Hi guys! Today I am very excited to welcome author Cat Grant to the blog. She is here to chat with us about her new book Once a Marine as well, as to share a great giveaway!

Cat, welcome to Joyfully Jay!  I am so excited to have you here at my blog today to talk about your new release Once a Marine.

Thanks for inviting me, Jay! I’m glad to be here.


I reviewed the book earlier this week and really enjoyed it [review].  One thing I particularly liked is that Marc is a writer of m/m romance novels.  I am curious what it was like as an author to write a story about another author in this same genre.  Were there any parallels with your own experiences?

Marc is basically me if I were a 30-year-old gay man. We share a lot of the same background – I went to Berkeley too (way back in the 80’s, when they still let in underachievers like me!), graduated with an English degree, then spent the next few years working in sub-par service industry jobs. I even have a black and white tuxedo kitty! Except for the fact that I didn’t grow up near Camp Pendleton in San Diego, Marc is pretty close to who I’d be if I had a dick.


This book takes place under the backdrop of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell and its eventual repeal.  What made you decide to tackle this topic? Was the repeal under consideration while you were writing?

Oh, I’d been dying to write a book with a DADT theme for a couple of years, but I had to wait for it to be officially repealed before I could give the story a happy ending. I’d been following Rachel Maddow’s series on DADT, and I was impressed by one Army captain (sorry, I can’t recall his name right now) who said he’d decided to put his personal life on hold while he finished serving out his stint, because it wasn’t fair to any potential partners to have to go back in the closet for his sake. That interview stuck with me, and formed the basis for my characterization of my Marine hero, Cole Hammond.


I really enjoyed the dichotomy of Marc on one hand being so drawn to military guys, but at the same time being scared of entering a relationship with one again after previous heartache.  And you presented him with such delicious temptation with Cole! 

Well, who wouldn’t fall for Cole? Strong, sweet and hot – just the way I like ‘em!


At one point Marc mentions that his books, music and movies provide his muses for his writing.  Do you have certain things that inspire you when working on a story?  Were there any particular inspirations for this book?

I usually model my characters physically on actors I find attractive. In this case, I modeled Cole after Alexander Skarsgard (who actually did play a Marine in Generation Kill) and Marc after Darren Criss (pre-Glee, before they made him cut his gorgeous mop of dark curls!). I printed out pics of both of them and taped them up on the wall above my desk. It helped keep me focused! [see I would think that would make it harder to focus! 😉 ]


I know you have some other projects on the way with Riptide.  Can you tell us more about what else you are working on right now?

I just finished a story for their rentboy submissions call. This one has Michael Fassbender and James McAvoy-shaped characters. They’re my current obsession, btw. I’ve been madly in love with them both (with a slight leaning toward Fassbender) ever since I saw the new X-Men movies this past summer. If you haven’t seen it yet, you seriously need to. The sexual tension between their characters jumps right off the screen.

And my editor/publisher/partner-in-stalking-Fassbender Rachel Haimowitz is coming to stay with me for a couple weeks while we start writing a seriously twisted, kinky m/m story. Also with Fassbender and McAvoy-shaped characters. Do we sense a theme here? LOL!


If readers want to find out you or your books, how can they find you?

You can catch me on:


What’s your current book list and where can we buy them? 

Check out my Amazon author page:
http://www.amazon.com/Cat-Grant/e/B003ASUGUS/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1

Or my book list over on Are: http://www.allromanceebooks.com/storeSearch.html?searchBy=author&qString=Cat+Grant


Thank you again for taking the time to stop by Joyfully Jay! It was so much fun having you here!

It was a pleasure, Jay.


And now, one lucky commenter will win a choice of one of the following Cat Grant books: Allegro Vivace, Sonata Appassionata, The First Real Thing (Icon Men #1), Appearing Nightly (Icon Men #2), A Fool for You (Icon Men #3), or Entangled Trio. The contest will remain open until Monday November 21 at 11:59 EST. As always, the usual fine print:

  • By entering the contest, you’re confirming that you are at least 18 years old.
  • Winners will be selected by random number.
  • If you win, you must respond to my email within 48 hours or another winner will be chosen. Please make sure that your spam filter allows email from Joyfully Jay and leave your email address if it is not in your profile.

So be sure to leave a comment and good luck!

FILED UNDER: Giveaway, Interview
TAGGED: ,