Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am an American writer, poet, and artist living in the Philippines. I moved here this past February to be with my fiancé who left me as soon as I arrived. I am lucky, as he is a total dud. So I was not too sore about the outcome and I decided to stay here and write, finish this novel, as well as a book of poetry; Raven’s Poetry under my pen name Raven Chandler. To Be His Life- When A Straight Man Strays is a rewriting of a previous book of mine- From Lust To Love, which I took out of print to rewrite. I simply knew that I had a great story but it needed more work. That was the smartest thing I ever did, because I went from not being to sure about the book, to falling in love with it. A lot of my improvement as a writer has been in rewriting and editing my own work. It has made me a great editor; so much so that I am now gifted at editing other people’s work. I am however committed to doing my own work. I took another book out of print- Little Star Big Universe- to rewrite too. This is a work in progress. I also write under the pen name Spencer Chase. I did some writing on WordPress but removed it, as I saw that I was writing another novel. This book is also a work in progress- The Gay Adventures of Spencer Chase by Spencer Chase.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest novel is To Be His Life – When A Straight Man Strays. I am always inspired by anything original. The original thing I wanted to create was a gay man and straight man falling in love. It is a common storyline, but not usually believable. I wanted to write a believable storyline. That was the challenge. Hopefully, I succeeded. I think I did. We will see when the vote comes in.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I can write all day without stopping. I was like that as an artist, too. People would say I am a workaholic, but when you are doing what you love, you are not really working, as work is doing something that you find labor intensive. This is a labor of love- like a hobby- but a job.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I love Elizabeth Gilbert. I have read all of her books and highly recommend them all. For those who have only read Eat, Pray, Love, you are missing out on a lot more great books. I also love Harvey Fierstein. I have watched his movie Torch Song Trilogy over a dozen times. It has surely influenced my creativity a great deal. I also love Malcolm Gladwell. I have read all of his books, too. I like his approach to a subject and how he writes about it. I can see myself creating books like that in the future.
What are you working on now?
Right now I am working on making money. When I left the United States earlier this year, I was struggling to make it payday to payday like so many others. I only had enough money to buy the ticket to the Philippines. I didn’t know where the money would come to survive once I got here, but I trusted it would come, as I believe that way. And it did. Before I left, I did my taxes and saw that my company had been overtaxing me all year, which resulted in a bounty of about $2k. Not much for the USA, but in the Philippines, that is enough to survive on pretty nicely for about 10 months. So that is what I have been doing. Writing and surviving. But now it is time to make some money and get a ticket out of here. Time to sell some books. 🙂
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
That is yet to be seen. I really don’t have a handle on the marketing end of things. I have been reaching out to everyone and just about everyone has been sweet- promoting my books- which I feel very grateful for.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Unless you are a child prodigy, you will probably suck in the beginning and not know it. So work on it. Edit till you are blue in the face- making your work better and better. And study. Whatever you feel you might be lacking in- get a book or watch some youtube videos to find out how to improve. And improve. And don’t use And to start every sentence. It is very unprofessional. 🙂
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
You need to experience many adventures if you want to be a writer. I did not seriously pursue writing till I was 42-years-old. But even when I was a child, the interest was there. I do not know who told me as a child that I needed to experience many adventures if I wanted to be a writer, but I never forgot that advice. My life has been a wild adventure and I expect it will continue to be so. I am not sure if this fact has anything to do with the advice I got as a child, but it is an interesting fact.
What are you reading now?
I just downloaded a lot of free lgbt books. I will get to them. Right now, I am busy marketing my own books. Gotta make some money before I go broke.
What’s next for you as a writer?
Lots. I am planning to move to Palermo Sicily as soon as my bank account is doing well again. I have a novel to write under my pen name Spencer Chase. Two more books of poetry to write under my pen name Raven Chandler. And two more books to write der my pen name Giorge Leedy. My legal name is Michael Leedy. He doesn’t do anything. 🙂
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
I would bring my book, To Be His Life- When A Straight Man Strays. That may sound cheesy, but the characters in my book are created from real people I know. So having the book with me would be like having all of my friends with me. Tiger Montana especially. He was created from the memory of my childhood best friend who died two weeks before his 20th birthday. Now, when I say I use real people personalities, that is true. But I do take liberties to make them fun and funny. They get traits that in real life they do not have.. and traits that in real life they do have. It is a mix. Basically, as a writer, I am like a scientist; adding and taking away until I have just the right formula. It’s exhausting, but the end result is amazing.
I am not sure what other books, but I would need a book on how to survive off the land, how to build a boat, and how to get from a to z.
Author Websites and Profiles
Giorge Leedy Website
Giorge Leedy Amazon Profile
Giorge Leedy’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
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