We’re so pleased to welcome author George Loveland to The Novel Approach today to celebrate the release of his latest novel, West Coast, book two in the Up in the Air series. George has answered a few questions and is sharing his answers with us, and there’s a giveaway too, so be sure to check out the Rafflecopter widget below for details!

The Q&A

If you could be one of your characters who would you be and why?

I would say that every character has an aspect of me in them, or them in me! I would love to be more like Drag Queen Belle End aka Dave from On the Third Kiss. He is such a big character, full of live and not afraid to go after what he wants. He doesn’t hold back either and even though he is older than me now, he’d definitely be a lot of fun to be. One day, he will have his own story, but for now he is in my head and I think I will have to keep him there.

What are you reading right now and what is next on your to-be-read list?

I’ve just finished The Obstruction of Emma Goldsworthy by Sean Kennedy which I loved! I love the world he created with Tigers and Devils and love all the books in the series. For me the characters were very relatable and I’ve always wanted to know more about them. Next up, I don’t have a clue, but I have just brought Made In Portugal by Ana Newfolk who is a new author, and heard great things about the book.

What are you working on? What is next?

I am working on edits and rewrites of a story I wrote for NaNoWriMo a couple of years ago. It’s working title is Can I Cut In and it’s about a guy who comes out at his sister’s wedding. I never intended to write a coming out story, but the idea of coming out in a grand way spoke to me, and then the story developed from there. My plan is to work on this story and then get to James and Darren from Up in the Air series as they still have some things to get through before their happy for now turns into a happy ever after.

Give us an insight into your main character.

Max hides behind a mask for most of his life. Those close to him see him as someone who doesn’t care, but it’s not true. He doesn’t want to be living the life he is living, but he can’t see any other way out. He goes out to try and forget what’s not happening in his life. I really got to know him when something bad happened to him, that he had to drink to forget he mattered in the world. I know I wrote it, but it was a turning point for me, and made me want to write his story even more. There’s more to come with him, he’s not going to have it easy, but he’s trying and that’s what I like about him the most.

What genre are your books?

I believe I write contemporary, everyday gay romance. I don’t have it in me to write anything outside of everyday characters because that’s also what I am interested in. When I read the news, I love to look at people’s personal lives, the ordinary man and what he’s doing. That said, I know I will branch out into the mystical and paranormal with tales of magic and more, but for now I am in the contemporary gay romance genre.

Who designed your book covers? Do you think that the cover plays an important part in the buying process?

I’ve worked with Rhys Ethan on the Up in the Air series, and Meredith Russell for On the Third Kiss. I’ve loved working with them both, and they have different styles but also able to help me bring my ideas to life as well as make them so much more.

The cover is huge. I do judge a book by its cover and spend hours looking for photos that represent the characters as I see them. I do write first, then look for the photos to match, as opposed to the other way around, but will go back and change details in the book if they don’t seem right. For example, I couldn’t find the exact match I had in mind for Antonio, the love interest in Up in the Air 2: West Coast, but found one close enough and then changed a couple of details to make it work.

Thanks for having me at The Novel Approach today.

About the Book

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK
Length: 55k words approx.
Cover Design: Ethereal Ealain
Up In The Air Series: Book #1 – Johannesburg – Amazon US | Amazon UK
Blurb: Max Cooper has never known love and uses drink to numb the feelings of rejection he’s faced with. It doesn’t help him in his career as an air steward when after a very drunken night his best friend swaps their flights over so Max can keep his job.

When Max flies out to Los Angeles, his patience is tested when he offers to help fellow air steward and rising drag queen, Dai Zee, with her costume changes at the best drag club in LA, Flamingos. While he watches Dai Zee perform, he catches the eye of a guy in the corner, but fails to find him when the performance ends. An ill-timed text message sends Max back to the bottle, and into the bed of a man he doesn’t know, and doesn’t want to be with.

The next night at Flamingos he finds the man he was searching for, but it’s not as easy as he’d hoped. Antonio Baldini isn’t interested in a drunken Max and rejects his advances until another drag queen, Miss Crystal, plays a hand in getting the two of them together. As Max and Antonio step past the initial confusion, they tread carefully with each other, neither one wanting to get hurt.

Even when Max is back in London, the late-night video calls don’t stop, but it’s when they are reunited in Las Vegas that things turn serious.

Max can’t shake his past, and someone is out for him and his job – trying to stop him from flying altogether. He’s worried about what it will mean for his new relationship if he can’t fly; and whether he can stay away from the drink long enough to be with a man who seems to care for him.

About the Author

George was about eighteen when he told his friend that he was going to be a writer. It took him another eighteen years before he finally did anything about it and wrote his first short story. A typical Englishman, he drinks buckets of tea with milk—but no sugar, because he is sweet enough. His Nan told him so.

George lives just outside of London, but close enough to enjoy Soho and the West End, where you will find him in a bar with a pint, in a club dancing into the early hours of the morning, or enjoying a musical in the theater; but more than likely he will be in a coffee shop reading a book or writing a new story. Currently single, but taking applications for future husband position, George enjoys crafting romantic stories in which he hopes that one day, life will imitate art.

Facebook || Website || Twitter