you to write "Sweet Memories?"

TS:  There were two things that inspired me to write Sweet Memories. The first was a desire to try and do a modern version of the classic pastoral novel. The second was the idea for a subversion of the small-town girl in the big city trope. As fun as tropes can be, they also perpetuate some stereotypes, both fair and not. My goal was to confirm the fair ones and subvert the negative ones.

Here's the blurb--

Following the sudden death of her beloved older sister, big city girl Astra Read relocates to a tiny town fuelled by cottage industries, inheriting her sister’s house and bespoke teddy bear business.

Focused on doing her dearly departed proud, which are some big shoes to fill, Astra vows to keep her head down, but love works in mysterious ways and more than one sort of temptation lurks in the bakery across the street.

S:  That sounds like an entertaining story.

Where can readers buy "Sweet Memories?"

TS:  It will be released October 27 by Extasy Books (https://www.extasybooks.com/Sweet-Memories) and will be available shortly thereafter at all major booksellers. 

S:  T. S., thanks for joining me today and good luck with sales on "Sweet Memories!" If you' like to learn more about T. S. McNeil and his books, please visit https://www.linkedin.com/in/t-s-mcneil-5a1552259/.