Welcome to RAWSISTAZ! Our chat today is with thriller, suspense & supernatural writer, Keith Gaston. We will be discussing his book, Tease, our September Book of the Month selection and things will kick off at 12PM EST (noon). If you’re not able to join us for the first hour of the chat where Keith will join us, you can stop in through-out the day and he’ll be back in later tonight or tomorrow to answer any additional questions you may have.
ABOUT THE BOOK
D-Shroud, a criminal kingpin, has dreams of growing his empire. By selling three suitcase nuclear weapons to buyers that have no compunctions about using them, he believes he can secure his vision. Tease, his number one assassin, is beautiful and deadly. When a mysterious Washington attorney named Sh…aw asks too many questions about D-Shroud, Tease is ordered to put an end to Shaw’s life.
Welcome again, everyone!! We’ll be starting at noon, but I wanted to post the notes since we haven’t done a chat in a while and we may have some newbies joining us.
A FEW NOTES
The chat will be held here via the comments section. To join in, simply click on “Reply” directly beneath the person’s comment/question you’d like to reply to. Otherwise, comment at the bottom of the page in the box where it says SPEAK YOUR MIND. This helps keep related responses together and easier to follow. You may need to refresh the page to see newer comments as they come in.
You can also subscribe by clicking the check box that says “Click here to subscribe to follow-up comments via e-mail.”
Hey hey hey Keith, let’s give folks time to get here and start off with a few questions and a bit more about you. Share a bit about your background, how you started writing, and why you chose the
particular genres you write in (which are BTW, my favorites). Lastly what do you like to read?
-Tee
When my first book came out in 2007, I noticed that there were very few black authors who wrote in the mystery, thriller, paranormal and science-fiction genre. I read authors like Dean Koontz, James Rollins, Dan Brown and Walter Mosley. Thankfully a number of black authors have begun writing in these genres I enjoy so much providing some much needed diversity. Black readership has become more aware of this and now go seeking out these genres. There’s still more work involved in getting a larger readership, but hopefully in the next couple of years, we’ll see a surge in readership for black authors in mysteries, thrillers and other genres.
Hi Tee, thanks for inviting me.
When I’m not writing, I work in the Information Technology field. I do a lot of traveling to military bases doing technical support. I was born in Detroit. Currently live in Michigan. I’m married with two wonderful children (twins), a boy and a girl.
I write mysteries, thrillers, and paranormal fiction. Those are my favorite genres to read and watch on films, which is why I write in these genres.
Welcome again, Keith! I’ve been following you for over a year on Facebook now and am happy to finally get to “meet” you and read your book. I’ve purchased quite a few of the others. Do you have a complete listing of your titles you can provide?
Are you prior military? I am (Air Force) and miss those days.
-Tee
I write under two pen names Keith Gaston and D K Gaston.
13: an Avery Hudson Adventure
Lost Hours (Joe Hooks)
The Friday House
Darkest Hours (Joe Hooks)
The Promise
Crossroads: an Anthology
Taurus Moon: Relic Hunter
Tease
Tease 2: Sphinx
I am prior military, ARMY.
Thanks Keith! I must’ve missed Taurus Moon in there somewhere as I don’t have this one, but will definitely check it out. And I guess I’ll hold the Army comments this time…
If it makes you feel better, when I was stationed at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii for 3 years, I was walking distance away from Hickam Air Force Base.
Taurus Moon: Relic Hunter is a tough sell for folks. My fan base buys my mysteries and thrillers, but most haven’t given the book a chance. Those who have read it, have told me that they found it very good and funny. So, give it a shot, it my surprise you.
LOL! Look who is all up in the mix now. Got your groove with posting, huh? LOL!! I was never stationed at Hickam, sadly, but hubby and I did spend our honeymoon in Hawaii. I even hold my comments about him every now and then. He’s prior Navy.
As for Taurus Moon, that sounds like my kinda book, though I admit my humor is a bit off at times. I can’t wait to check it out and your other books. As mentioned earlier though, I’ve been in a reading slump the past year or two or three. LOL. I’m hoping to get back to reading 100+ books a year soon, but I may have to just wait until the kids are off to college because #2 is where my slump started. He’s a bit high-maintenance.
I love this genre (my favorite). Purchased Tease 2 but haven’t started yet. Now I will plan to get the rest:)
I appreciate that Melissa. The Tease series is definitely different than my books written under D K Gaston, but I’m sure you’ll enjoy them all.
I want to save the more book-specific questions for when the others arrive, and I know a few won’t be able to make it until after work, but they did send in questions, so I’ve inserted a few of them below).
1. Where did you get your inspiration for this story?
2. Were you inspired by a stripper to write this story? They tend to have sad experiences lurking
in the background.
3. How long did it take for you to develop and complete the storyline?
4. When you first started writing, did you already know what genre you’d write? What motivates you to keep writing?
5. Have you considered teaming up with another author?
1. I wanted to write a spy story involving African-American character. Shaw is my James Bond in a way. What good is a super spy, without arch villains? Tease became Shaw’s equal. The goal of the book was for me to expand my audience, I wanted a book that attach readers of Street Lit as well as give my current base something they could enjoy as well.
2. No strippers were involved in my inspiration. Hmm, those perhaps I should do some research, I imagine I my get some type inspiration from the experience. I didn’t want Tease to be a one-dimensional character, so I gave her a background that would explain her need to belittle men.
3. I wrote Tease while I was laid off from work, so you can imagine, I had plenty of time to write. It took about 3 months to write Tease.
4. My joy of writing keeps me writing. I love to entertain folks, either with my sense of humor, or telling stories that pop up in my head.
5. I have collaborated with an anthology with three wonderful authors for Crossroads: an Anthology. I had a great experience working with them. And yes, I would like to work with authors on other projects.
Quite a few people mentioned Shaw as James Bond. If you could cast the book for a movie, who would you pick to play his role? What about Tease and D-Shroud? Oh…for Tease, one of our members said “please do not say Angelina Jolie.”
-Tee
Angelina Jolie? LOL
This is probably going to surprise folks, but I think I would like Roger R. Cross to play Shaw.
LL Cool J might be a good D-Shroud.
As for Tease, I’d like Jasika Nicole from Fringe.
Oooh, I like LL Cool J for D-Shroud. I need to look up the other two actors as I don’t know who they are.
Roger R. Cross is one of those character actors you see in everything, you just don’t his name. LOL
I’ll be heading over to IBMD later to check him out. I’m pretty terrible when it comes to actors names anyway, unless it’s one of my favs.
I like LL too for D-Shroud. Can totally see that. But of course I don’t know the other two actors (at least not by name) either. I’m horrible. I hardly watch TV/movies these days. But I do read:)
Jasika Nicole has an innocent charm about herself, I would love to see how see would handle a killing machine like Tease.
Heyyyy Melissa! Thanks for popping in sis. I know you said you’d be back in after work, so I can’t wait to hear your full thoughts.
Sorry I am late! Thanks for stopping by to chat with us today Keith. I’ll have to check out Crossroads. I enjoyed Tease so much, that I am reading Sphinx now : ) That’s amazing that you were able to write the book in 3 months. and thanks for not having Angelina Jolie in mind for Tease lol. @Melissa LL Cool J would be great as Shaw I agree. I love Kerry Washington. I just don’t see her getting risque on the screen.
I can see Kerry Washington as Tease, Kidada. The movie studio would not have to twist my arm if they choose her over my pick. LOL
I got a lot of writing done while I was laid-off. I finished the second half of The Promise, wrote Tease and then followed it with Taurus Moon: Relic Hunter, all in a six or seven month period. Yeah, I got more writing done, but I missed the regular paychecks. LOL.
:::wondering where my RAWSISTAZ are::::
As a sidenote, Keith, my apologies as this was the time the majority of folks selected being the best for them so I’m afraid I must’ve misunderstood that none of them would make it in until later on in the day.
Did you have any specific questions for us?
No problem, I wasn’t expecting many people to jump on in the middle of the day. LOL.
I am interested on knowing how Tease was selected for the group read?
Well, I take responsibility as I think too much medicine over the last few weeks/months has me a bit slower than usual. LOL. While we did vote on the time, I don’t think I specifically said, “who will be there at noon with the author”, so that’s my bad. Hopefully you’ll have time to stop back through later tonight or tomorrow after they’ve had the opportunity to drop by and leave their comments.
And for how it was selecting it? I picked it as our monthly read. 2012 is the first year that I’ve actually selected books myself and I will admit, it’s a lot more work than I originally thought it would be because I always have a long list of books I want to read and just never get to it. Your book has been on my list for quite a while, so I knew this was a guaranteed way for me to read it. Plus, a few others mentioned it when I was trying to figure out what to read for the 4th quarter. A few of the ladies enjoyed it so much they went ahead and picked up Sphinx: Tease Too as well.
I’ve been in a reading slump for quite a while, but I just might be back now. We shall see!
That’s cool.
Keith, before we wrap up, I did have a few other questions I wanted to ask. In writing suspense, what do you find the hardest? Keeping the pace moving, not revealing too much too soon, or keeping track of the characters?
Also…why the one-name characters? And did you find it easier to write the guys than the female characters? I always wonder how authors of opposite sex get themselves into the minds of their characters.
Sidenote: Sure did want to talk about the Alex Cross movie with you….
I think pacing is the most difficult because I have to write not only a story that folks won’t fall asleep on, but I also have to maintain a strong plot, and interesting characters on top of that. There are points in the story where the pacing has to slow down to make plot points, so even background info and dialogue between secondary characters can’t be boring.
Having one name adds an air of mystery to the character. Who is Shaw? Is that his real name? Who does he actually work for? The name Shaw came from one of my childhood friends. I borrowed his last name for the book. Tease’s name is kinda-sorta explained in Tease 2: Sphinx. D-Shroud was a character i created when I was a kid, his name was originally Doctor Shroud, but I wanted him to have a street name, so I merged them together.
Shaw was an easier character to write because I didn’t have to go into any detail about his past, adding to his mystery. Tease, however, took some work, but not because she was a woman. I had to create a ruthless character that was likable to readers. I had to give her a tortured background to explain was she has such a hatred of men, but at the same time make her vulnerable enough to fall for Shaw.
I haven’t seen Alex Cross movie yet, but I plan to. But I always like talking about the character.
I think you did a good job of giving Tease some vulnerability. That’s a hard thing to do, but I think most people in real life (most not all!) have some type of redeeming quality even if they do a lot of evil. That could be the optimist in me, but that’s what I think. So although Tease was killing people right and left, I didn’t completely hate her. She definitely has issues, but maybe there is a chance for her to fight for the good side versus bad. Honestly, I think she doesn’t care either way. Whoever will pay her, but that’s just want I got. Did you want to write her as someone who was without loyalty to anyone except herself, because that is how I see her.
The original plan was for Tease to play a smaller role in the book. I was posting chapters to a group and the members kept saying they wanted more Tease, so her character expanded in the book. Which is why she didn’t have any true redeeming characteristics. But for Tease to carry a book of her on, as she did in book 2, I had to dig deeper and start a foundation for her to grow. Tease doesn’t see herself as a complex person, but when she’s forced to interact with a team, forced to be a different person, she finds that maybe there’s more to life.
LOL @ D-Shroud really being Doctor Shroud and you having to give him a street-worthy name. I also like that you’ve had his name since you were a kid. That’s pretty cool.
Not that I’m a writer or anything, but I tend to agree with you about the pacing.
I’m thinking I’ll convince enough folks to see the Alex Cross movie so I can chat about it or maybe I’ll just chat about it alone…kinda like today.
But do let me know once you’ve seen it. Thanks again for coming out. I’ve gotta run, but I’ll be back online a bit later to check out the other comments.
I think the biggest obstacle Alex Cross had was folks picturing him without a dress on. LOL.
I didn’t have that problem, but the way TP does his lips did make me think of Madea on a few occasions. Thankfully, the smack-talking with his partner and outwitting the bad guy overshadowed it…mostly.
Well, that’s a wrap! Since many of our members are planning to stop in after work, we’ll be back later for the book-discussion part of the chat.
I’ll pop in and out to make sure I can answer everyone’s burning questions about Tease.
Thanks so much, Keith and thanks for spending time here with us today. It is appreciated.
No problem, I love talking about Tease and Shaw. So bring it on folks. BRING IT ON!!!!!
Hi, Keith!
While reading your book, I kept thinking that this is one author I can’t wait to hear from! I’m a lover of words and stories…I have to have both be impactful, and you definitely provided that! Did you have any formal training, or is that all natural talent?
Hi DJ,
Thank you. I took a few writing workshops, but mostly my writing comes from reading other authors. For example, my might use James Patterson’s style of making a scene like a movie, or Walter Mosley’s at painting a picture of the surroundings, while actually giving much details in descriptions. I think reading is an author’s best picture.
I meant ‘Teacher’ not ‘picture’. LOL
If I were to cast the main characters, I would cast Kerry Washington as Tease, the late Michael Clarke Duncan as D-Shroud, and Idris Elba as Shaw. Whew!
Funny, I did think about those actors, but other authors always pick them when they picture actors to take on the roles of their characters. I tried to be different. With Roger R. Cross he has a naturally deep voice like Shaw, which is why I pictured him. Of course Duncan (RIP) would have made a great DShroud.
I applaud you for writing in 1st person. You’ve gotta have a special confidence to do that (and you obviously do, and pulled it off beautifully). What was the deciding factor in going that route? Is it typical for you to write in 1st person?
Most of my books are in third person (limited) except for the Joe Hooks series. I did Tease in 1st person because, Shaw originally appeared in Darkest Hours, and secondly my reasoning was so that I didn’t have to reveal anything about Shaw’s secretive past. I tend to like to do flashbacks when I work with other point of views. As Shaw evolves in more books, readers will start to get bits and pieces of his past, but a large part of it will always be a mystery.
At first, (SPOILER) I had my mouth twisted up when Tease stuck the knife in the chair next to Shaw and turned her back to him, losing herself in the sex. I was happy to read about a female african american bad-ass only to have her make a dumb mistake within the first pages of the story. But as time went on, it made her human and relatable, as Shaw made his own dumb mistakes , which gave both characters more depth and color. Did you pattern either of these characters kinda-sorta after anyone in your real life acquaintances? Seems like you had such a three dimensional picture in your mind of who you wanted them to be, I was just wondering…
A lot of my writing is influenced by movies from the 70′s, and I hope that I’d given both Shaw and Tease personalities that would have come from that era. Black characters then, were tough, but had this good heart hidden beneath all that hardness.
Personally, I hate books that don’t explain why a character is the way they are. And with Tease being so ruthless, I slowly chipped away at her to reveal that inner child she used to be. If you read Tease 2, there’s a scene where she thought about her childhood at the orphanage. It was a pleasant thought that she had locked away. Revealing subtle history about her, gives Tease her more of a personality and makes this stone-cold killer likable.
And I’m glad you picked up that both character did some dumb moves. In real life, no one’s person, and I hate to write about perfect characters. Even the best, sometimes slip. LOL
Sorry, I’m a little late. Hi, Tee & Keith.
Keith, what can readers expect from you next?
I have my fingers crossed to have Tease 3 published by December 2012, but no later than January 2013. Since the Tease series has turned out to be my most successful work, I might have to triple my effects speed up my writing to meet the demand.
I’m also working on a paranormal thriller. A sequel to Taurus Moon: Relic Hunter. I’m shooting for a publishing date for this year as well.
Very excited to hear about Tease 3. I picked up Tease 2 and plan to start it shortly!
I’m a chatter-box, and I don’t want to bombard you with too many questions at once, so I’ll post this one and leave it alone: What writers would you say are your competition in this genre, in a sense that they hold you to high standards? What did you use for research?
That’s a good question. I think there’s quite a few books with the same intensity. There’s The Teflon Queen by Silk White for example, Roy Glenn’s Black series, or K R Bankston Ice series and even Eric Jerome Dickey’s Gideon series. I don’t so much as see them as competition, but fellow authors sharing the same journey.
Oh and DJ, go ahead and keep on asking questions.
Sorry I am late! Thanks for stopping by to chat with us Keith. I really enjoyed Tease and I am reading Sphinx now. @Melissa I can totally see LL as Shaw. But Idris Elba even more since he’s my crush!
Thanks for not choosing Angelina Jolie! Some actresses are so overrated. Will there another installment of Tease? It won’t be a spoiler for me, if you do share.
My hope is that Tease is a series that will last over time. She and Shaw have grown to become some of my favorite creation. I was so happy with them in fact, that my first audiobook production was TEA$E.
Tease 3 will be out in December or January with luck, to be followed with more books. I do want to add, that Shaw and Tease won’t always necessarily be in the same books, like Tease 2 for example. But they will definitely be back together for number 3.
Alright! I like the sound of that. I don’t really get into audio books but will have to check that out as well. Do you think Shaw is your alter ego?
No, I don’t see myself having anything in common with Shaw. I couldn’t see myself my some of the hard decisions that he has to make. And he’s a lot more hands-on with the ladies. I couldn’t see myself asking the waitress for a refill of coffee one minute and the next minute be in a storage room having sex between the can foods and paper towels. LOL
Thanks, Keith, for joining us, and good luck with your writing career!
I appreciate the group taking the time to read my book(s) and wanted to get me and Tease. Thank you.
Wow…Thanks Keith for answering all these questions. I am really enjoying this series. I too like Walter Mosley (my fav author) and James Patterson. I also love Robert Parker and Elmore Leonard. I see those two in your writing too.
Well thank you Mary, you have me with good company. LOL.
I’m late, late, late. Planned to come back earlier, but ended up being at work too late. Hmmm, my comments on the characters:
Shaw: Well that man had sex anywhere and everywhere. It makes me want to know more about what is going on in his head. I mean he was sexing anyone who came along, or at least it felt that way. But I did like his badass character and how he could always somehow allude death. Did you originally build the story around Shaw? I felt like it was Shaw’s story (probably because of the first person), but the booked was called Tease. Although I didn’t really feel it centered so much on Tease.
I’m very interested in seeing more on Tease and how she develops in Tease 2. I had a feeling she wasn’t quite down for the count at the end of this book.
I definitely am a fan of your characters. They are flawed and real (although some things they do seem a but “unreal” but that’s a writer’s prerogative and what makes books fiction!)
Can’t wait to read more of your stuff. Thanks for joining us, and again, sorry for my tardiness!
Shaw did get around, didn’t he? LOL.
I mentioned before that Tease was originally planned to have a smaller role in the book. But as you can tell, she refused to go quietly. Tease was not supposed to be the title of the book, it was a temporary name until I came up with a better one. After a while the name stuck and I couldn’t imagine giving it a different title.
My thinking when I came up with the book was to make an urban version of James Bond, with a sexy hero, equally sexy assassin and an evil mastermind that could hold his own against Shaw. So I allow the implacable to play out in the story every now and then.
I had a lot of fun today, loved the questions. If anyone still has questions for me, just shoot me an email and I’ll get back with you.
Thank you Rawsistaz!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks so much for joining us to chat. I’m sorry I’m posting late; however, I wanted to let you know that I really enjoyed Tease. The story immediately captured my attention in the opening pages, held it throughout the book and left me wanting more at the end. I’m interested to see what Shaw and Tease will get into in the second installment.
Thank you, I’m glad you’ve enjoyed it.
Sorry i missed the whole chat, but l’ve always been a fan of Keith’s and I’m so proud of his literary endeavors!
Why thank you ma’am I truly appreciate your kind words.