Friday, January 28, 2022

Jack Brightside is visiting and Talking about Who He Was Before #MFRWAuthor #paranormal #romance #warlocks #enemies to lovers

 

What Were You Before

 

Day 1

1.       What were you before you became an author? Did this influence your choices as a writer?

 

I still keep the day job that I had before I became a writer. I’m a mental health therapist, and my specialties are PTSD and addiction. I’ve worked in rehabs and I also have a private practice. I wrote my first book while I was working the hardest job I’ve ever had, at a homeless shelter. There one working bathroom available to the public, which meant that of the 500+ people that came to shelter most of them relieved themselves on the sidewalks around the building. You could smell it from down the block. Once, on my way to lunch I almost opened one of the exits from the stairwell to the outside, but was stopped by a frantic coworker. The coworker explained that particular door led to one of the alcoves on the exterior of the building that people used to relieve themselves and if opened, human excrement would literally flood into the building.

 

It was during this time that I wrote my first, and worst novel, “Pirate Booty.” This male/male pirate romance was intended to be escapism, but like many projects became a snapshot of my life at the time I wrote it. It’s about Montgomery Montgomery, a Captain in the British Royal Navy on his first campaign in the Caribbean. He is expecting pirate fighting to be glamorous, but discovers that no one takes him seriously and his well-intentioned social justice goals are impossible to achieve. If you’re worried about me, don’t be. I’m doing a lot better now.

 

2. Are you genre specific or general? I dont mean major genres but subdivisions or romance, mystery or paranormal.

 

Yes, I have always worked within tight niches. My first was male/male pirate erotica with BDSM themes, in which pirates were constantly tying each other up. Now I’ve fallen in love with contemporary paranormal small town male/male romance. I like contrasting the mundanity of small town living with high stakes paranormal dilemmas. In “The Warlock of Westland,” there is a dangerous ghost on the loose but the warlocks keep getting distracted by housing prices in their town. Sam will ask, “How much do you think this house is worth, Kevin?” And Kevin will really think about it, like, “Well they’ve recently remodeled the kitchen. Those new appliances are gonna do a lot for the value.” Meanwhile there is a poltergeist slamming drawers in the background. It speaks to where I am in my life. I think I’ve gotten caught up in some existential struggles and I need to slow down and think about the small things every once and a while. The warlocks only ever think about small things.

 

 

3. What is your latest release?

 

My latest release is “The Warlock of Westland” series, a male/male contemporary paranormal romance about a good and an evil warlock who have to work together to catch a dangerous ghost that’s been released in their town. The warlocks haven’t seen each other since they broke up two thousand years ago. The good warlock, Sam, has divined that they are soulmates.  So on top of trying to catch a ghost Sam is trying to convince Kevin to take him back. Neither of the warlocks know anything about ghosts, by the way. It’s a second chance romantic comedy about enemies turned lovers.

 

4. What are you working on now?

 

Right now I am working on a warlock romance set in Colorado. This time, a billionaire warlock divines that his soulmate dies in thirty days. His soulmate is someone the billionaire has just had a one night stand with, so he knows nothing about this person. They have thirty days to figure out how to stop him from dying. There’s a lot of humor in this book. The billionaire, Redford, has to explain he’s a warlock and impress the urgency of the situation on this person he barely knows. The mortal, Conway, vacillates between thrilled and creeped out. Redford buys him a new wardrobe and takes him on a date in a helicopter, but also does black magic.

 

5. Does your reading choices influence your choice of a writing career?

 

I draw a lot of inspiration from the media I consume. For “The Warlock of Westland,” I did a deep dive into YouTube channels of guys who self-identify as “day traders.” The evil warlock in my story, Kevin, is a recently unemployed stockbroker turned day trader. The personalities I found on YouTube were a rich source of character inspiration. Most of the videos I watched on YouTube included narcissism as well as some kind of cry for help. There would be a moment where the guy shows you his self-help books or jokes about waking up with a shot of whiskey. They show you the inside of their brand new sports cars and then launch into a rant about how they work too hard to have normal social lives. Kevin is written as the villain in my book so finding his weaknesses helped me make him more realistic. He is an evil warlock but he also gets lonely sometimes.

 

6. Where can we find you?

 

Here are my links!

Website: www.JackBrightside.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100070650890430

Twitter : www.twitter.com/brightside_jack

Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jackbrightside

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCI3YgOJlIo2HCu7kwL9mu3g

Instagram: www.instagram.com/jkbside

Author page: www.amazon.com/author/jackbrightside

 

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