We at the blog of Sid Love are very pleased to welcome rising new author Jay Northcote.

 

Jay, welcome and let me first start with asking you to tell  us something about yourself. You’re a new author in this publishing business. Did you always write? How did you come to write in the m/m genre?

I’m fairly new to writing original fiction, but I’d been writing fan fiction for a few years as a hobby. Prior to that I hadn’t written fiction since I was at school, I’ve always been an avid reader but it never occurred to me that I could actually write a story myself. When I started reading and writing fan fiction it was always slash (m/m) stories that appealed to me, so when I decided to have a try at writing something original the gay romance genre was the obvious choice.

You recently published your first book Nothing Serious”. Can you tell us something about how that novella came to exist?

I was between writing projects and trying to decide on something new to focus on. I was in busy traffic in Bristol and was stuck at some traffic lights behind a removal lorry. My mind wandered off into a fantasy about burly removal men *drifts off thinking about them again* and I started wondering how I could get one into a gay romance story. By the time I got home I had the basic idea mapped out in my head and I started writing it the next day.

I read “Nothing Serious” and I really liked it. It is quite a simple story but the attraction between Mark and Jamie is so well written out, I wondered if that was your main focus for this first story?

Thank you, I’m glad you enjoyed the story. And yes—I’ll be the first to admit that the plot for Nothing Serious is exactly that: nothing serious. I wanted to write something sweet and hot that explored the start of a new relationship.

Readers seem to rave about you having set this story in England. Is that a decision you purposely made being English yourself?

I’ve been thrilled at the mostly very positive responses about the setting because it was something I worried about when I planned my first book. I wasn’t sure if a story set in the UK would be universally popular as the USA is by far the biggest consumer of gay romance novels. I did consider trying to set a story in the US, but I really wanted to be able to use settings that I know and have my characters speak the way that I do. But the way for British authors in the genre has already been paved by wonderfully talented writers such as Josephine Myles, J.L Merrow and Harper Fox (to name but a few), so I decided to risk it. I’m very pleased that it’s paid off and that readers have mostly enjoyed the Britishness of Nothing Serious.

Is there anything about “Nothing Serious” that you would like to share but didn’t feel like you’ve had the opportunity for yet?

That’s a good question! I’d like to share that Nothing Serious was actually not the first, but the second original story that I wrote. I’d drafted The Little Things (my forthcoming novel) a couple of months beforehand. The Little Things is much angstier and has darker themes than Nothing Serious, so I was in the mood for writing something light for my second project. Many reviewers have described Nothing Serious as the perfect break between longer angstier stories and that was how I felt about writing it too.

Moving on to your new release that is coming very shortly! “The Little Things” will be releasing on November 22nd at Dreamspinner press as well. That is quite an introduction to the writing world, sending out two books so close together. Any particular reason for that?

That was because I wrote The Little Things first, but submitted it to another publisher who rejected it. I subbed to Dreamspinner next, and then submitted Nothing Serious one week later. The Little Things was contracted first, but because of their editing schedules Nothing Serious was released first—simply because it’s a novella so got through the editing queue faster. At the time of submitting I had no clue how it all worked, but actually it’s turned out pretty well. I think of the two books, Nothing Serious was a great one to start with, because it’s a fun read and seems to have had quite a wide appeal.

For “The Little Things” we only have had the opportunity to see the cover that I think is utterly sweet and to read the blurb. I’m sure you can enlighten us a bit more ….would you?

It’s hard to know what to say without spoiling the story, but as I mentioned before, The Little Things is quite angsty. The story is very much centred on Joel, the main character and his relationship with Liam begins a little way into the story. There is a fair amount of back story that I wanted to show first. Poor Joel has a bit of a rough time of it before Liam comes into his life and gives him something to be happy about. The focus of the story is very much about dealing with loss in our lives, and how that can make it hard to accept happiness when it’s offered.

Rumors are that there is even a third one releasing before long? 🙂

Yes! I have a third novel titled Not Just Friends that’s due for release in February or March 2014. That’s a college (university) coming out story with a very YA feel to it. It’s all about self discovery and falling in love for the first time. It has lots of my favourite things in it—pining, angst and first times—so I had great fun with it.

I also have a Christmas short story called Coming Home that I’ll be self publishing as a free read in December so watch out for that.

Nice moment to pull out my shorties I think.

Favorite food?

Mexican

Favorite color?  

Teal/turquoise

Favorite author?  

Argh –how can I pick just one? Okay, based on the amount of re-reading over the years I’ll say J.K. Rowling but that feels like a cop-out.

Favorite book?  

Also impossible to pick just one *shakes head* it changes depending on my mood. Don’t make me choose!

Favorite way to spend a day off?

Chilling with family and/or friends, preferably somewhere sunny.

Favorite movie?

Dirty Dancing. I never get tired of it, it’s such perfect feelgood viewing and Patrick Swayze’s biceps don’t hurt either.

Favorite music or song?  

Again it depends on my mood or what I’m doing at the time. I have a very eclectic music collection but I don’t listen to music that often unless I’m working out. I have a soft spot for Hocus Pocus by Focus because what’s not to like about heavy metal and yodelling? That song never fails to make me smile—and sing along like a cat that’s being strangled.

Favorite clothes?  

Jeans. I’m pretty scruffy most of the time and like to be comfortable. My most common attire is stretch skinnies with a T-shirt and hoodie or maybe a cardigan if I’m making an effort to be less scruffy than usual. I like scarves too because I’m always cold.

Favorite season?

Summer, as long as it’s sunny. There is nothing more dismal than rain in the summer. I live in totally the wrong country.

Do you have some other things you like to do besides writing? Are you an avid reader for example? Do you have a favorite author in this genre that you like to read yourself?

I read a lot within the m/m genre. N.R Walker is an auto-buy author for me, her stories are very engaging. Other hobbies include: keeping fit, playing music (piano, guitar, melodeon), singing, dancing.

You mentioned earlier that you also write fanfiction. As there always seems to be a discussion about that subject compared to published writing, I am curious for your view on that?

Writing fanfiction was what started me off with writing fiction. It’s very different working with original characters, but writing very AU fanfiction was a great way of developing those skills.

I love the freedom and the fun of fanfiction and I miss that a little with my original fiction. It’s also been hard making the transition to the level of editing required for writing original stories. That’s not to say that fic authors don’t edit, most of them use beta readers for at least one round of edits, but I found the required three rounds of edits and a final proof read with a publisher to be incredibly time-consuming. It was a bit of a shock to the system!

Lastly I miss the instant gratification and immediate feedback of fanfiction. Writing original fiction is such a long game in comparison but it’s exciting having the opportunity to reach a wider audience.

What can we expect from Jay Northcote looking into the future?

I’m hoping to get at least one more book out in 2014, ideally two if my muse continues to talk to me. All my ideas are for contemporary novels so I don’t think you’ll see me branching out into different subgenres in the near future, but maybe one day….

Is there anything you would like to share with us before we end this interview?

I’d just like to thank you for the opportunity to talk about myself and my books. It’s been really fun talking with you, they were great questions.

Thank you so much for visiting with us Jay. Good luck on your releases  

~ As told to Danielle

GIVEAWAY

On top of visiting us today Jay also offered a giveaway on her forthcoming novel The Little Things. Leave a comment and your EMAIL ID to enter this competition.

There are lots of things that brighten Joel’s life. His three-year-old daughter Evie is one. His close relationship with her mother, his best friend from university, is another. Joel’s boyfriend, Dan, adds spice to his child-free nights, and Joel is pretty happy with how things are.

Then one cold and rainy night, everything changes. Joel’s life is turned upside-down when he becomes a full-time dad to Evie, and his previously carefree relationship with Dan cracks under the strain.

Meeting Liam, who acts as if getting hurt isn’t a foregone conclusion, shakes Joel to the core. Their attraction is mutual, and Liam makes no secret of how serious he is about Joel. But Joel is wary. He tells himself he’s keeping Liam at a distance for Evie’s sake, when really he’s protecting his own heart. Taking a chance on this new relationship with Liam may seem a small step—a little thing—but is it one Joel can take after losing so much already?

The Little Things is available for pre-order at Dreamspinner Press

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jay lives just outside Bristol in the West of England, with her amazing, occasionally ridiculous husband, two noisy-but-awesome children, and two cats.

She comes from a family of writers, but she always used to believe that the gene for fiction writing had passed her by. She spent years only ever writing emails, articles, or website content. One day, she decided to try and write a short story–just to see if she could–and found it rather addictive. She hasn’t stopped writing since.

Links

Website: www.jaynorthcote.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/jay_northcote

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jaynorthcotefiction

Jay’s books: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/index.php?cPath=55_953

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CONTEST ENDS 19th NOVEMBER, 2013 @ 23:59 PACIFIC TIME