This blog tour got huge fast! There are awesome prizes to that will be given away at the end of the tour. At the end of this post, you will find a link to enter! Check in at www.jcwallacebooks.com for links to all of the blogs in the tour and you can enter as much as you like!
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What inspired you to start writing?
I always enjoyed writing as a kid. I wrote throughout my teens and early twenties. When college and kids came, I put it away. I came back to it about a two years ago. Last year, I finally decided to seek publication and was pleasantly surprised when that happened.
What, in your opinion, are the most important elements of good writing?
Good writing requires many elements in my opinion. First, being able to write and get to the point, without overloading with unnecessary words, and metaphors and similes is important. I like writing that is crisp and clean, that avoids passive voice, and avoids overuse of adverbs.
Setting and characters are just as important as plot. Characters can't be out there in white space (no mention of setting). Good writing weaves setting into the interactions of the characters and avoids paragraphs of description. One thing to remember with main characters is depth. They need histories, futures, wants and desires, likes and dislikes and faults. Good writing makes characters real, human. Secondary characters are just as important. It isn't all about the MCs. Paying attention to secondary characters creates additional layers in a story, but shouldn’t muddy it up.
Plot!!! Plot, plot, plot! Have one! Also, good writing follows the mechanics of story writing. Every story, play, movie, TV show, etc. follow a story arc. Ignore that and the reader will be thrown off and may feel cheated. I don’t plot out my stories on paper, but in my head, I’m always thinking about the plot points and where they fall in the story.
What comes first, the plot or characters?
It's different with every story. Curiosity Killed Shaney came about from the statement, "Someday your curiosity will get the better of you." My short story Waiting for Snow, came from the idea of a man shunned by his family and church for being gay. On Christmas Eve, he’s standing outside of that church while mass is going on inside. He is alone, having lost everything. I also added another idea to that story about finding love at a stop light. The idea for my most recent story I submitted came from wanting to do a unique vampire story and reading about the concept of Tabula Rosa (blank slate) online. What if, as a vampire, you bit someone and wiped his or her mind clean? All a story needs is one seed of an idea and it can roll down that slope and gain speed and before you know it that story is something awesome!
Tell us something about your newest release that is NOT in the blurb.
The main character Shaney, is not just curious, he's pretty funny too from what readers are telling me. I received a message from a reader who said her kids were giving her strange looks because she was laughing out loud while reading. Some of the things he does and thinks are way outside of the box. He's very creative. And of course, curious!
Are you working on anything at the present you would like to tell us about?
I have several WIPs. The one everyone can enjoy now is my weekly flash fiction, serial novel, Diventando: Becoming. I am part of a group called Wednesday Briefs, that does weekly flash fiction using a list of prompts provided our leader. Each week, I post an installment to Owen’s story, which is currently at week #25. The final length of the story will be around 60,000 words. In the story, Owen has been sick with leukemia over half of his life. When his illness returns for the last time, he decides enough is enough and that he will spend his remaining time living life to the fullest. At that time, he meets Turk, a gorgeous car enthusiast who is also a college professor. Before Owen has a chance to spend any time with Turk, his illness returns. At that point Owen heads to the doctors to find out how much time he has left. Not only is he told that he is not dying, but also that he's never had leukemia. What Owen finds out is actually inside of him is worse than death from any cancer and what roll Turk has in that reality is even more surprising.
Check out Owen’s story at JC Wallace Wednesday Briefs.
Thanks for stopping by! Tomorrow, the blog tour will visit the blog Full Moon Dreaming! Hope to see you there!
Available at
Blurb: Shaney's curiosity is always getting him into trouble,
including stumbling into a ritualistic circle and being imbued with an energy
that will eventually tear him apart. He soon finds out that Hudson, a man he
cares for deeply, might be responsible for his misfortune. Add in the betrayal
by his best friend Todd and the desire of a demented occultist named Silas to
control the energy inside of him and there seems to be no way out. Can Shaney
find a way to rid his body of the nefarious energy before he dies a horrible
death?
Excerpt
“How old are you?” Shaney asked.
The silence was driving him batty.
The side of Hudson’s jaw twitched.
“Twenty-six.”
Another flinch of that muscle but that movement wasn’t an
angry twitch. The man couldn’t be nervous, could he?
“Hudson River.”
“Cool. Named after a river. I think I was named after a
three-year-old. Is your middle name River?”
“No.”
“Does anyone call you Huds for short?”
“No.”
“Uh-huh.”
And those were the last words they spoke to each other until
they reached the cabin.
As the trees thinned, the one-story fishing cabin came into
view. Not as eerie as Shaney had pictured in his head. The green paint was
weathered and a few shingles were missing, but overall the building was
well-maintained. The windows were the old metal frame kind with single panes of
glass. Definitely a summer cabin. Winters in the Adirondacks got down right
bitter, often dipping into the double-digit negative numbers. Shaney hated the
cold as much as his balls did. Hibernation was his winter activity of choice.
This, of course, made the other natives scoff since the area was all about
winter sports. They were less than thirty minutes from the Olympic Village of
Lake Placid. Maybe if they had something exciting, like Extreme Ice Fishing,
Shaney could be drawn out of his warm apartment, if only for the entertainment
value. He envisioned ice fisherman sitting on their buckets while skiers pulled
behind snowmobiles zigged and zagged around them. One missed zag and fishermen,
poles, and fish would all go flying.
“Shaney!”
Shaney looked up to see Hudson scowling; jaw clenched tight,
dark eyes glaring. Man, had anyone ever looked that annoyed with Shaney?
“What?”
“Care to join me?” He growled.
“Sure,” Shaney said and followed until the man stopped
short. Shaney’s sneaker slid in the mud and he tried to stop, but his body
plastered itself to Hudson’s backside. Shaney’s arms automatically wrapped
tight around Hudson’s waist to steady his legs.
Oh, hells bells,
this feels so good. The heat from Hudson went straight
to Shaney’s groin and for just a second Shaney breathed in leather and earth
and sweat. When his brain caught up, Shaney jumped back as if his body had come
into contact with a hot surface.
Hot is right,
he thought as his sneakers slipped again, and he ended up sprawled on his back
in the mud. Without hesitation, Hudson reached down and grabbed Shaney’s wrist,
yanking him upright.
Hudson surveyed Shaney from head to toe and Shaney felt
every inch as a caress. Why did Hudson make Shaney squirm in his skin, make him
desire the feel of the strong man over him, under him, behind him…anyway he
could get him? After only two hours with the plaid-covered hunk, Shaney’s
sexual tension had risen to levels that were about to blow his heads off—all
three of them.
Suddenly, Hudson’s jaw unclenched and his eyes lightened.
Even his shoulders relaxed. Shaney’s breath caught at the soft openness gazing
down at him. Butterflies beat furiously in the pit of Shaney’s stomach. He ran
his tongue across his bottom lip. Hudson’s eyes intently followed the movement.
Slowly, he lifted his hand toward Shaney’s face. Was he going to touch Shaney? Yes, touch me. Shaney wanted to step
closer and nuzzle his cheek into that palm. A slight hesitation of his hand, a
flicker of something in Hudson’s eyes, and Shaney froze. Hudson’s hand
continued up and a light brush of fingertips across the bump on his scalp sent
shivers zinging down Shaney’s spine. There wasn’t enough air.
“Does it hurt?” Hudson asked in a low, rough voice as he
watched his own fingers stroking Shaney’s head.
Please, don’t ever
stop.
“Not too much anymore. I guess if I knocked it again,
probably.” Shaney’s gaze never left Hudson’s face. How rare was that open
honesty?
Hudson’s eyes flicked down to meet Shaney’s and for one
perfect moment, Shaney stopped thinking. But as quick as a rabbit fleeing a
fox, Hudson’s hand snapped back and the tension that had been momentarily
absent, now filled Hudson’s face.
Curiosity Killed Shaney Blog Tour
Giveaway!!
Shaney
is so excited about his story being told that he is giving away some great
prizes!
P.S.
He’s really excited to give them away!
Prizes:
1- $25 Amazon Gift Card
2 Curiosity Killed Shaney Ebooks
2 of Maximus’ “Duct Tape” T-shirts
3 “Freeze Warlock” Coffee Mugs
2 $5 Amazon Gift Cards
You
can enter daily along the blog tour, as often as you like!
About JC Wallace
I have been writing all of my life, however it was just
this year that I ventured out to be published. In my day job, I am a behavior
analyst. At night and on the weekends, I write about all things men. I believe
there is nothing hotter than two men finding and loving one another, whether
for a night or forever. An avid reader of M/M romance, I love a good twist of a
plot, HEA, HFN, or tragic ending.
I am owned by three kids, one grandchild and one on the way, two dogs and one cat. I live in the beautiful Adirondack Mountains in Northern NY
I am owned by three kids, one grandchild and one on the way, two dogs and one cat. I live in the beautiful Adirondack Mountains in Northern NY
