Award-Winning Author Rick R Reed

Rick R. Reed, to the casual observer, appears to be an unassuming, polite, and sometimes shy man unobtrusively residing in Seattle, WA, with his life-partner and a Boston Terrier named Lily.

What lies beneath this man's calm exterior is a mind capable of producing unforgettable tales of horror, romance, and tragedy that have been compared to Stephen King, called "an established brand," won awards, and are constantly evolving. Each Rick R. Reed story takes the readers on a journey in which we may tremble, cry, laugh, swear we want to end, but yet, we will not close the book until the last word has been read.

Masterful prose provides settings and characters readers simply cannot get enough of. Rick's ability to cross and blur genre lines has enthralled readers around the world. His stories know no boundaries and courageously open doors some would rather remain closed. His settings may go from a penthouse to Mr. Leather night in an alley club; from characters trying to discover how they fit in a world they don't understand (Dignity Takes a Holiday) to the tragedy of sacrificing passion in order to know love (In the Blood).

His paranormal novel, "The Blue Moon Café" was named the 2010 Book of the Year by Rainbow Awards for Excellence. The dark and suspenseful "How I Met My Man" is currently receiving rave reviews.

Rick's voice is powerful, compassionate, and here to stay.
Website: http://www.rickrreed.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/RickRReed
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/rickrreed
Blog http://rickrreedreality.blogspot.com/

Q) Originally, horror and suspense were the centerpieces for your stories. You are now branching out to intriguing tales of romance. What has inspired your shift in focus?

A) I think, as I've grown older and more settled in my life, I'm now more than ready to explore the vagaries of romantic relationships and how human beings interact with one another. I like to write about how people connect, what makes them long for connection, and what can get in the way of that connection. Those themes are timeless and universal. I especially like combining dark suspense with romance.

Q) You have worked as an advertising copywriter and as a movie critic in Chicago. Your entire life revolves around writing. What is it about the written word that has bound you to it so exclusively?

A) I have almost always written. I wrote short stories when I was a small child, a play in 4th grade, a novella in 5th that I read in serial installments to my class…writing is simply something that's constitutional with me, a part of me. I don't look at it as a job or a hobby, but who I am. It's what I do best…and so it's natural that it also plays a part in how I've always made my living.

Q) "Tales From the Sexual Underground" sent you on an odyssey in which you interviewed porn stars, prostitutes, self-proclaimed sex pigs, and delved into bizarre sexual practices. The stories are provocative and, at times, difficult to read. Why was this book so important to you?

A) The book evolved from a column I used to write for a Chicago weekly and many of the columns I wrote at the time are reproduced in the book with some explanatory manner. So are many short stories I wrote which revolve around people living on the sexual edge. I guess what fascinates me about the subject matter is what fascinates me about human behavior--what drives people and what sometimes compels them to do things that they know logically they should resist, but can't.

Q) In "Deadly Vision" you send out a clear message about the importance of a mother's bond with her children. That story was a bit of a departure for you. Why did you feel the need to tell it?

A) The story is not really a departure. It's a story of dark suspense about a reluctant psychic having visions into the murders of young girls in her small hometown. So I think it fits quite well into my canon. But the mother/child bond is central to the story thematically…probably because it was written as my own mother was dying from cancer.

Q) Obviously, you have to step away from the computer. What relaxes and reenergizes you?

A) I happen to live in the Pacific Northwest, which is beautiful and great for outdoor stuff like running, walking, and hiking, all of which I love to do. When I can't get outside, I go to the gym and work out with weights or on the treadmill or cross trainer. Aside from that I love to cook, read constantly, and enjoy movies and theater.