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 don’t 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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