Can you tell us a
little bit about yourself?
Let’s see, this is always a tough question for me to
answer. Recently I discovered I am what
is being labeled as a m/m new adult author.
It is funny when I completed my first novel, I never gave any thought to
what genre I was writing or would be writing under, only that I was enjoying
what I was writing. I am a teacher by
day and a writer by night (weekend, and any other time I can find).
What do you do when
you are not writing?
I like to draw, read, watch movies and socialize.
Do you have a day job
as well?
Yes.
When did you first
start writing and when did you finish your first book?
I’ve been writing and drawing for as long as I can
remember. My debut novel, “Finding Our
Way” I finished in May 2012.
How did you choose
the genre you write in?
I think it chose me, being before I wrote “Finding Our Way”
I’d never wrote anything like it before.
Where do you get your
ideas?
They pop into my head sometime and other times I dream about
them.
Do you ever
experience writer’s block?
Most definitely.
Do you work with an
outline, or just write?
I do a little of both.
I typically start writing, and then I will use a bunch of Post-It Notes
and put them all over my board, window and wall, which eventually get typed up
into my outline.
Can you tell us about
your challenges in getting your first book published?
Not knowing what to do.
Each book has been a learning experience. It seems like there is someone out there who
knows how to do it better.
If you had to go back
and do it all over, is there any aspect of your novel or getting it published
that you would change?
I would have published my first novel in the series and
waited to publish further ones until after publishing some other works.
Can you tell us about
your upcoming book?
“Drifting” is a book I’ve wanted to write from the time I
finished with “Finding Our Way.” The reason
being is the storyline is nothing I have ever seen written before and I think
the readers will truly enjoy it.
Derrick and Justin are two best friends who fell in love and have gotten
to a point in life together where they still love each other, but are finding
themselves no longer in love.
Is anything in your
book based on real life experiences or purely all imagination?
There is definitely a mix of truth and made up in my
books. My mind goes to another place
when I write, so it is always interesting when my friends will read something
and make a comments (such as remembering when I went through the same
situation) and I’d forgotten I had shared it with them.
What was your
favorite chapter (or part) to write and why?
It depends on the book.
For my “Finding Our Way Series” I have loved how each book starts and
ends in the same spot/setting. It was
not something I thought out and planned, but each book ended up this way.
How did you come up
with the title?
LOL Anyone who knows
me, knows often the title is one of the last parts I think up for my
books. They typically are names after
the first character I thought up, such as for “Finding Our Way” was (and still
is labeled) “Derrick,” while the latest book I’ve just started writing takes
the first letter from each characters first name, so it is called TED. By the time I finish writing a novel
What project are you
working on now?
Currently I am working on a story named TED (once it's
finished, I will have a different title). TED focuses on three guys dealing with
individual struggles. One of the
characters is written in first person; Turner is writing in a journal about the
events in his life after his counselor recommended it. I am writing the story in layers, giving the
readers an inside look to each character as the storyline unfolds. TED also
focuses on serious matters such as bullying and depression, and the effects it
has on not just one person, but other people's lives as well.
Will you have a new
book coming out soon?
Yes, I do. “Drifting” will be out sometime this summer. It is about these two guys who have been
together for a couple of years in a relationship and have found themselves,
well drifting apart. The book deals with
what happens in a relationship when two people quit liking who they are with,
but instead would like them to be more of what they expect. Although it the third book in the series, I
wrote this book to be read by both readers of the previous books and first time
readers.
Are there certain
characters you would like to go back to, or is there a theme or idea you’d love
to work with?
For the last year, I have been writing Derrick and Justin in
different novels. Now that I am not
writing them, I have found myself missing them.
I have a couple of ideas to use with them both in the future.
What has been the
toughest criticism given to you as an author? What has been the best
compliment?
The toughest is when someone doesn’t like my writing, mostly
when they do not give any reasoning behind why.
Overall, I like hearing people’s thoughts and each time I get a review I
am excited to see what someone thought about my writing. The best compliment I can think of is I
received a message from a reader who was halfway through “Finding Our Way” and
she told me how much that she loved the characters and connected with them as
if they were people she knew. Even
before she finished the book she had bought “Tormented Discovery” and could not
wait to see what happened with the characters next. As she read further she kept on writing me
and telling me about what she found funny and what touched her, citing how and
why she had the opinion she did. It
touched me hearing how someone who did not know me, really connected with my
characters (and me).
Is there anything
that you would like to say to your readers and fans?
Thank you to those who have bought and read my books! It has been a long time dream of mine to be
a published author. Each month that I
see a report of book sales, I am reminded there are people out there who have
helped contribute to making this dream come true. It would be great to someday be able to just
write (draw and teach) for a living.
Also, please write reviews!
Twenty words are quite easy to type up regarding one’s opinion and
justifying why they have selected the amount of stars they are giving. Your feedback is always appreciated!
I’ve now started some
FUN and Wacky questions for those interviewed on my site.
Have you ever gone
out in public with your shirt on backwards, or your slippers on, and when
realizing it, just said screw it? There
is no way I would go out like that!
Do you prefer fuzzy
or tub socks? Short socks
Are you a person who
makes their bed in the morning, or do you not see much point? Most of the time I do not make.
Be honest, how often
do you wash your hair? Daily
Do you get road rage?
What pisses you off the most about other drivers? Thankfully for some drivers shouting
profanities like a sailor behind closed windows is as bad as I get. I hate it when people go slow and think it is
up to them to be the pace car.
Do you go out of your
way to kill bugs? Are there any that make you screech and hide? It always drives people nuts, but I take them
and put them outside, especially spiders.
Flies are about the only bug that I kill.
Coffee or Tea? Tea
What is your biggest
phobia? Acrophobia- Fear
of heights.
What’s your biggest
pet peeve when it comes to social media? (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) I don’t think I have any… If something bugs me,
I will scroll past it.
Feel free to include
the following: Author Photo, Links to websites regarding the Author and their
work, links to where the work can be purchased, book cover, blurb, and any
other useful information you’d like included .
Twitter: @jaysonjamesbook
Where to buy: http://www.amazon.com/Jayson-James/e/B009FQAR44
“Finding Our Way”
Justin
Parker and Derrick Wilson have been best friends since meeting back in middle
school. Currently they are in their junior year at Chandler High School,
and living the good life as teenagers. They have great girlfriends,
plenty of close friends, their own cars, and parents who are well off. As nice
as things might look to an outsider, something is missing from each of their
lives.
Justin has become the invisible
son in the midst of his parents failing marriage. In an effort to get his
parent’s attention, Justin keeps getting into trouble. So far he has been able
to get away with anything without facing any repercussions, while Derrick is
feeling distant and tired of what he feels is a too “perfect family”. He
just wants to have a normal social life and spend time with his friends without
the pressures from his family to spend time with them. With blurring the
lines of friendship in the process to realizing what was missing and
discovering who they really are.
Justin
and Derrick take turns narrating the story of their junior year in high school
and all of the events that take place in their lives. Being a teenager can be
tough. Being gay can be tougher. For Derrick and Justin they are
both, and life cannot get any more complicated.
What
happens when two best friends cross the boundaries of friendship? Will they be able to be happy together?
Will they keep their secret?
“Tormented Discovery”
Justin and Derrick have a secret that they revealed only
to their closest friends. They are gay
and are now a couple. The story of
Justin and Derrick continues as they learn more about being a gay couple in
their senior year of high school and the complications that arise from it. Some friends will have their backs while
others simply stand on the sidelines. Other
friends will be accepting and others will ridicule them.
Sometimes love is almost not enough to save a
relationship and both Derrick and Justin begin to have their doubts as they
watch relationships around them rise and fall.
Justin and Derrick both want to have new experiences, new choices and
make new friends, which leads to them questioning their own relationship. They soon discover that some of the people
they consider friends have their own secrets, some darker than others. The couple begins to see how people react
towards homosexuality and just how people want to deal with it and them.
Will Justin and Derrick be able to hold onto each other
while their lives and secrets spiral around them?
Or will they decide to step back and give up on
themselves and each other?
“Drifting”
What happens when you are no
longer in love with the one you love?
Derrick Wilson and Justin Parker are back and in their second year in
college. After many years together, they
are finding themselves growing apart.
Derrick feels like Justin has gotten too wild. Justin finds Derrick to be boring. Will they be able to find a way to work out
their differences or will they end up parting ways?
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