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If you were granted three wishes, what would you spend them on?
Today JL Merrow and Josephine Myles are here talking all things magic, in celebration of of their latest paranormal anthology, Boys Who Go Bump in the Night. The last story in the anthology features the classic genie in the lamp trope, so we wondered what three wishes the authors would choose, should they ever be surprised by a genie when polishing a lamp.
Jo: I think this is highly unlikely as I hate using Brasso, but let’s just imagine a genie might respond to my cursory occasional use of a feather duster…
Hmm, wishes are tricky things. They have a way of backfiring and being taken too literally–a lesson I learned through reading Michael Ende’s The Neverending Story pretty much every year during my childhood. So what I’d need to come up with is a set of wishes that are bulletproof. I’m going to have to ponder some more. What do you reckon, Jamie?
Jamie: You’ve made me think, there. I was going to wish for all my novels to magically plot themselves as I write them, but now I’m thinking of all the ways that could go horribly wrong. I could end up writing in an entirely different genre!
But wishing to win the lottery jackpot would probably be safe, right?
Right?
*imagines self mugged for ticket/murdered for money/suffering fatal heart attack when numbers come up*
Jo: I think wishing for long term health and happiness for you and your loved ones has got to be a safe wish, right? That’s my first. For me and my loved, ones, obviously. You can do your own wish, Jamie!
Jamie: Maybe it’s just me, but even with that I can see a possible twist–you could, say, be kept alive indefinitely on life support and your system flooded with mood enhancing drugs, which might technically qualify, mightn’t it? Then again, in the stories it’s usually the “greedy” wishes that get punished, not the relatively modest and benign ones like this, so maybe you’re safe!
Jo: I hope so! Okay, second wish: a five bedroom detached country house with a large garden and swimming pool. I’m not going so ridiculously large that I lose the family in there, but big enough to have a “me” room I can escape into and keep all my sewing stuff there. I have a lot of sewing stuff. Oh, and it has to be within ten miles of my current address. I’m not having that pesky genie dump me down in deepest, darkest Wales, thank you very much. (the author would like to point out that she loves Wales. She just doesn’t want to live there!)
Jamie: Living as I do near St Albans, where a massive sinkhole recently opened up and narrowly missed swallowing a family home, maybe it’s my inner cynic but I’m not sure I’d trust any house a genie chose to put me in! Maybe one of my wishes ought to be for a map of underground mines in the local area. ;)
Third and last wish, Jo?
Jo: Umm, it’s a toss up between having my own personal time machine or a household robot that would do all the chores for me. Actually, what am I saying? The robot would win every time. Just imagine never having to mow the lawn or clean the toilet! I’m afraid my wishes are all rather domestic. I must be getting old!
What’s your last wish? Maybe it should be world peace or something altruistic…
Jamie: *looks shifty* So probably not the endless supply of red wine and chocolate I was thinking of, then? ;)
Readers: We’d love to hear what your wishes would be. Can’t promise to grant ‘em, mind! ;)
Giveaway: one lucky commenter will win a book of their choice from both Jo and Jamie’s backlists!
Contest closes at midnight Pacific time on Saturday, November 28, 2015.
Good luck!
Boys Who Go Bump in the Night
A Mad About the Brit Boys collection
When boy meets (supernatural) boy
Buckle up as two queens of British gay romance take you on a whistlestop tour of all things paranormal. Vampires, genies, ghosts, magicians and shifters all get their chance for a bit of boy on boy action, in five erotic stories that span the range from the humorous to the sublime.
Will you seek to make your fortune with magic and ritual, or pin your hopes on a genie’s power to grant wishes? Discover a shifty young man on a Scottish shoreline, meet a hapless garlic farmer who’s been turned into one of the undead–and if you dare to venture into the cellar, gird your loins for a horny ghost!
These stories have all been previously published, but are now available exclusively in this anthology.
Available now from Amazon for a bargain $0.99/£0.99!
Author bios:
JL Merrow is that rare beast, an English person who refuses to drink tea. She read Natural Sciences at Cambridge, where she learned many things, chief amongst which was that she never wanted to see the inside of a lab ever again. Her one regret is that she never mastered the ability of punting one-handed whilst holding a glass of champagne.
She writes across genres, with a preference for contemporary gay romance and mysteries, and is frequently accused of humour. Her novel Slam! won the 2013 Rainbow Award for Best LGBT Romantic Comedy, and her novella Muscling Through and novel Relief Valve were both EPIC Awards finalists.
JL Merrow is a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association, International Thriller Writers, Verulam Writers’ Circle and the UK GLBTQ Fiction Meet organising team.
Find JL Merrow online at: www.jlmerrow.com, on Twitter as @jlmerrow, and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/jl.merrow
English through and through, Josephine Myles is addicted to tea and busy cultivating a reputation for eccentricity. She writes gay erotica and romance, but finds the erotica keeps cuddling up to the romance, and the romance keeps corrupting the erotica. Jo blames her rebellious muse but he never listens to her anyway, no matter how much she threatens him with a big stick. She’s beginning to suspect he enjoys it.
Jo publishes regularly with Samhain, and now has over ten novels and novellas under her belt. Her novel Stuff won the 2014 Rainbow Award for Best Bisexual Romance, and her novella Merry Gentlemen won the 2014 Rainbow Award for Best Gay Romantic Comedy. She has also been known to edit anthologies and self-publish on occasion, although she prefers to leave the “boring bits” of the ebook creation process to someone else. She loves to be busy, and is currently having fun trying to work out how she is going to fit in her love of writing, dressmaking and attending cabaret shows in fabulous clothing around the demands of a preteen with special needs and a soon-to-be toddler.
Website and blog || Facebook || Twitter: @JosephineMyles
The Fine Print:
*Entrants must be 18 years or older to qualify
*Some residency restrictions may apply
*All comments must be relevant to the author’s prompt to be eligible (when applicable)
*The Novel Approach will not be held liable for prize delivery unless otherwise specified
*Void where prohibited by law
I’ve just finished the book and loved it… Although Jaime and Josephine are two of my favourite writers so I knew I was going to like it. As for the three wishes, first would be a healthy and long life form my beloved ones, the second the ability to understand all languages and the third…. I would just keep it in case I needed it for later…. LOL!
susanaperez7140(at)gmail(dot)com
Oh, I like the idea of keeping a wish in reserve! And languages, yes, that’d be very useful.
Glad you enjoyed the book! :D
For three wishes: I would wish for safety for the world and family. I would wish for wonderful health and finally I would wish for happiness for my family.
Sounds like a good bunch of wishes to me! :D
I don’t read a lot of short-stories but I’ve had my eye on this collection and put it on my wishlist too. As for wishes, long term health for myself and my loved ones are the obvious first, then I’d want economical independence, not overly much just enough not to worry if the unexpected would happen, and happiness … or maybe it would be wiser to wish for a functioning bathroom with full shower capacity, and that the smell of what’s ever gone and died behind the kitchen sink cabinet will disappear without me having to tear the entire kitchen furnishing down and, and … there’s probably more but I can’t seem to remember at the moment.
sorgbarn (at) hotmail (dot) com
LOL! Yes, that bathroom wish would be pretty high on my list, too! ;)
I have this collection on my wishlist. Wishes…that’s tough. I would wish good health for my family and friends as well as safety and peace for the world. I think I would keep that last one just in case.
*nods* Always good to keep on in reserve. :)
I always think of amazing things to wish after I’ve had to say but so far :to give opposing sides in war the ability to discuss resolutions rather than fight it out ; to allow those who have missing relatives to know what has happened; and one for me, to be able to eat choc and drink wine without adding weight!!
Oh, I like your wishes. Yes, particularly in these violent times, that first wish would be wonderful. And if you could manage to extend that third one in my direction too, that’d be great! ;P
Thanks for the fun interview! Those genies can be tricky, so must be careful. I thought you came up with some great wishes. I think I would wish for hatred in the world to be replaced with empathy and compassion (I am sure that could backfire somehow, but can’t come up with it now), for my kids to grow up to live happy, fulfilling lives and then keeping one in reserve is a great idea.
Glad you enjoyed it! And an excellent set of wishes, there. :)
It’s on my wishlist. Wishes…those are hard..umm.. I suppose I would wish everyone in my family had a job/better job. I’ll rather not push my luck though…I mean we’ve all seen Aladdin.
Heh, yes – don’t want to end up like Jafar! ;)
I’d like to say that one of my wishes wouldn’t be related to books, but it probably would – as in, the ability to download a lifetime’s supply of books that I want. :) Oh, and of course peace on earth.
*Nods* Got to get those priorities right! ;)
I bought the book, it’s on my TBR list, sounds really good :) My wishes would be happiness & prosperity for me & my family, peace for all and year round spring weather in the NE US, especially NJ/Philadelphia area.
annmarief115 at gmail dot com
Thank you! :) And yes – I’m not a fan of extremes of weather. Although I do like autumn. Maybe we could just switch between the two? ;)
I have this on my wishlist! As far as the wishes: a long, happy life for me, my family and my friends, no more bullying, and no more cruelty.
An excellent set of wishes. :)
Wishes are tricky and difficult to decide on. The biggest one for me right now would be for the world to be filled with peace, safety, and compassion.
I think we could all do with that. :)
Tons of great wishes here – I think I got a genie that’s not all-powerfull (as in: cannot fulfill world peace wishes) and go with: Time to read all the books on my TBR list!
For myself and my family: Health, happiness and acceptance from those around them.
And for myself: To always be able to pay whatever bills are put to me.
Hmm. Maybe I don’t need a genie :)
The book was a great read (but I already knew it would be – two of my favorite authors!)