At The #CMCon19 Beach with Hank Edwards

As one of the #CMCon19 featured bloggers, I get to have a little fun with a few of the fabulous authors who will be hitting the beach for Coastal Magic 2019 by showcasing their many stories.

Writing short stories, even mini-fiction, can’t always be worked into a writing schedule; so for those authors who may not be able to let their characters play in the sand, I’ve invited them to a nighttime beach bonfire to have a drink, listen to the crashing waves, and answer a few questions of my own.

Joining me in the sand is Hank Edwards, author of the Fluffers, Inc. & Critter Catchers series!


Hank Edwards

Can you tell us a little about yourself, something readers may not have heard before?
I write gay erotic romance with a number of paranormal titles under the pen name Hank Edwards, and YA fantasy gay romance under the pen name R. G. Thomas.

Official Bio:Hank Edwards has been writing gay fiction for more than twenty years. He has published over thirty novels and dozens of short stories. His writing crosses many sub-genres, including romance, rom-com, contemporary, paranormal, suspense, mystery, and wacky comedy. He has written a number of series such as the suspenseful Up to Trouble, funny and spooky Critter Catchers, Old West historical horror of Venom Valley, and erotic and funny Fluffers, Inc. No matter what genre he writes, Hank likes to keep things steamy and heartfelt. He was born and still lives in a northwest suburb of the Motor City, Detroit, Michigan, where he shares a home with his partner of over 20 years and their two cats.

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Can you introduce us to the world(s) that you have created?
So many worlds! Under Hank Edwards, I’ve written the Venom Valley series, which is evil vampires in the American Old West, along with zombies (called “deaders” because they didn’t have a name for them), and witches, and Native American spirits, along with a cowboy romance and a kick-ass half white half Native American heroine named Glory who works as a saloon girl at the One-Eyed Rooster. I also have a humorous paranormal series set in the small town of Parson’s Hollow, which is located in contemporary western Pennsylvania. This small town has a variety of colorful characters, and more than a few unusual creatures which our heroes stumble across in between animal control cases involving skunks or raccoons or possums or bats.

Will this be your first Coastal Magic or are you a veteran? What was it about Coastal Magic that drew you to it? Why have you continued to return?
I attended for the first time last year and I enjoyed it so much I’m very happy to be returning again in 2019!

If you’ve been before, what is your favorite CMC memory? If you’ve never been, what are you looking forward to?
I went on my own, so no other friends I knew were attending. I knew some authors from the GayRomLit (GRL) conference over the years, but no one I would hang out with on a daily basis. I was standing alone at the first night mixer and a very nice lady named Nancy (totally forgetting her last name, darn it) came up to me and invited me to join their group. I had a very nice time with them that evening and the rest of the weekend. It was really wonderful to be invited into their group like that, and I’ve tried to do that myself at GRL and any other convention I go to and I’m with a group and see someone on their own.

Is there any part of your series, any of your series, world(s) that you would like to expand on in the future?
I would love to explore more in the American Old West world of my Venom Valley series, see how zombies and vampires are spreading through that time period.

How do you take our world and build something fantastical from it? How do you turn our reality into fantasy?
The most fun I’ve had with this kind of world building is from my Venom Valley series, where I brought vampires and zombies into the American Old West. I did a lot of online research about life in the late 1880s and early 1890s, and I tried to be as realistic as possible to ground the stories in fact as the fantastic happened around my characters. The coal at a train station became very important to the characters, as did the blacksmith shop and, later, the nearby Army fort. I really do enjoy the darkness and gritty realism of the Venom Valley series. For my YA fantasy series The Town of Superstition, I imagined a magical world living alongside our own. Very much like Harry Potter, but with a different spin on the characters and with a sweet gay romance added in for good measure.

If you could be one of the characters in your book for one day, who would it be and why?
I think I would love to be Demetrius Singleton, from my Critter Catchers series. He is a lot like me in many ways, but he’s got the added treat of now being married to his hot best friend from elementary school, Cody, and they run an animal control business together! It would be nice to hang out with Cody and maybe get up to a little something or other with him and go on a monster hunt before my time is up in that world. Plus I would absolutely love to get trapped driving behind the ancient Widow Monroe, the local ninety-something year old woman who drives an old Delta 88 and can barely see over the steering wheel. LOL!

Don’t miss your chance to meet over 50 fabulous urban fantasy, paranormal, and romance authors at Coastal Magic next February! This super casual book-lover weekend happens on Daytona Beach, and gives everyone the chance to hang out with fellow readers and amazing storytellers.

REGISTRATION is now open! If you haven’t been to Coastal Magic yet, you’re missing out on a lot of fun. Be sure to keep up with all things Coastal Magic, by following it via your own personal social media drug of choice: Facebook | Twitter | Google+ | Pinterest | RSVP at the Facebook Event.

About Jackie 3282 Articles
I am a 30-something SAHM with two adorable boys and a supportive husband who is very tolerant of my reading addiction. I love to read and easily go through about a dozen books a month – well I did before I had kids. Now, not so much. After my first son was born, I began to take my hobby of reviewing a little more serious and started Literary Escapism to help with my sanity. I love to discuss the fabulous novels I’ve read and meeting all the wonderful people in the book blogging community has been amazing.