GUESTPOST & GIVE AWAY : JOHN AMORY

A Christmas Caroler - Click Image to Close

We are welcoming Author  John Amory on the blog with a guestpost and a give away 🙂

 

I’m always intrigued when I read author interviews and they talk about how they create characters, how characters speak to them and come to them in dreams and things like that. I have an almost opposite approach to creating characters for my stories: they’re all shades of myself and those around me.

In A Christmas Caroler, I created Jeremy to be almost exactly who I was in high school. Aside from the way he looks (a blonde prepster), we’re pretty much the same person. When I decided that I’d be writing a holiday story, I went through a bunch of ideas that were variations on the “down and out guy falls in love for Christmas” theme, but the one I kept coming back to was centered around music.

This jogged memories of my own high school choir years, so I settled on the idea that A Christmas Caroler would be a fictionalization of some of my own choir experiences. And because I’m sort of telling my own story, the main character had to be very close to who I am. Like Jeremy, I’ve always known who I am and what I wanted to do (not that the latter worked out, exactly, but that’s for a different story), and I hate compromising myself for the sake of others.

That’s why Jeremy is so insistent on singing “Silver Bells,” a song he knows his choir director doesn’t like and won’t necessarily give him the best shot at the coveted solo; but he doesn’t care, because he likes the song and is going to do what feels right to him. I also share Jeremy’s short temper and penchant for jealousy.

When it comes to Jeremy’s relationship with Zach, things start drifting a little further away from the story’s true-to-life foundation. I never had a boyfriend in high school, despite how much I wished I did, and Zach is the type of kid I would have fallen head over heels with and written tons of bad LiveJournal poetry about. He’s sort of shy and aloof, with a tender heart, bright eyes (always my weakness), a pure voice, and a style that I could never pull off (like he bought all of his clothes at a thrift shop but they somehow look made just for him).

So instead of writing from experience with Zach, I wrote about what I wish was my experience. Amber, Jeremy’s best girl friend, is an amalgamation of several of my past and current girl friends, and Mr. Hunt, the choir director, is an idealized version of my own choir director. (We had a rather tumultuous, up-and-down relationship while I was under her direction, which is what inspired Mr. Hunt’s nickname and personality trait of being sweet one moment and cruel the next.)

Hopefully someday characters will come to me the way they do for so many other authors, but until then I’ll be putting the best and worst parts of myself on display in mine.

 

Blurb:

Jeremy Walsh is a high school senior who’s got big plans for his future  — namely, to perform at Carnegie Hall. But before he can get there, he  needs to secure the solo in his renowned high school choir’s Christmas  concert and get into college. Everything seems to be on track until a  cute new student, Zach Brooks, shows up and ruins all of Jeremy’s plans  by snatching the solo out from under him. With his college auditions  looming and the Christmas concert fast approaching, Jeremy has more on  his plate than he can handle. Can the magic of the Christmas season  bring Jeremy and Zach together?

Buy Links: Prizm Books Amazon  Are  

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

John Amory is and always will be a hopeless romantic, which he blames on watching too many episodes of Beverly Hills, 90210 growing up. He began writing stories and poems as a child, continuing through high school. He put writing on the backburner for a number of years, during which time he finished both Bachelor and Master of Arts degrees in English, and is thrilled to be creating again now that he knows what “free time” means.

In another life, John is a newly minted college professor, as well as an actor/director/choreographer/playwright whose work has been performed in New York City and elsewhere. He is also obsessed with television and keeps two blogs on the subject: one for general reviews and comments (faketvcritic.blogspot.com), and one devoted solely to So You Think You Can Dance (cuttingsytycd.blogspot.com).

GIVEAWAY

John Amory  is giving away a e copy of his book  “A Christmas Caroler” to one lucky winner from this contest. To enter yourself, all you need to do is leave a comment under this post mentioning your email ID!

Contest will end on dec 20 th

 

 

16 Responses

  1. Laurie P
    Laurie P at |

    Sounds like a lovely read, thank you for the chance to win.
    goaliemom0049(at)gmail(dot)com

    Reply
  2. DebraG
    DebraG at |

    I love holiday stories like this one. Sounds fantastic.
    debby236 at hotmail dot com

    Reply
  3. Jbst
    Jbst at |

    Definitely sounds like a good, sweet Holiday story that I would enjoy reading.

    strive4bst(AT) yahoo(Dot) com

    Reply
  4. Loren
    Loren at |

    Thank you for the chance, mevalem258 {at} gmail {dot} com

    Reply
  5. Andrea M
    Andrea M at |

    I love the author’s personal information as relates to the story. This will make it an even better read.
    andreams2013 at gmail.com

    Reply
  6. Jill P
    Jill P at |

    Thank you for the great preview and the giveaway!
    jasdarts at hotmail dot com

    Reply
  7. H.B.
    H.B. at |

    I would love a chance to win this book. Thank you for the opportunity.

    humhumbum AT yahoo DOT com

    Reply
  8. Allison Hickman
    Allison Hickman at |

    Thank you for the post and the giveaway. I always enjoy reading about how authors create their characters.
    aahickman at hotmail dot com

    Reply
  9. Suze
    Suze at |

    Good interview, thanks for the insights!

    Suze
    Littlesuze at hotmail.com

    Reply
  10. John Amory
    John Amory at |

    Thank you all for the kind words! If you’re so inclined, there is a giveaway happening over at True Colorz as well! And I hope those of you who don’t win will still consider picking up a copy at your favorite e-retailer 🙂

    And thank you, Danielle and everyone at Sid Love, for hosting this post and giveaway!

    Reply
  11. Ashley E
    Ashley E at |

    I think that even when characters seem to spring out of nowhere, there’s some part that’s a piece of what the author was, is or wants to be, or even dreads becoming. I know many of my own characters are like that.

    Reply
    1. Ashley E
      Ashley E at |

      Forgot my email!

      ashley.vanburen[at]gmail[dot]com

      Reply
  12. Barbra
    Barbra at |

    This sounds so good. Thanks for the giveaway. 🙂
    aelnova@aol.com

    Reply
  13. Carolyn
    Carolyn at |

    I so enjoyed seeing another peek into the background of A Christmas Caroler and your writing, John. I’d love to win, but I will definitely be buying if I don’t because I really enjoy your writing, and this story especially calls to me. Thanks for the chance to win it, though!

    caroaz [at] ymail [dot] com

    Reply
    1. John Amory
      John Amory at |

      Thank you, Carolyn! I really appreciate it! Good luck! 🙂

      Reply

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