Before
we get started, I want to thank you, Dawn, for agreeing to be a stop on my blog
tour. I’m excited to be here. I also really
love what you’ve done with the décor. You have so many truly sinspirational
photos of men throughout this place. If a few of them are missing when I leave,
it certainly won’t be because I have taken them. J
To get us
started can you tell us a little about what you are working on or have coming
out?
I would love to! My current
release is a dystopian novel titled Moral
Authority. It’s a little something I worked on when I asked myself what
would happen if the moral majority got everything they wanted.
What if in the future morality
became defined for all?
I know. Pretty scary stuff,
right? But the idea made for an interesting plot bunny.
So I basically started defining
morality as the moral majority might have seen it. If they saw something as
wrong, then it was immoral and in this new America I had created, it then
became illegal.
For example, the moral majority
doesn’t care much for homosexuals. They are often seen as a perversion.
Therefore, being gay was not only immoral but also illegal in my futuristic
America.
I didn’t stop there. Promiscuity
is often looked down upon, so any sexual activity outside of marriage became
immoral and illegal. In fact, anything that didn’t preserve the traditional
family unit was outlawed, such as divorce.
So as you can see, the
government literally takes over our lives. It tells us what we can and can’t
do. When that happens, when freedoms are restricted instead of broadened and
when subjective terms become defined for all, the America we know disappears.
And in this America, my three
characters—Mark, Isaac, and Samuel—take three very different journeys. One is a
victim, one is a rebel, and the other is the tyrant intent on maintaining
control.
How would
you describe yourself using only five words?
Ooh.
Only five? I’m usually pretty wordy, as you can tell. This will be a challenge.
Okay,
I got it!
I’m
silly, stubborn, smart, and sinfully charming. I also apparently like
alliteration! J
How do
you get yourself in the mood to write?
I dance naked outside in my
backyard to “It’s Raining Men.” There’s something about those lyrics that
inspires me. Who doesn’t love to think about men who are “tall, dark, blonde,
and lean, rough and tough and strong and mean”? It really gets my creative, um,
juices flowing. Don’t worry though. I have a privacy fence, so the neighbors
are safe. If they peek over the fence though, they better not complain and just
enjoy the show. It’s my backyard after all.
If someone
hasn't read any of your work, what book would you recommend that they start
with and why?
That’s
an interesting question. I’ve never thought of that before. I’d have to
recommend that they start with The Gifted
One first. Why? Even though it is a paranormal romance, it follows more of
the traditional rules of romance that readers love. Matt is in danger from the
demons that want to kill him, and his guardian angel, Gabriel, protects him
from that evil. But Matt and Gabriel have fallen in love with each other. Their
love breaks divine law, and they are also in danger from the angels that want
to keep them from being together. It’s a touching story about the power of
love, and how it can definitely realign the heavens.
Where do you find the inspirations for your stories?
I
don’t have a pat answer for this one. Inspiration truly strikes on a whim. I
got the idea for Moral Authority
during a final exam. While my students were writing their essays, I pondered
the idea of prescribed morality. The
Gifted One actually was inspired by a nightmare I had about a door. There
was something evil on the other side that wanted to get in. I tried to keep it
out, but I was failing. Then this light appeared from nowhere, and the door and
whatever waited on the other side disappeared. When I woke up, I asked myself:
what was on the other side? Why was it trying to kill me, and just who brought
the light? Those answers turned into The
Gifted One. For 3, which is an
m/m/m novel, the plot bunny actually hopped into my life on one of our visits
to Provincetown, Massachusetts. My husband and I ran into a trio, and I asked
myself: how did these three men decide to be in a relationship together?
So as
you can see, I’m truly at the mercy of my plot bunnies. Once they present
themselves, I go with the flow and let my muse take it from there.
Are your
characters able to love or do they need to be taught?
I’d
say that most of my characters are able to love. They just need to be taught
how to work past their fears of being in love. I think a lot of people are that
way. Love, though great, can be terrifying. It makes you quite vulnerable, and
vulnerability is a tricky concept. Most of us grow accustomed to taking care of
ourselves and being independent. When you fall in love though, you have to
actually think about the other person. It’s not that you or your needs become
less important, but that the other person in your life means so much to you
that their needs become just as important as your own. Trying to balance that
can be difficult for some people and some characters.
Then,
there are those characters that are afraid to love again because they have been
hurt in the past. How many of us have been gun shy after a bad experience?
That’s also a place where some of my characters come from. They’ve been hurt
before, and they don’t trust that this new person won’t do the same thing.
Learning
to be vulnerable is typically the issue my characters struggle with, and I
think it’s something that many of us try to cope with in our everyday lives.
What is
coming up from you in 2013? Anything you want to tease us with?
I’m pretty excited about my
Provincetown Series. The first book, When
Love Takes Over, is slated for release in August/September, and the novella
spin off from that book Chasing the Sun
is coming out in October/November. The other two books in the series will be
out in 2014.
One of the reasons I’m so
excited about this series is that I absolutely love Provincetown. My husband
and I vacation there every summer, and I wanted to write a series that captures
the essence of Provincetown. It’s a beautiful locale with an eclectic cast of
characters that truly make it a unique setting. It is a wonderfully romantic
place to fall in love, but the carefree lifestyle upon the Cape can also lead
to stumbling blocks on the path to happily ever after. The town is an important
character in the books, just as much as the people who visit and live there.
In the first book, struggling
author Zach flees to Provincetown to escape a painful break up. He’s searching
to understand why his relationship ended and why he can’t seem to find his
writing voice. The last thing he’s looking for is love. What he finds, however,
is Van, a gay porn star who enjoys his carefree life. The two of them have no
desire to give into what they feel, but once Provincetown casts its spell, love
takes over.
Thanks again for having me here, Dawn, I truly appreciate
it. I have included a blurb and an excerpt below. Additionally, as part of my
blog tour I’m holding a contest. All you have
to do is leave a comment to this post, and your name is entered to win a free
copy of Moral Authority. If a reader
happens to follow all my blog stops, then she or he can leave a comment at the
other sites a well. This means that someone could enter 7 times for a chance to
win the book. At the end of the tour, a winner will be chosen and announced.
Blurb
Life, liberty,
and the pursuit of happiness are prescribed ideals in America of 2050. The
Moral Authority, the nation’s newest branch of government, has virtually
eliminated crime, poverty, and most social ills, but it also rules the land
with a tyrannical fist, championing ignorance and brandishing fear.
Mark Bryan
is a gay man whose existence brands him an outlaw; Isaac Montoya is a charming
stranger, who entices Mark to defy moral law; and Samuel Pleasant runs the
Moral Authority and plans to punish moral offenders and a rebellious
uprising—no matter the cost.
Will liberty and
justice return for all?
Book Genre:
Contemporary Gay
Fiction
Excerpt
As Mark drew closer to the Starbucks on
14th and Lavaca, dread once again crept along his spine like an army of
spiders.
Moral code posters were everywhere. On
every building wall or storefront display. All lampposts, trash cans, street
signs, and mailboxes supported the same gruesome image of Uncle Sam.
Saggy, aged flesh framed a smile that
radiated no warmth. His cold blue eyes looked more akin to sharks’ than humans’.
Uncle Sam’s gaze pierced through flesh and peered into the soul, looking for
the immorality hidden within as easily as a shark detected a drop of blood
within the ocean. His demeanor was that of a top-tier predator, and his
pointing finger was not only accusatory but also a sign that you might be his
next prey.
As a child, he’d never understood why all
the adults, his mother included, praised Uncle Sam so much or even why they referred to him as an uncle. No
sense of family attachment connected him to the man with a crooked smile, who
commanded moral obedience in the advertisements all around him. In fact, Uncle
Sam was the subject of many of Mark’s childhood nightmares. In them, Uncle Sam
entered his room, his finger pointing at him like a loaded gun and his smile
hitched up at the right corner of his face. He hovered over Mark’s bed like a
specter. And then it would happen.
In his dreams, Uncle Sam unhinged his
lower jaw and turned into a human vacuum, sucking up everything that was
distasteful inside his bloating body. Hamburgers, hotdogs, and candy flew from
under Mark’s bed and disappeared within the gaping void of Uncle Sam’s mouth.
Eventually, no matter how tightly he gripped onto his headboard, Mark soared
through the air, straight for Uncle Sam’s yawning maw.
The memory of those dreams caused Mark to
shiver even though the oppressive Texas sun beat down upon him. Walking past
all these posters unnerved him as if he had been transported inside a nightmarish
dreamscape where escaping Uncle Sam was impossible.
Uncle Sam’s eyes and smile lined the
street in almost every direction, berating all who looked upon him into
submission.
“Wonderful day today,” another government
employee said to Mark as Mark walked by. He nodded in agreement, even though he
disagreed. His day was wonderful until Uncle Sam ruined it.
REMEMBER
THE MORAL CODE OF CARE. EAT RESPONSIBLY was now posted on the wall of what used to be Dan’s Liquor
Store. It was now one of many health food shops where citizens purchased the
food needed for their daily allowance.
Uncle Sam was obviously expressing his
displeasure at Mark’s desire for a Frappuccino. That didn’t stop a sense of
vindication from washing over him as he drew closer to the Starbucks.
MORAL
CITIZENS ARE GOOD CITIZENS.
THE
ROAD TO MORALITY IS PAVED WITH MODERATION.
THE
MORAL LAW OF RESPECT KEEPS CITIZENS HAPPY.
MORALITY
IS NOT AN OPTION.
BEING
MORAL IS BEING AMERICAN.
Finally, Mark reached the front door of
Starbucks. Once inside, he would be out of Uncle Sam’s line of sight. Before
going in, however, he took one look back at the posters. Dozens of pairs of
Uncle Sam eyeballs stared back, boring into his being and condemning him simply
for existing.
Yeah,
well, fuck you too, Mark
said within the safety of his own thoughts. He then entered Starbucks and
slammed the door shut behind him.
You can buy Moral
Authority here:
Become a part of Jacob Z. Flores’ social media, by visiting
any of the following:
Website/blog: http://jacobzflores.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/jacob.flores2,
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/JacobZFlores,
3 comments:
Thank you, Dawn for having me. I hope you are feeling better. :)
I’m silly, stubborn, smart, and sinfully charming. I also apparently like alliteration! J
Nicely said! Are your teeth really as white as they appear in your Wilde City caricature?
When you fall in love though, you have to actually think about the other person. It’s not that you or your needs become less important, but that the other person in your life means so much to you that their needs become just as important as your own.
That is a wonderful explanation of what love is! It's unfortunate that more people don't understand that.
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