A warm welcome to author Jayne Lockwood joiining us today to talk about new release “Euphoria”.
Welcome Jayne 🙂
Greetings and very many thanks to the lovely people at Love Bytes Reviews for supporting my new release, Euphoria. I’ll attempt to answer a few tough questions, and at the end there is a GIVEAWAY of my scorching M/M Romance Erotica novel, Lexington Black, written by my pseudonym, S A Smythe!
If you could travel forward or backward in time, where would you go and why?
Neither, would be my first answer, but if I had to choose, then forward. Going backwards could set in motion events that could make our current situation a lot worse or a lot better, but I’d hate that responsibility. Forwards is less of a gamble. At least then I could warn people about the mistakes we are making right now, eg., climate change, the power of large conglomerates over medical advances, far more awareness of history trying to repeat itself, etc.
We’ve all got a little voyeurism in us right? If you could be a fly on the wall during an intimate encounter between two characters, not your own, who would they be?
This is a really hard question to answer, but I’m going to go with Martha and George in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? As played by Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. I mean, real life has to imitate art at some point, right? Then again, it might be like watching my mum and dad. So perhaps not. I’m not really a voyeur, to be honest. There are some things best left to the imagination. And I have a VERY good imagination!
If I were snooping around your kitchen and looked in your refrigerator right now, what would I find?
My fridge is a disgrace. I need to go shopping. There would be the usual including milk and butter, as well as some olives, Scotch eggs and assorted cheese with live growths on them. It looks as if I’m cultivating a new form of penicillin in there. And some soft fruit. I love my smoothies in the morning.
If you could be a superhero, what would you want your superpowers to be?
Can I just be Wonderwoman, but with the added ability of flight? So many people need an arse-slapping these days. I’d have to give up writing and just spend all day taking down assholes. The flight is a selfish one. I’ve always wanted to! But not enough to go squirrel-diving off a precipice….
If you could trade places with one of your characters, who would it be and why?
If I’m talking about the characters in Euphoria, it would probably be Vardam. They see the human race as something wonderful and they have an ideal opportunity to open peoples’ eyes to the beauty around them. They talk in sign language, and have tentacles hidden in their fingers (six on each hand) which they can employ whenever necessary. Each tentacle is incredibly strong and can hold the weight of a grown man, so you can imagine how useful they would be. They can climb and swing and take down stupid people, but they can also draw with photographic precision and have an appreciation of art and music. Oh, and they’re amphibious. Yes, I could imagine being Vardam for a few days would be a lot of fun. And they are seeing the beauty of Earth for the first time. How wonderful would that be? Unless you land in a war zone, of course.
If you could sequester yourself for a week somewhere and just focus on your writing, where would you go and what would the environment be like?
A little hut overlooking the sea, somewhere like Aldeburgh, or Monmouth Beach in Lyme Regis. It would be fairly isolated but comfortable, with a good coffee shop within walking distance. Whenever I needed inspiration, I’d get it from walks along the shore. I think I’d get so much done.
What’s the one thing, you can’t live without?
For writing, probably my laptop. I can control my world from there. My writing isn’t great and I can type very fast, so I need a keyboard to get ideas down before I forget them.
Other than that, I’m pretty self-sufficient. Kindness and water would be my other answers.
What internet site do you surf to the most?
Facebook, then Instagram (insert resigned sigh.)
When you got your very first manuscript acceptance letter, what was your initial reaction and who was the first person you told?
Absolute honest truth. My first manuscript acceptance letter was on 11th September 2001. I remember sitting with a friend in the morning (we’re in the UK) having coffee and saying, this is the best day ever. How ironic is that?
Do you have any advice for all the aspiring writers out there?
Write without fear. Don’t let what “should” or “shouldn’t” be part of your creative process, but it’s easy to blunder into stereotyping. If you’re unsure, ask a question in one of the writing groups on Facebook. It can be a really good resource! And follow me on social media. You can ask me anything!
Be aware that if you want to sell a gazillion books, you need see your creation as a product and have a business-like approach to marketing it. It’s hard. A lot of people stumble over this (including me,) so it’s worth doing some research on advertising/marketing.
Finally, engage with readers and other writers in a friendly, supportive way, but keep it professional. Spats in the writing/readers community are common, and a misguided or ambiguous comment can damage your brand or put you on someone’s Never Buy list. Play nice!
And now, a GIVEAWAY!
There are TWENTY copies of S A Smythe’s hot MM romance novel, Lexington Black, on Instafreebie so snap yours up! Available to download in PDF, MOBI, and EPUB. Reviews are very welcome but not obligatory. This is a giveaway after all, and a thank you for reading this far. The offer is open until August 31st 2018.
https://claims.instafreebie.com/free/qmAF3
Happy Reading!
Jayne x
EUPHORIA BLURB
It might take the arrival of an alien being to remind an isolated man what it means to be human.
With a stressful job, his boss breathing down his neck for profitable results, and an estranged wife and daughter, scientist Kurt Lomax doesn’t think life can get much harder. Until a nonbinary extraterrestrial with an otherworldly beauty, captivating elegance, and a wicked sense of humor inconveniently shows up at his apartment.
Vardam watched the destruction of their own world, and they don’t want to see the same thing happen on Earth. They are lonely, and feelings soon develop between them and the supposedly straight scientist—feelings Kurt reciprocates, much to his confusion.
The arrival of cheery interpreter Tom Soames—whose Goth appearance belies a gentle heart—is like a ray of sunshine in the somber lab. He acts as matchmaker for man and tentacled extraterrestrial, unwittingly instigating a national crisis when the news breaks out.
But will a misunderstanding ruin Kurt and Vardam’s chances for happiness together—along with the hope for peace between humanity and the Var?
BUY LINKS
Jayne Lockwood has always wanted to learn to fly. Spending free time honing her Peter Pan skills on an aerial hoop, she also creates flights of fancy in her books, mingling sex and romance with angst and a healthy dash of dark humor.
Since she was a small child, Jayne has always sympathized with the villain. It all began with Alice Cooper, even though she was banned from listening to his music by her mother. From wanting to sail away with Captain Hook or redeeming the Child Catcher, the antihero has been an enduring fascination ever since.
Jayne is an outwardly respectable member of an English village community. She also is one of the founder members of WROTE podcast, which is dedicated to showcasing LGBTQA authors and their work, and now writes book reviews as well as diverse fiction.
She is also in a sub/Dom relationship with a cat called Keith.
SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS
Web page https://hollowhillspublishing.blogspot.co.uk
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hollowhillspublishing/
Twitter https://twitter.com/ladyjAuthor
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/jaynelockwoodauthor/
Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6893372.Jayne_Lockwood
QueeRomanceInk https://www.queeromanceink.com/mbm-book-author/jayne-lockwood/
Thank you for the giveaway! Thank you for the interview =)
You’re welcome. I hope you enjoy it 🙂
Thank you so much to Love Bytes Reviews for hosting Euphoria. It’s really appreciated. The book has been at #1 for Amazon LGBT/Science Fiction which is a massive honour. So thank you!