Hey everyone!
I’m Jodi Payne! I’m a proud Jersey Girl, I love Broadway musicals, the beach, tequila, and I’m almost always caffeinated like whoa. I’m here to talk about Creative Process, my new novel with Dreamspinner Press!
There’s a lot of reasons why I’m excited to get this book out there. The first is that it’s my first novel in many years because I took a hiatus to raise my kids for a while. It’s great to be getting work out there again and I’m really honored that Dreamspinner picked it up. It’s wonderful to rejoin the writing community and reconnect with people I knew from ages back, as well as to discover a whole group of new authors doing some great work.
Coming back to writing after all that time was a challenge. Everything about writing has changed in those intervening years, from what readers want and expect, to grammar standards, to what publishers are looking for. All I can say is, I have great respect for my beta readers who clued me in kindly but firmly, and for my patient editor, who had great advice for a newbie.
Yes, I felt like I newbie. I still do. Relearning a market that you thought you knew is hard.
I’m also excited to bring you this book because with all of that advice and some real work at the keyboard, I think Creative Process became something so much better than it started. I’m really very proud of it. I’ve grown as a person and as an author with time and I feel like it shows in my writing. People change, writing changes.
You’ll still get the steamy scenes you’re used to from me, though. Reese is quite the Alpha type in the bedroom and Owen is happy to have it that way. 😉
Speaking of Reese and Owen… Reese is a bestselling author and Owen is a professional cellist. I love writing characters with an artistic bent because creative people have so much depth. They have their creative mind, and all of that talent and complexity and then they have what the rest of the world sees. Sometimes these two things integrate well and sometimes, as in Reese’s case, they don’t always.
And what’s fun is that in addition to the main characters, there’s a whole supporting cast. Artist friends of Reese’s, friends of Owen’s from his conservatory days, Owen’s best friend, and Reese’s publicist (who might be my favorite character in the book!)
And then there’s humor. In addition to the struggles, there are some comical moments and scenes that uplift the story and hopefully will amuse you. Reese has a dry sense of humor, his publicist is a bit flamboyant, and Owen is mischievous.
I hope you’ll give Reese and Owen your time. Thanks for reading and enjoy Creative Process!
Jodi
Blurb:
Best-selling thriller author Reese Kelsey knows his career isn’t conducive to romance. He doesn’t work the normal nine-to-five, and sometimes his characters take hold and demand all his attention, causing him to neglect important appointments… and lovers. Rather than go through another heartbreak, Reese contents himself with his small circle of friends—fellow gay New York City artists—and his dedicated publicist, Chad.
Until he sees Owen Mercado lugging his cello toward the subway and impulsively offers him a ride.
Owen has worked long and hard for a career in the symphony, and success comes with a demanding schedule—something Reese understands. Their desires and lifestyles are surprisingly compatible, and Reese and Owen certainly set the bedroom on fire. They’re both carrying baggage, but they fit, and it’s hard not to hope for a future that once seemed impossible.
But when Reese’s work inevitably pulls him into its dark world and refuses to let go, Owen draws a hard line, and Reese discovers he can’t rely on good intentions alone. He will have to control the obsession that drove his other lovers away or risk losing Owen as well.
Buy Links:
Jodi Payne spent too many years in New York and San Francisco stage managing classical plays, edgy fringe work, and the occasional musical. She therefore is overdramatic, takes herself way too seriously, and has been known to randomly break out in song. Her men are imperfect but genuine, stubborn but likeable, often kinky, and frequently their own worst enemies. They are characters you can’t help but fall in love with while they stumble along the path to their happily ever after.
For those looking to get on her good side, Jodi’s addictions include nonfat lattes, Malbec and tequila any way you pour it. She’s also obsessed with Shakespeare and Broadway musicals. She can be found wearing sock monkey gloves while typing when it’s cold, and on the beach enjoying the sun and the ocean when it’s hot. When she’s not writing and/or vacuuming sand out of her laptop, Jodi mentors queer youth and will drop everything for live music. She lives near New York City with her beautiful wife, and together they are mothers of dragons (cleverly disguised as children) and slaves to an enormous polydactyl cat.
Tagline: You’re gonna love this guy…
Social Media Links:
Website: www.jodipayne.net
Email: jodipaynewrites@gmail.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/payne.jodi
FB Author Group: www.facebook.com/groups/jodisgents
Twitter: @JodiPayne
Instagram: @jodipayne1800