Blooming Author George Pappas!

“Success means having the courage, the determination, and the will to become the person you believe you were meant to be.” ~ George Sheehan

George Pappas' novel Monogamy Sucks was published by Lazy Day Publishing today, December 1, 2010!

Tell us about Monogamy Sucks. What is it about and where will it be available?

Monogamy Sucks is an erotic fiction novel, which is being published as e-book by new digital publisher Lazy Day Publishing on December 1, 2010. My novel is an exploration of a Long Beach, California man’s mid-thirties lust crisis and his ensuing sexy, humorous, bizarre, but intriguing journey into the world of swinging and alternative sex. The story is told in the form of a fictional diary by the book’s protagonist Jake Dalmas, who is looking for answers to deal with his growing disillusionment with conventional relationships and monogamy. Along the way, he discovers some misconceptions about the swinger lifestyle and new aspects about himself. It is frank, funny and above all – painfully honest.

What were your inspirations for Monogamy Sucks? What sorts of thing inspire you as a writer in general?

I wasn't intending to write a book. I went through my own mid-thirties lust crisis in the mid to late 1990s that led to my intriguing journey into the world of swingers, and I was fascinated with what I found. Several years later, after telling several close friends about my experiences and receiving positive responses, I decided that I had the makings of an interesting, funny book that could explore and challenge common myths about swingers, swinging, monogamy and fidelity.

I am inspired by truthful, passionate writing above anything. Some of my favorites authors that inspired my book are Henry Miller (Tropic of Cancer, Tropic of Capricorn), Anais Nin (Henry and June, her diaries), Charles Bukowski (Women, Post Office, all of his poetry), Bret Easton Ellis (American Psycho, Less Than Zero), Armistead Maupin (Tales of the City), among others. Each of them bravely explored controversial sexual and societal issues in a frank, unsentimental manner exposing truth and hypocrisy alike.

Let's talk about your process. How do you approach a story, do you start with outlines or something else? Where did you work when writing Monogamy Sucks? Do you think it was the optimal writing environment for you?

Actually I don't usually outline. I typically have the arc of the story in my head and write down a long list of potential chapters or adventures I want my character to experience. I try to write each potential chapter in order on my list even though I sometimes change the order or throw out potential chapters or add new ones. For this book, I actually experimented with dictating chapters into a tape recorder and then typing it into my computer. It worked out OK. But later I discovered it was best that I hand wrote each chapter and later typed into the computer. I like to get my first draft down first before I do any rewriting. I feel the real work is done in the editing and the rewriting process.

I can write anywhere -- while sitting at the beach near my apartment -- or in a Starbucks or a book store. Some of my best writing has been done outside of my home office. Just like some of my best ideas come to me during walks. I don't have an optimal writing environment. I guess I got used to writing in noisy environments as a former newspaper reporter.

Tell us about your "story of getting published."

Actually, I was intending to self-publish Monogamy Sucks as I did my first book Letters from Cyberspace. I went through a long drawn process of trying to query agents and publishers for my first book and I didn’t want go through that again. I never could find an agent. Earlier this year I read an article on the Huffington Post about how a number of best selling books started out first as blogs. It convinced me to launch my novel, which was just sitting in my computer, on a blog one chapter a time in May 2010.  I had no intention of bringing out my whole novel online at www.monogamysucks.wordpress.com (Warning: my blog is very erotically explicit and not for children or the faint of heart.) I just wanted to give people a taste of my book. Much to my surprise and delight,  Lazy Day Publishing contacted me through my blog in July and asked if I would consider turning it into a novel. They thought my blog was hilarious, kind of a Tucker Max for people in their thirties and forties. I doubt if that would have happened if I hadn’t put my novel on my blog and Tweeted about it on Twitter. I even recently set up set up a Twitter account for my book’s protagonist Jake Dalmas -- @jakedalmas -- where he talks about his views on sex, relationships and monogamy in real time. I believe Twitter is an essential tool in promoting my book and novels in general.  Lazy Day Publishing has been a dream to work with. They are very supportive of their authors and allow us a lot input into every process of our books from the cover to the editing.

What are the publicity plans you have coming up?

To continue to promote my e-book on Twitter, Facebook, Internet in general, and to get my books in the hands of as many reviewers, bloggers and members of the mainstream and literary media as I can. I will also be doing a lot blog tours with other Lazy Day Publishing authors and other friends and authors. The next literary star will be found on the Internet -- not only in writer's workshops or in the infamous "slush" pile.