Rainbow Readers Cruise Blog Tour: Interview with Author Chloe Archer

In August 2024, I’m excited to combine two of the loves of my life: cruising and LGBTQ+ fiction and romance. I hope you’ll consider joining me on the first Rainbow Readers Cruise! Until then, I’d love to introduce you to one of the attending authors, Chloe Archer.

Interview

If drinks by the pool are already a given, what are you most looking forward to about the Rainbow Readers Cruise?

Meeting readers! I’m super excited about coordinating a fun bedazzling party with some of my readers! We’re going to get together to bedazzle some Team Tentacle hats and T-shirts together, related to my Tentacular Tales series. Glitter, glue, and sequins–oh my! I expect lots of laughter, fun, and fabulous designs ahead! Plus, we’ll all have a fun keepsake to take home with us.

Which of your books would you recommend as the best way for readers to get to know you before meeting you on the cruise?

I would probably recommend my first book, It’s Not Unusual To Be Loved by an Alien. It will give you a good sense of my writing style and sense of humor. The book is the first in my ongoing Tentacular Tales series and it’s definitely the zaniest stuff I’ve written so far. Think Men in Black meets The Princess Bride — but hella gay and with tentacles!

Which of your characters (from any story) would you most like to go on a cruise with?

Oooh! That’s a tough one. I think I’d have to say Max, from The Orc and the Manny. He’s full-figured and fabulous, and he would cheer me on and give me lots of confidence to wear a bathing suit in public. Max also knows how to make friends with EVERYONE and would be the life of the party. Hanging with him would make it easy for me to get to know lots of people on the cruise. Also, he and I would totally have a duet-based 80s pop song karaoke night to end all karaoke nights on the ship. It would go down in cruise ship history and become legendary for sure!

Even if you don’t use this trip as fodder for a future project, most stories require a bit of research. Can you tell us the coolest thing you’ve learned while researching for your work, regardless of whether it made it into the text?

I had to do some research on alcohol for The Orc and the Manny because my orc professor’s character is a connoisseur when it comes to whisky. A good friend of mine happens to be very knowledgeable on this topic and she was my go-to source for information. For instance, I didn’t realize that whisky (Scottish) and whiskey (Irish) are different, and not just in how they are spelled! Whisky, particularly single malt, is based entirely on malted barley while whiskey is made from a fermented mash of cereal grains that can vary depending on whether it’s a rye whiskey or something closer to bourbon. I totally plan to take a whisky tour in Scotland one day, which I will totally write off as a business-related research trip!

Hey, this is supposed to be a review blog! Recommend your favorite book that I should read and review by another author joining us on this high-seas adventure.

There are so many great authors with amazing books joining us on this cruise. I’m so excited! I would have to recommend an older classic by Josh Lanyon — the first book in her Adrien English mystery series, Fatal Shadows. It was one of the first M/M books I ever read. It got me hooked on the series and wanting to find more books like it. Lanyon is a gifted mystery writer and I really admire her skills in that department. While I love reading mysteries, I’m not sure I have the chops to write them! I’m more of a discovery writer and I get the impression that mysteries require quite a bit of planning to keep readers guessing and on edge until the grand reveal. Fatal Shadows also sets up the start of a complicated romance between the two main characters that will play out over several books. I love a series that follows the same couple over multiple books, and Lanyon really makes their eventual HEA hard-won and satisfying.

Finally, what other projects are you working on currently?

Things are super busy these days! My very first Christmas novel, All I Want for Christmas is Tentacles, just came out. As we speak, Greg Boudreaux is recording book 3 in my Tentacular Tales series, which will be available on Audible in January. Right now, I’m writing book 2 in my Monsters Hollow series, The Gargoyle and the Romance Writer, which I’m aiming to release earlier than planned — hopefully in late February or early March! Book 1 in the same series will be coming out in audio, through Podium, in late spring 2024. After that, book 4 in my Tentacular Tales series comes out in May 2024. Lastly, I have two secret projects that will be announced in early 2024. It’s going to be a busy but exciting year ahead!

Connect With Chloe Archer

Website | Sign Up For Chloe’s Mailing List
Facebook | Reader Group | Instagram
Amazon Author Page | Goodreads | BookBub
And even more places to find Chloe

About the Rainbow Readers Cruise

The Rainbow Readers Cruise celebrates the readers and creators of LGBTQ+ fiction and romance. The cruise departs from the Port of Fort Lauderdale on August 19, 2024, and returns August 23, 2024, with stops at Key West and Coco Cay (Celebrity’s private island). Along the way, meet and mingle with some of your favorite LGBTQ+ fiction and romance authors and creators, as well as attend panels, meet and greets, small group social activities, and the Signing at Sea. Plus, the cruise itself, with fabulous destinations, food and drinks, entertainment, and more. You can find all the details about the Rainbow Readers Cruise on our website: https://rainbowreaderscruise.com.