Please give a warm welcome to Johnny Lavish, author of Please Share My Wife with Me? The Wife Swapping Diary of George and Melissa.

Tell us a bit about yourself and what you’re currently working on or promoting.
I am an author from the Northeast of England who has been married for 21 years and I promoting my book, Please Share My Wife with Me? The Wife Swapping Diary of George and Melissa. The book is about a middle-aged fictional couple that is faced with a decision and the impact of that decision on their relationship.
What genre is your book?  Do you write in other genres as well?
Genre is erotic romance. Currently, I am working on a long-term project that is based on a life event and I would classify it as non-fiction.
Do you have an agent and/or publisher or are you self-published?  If self-published, do you use a professional editor?  If traditionally published, who is your publisher?
I am self-published and I do not use a professional editor.
What advice do you have for writer’s just starting out?
Everyone who writes wants to be the next Dreiser, Williams, or Steinbeck. For the vast majority who write, being an author might provide a bit of extra income but it will not be enough to be a full-time job The reality is writing today is as much as marketing, promotion and building a following as it is about writing. This means you need to believe in your work and love writing in order for it to be enjoyable. It also means self-publishing authors start at a disadvantage and need to build a following. Even if you write a masterpiece without a following then no one will read it. My advice is before you release your book take the time to build a following and begin promoting yourself. Otherwise you may be disappointed when you publish your book.
What are your three favorite books including the authors?
a. Sister Carrie – Theodore Dreiser
b. Noah’s Ark The Secret Underground – Marie Madeleine Fourcade
c. Night – Elie Weisel
Who is your favorite author and why?
My favorite author is Dreiser. The reason why I like Dreiser I find his writing to be realistic and his characters to be life-like. He has the ability to draw the reader into the story and then bring it to life.
Is there a message in your book(s) that you want readers to grasp?
Even though my book is what I term erotic romance, it is more than an erotic tale, it is about choices, making choices, and the impact those choices have. For example Melissa does a few things that would upset most husbands and probably end a marriage. This puts George in a situation where he is faced with the choice does he end the marriage or not. Likewise Melissa is confronted with choices too. For her, a choice she faces is deciding between her husband and a lover of hers. Ultimately those choices influence the relationship and the direction it goes. I believe, the second part that I am writing now takes this idea of choices even further and shows some of the long-term impact of them.
Do you see yourself in any of your characters?
I see a bit of myself in George.
Was one of your characters more challenging to write than another?
Melissa continues to be a challenging character to write. She tends to be a bit impulsive, focused on the moment, and tries to hide her feelings. As a character she is probably the least like me and I feel makes her a challenging character for me since she is one of the main characters.
Is there a character that you enjoyed writing more than any of the others?
I enjoy writing George since he is probably closest character that is like me.
Do you base your characters on people you know?
No, I do not base my characters on people I know. Instead I base my characters on personal characteristics that I observe and use those characteristics to build a character.
What do you do when you’re not writing?
I have a full time job. If I am not working or writing, I am enjoying photography, travelling, or doing some more reading.
Has reading a book ever changed your life? Which one and why, if yes?
There has been a few that have changed my life.
While Six Million Died – Arthur D. Morse
This book changed me because it showed there were at least two realities. One reality was what the politicians where telling the press and the second reality, what was happening that was not being reported. The second reality showed me that you cannot accept everything at “face-value,” and you need to question everything. It is too easy to accept something without questioning it and after reading this book, I became more skeptical about what I read.

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Click below to buy Please Share My Wife with Me.