Happy Wednesday Scribblers. It’s been a devastating couple of weeks (filled with pain, anger, and hope for change). My hope is that you are taking care of yourselves. In an effort to promote positivity and to give us a short break this week I pleased to bring back fellow author and amazing friend J. P. Jackson on my Scribbles page to talk with us about what he’s been up to since the last time we chatted (you can view his last interview here) and to share some amazing news about his new audio book.
Before we jump into our conversation tell us about yourself and your writing.
That’s always such a daunting task. Who am I? I’m a 50 year old gay man, on the bearish side, married to a fantastic man for the past 22 years. I’m also Canadian (sorry), and among the many other things I can classify myself as, I have to own up to the fact that I’m a writer.
(Gasp!)
That’s always so hard for me to own.
When I do sit down and write there are a few elements that are essential.
There has to be some kind of paranormal or magical element. I love urban fantasy, I love ghosts and demons and the things that go bump in the night. I guarantee every single one of my books or short stories is going to involve something fantastical.
My main characters will always be LGBTQ+. Usually I write about gay men. I have an affinity for the bearish men, and for red heads, and you’ll find them predominant in my tales, but I’ve included a little bit of everybody.
I typically write in the here and now. As much as I love futuristic Sci-Fi and historical Fantasy, it’s just not my jam to write, plus I don’t think I have the skills to do those genre properly.
So, there you go. Gay, bearish, magical, things with wings and tails. That’s pretty much me and what you’ll get from my stories.
What have you been up to since the last time I had you over for a sit down?
Oh goodness. Let’s see. I wrote another book, not related to either the Books of the Apocalypse or the Inner Demon series. I know my readers are hating me right now because of that. But this story just wouldn’t leave me alone.
The book is called Summoned, and it’s about Devid Khandelwal. He’s a first generation born Canadian of East Indian descent and he has a deep fascination for all things occult. But as much as he has studied and practiced runes and tarot and spirit summonings, nothing has ever happened to him that might be considered supernatural. He’s about to give it all up, but tries one last spell. Dev purchases a summoning board that grants desires and he ropes his best friend, Cameron Habersham, into performing the ritual with him.
Nothing happens, and Dev is crushed.
But then…
The desires they wished for start coming true.
Dev and Cam are plunged into the Shadow Realm and all hell breaks loose. The two find themselves in the middle of an all-male coven, who capture and victimize Fae, and who are in a generations long feud with the local werewolf pack.
Needless to say, Dev begins to regret his involvement in the occult and the old saying “be careful what you wish for”, is suddenly a very real consideration.
That book got signed to contract with NineStar Press and should be out later this year, or early 2021.
Then I also had Magic or Die made into an Audiobook and that released last month. So far the sales are doing pretty well – the narrator was fantastic – and I had a video book trailer made to advertise the release of the audiobook, and did a week long Facebook blitz too.
I know you and I have chatted several times about writing; more specifically writing Queer Novels that aren’t romance, care to share some of your thoughts on the subject? What have your learned? What do readers need to understand about writing non romance LGBTQIA+ books, that they might not fully understand now (don’t be preachy here, keep it conversational).
This is something that STILL drives me insane.
So, for anyone reading – LGBTQ+ Fiction DOES NOT HAVE TO HAVE SEX IN IT TO MAKE IT QUEER FICTION.
Repeat that for me. Say it louder for the folks in the back.
Simply having your characters identify within the queer community is enough. The story may not revolve around relationships or sex in any way shape or form. I think the content of any story is dictated by the motivations of the character, and the situation they find themselves in. In my first book, Daimonion, the world has just started the beginning of the Apocalypse. It’s not exactly the right moment for sexy fun. In Magic or Die, there is the beginning of a relationship between one of the adult ‘students’ of the Center for Magical Research and Development, and the ‘teacher’ or ‘coach’ of the group. But the two involved talk about how inappropriate it is to act on their attraction for each other. I mean they eventually throw all caution out the window, but that has ramifications. Either way, neither of these two books have any content that I would consider to be sex. Sexual tension? Sure. Off page sex references? Absolutely – but that’s what the story demanded.
Now, Summoned, that’s a bit of a different beast. The world of Male Witches in this tale is hyper sexualized, and so there is graphic sex depicted in the novel.
I didn’t really want to go down that route – I didn’t want to be another M/M Romance author. But at the same time, I was curious to see if this kind of story would sell better than the first two. So, as much as writing Summoned stretched my comfort zones and my writing skills (writing sex isn’t easy, and writing good and accurate sex scenes is even harder (all the puns intended)), it’s also an experiment to see what sells.
I have to ask, so this new book, Summoned, is an experiment for you and your writing, does this mean if you sell more of the romance story then the Urban Fantasy that you are going to move into the romance field and give up Urban Fantasy? Will J.P. Jackson become the next Nora Roberts or Nicholas Sparks?
HAHAHAHA!
OMG if only - Nora Roberts.
So here's the fun thing - I started out with Summoned trying to write an M/M Paranormal Romance - and to be honest, I think it ended up being a sexy Urban Fantasy story that has graphic sex. I'm not sure I would call it a Romance in any way. Others may disagree.
But, if it is successful - more than the other books, will I start writing more stories like this?
Probably not.
Books of the Apocalypse have three books planned out - it's a trilogy. I have no desire to include sex in any of them
Inner Demons series has five books planned - and James and Isaiah will continue their relationship throughout the series, but will we get to see them get down and dirty? Probably not - it's not what this set of books are about.
Magus Malefica series - the book that Summoned is from - could have as many as thirteen books, each stand-alone, with repeating characters from the other stories. This series will have sex.
Other books? Probably not. Maybe? But will sex and romance be the only thing I write? No.
I think it will depend on the story.
What was is like working on creating an audio book for Magic or Die?
The process was really interesting.
I have to say, I feel very fortunate that my publishing house is able and willing to assist its authors in getting their books formatted into an audiobook. I can’t imagine trying to do this on my own.
It has been two years since Magic or Die was published, so I had to go back and re-examine my work and that alone was an intellectual exercise. I had to create some documents that would give potential narrators a feel for the characters in the book. Who they were, what they looked like, and how I felt their voice might be portrayed. All of this work made me reevaluate the writing and my characters, and I was often surprised at my writing. After a two year break from the storyline, I had forgotten a lot of details. It was fun to go back and visit this project.
After this step was completed, I had to put together a quick script. A scene that had a good selection of characters speaking so that potential narrators had something to work from, and could audition with.
Then, the script and character sheets were posted (again, thanks to NineStar), and we waited for narrators to audition. I was fortunate that I had a couple who were interested. After listening to their reads of the script I had prepared, there was one that clearly felt ‘right’. Robbie Molinari’s (find Robbie here) voices and tone were perfect.
Robbie was then sent the offer to produce the book. He sent a sample back, reading the first few chapters. The content was fantastic.
When he was done narrating the book, I sat down with my own book in hand, and listened to Robbie as he narrated Magic or Die, following along in my book. If I came across a mistake, it was noted. Mistakes were sent off to him, they were corrected and then the entire book was uploaded to the Audible website.
One month later – 43 downloads! WOOHOO!
Now, I also know, you were busy creating a book trailer as well. Tell us about that process?
I thought it might be a good idea to advertise the release of the audiobook, as no one would even know about it otherwise. So I contacted Baz Collins (learn more about Baz and Akwekon Media here) – a fellow author from NineStar – and a media whiz, and asked him if he could create a video book trailer. He had done some in the past which I thought were stunning.
Baz and I worked together. I sent him the same character tip sheet that I sent off to the Narrator, along with a couple lines about the plot of the book, something that would ‘hook’ the readers, or make the project sound really interesting.
From there, Baz found stock images for the various characters, overlaid a number of effects with a perfectly paired soundtrack, and from all that work, he created a fantastic trailer!
Click here for the link – go watch – Baz did an incredible job.
Tell me, if there was one thing you would like readers to take away about your writing, what would it be?
Being Urban Fantasy, the stories are meant to be fantastical. To make the unreal, real. So I would hope that readers get lost in the stories and immersed in a world full of magic and possibilities.
But each book has its own theme or dilemma. So there’ll be lessons in each book, or takeaways, or things that I hope will make readers ponder and question. For instance, Magic or Die is about dealing with your own Inner Demons, and in fact, that’s the name of the series. Perhaps readers will self examine their own monsters and come to terms with them
The last thing I want, is for members of the LGBTQ+ community to have stories where they can see themselves being the hero. So often, we’ve had to fight, and fight hard in order to have the same things as our heterosexual friends and family. It’s nice to see ourselves depicted in fiction in positive ways.
Lastly, I want others who are not part of the LGBTQ+ community to see that we can be the heroes too. Members of our community are strong, smart, capable, reliable, clever, resilient, and creative. We are just as capable of fighting off the monster, defeating the villain and overcoming our own faults to be a character to look up to and strive to be.
How are your Demons treating you? What about your African Violets?
My demons are always tormenting me. They do it for fun. Sometimes they come for snuggles and pets, other times it’s to claw, bite, and scratch. They are unusual beasties, but I love them.
The violets are great right now! I have about 200 seedlings slowly growing, and a couple of seed pods ripening on some plants. New violets are on the way!
What else do you have coming up? What are you working on?
I’m really focusing on finishing the second book of the Inner Demons series – that’s the next book after Magic or Die. It’s called Blood and Sacrifice and it’s all about dealing with James’ sister, Shauna and her use of Blood Magic. There are ghosts, zombies, vampires, siphons, and a whole new brand of magic that has a Voudon feel to it.
Then I have a couple of short stories I need to write – ideas that have come to me.
And then it’s time to start cracking down on Nephilim – Book Two of the Apocalypse. I’m equally terrified and excited to be continuing this project, and it’s long overdue.
***
I want to extend a big thanks to J.P. Jackson for stopping by and chatting with us today. if you like it a little creepy and dark then I absolutely recommend that you go out and pick up a copy of Magic or Die and listen to chilling tale. Until next time I hope you stay safe and have a great week.
Find the Book trailer:
Click here to view the trailer for Magic or Die
Magic or Die Details:
James Martin is a teacher, a powerful Psychic, and an alcoholic. He used to work for the Center for Magical Research and Development, a facility that houses people who can’t control their supernatural abilities, but left after one of his students was killed, turning to vodka to soothe his emotional pain. The problem is he still has one year left on his contract. When James returns to the CMRD to fulfill the rest of his contract, he finds himself confronting the demons of his past and attempting to protect his new class from a possible death sentence, because if they don’t pass their final exams, they’ll be euthanized. James also discovers that his class isn’t bringing in enough sponsors, the agencies and world governments who supply grants and ultimately purchase graduates of the CMRD, and that means no profit for the facility. James and his students face impossible odds—measure up to the facility’s unreachable standards or escape.
Find the audiobook here.
Find the ebook and paperback here.
About J.P. Jackson
J.P. Jackson works as an IT analyst in health care during the day, where if cornered he’d confess to casting spells to ensure clinicians actually use the electronic medical charting system he configures and implements.
At night however, the writing happens, where demons, witches and shape shifters congregate around the kitchen table and general chaos ensues. The insurance company refuses to accept any more claims of ‘acts of the un-god’, and his husband of almost 20 years has very firmly put his foot down on any further wraith summoning’s in the basement. And apparently imps aren’t house-trainable. Occasionally the odd ghost or member of the Fae community stops in for a glass of wine and stories are exchanged. Although the husband doesn’t know it, the two Chihuahuas are in cahoots with the spell casting.
J.P.’s other hobbies include hybridizing African Violets (thanks to grandma), extensive travelling and believe it or not, knitting.
Where to find J.P. Jackson
Twitter find him here.
Facebook find him here.
Goodreads find him here.
Instagram find him here.
NineStar Press find him here.
