Gay Porn Star Covers
In the M/M genre, it is common for publishers to use stock
photography in order to create covers. This means that your character, who is
acceptable for your cover, is also acceptable for a dozen other covers. I
decided that I wanted to do something different with my covers and spoke to
Dreamspinner Press about the possibility of creating my own. They agreed,
provided they have final approval, and I got to work.
When the anthology call went up
for cowboy stories on Dreamspinner, I decided that you never get to see BDSM
cowboys (which is odd because they have lots and lots of ropes). I wrote
Mastering the Ride for that anthology, but Dreamspinner decided to publish it
on its own. They sent me the spec sheet for the cover art, and I started
looking through the stock art for suitable guys. Then it occurred to me that I
had a fabulous “Josh” right there on my Twitter and sent a message to Trent
Diesel asking him if he’d like to model for the cover. He agreed and set up a
shoot with a local photographer. We agreed on terms for our arrangement, signed
a modeling agreement, and got to work. The result is one of my favorite covers
to date.
After the 2011 Grabbys (a kind of
academy awards of gay porn in Chicago), my friends sent me some of the pictures
from their adventure. I’d been in the hospital that weekend recovering from
surgery, so I was unable to attend with them. I was flipping through the pics
when I stopped dead at one of a young man with an open hoodie. He was
absolutely beautiful. When I asked my friends the name of this boy, they told
me it was Parker Perry, who to that point, I had not heard of. I posted the
pics on my twitter for my friends to see, and Parker thanked me. I took the
chance and asked him if he’d like to be on the cover of a book. He agreed and
got me in touch with one of his studios to license an image.
Phillip Aubrey and I became
friends last summer when I offered to interview him and help him get his story
out. In December, after we’d talked almost every day for six months, he asked
me to come and stay with him for the weekend in San Diego. We had a fabulous
time together, and while I was there, we met up with some people from Twitter
including a photographer. I got in touch with the photographer and Phillip
Aubrey a few weeks later and arranged a photoshoot. The cover for the free
short story Lessons Learned came from that shoot.
As I was writing Aaron, I had a
certain picture of him in my head. Small, thin, beautiful even with his scars,
black-haired with piercing eyes, Aaron had a very distinctive persona in my
head. I never thought I’d be able to find a model to do him justice—until I saw
Jake Bass from Cockyboys. One look at him as he was introduced by Cockyboys and
I knew that he was my Aaron. Everything about him was perfect. So, I contacted
Cockyboys to license an image, and my graphic artist did the rest. She did a
gorgeous job.
Coming up on future covers, I have
a licensed image of the absolutely gorgeous Drake Jaden from Gio Caruso at High
Performance men. God, this kid is beautiful inside and out. We spent the
weekend laughing and having fun at the 2012 Grabbys Memorial Day weekend here
in Chicago and I can’t think of a nicer guy to promote.
The Little Boy Lost blog tour continues June 25th
– July 24th . Make sure to comment at each stop for more chances to
win some really great prizes such as an entire series autographed to you by J.
P. Barnaby. For additional entries – tweet about the tour including @JPBarnaby
and #LittleBoyLost.
Tour Schedule: http://www.jpbarnaby.com/?p=637
Little Boy Lost is a coming of age story about two teenage
boys—Brian McAllister and Jamie Mayfield—growing up gay in rural Alabama. The
six book series chronicles their lives as they navigate through peers, parents,
and porn, desperately searching for the perfect combination of circumstances in
which they can be together. Through their journey, they find friends, pain,
acceptance, loss, and most importantly, themselves.
July 2
– July 9th, Dreamspinner Press will offer the first book in the
Little Boy Lost series for free on their site (http://www.DreamspinnerPress.com)
and books 2-5 at 20% off in celebration of the release of the final book,
Sacrificed.
Reviews for Little Boy Lost
This is a compulsively readable book. I sat down with it the
other day, intending just to skim it for this re-review, but within a few pages
I was pulled completely into the story just like I was last year. Brian and
Jamie are wonderful characters, beautifully drawn and realized. They experience
the wonder and excitement of their first love, going through each step: a
touch, a kiss, an embrace, and more. At the same time, they are terrified of
what might happen to them should anyone find out about their relationship. They
live in a very small town in Alabama where faggot jokes and homophobia are the
norm. How do they reconcile their feelings for each other with the reality of
the time and place in which they are living? – JesseWave
What this author does in ABANDONED is just amazing, it is a
pure and honest kind of writing that bares the soul of a seventeen, going on
eighteen year old. It offers the worst of circumstances in which various forms
of love can ignite, nourish and inspire Brian on his journey. I never expected
to experience such a strong connection to the person Brian is. I’m still amazed
by it and savoring it every chance I get. ABADONED blew me away as J.P. Barnaby
continues the story of memorable characters who just go for your heart. This is
just about as good as it gets in the M/M genre! – Leontine’s Book Realm
About the Author
As a bisexual woman,
J.P. is a proud member of the GLBT community both online and in her small town
on the outskirts of Chicago. A member of Mensa, she is described as brilliant
but troubled, sweet but introverted, and talented but deviant. She spends her days
writing software and her nights writing erotica, which is, of course, far more
interesting. The spare time that she carves out between her career and her
novels is spent reading about the concept of love, which, like some of her
characters, she has never quite figured out for herself.
Website: http://www.jpbarnaby.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/JPBarnaby
Facebook: http://www.Facebook.com/JPBarnaby
7 comments:
Speaking of mastering the ride, it has been quite a ride for you hasn't it young lady. You have a full time job, you are an accomplished author, confidant to many, constant traveler and you have done it all while losing a significant amount of weight.
Is there anything you cannot do or should we just rename you "Super Woman"!!! :-)
I like the idea that you go out and search for models that aren't the same ones used over and over on different covers. The first time I saw your Aaron cover I really liked it. It's very dramatic with rich colors.
One of the first BDSM books I read was Mastering the Ride, and it's still one of my favorites :)
penumbrareads(at)gmail(dot)com
It always takes me out of the reading experience to see the same stock cover model (usually in a similar Photoshopped pose!) on multiple book covers, so that's great that you get more creative control. And I can't fault your choices one bit! :-)
vitajex(at)aol(dot)com
Shadow - I write because it's my therapy. It helps with stress from work and keeps me sane. :)
Wulf - Thank you. I have an extremely talented graphic artist. She did Papi, Mastering the Ride, and Aaron. She also did my website. I adore her. :)
VitaJex - Jamie from the Little Boy Lost series is everywhere. He seems to be a compelling character. Either that, or there is a shortage of blonds. I like using the adult models because I get promote them while they promote me. It's something they're proud of. Trent Diesel told me it's one of the most artistic things he's ever done.
Wow, I hadn't realized that many of your covers were done with live models--they are fabulous! They add a dimensionality to the cover because they were *meant* for your covers. Very, very cool. :-)
Hi Sarah! I've met Parker, Drake, Jake, and Phillip - they are all really sweet guys, which makes promoting them easy for me. I love being able to support them and my graphic artist is incredible. I wouldn't trade her for anything. :)
It must make the covers more special to you because of your own creative input in them.
Jess1
strive4bst at yahoo dot com
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