A huge welcome to Wade Kelly, who is our next stop on the GRL 2016 Blog Tour. Can’t wait to see what this featured author has to say about the next Jock book. Woo Hoo! Don’t forget to enter the giveaway, too.
Hello, lovely people who are stopping by Two Chicks Obsessed! This is the third of eleven stops on the Blog Tour for JOCK 3—Back Off! That’s My Jock. This is another interview between my characters and myself. I hope you enjoyed the last one on Caraway Carter’s Blog, as well as the podcast interview with Jeff Adams. This is also a stop on the GRL circuit. I’ll be attending GRL as a featured author. This will be my 4th GRL. If you are there, please stop me to say HI. I’m very friendly and I love hugs.
Here is the cover, and you can pre-order my newest novel here:
Amazon
ARe
Dreamspinner Press
Now, let’s get right into the interview….
Sam: Hello. My name is Sam Garber and I will be interviewing Wade Kelly. I am Douglas Archer’s love interest in Wade Kelly’s latest book, Back Off! That’s My Jock. I guess for my first question, I’d like to know a little about the book. What is it about, how long did it take you to finish writing it, and who is your favorite character?
Wade: Wow, that was three questions in one. First, it took five months to write. I spent extra time editing it before submission and the edits with Dreamspinner were much easier on me than with Bankers’ Hours. The blurb sort of gives you a feel for the book so I’ll plug that here.
Blurb: Defining his sexuality didn’t make sense until his best friend spelled it out.
Doug Archer did some pretty idiotic things in the first eight weeks of his junior year of college. First, he kissed his gay best friend, and second, he kissed a guy he’d mistaken for a girl. Not stellar moments for Doug. If he isn’t careful, he’ll lose his spot on the soccer team to the new freshman, or worse, he might misconstrue his new friend Rob’s overly affectionate tendencies for flirting. But if Doug isn’t bothered by another guy’s attention, and he normally dates girls, does that mean he’s gay or bisexual?
Sam Garber suppressed his same-sex attraction his entire life. His father told him it was immoral, and Sam did everything he could to bury his feelings. However, after meeting Doug at a party and kissing him, Sam can’t think of anything else. He decides dating girls is the best way to keep his secret hidden. With playoffs in sight, this is no time to think about guys in any other context than soccer. Only, neither boy anticipates the difficulty in suppressing his attraction for another jock!
If I were to add anything else, I’d say it is about a bisexual soccer player who isn’t very quick on the uptake, so to say. He’s confused about his sexuality and I want to make it clear, I did not write any sort of bi-erasure into my character, Doug. Read it, and bear with me, as the character develops.
As far as a favorite character, I’d say Sam. I love broken &/or reluctant characters. So, my favorite characters would have to include Sam in JOCK 3, Darian in When Love is Not Enough & The Cost of Loving, and Alonzo in JOCK 2!
Sam: Wow, cool! I’m flattered. I can’t say I’m glad to have had such a difficult past, but I’m the way I am because of it. So, I guess life happens for a reason. I’m just glad I found Douglas. Thank you for that. How much of yourself do you manifest into your characters?
Wade: I normally put my experiences into them. In the case of Back Off! That’s My Jock, Doug Archer has all my anger. I was going through a rough period when I wrote it and I poured my anger into Doug. Sorry, Doug, you punched a tree because I couldn’t.
Sam: *laughing* But that’s totally Douglas, though. I think if you wrote him as a softer kind of person, I may not have been so attracted. He’s all the fire and strength I don’t have, so I think it’s good you were angry at the time.
Wade: Thanks. I guess it’s like you said, life happens for a reason.
Sam: Are you a full time author?
Wade: I’m a full time mother and wife, but I aspire to be a full time write along with the other things in my life. I’m still finding it hard to balance everything. My goal though, would be to write 3 books a year. I think it is doable even if I’m having a hard time accomplishing it at the moment. It will happen eventually.
Sam: What do you hope people will learn from reading this book?
Wade: That bisexuality is real, and that people who are bisexual shouldn’t feel embarrassed or ashamed of who they are. Don’t’ apologize. You were born that way! And sometimes, it may take time and patience to figure yourself out.
Sam: Thanks. That’s a good point. I had a hard enough time with my sexuality, but I never thought about Douglas. I guess he struggled too. But I never thought less of him.
Wade: And that’s my point. So Sam, this just about wraps up your interview with me today. Will you be reading the book?
Sam: Ha, ha. Of course! I love to read.
Wade: What would you say was the book from your childhood that impacted you the most?
Sam: The Velveteen Rabbit. Belief and love brought it to life, kind of like what Douglas did for me.
Wade: Thank you, Sam Garber for joining me on my blog tour.
For more fun, please check out my blog stops on the following blogs:
July 27th – Caraway Carter’s Wednesday Walkabout
August 1st – Jeff Adams’ podcast.
August 17th – Two Chicks Obsessed
August 19th – Prism Alliance
August 22nd – Love Bytes Reviews
August 24th – Ashley John’s blog
August 25th – DSP Blog
August 26th – Release Day! I’m on Elisa Rolle’s blog
August 29th – Joyfully Jay
August 30th – Long & Short Reviews
August 31st – TTC Books & More
September 2nd – MM Good Book Reviews
As for the giveaways… I, Wade Kelly, will be giving away one GRAND PRIZE (items listed below) and three runner up prizes of a $10 gift card for Amazon. What you need to do is leave a comment. ALL comments are logged for a chance at the prizes. ONLY those who leave a comment on ALL eleven blog stops will be entered into the Grand Prize drawing. Last time I think there were 15 people in the Grand Prize drawing.
Note: If we’ve never chatted and you aren’t on Facebook, it is a good idea to leave an e-mail address because I need to know how to reach you. If I can’t, and I reply to your comment on the blog post that you’ve won but don’t hear from you, I have to give the prize to the next person on my list. Each comment gets you a chance in the drawing. If you leave one on each, that is eleven entries PLUS you are listed in the Grand Prize drawing. For a reminder if the rules, and where I’m stopping next, visit my blog post HERE.
Grand Prize includes all of the following:
1) One of my famous spoons in the colors of your choice
2) A $10 gift card from Amazon
3) One paperback signed from my back list (Not counting JOCK 3)
4) An e-book copy of JOCK 4, when it comes out.
5) And last, but not least, a soccer jersey for the player of your choice from the players in JOCK 3. (I’ll list them on my website along with pictures of the jerseys. They come in adult S, M, L, XL, 2XL, 3XL, & 4XL)
So there you go. If you have any questions, please let me know. Comment here or email me: writerwadekelly@gmail.com
As an aside for those who may want some of my books in paperback, I will not be selling anything in Kansas City. If you want Misplaced Affection, e-mail me. Any other book Dreamspinner may be bringing, but most likely they will only have my recent books. If you pre-order it, meaning you tell me what you want and pay me, I WILL BRING IT TO YOU IN KANSAS CITY.
I can be found on:
Web: www.writerwadekelly.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wadekellywriter
Face book Fan group, The Wade Brigade: https://www.facebook.com/groups/247976895406172/
Blog: writerwadekelly.blogspot.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/WriterWadeKelly
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/writerwadekelly/
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5141623.Wade_Kelly
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/writerwadekelly/
Bio:
Wade Kelly lives and writes in conservative, small-town America on the east coast where it’s not easy to live free and open in one’s beliefs. Wade writes passionately about controversial issues and strives to make a difference by making people think. Wade does not have a background in writing or philosophy, but still draws from personal experience to ponder contentious subjects on paper. There is a lot of pain in the world and people need hope. When not writing, she is thinking about writing, and more than likely scribbling ideas on sticky notes in the car while playing “taxi driver” for her children. She likes snakes, can’t spell, and has a tendency to make people cry.