Thanks for stopping by to
talk a little about your writing! Let's jump right in. When did you begin
writing and why?
I must start by saying thank
you for having me! It’s always nice to connect with readers and I do love to
talk!
I began writing in early
2011. My first book published was by a publisher that is no longer around. It
was Fate’s Second Chance. I really love that book and I really should do some
editing on it and make it available to readers. It’s a sweet and funny story.
As to why I became a writer
was because why not? I love to read. Let me just put that out there. If I’m not
writing, chauffeuring my kids around, I’m reading. A good book is fuel to my
brain.
But to be completely honest
one day I asked myself why couldn’t I write a book? I have all these ideas I
should put them down on paper. So, I did. It was scary at first not knowing if
I’d find a publisher willing to publish my work and if anyone would like what I
wrote. The fear of rejection is real and painful. If it weren’t for my husband
encouraging me I might not have tried. But he did and here I am today.
Do you have a favorite genre?
Is it the same genre you prefer to write?
I do actually. It’s funny
because the books I like to read aren’t in the genre I typically write. I’m a
big contemporary fan. I’m a sucker for the stories that involve one character being
bullied when younger only to come back stronger and more determined and winds
up getting together with his tormentor. I love the whole concept of people
changing, getting a second chance and forgiveness.
I prefer to write paranormal
stories because there’s no limits!
Do certain themes and ideas
tend to capture your writer’s imagination and fascinate you?
There are! I love the
paranormal world. It’s a place where anything can happen. I can make the
impossible possible. It allows me to let my imagination go crazy and I get some
pretty wild and far out there ideas and in the paranormal world I can make
those things happen. If I want my male characters to have a baby I can do that.
And I hate the idea of my characters dying so I can make it to where they live
forever.
How do you
balance long-term thinking vs. being nimble in today's market?
To be in
this market that is changing every day you kinda have to change with it. I know
in both of my long running series that are published by Siren, I’m constantly
changing things around. And to be fair my brain and thought process jumps from
one thing to the next so it’s easy for me. As a reader, I know what I’m looking
for and I try to incorporate that into my writing. Because why write a book and
put your heart and soul into it if no one is going to read it. Writing is
sometimes a gamble. Sometimes you hit the mark and sometimes you don’t but you
do learn as you go.
How do you
find readers in today's market?
That is a
good question. Believe it or not I’m still learning on that one myself. There
are so many good authors out there in every genre imaginable and it can be
difficult to reach all those potential readers with so much competition. I like
being a guest on other people’s blog spots/websites, advertise on sites and
reader’s groups. The internet is a wonderful thing!
Do you
come up with the hook first, or do you create characters first and then dig
through until you find a hook?
Usually I
come up with the hook. The drama/conflict is key to getting started for
me. If an idea strikes me I jot it down
and from there I develop my characters. Characters are a very important part of
the writing process. You might have a great hook but if you can’t back it up
with likeable and relatable characters it falls flat.
How do you
create your characters?
When I
first start a series, I sit down and plot out the main characters. I map out
everything from the way they looked to the way they act. Essentially the book
revolves around them so I take my time creating them.
Now on the
flip side of that within my books we have our main characters but I also add in
the supporting cast. And from there more characters get introduced into the
fold. Sometimes it’s a small insignificant character that will linger in my
mind and the next thing I know I’m in the shower when an idea hits me for that
character and a book is born! That happens more often than not.
What's on the top of your TBR pile right now?
Oh boy! That’s a long list. Right now, I’m reading the Charlaine Harris
series Midnight Crossroad. I started watching the show Midnight Texas on tv
with my kids and then decided I should read the books. My sons are constantly
asking me about it. Do the characters look the same? Did that really happen or
is it different in the book? They twenty question me nearly every day. I really
need to finish that book. I wished my
two youngest would read more and I’m using this as a way to get them motivated.
But as of lately I’ve been reading a lot of books by JM Dabney, Jenny
Wood, and Sloane Kennedy. Those are just a few off the top of my head. They all
have wonderful series that pull me in every time.
Tell me a little about the
characters in .
I’d
love too!
Kayson
Stewart was introduced in the book prior and now fast forward fourteen years
and the book begins with him as an adult. As a teenager, he watched his parents
get murder and was kidnapped. He suffered a lot but he rose above that to
become a police officer. He’s that guy you root for to have a happy ending
because he deserves it. He’s a tough guy who tries to hide how he feels. He’s
the type of man that you want to change for the better. To let him know he’s
not all alone or broken and damaged.
Now
Kayson. Oh, I love this character so much! In this particular series, The
Warriors of the Light, there’s the good guys and the bad guys and as you can
probably guess the bad guys are the Warriors of the Dark. Well, Kayson is a
dark warrior who is working for the evilest vampire alive. But saying your evil
and being pure evil are entirely two different things. Kayson is this gorgeous
dark eyed vampire that has done things he’s not proud of but underneath all
that he’s just a man. He wants what we all want and that is to be happy and
find love. I’m a sucker for a bad boy turned good.
In
the previous book, I only touched a little on Kayson’s character and in A
Warrior’s Choice I show a different side to these perceived evil dark warriors.
I really hope the readers like where I’m going with this.
Where’s the story set? How
much influence did the setting have on the atmosphere/characters/development of
the story?
The story is set in present
time. I did have to go fourteen years into the future but I didn’t go over
board and talk about flying cars or anything like that. The book takes place in Shreveport Louisiana.
Location only plays a small part in my books. Now in some it’s a big part but
mostly my books revolve around the characters.
If you had to write your
memoir in five words, what would you write?
Mother, wife, author. Loved
life!
How often does your muse
distract you from day to day minutiae?
Now that depends. Some days
I’m on a roll writing up a storm and I forget to stop to eat. I get consumed by
my work. More often than not I run late to everything because I just need one
more minute. Drives my husband crazy.
If I didn’t have kids I’d
probably never leave my laptop. And there’s times I’m out with my family or
grocery shopping or on a run and my brain just starts popping out ideas for my next
book. There’s times I feel as if some of my best ideas come to me when I’m not
forcing it.
What do readers have to look
forward to in the future from you?
I hope a lot! But seriously I
have some things in the works. Readers of the Warriors of the Light series have
been patiently waiting for Colby and Hale’s book and it is in the works. It
will be #20 in the series. It’s a happy and sad moment for me. Everything has
been leading up to this and I hope I do the book justice.
I’m also working on developing
a new series that will be a spinoff of the Warriors of the Light series.
And for the readers of my
Nehalem Pack series they can expect a lot more drama in that world. Just when
the Nehalem Pack members thought it was safe it’s not. They’ve been living under
a false sense of security and I’m going rip it right out from under the characters.
I love it!
M/M Paranormal
*Warriors of the Light*
Siren Publishing
Blurb
Fourteen years ago, Kayson Langley stood back and allowed his fated mate’s family to be slaughtered. He's regreted it every day since but he was only doing what he had to, to survive and keep Kevin safe.
The nightmares never stop. All Kevin Stewart wants is to find a little peace and nail every Dark Warrior to the wall, ending their lives. It’s the least they deserve for destroying his life.
Mysterious disappearance and murders has Kevin going undercover to find those responsible. Deep down he knows evil is involved. The last thing he expected was to see Kayson again. The very man he hates with a passion saves his life and confesses a truth that Kevin doesn’t want to believe.
Kayson is willing to walk away from everything he’s ever known to be with Kevin. But will his past let him or will the greatest evil of all take what he holds dear?
Excerpt
“Kevin?” Kayson looked toward his mate but Kevin didn’t move. His eyes were wide as saucers and Kayson could see his hands trembling. His mate was still scared of him.
“Gilly, you know this man?” a portly man with a wild black beard and beady eyes asked Kevin. “And who the fuck is Kevin?”
The rogue vamps stepped closer to Kayson and hissed at him. Kayson wanted to laugh. What a cliché. Vamps didn’t hiss. We aren’t cats, you morons, is what Kayson wanted to say but instead he lunged for the man closest to him and ripped his head from his body. Blood shot up like a geyser from the bloody stump. Kayson let the body fall to the ground and that’s when they attacked.
Claws and teeth dug into his skin but Kayson didn’t feel a thing. He was a machine with one purpose, getting to Kevin, protecting the one person besides his brother he loved in this world. Kayson tore through those vamps, ripping arms from their bodies and tearing their throats out. It was quite a mess. Once he had punched a hole in the female vampire’s chest and ripped her heart from her body he spun around. The men with Kevin had guns drawn but not Kevin. He still stood there in a state of shock.
“Fuck this.” The overweight man with the thick black beard rushed toward the door. Kayson reached out and grabbed him by the neck. He jerked his hand and snapped the fragile bone as if it were nothing. Kayson let go and the large body dropped to the floor.
A round of gunfire shot off and Kayson turned toward the man who thought that was going to actually help him. Kayson pulled his lips back off his teeth and the man’s face paled. The man pulled the trigger again, but he was out of bullets. Kayson lunged at him and sank his teeth into the man’s neck. He drained him dry.
A bullet hit him in the shoulder, twisting his body around. Kayson shook his head and reached out and tore the human’s throat from his saggy neck. The sound of blood gurgling and him gasping for air was sickening.
The older human male ran past him and Kayson caught him on the stairs. He bit into the man’s neck, ending his life.
Once he was done he looked down to see he was covered in blood. He’d give anything for a shower at the moment but he’d have to wait.
This wasn’t the reunion that Kayson had in mind for when he saw Kevin again but he wasn’t going to kick a gift horse in the mouth. He finally had his mate back.
Kayson walked into the room and stepped over dead bodies and body parts. He’d really been in a rage. He wasn’t sure why Kevin was with those men and didn’t care. All that mattered was that Kevin was safe.
Kayson found Kevin where he left him, standing there staring at nothing. Kayson wasn’t naïve or anything but he had hoped Kevin would be happy to see him, that just maybe he was ready to come home. To make a life with Kayson. Kayson would give up anything and everything to have this man in his life.
A splatter of blood streaked across Kevin’s face and his white shirt was dotted in blood. He didn’t look good.
“Kevin.” Kayson stepped toward him and placed his blood-stained hands on Kevin’s shoulders. The sound of his voice and his touch must have woken him from his stupor.
“Don’t touch me!” Kevin shouted and smacked Kayson’s hands away from him. “Don’t you ever touch me.”
“Kev—” Before Kayson could get that one word out Kevin pulled his arm back and punched him square in the jaw. Kayson’s head jerked to the side and he felt a burst of pain engulf the side of his face and blood filled his mouth.
This was so not how he wanted this to go.
Author Bio:
AJ Jarrett currently lives in the Midwest with her husband and four children. A lover of M/M romances, she has started writing her own stories for others to enjoy. She loves her characters to be antagonistic toward one another but ultimately find their happily ever after. She believes love can be found in the craziest of places, and a little humor along the way never hurts. To her, there’s nothing sexier than two men finding their soul mate in each other and falling in love. When she isn’t chasing around her kids, she can be found sitting on the couch with her trusted laptop, giving life to the voices in her head.
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