This month the Gay & Lesbian Reading Group is discussing your book Someone Is Killing The Gay Boys of Verona. Can you tell us briefly what the book is about?

The novel is about many things. The main focus is hate crimes. Groups, such as the “God Hates Queers” group in the novel, are very open in their hate. Others, such as some television evangelists, disguise their messages of hate by claiming to be protecting family values. Both are equally dangerous and incite violence against gays, particularly gay youth.

Someone Is Killing (SIK) is also about Sean, how he sees himself, and his quest for a boyfriend. In my first two novels, the main characters were well-built, athletic, good looking boys. Sean is a work in progress. He’s a bit pudgy around the middle and more ordinary looking than handsome. Like many of us, he has a lower opinion of his personal appearance than he should. He’s comfortable being gay, but doesn’t really think he has much of a chance of finding love. I wanted Sean to be a character that those of us who aren’t models (which is practically everyone) can identify with.

SIK is also a ghost story. I’ve always wanted to write a haunted house book and this is it. I love the atmosphere of haunted houses with creaking doors, disembodied voices, and footsteps heard when no one is there. The novel is meant to be spooky, but not frightening.

The novel centers around Sean’s attempt to discover the identity of a murderer, but it isn’t really a murder mystery. Sean’s search is mainly a vehicle to explore the supernatural world of Graymoor Mansion.

I understand that this is the third book in a series of stories set in the fictional town of Verona, Indiana. How do the three books relate to each other?

When I wrote my first novel, Ancient Prejudice Break To New Mutiny (AP), I had no plans for a series. When I started my second, Someone Is Watching (SIW), I came up with the idea of playing out the story against the background of the previous book. SIW takes place at exactly the same time as AP and the characters react to some of the main events in my first novel. I felt that placing the story of Ethan and Nathan against the background of the story of Mark and Taylor gave it
depth.

By the time I began my third novel, Someone Is Killing The Gay Boys Of Verona, I had a cast of characters that I wanted to explore more. I tend to get attached to my characters and like the idea of getting a closer look at their lives. In each novel, I introduce new characters, but also reveal a bit more about those from previous novels. Each novel stands alone, but they do interconnect to some extent. For example, Graymoor Mansion is a place where Mark and Taylor go to be alone in AP. In SIW, the old house is mentioned in just one scene when Ethan and some other boys are daring each other to go in. In SIK, Graymoor becomes the main stage.

I like working in little references to my other books when I’m writing. It’s something I put there for those who read them all. Sometimes, it’s a small touch, such as Graymoor Mansion appearing in SIW. At other times, it’s much more involved, such as Ethan and Nathan observing what’s happening to Mark and Taylor in SIW.   Continued ->