Interview with Raev Gray

Today I’d like to welcome author Raev Gray to The Dancing Dove!

The Dancing Dove: When was your first book published?
Raev GrayThe ink is still wet on my m/m cred! “Test of Faith” was my first bound book published. It came out officially on May 3 of this year. Before that, we (Aleks and I) released “Spoils of War,” our Greek myth-inspired short, on Smashwords.

TDD: How does the co-writing with Aleks work? Do you alternate between chapters, does one person write it and the other go in and edit it?
RG: We’ve done it a couple of different ways. A lot of our work was written roleplay-style, with each of us controlling specific characters. I’d write maybe 50 words, then he’d do the same. For our more recent stuff, we’ve tried a different method. We share characters and do the story round-robin style. He’ll write 250 words or so, then I’ll add to it. For either method, we use(d) Etherpad. That’s now defunct, but there are a couple of clones we’ve been eyeing. You can’t beat programs like that for real-time collaboration. I can see what Aleks is typing as he’s typing. It’s sort of spooky, but it’s very convenient.

TDD: Out of all of your characters, do you have a favorite?
RG: Abdul Basir from “Test of Faith” is definitely one, and Lucian from Blood Run Cold. I also love Micah from Chaosborn, one of our WIPs. I tend to become absolutely infatuated with at least one character per story. Usually it’s the one who does whatever the hell he wants and screw everybody else, or the one who’s so f’ed up he almost can’t bear his own company. (Sometimes that happens in the same character.) I find character neuroses fascinating.

TDD: What made you want to write M/M romance?
RG: I’m a “why not?” kind of person. When Aleks and I first started writing together, it (the project that turned into Blood Run Cold) was basically crack-fic, a crossover between two of our more amusing characters (they turned into Lucian and Frederik). I never considered publication, to be honest, until Aleks mentioned it. I blame him for my addiction.

TDD: Is writing your full time job or do you have another occupation?
RG: *laughs* You could say writing indeed is my full-time job. I teach writing. This summer, I’m teaching two classes of non-native speakers for a special program at my graduate alma mater, and starting this fall, I’ll be teaching full-time at a community college.

TDD: Is there a certain place you like to write? The beach, the library, a comfy spot on the couch?
RG: Oddly, I don’t have a special place I like to write. I write long-hand, so I can do it anywhere: at my desk at work, outside, at home on my bed, on the couch, at Starbucks (no dirty thoughts!). Anywhere suits me just fine. It really depends on my mood. I like a little background noise most of the time. It can be music or just the white noise of people talking.

TDD: What's your least favorite part of the writing process?
RG: About halfway through, I’ve usually tied myself in a Gordian knot and have to pick my way out of the hot mess I’ve made of the plot. I’m a problem-solver by nature, so eventually I get it untied, but I find it really frustrating. I actually don’t mind editing so much. Again with the problem-solving.

TDD: Do you have any works-in-progress you'd like to tell the readers about?
RG: Oh, do I. Actually, I’m working on a couple of solo urban fantasy projects under the pen name Vivien Weaver, which I use for non-erotic work. One is part of a series, and one is a serial novel slated for Candlemark & Gleam, a new publishing venture run by the awesome K.S. Olcott. Aleks and I always have several projects on the burners, as well. I won’t get started, or I’ll be here all day. For fans of “Test of Faith,” I plan on writing an Abdul-centric prequel sometime before the year is up, too.

TDD: Do you have anything else you'd like to tell the readers? (Contact info, upcoming books, exclusive website content, etc.)
RG: I’m everywhere. You can find me on Facebook, at LiveJournal, Twitter, and Wordpress (all raevgray) and at http://raevgray.weebly.com. My email is raev . gray at gmail.

I also do graphic design—I made the covers for all of our work thus far. My graphic design site is http://raevgraydesign.weebly.com. I take commissions, although because this summer is extremely hectic because I’m moving in August, I can’t put a real rush on anything at the moment. August, though, I should be well settled.

If you’re interested in my non-erotic urban fantasy work, my pen name, as I mentioned above, is Vivien Weaver. Still working on most of that stuff, but I plan on making a website eventually with outtakes and maybe some free stuff. I’ll post updates about that on my Wordpress.

Thanks for having me, Ralph! It’s been a pleasure. I’d also like to thank all of our/my readers. You guys seriously make my life with your reviews and comments. I’m so happy to know and interact with so many amazing people.

Thank you so much for joining us, Raev! I enjoyed interviewing you and I wish you the best with your books.


You can purchase Blood Run Cold  and Test of Faith on Amazon.com