Hello everyone! Today I am very excited to welcome author Kari Gregg here to Joyfully Jay to talk to us about writing and her new release Collared (which I will be reviewing here tomorrow). Kari also brought a great giveaway so be sure to comment at the end of the post for your chance to win.  Â
Hi Kari, welcome to Joyfully Jay! We are so excited to have you here today! Â
Thanks for having me!
To get us started, can you tell us a little bit about Collared?
Connor Witt is an anomaly — the chemistry in his brain regulating aggressive and dominant behavior has been suppressed rather than stimulated by the unfolding biological disaster in which genetically altered crops mutated and propagated in the wild. CEO David Martin, Connor’s boss, collars him to protect Connor when security consultant Emmett Drake scents Connor as sexy prey. David can’t be Connor’s master, though; David’s straight. Or is he? Irresistibly drawn to both men, Connor must choose. Quickly. Congress is in session to vote on the legal status of anomalies — Connor’s time may be running out.
The story takes place in an alternative universe. What do you like about creating your own world for a book?
I’m fascinated by how each of the worlds I create works, but even more fascinated with how it doesn’t. Is anyone trying to fix those problems? Are they even recognized as problems? How did this society develop? How did the customs and mores evolve? World-building is a wonderful playland of who-why-when-where-what-how.
Collared features three very different men. Did you have any particular inspiration for these characters? Any hot pictures as your muse? 😉
No hot pictures, I’m afraid. As the characters mature inside my head, I see them more and more clearly and for me, every single one of them is unique. Asking me what celebrity they look like is likely to leave me slack-jawed and staring with great big ole bugged out eyes. Whaddya mean who does Connor look like? He looks like CONNOR, dude. LOL. Seriously, though, Collared’s cover artist, Petite-Madame VonApple, must have some kind of alien brain-meld going on because the Connor on that cover? Is MY Connor. That’s never really happened to me before. I’ve been more or less happy if the hair and eye color was (reasonably, lol) accurate, but this? Wow. Awesome.
Can you tell us what else you have in the works? Anything you are working on or coming out soon?
After Collared, my final book of this fall/winter will release — a M/M BDSM mystery called In the Red. Forensic accountant Brian Foster had it all: the love of his life, a supportive family and a thriving career in TFOS (Terrorist Financing Operations Section in the FBI). Before he was abducted, that is, and left for dead nine days later. He retreated to the mountains of western Maryland where he focused on hoarding guns, lamps and a wonderful collection of neuroses. Special Agent Zachary Murdock is tasked with returning Foster to TFOS and back to work where he belongs. Murdock isn’t sure which presents the biggest complication, though — Foster’s special brand of crazy, the case that nearly killed him a year ago, or Foster’s surprising (and surprisingly enthralling) kink. Anyway, In the Redis scheduled to release in January. [Wow, sounds awesome! I love a hero with a little crazy!]
OK, so how about something fun. Can we do favorite things?Â
Favorite food? Peanut Butter Oreos. I discovered them a couple-few weeks ago — OMFG
[I have a serious chocolate peanut butter addiction. Â Must check these out.]
[I have a serious chocolate peanut butter addiction. Â Must check these out.]
Favorite book? The Stand by Stephen King. I read it every cold & flu season, but ONLY once I start sniffling myself. Makes the plague-y parts more fun. ;-D
Favorite movie? Dawn of the Dead (the remake, not the Romero original). Love the sprinting zombies.
Favorite online past time? Twitter! No matter how busy I am or how hard I’m working, I make time for twitter so if you want to hang out, be sure to catch me at: https://twitter.com/#!/karigregg
Favorite actor? Actress? Oh, dude, I really don’t care about stars or celebrities. They simply don’t register on my radar unless someone beats me over the head with a 2×4 about it. And even then, I’m like to squint at whoever’s supposed to be the Hot Guy of the Moment and say, ‘whut?’
Favorite vacation spot? I had a WONDERFUL time in Myrtle Beach, SC in October. Off-season and intentionally so. Hardly any traffic. No lines. We had the pool, the hot tub, the beach & the ocean pretty much to ourselves. It was unbelievably relaxing. Can’t wait to go back.
Favorite musician? I listen to 80s rock and metal mostly. Some new stuff, but I still stick to the old standbys. Def Leppard, KISS, Wasp.
Favorite guilty pleasure? READING. One thing nobody tells you when you become an author, the deadlines and work eats away at your just-for-fun reading time. I still sneak books in. I’d go insane if I didn’t, lol, but when my back’s against the wall…I may not read for weeks. Ye gods, that’s horrible.
Favorite fantasy man? (Woman?) My dh. >:D
Favorite way to spend a free day? Sprawled somewhere with my Kindle, reading something I didn’t write until the kidlets get home from school and then investing hours in trashing my kitchen while we cook or bake something. Especially if/when what we cook turns out to be a disaster. Loads of fun. Then a movie marathon that night, any movie, really.
Thanks so much for taking the time to answer all my questions? If readers want to learn more about your or your books, how can they find you?
Thanks for having me! If you would like to catch up with me, caffeinate yourself and head on over to http://www.KariGregg.com.
- Friend me on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/Kari.M.Gregg
- Follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/karigregg
- Find me at Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4366316.Kari_Gregg
Thank you again Kari so much for coming! It was great having you here at Joyfully Jay!Â
😀 😀 😀
As promised, Kari is giving away one of her backlist books (excluding Collared) to one lucky winner. Â Be sure to leave a comment below to enter. Â The contest closes Monday, December 12 at 11:59 EST. Â
- By entering the contest, you’re confirming that you are at least 18 years old.
- Winners will be selected by random number.
- If you win, you must respond to my email within 48 hours or another winner will be chosen. Please make sure that your spam filter allows email from Joyfully Jay and leave your email address if it is not in your profile.
Thanks again to Kari for joining us today!
>I love that you don’t have a particular actor as inspiration for your characters, I hate when authors say "this character looks like X actor or X person" because what if the guy looks nothing how I pictured him? And what if I don’t like that actor? Then I can’t stop picturing the character as the other person and that annoys me, unless the actor is Michael Fassbender, I wish everyone looked like him, I wish I looked like him, I would be in front of the mirror every day just looking at myself…
Great interview! I’m curious about Collateral but I think I’m even more excited about In the Red.
brie.clementineATgmail.com
>Great interview, cute Q n' A
rogcaprino[at]hotmail[com]
>@Brie, yes In the Red sounds so good, doesn't it! Plus I live in MD which is always fun (but not western md)
>Hi, guys! Thanks for stopping by! You live in MD, Jay? I'm in the WV panhandle, but not all that far from Garrett County, MD where a large portion of ITR is set. Brian and Zachary end up spending time near Hagerstown in ITR too — I lived there for two years. ;-p LOVE this part of the country!!!
>In the red sounds great
Sarah S
Sarahs7836(at)gmail(dot)com
>@Kari, yes Maryland born and bred. Never lived further away than NOVA for graduate school. Western MD is a lovely area. I am more central though. Nice to live in a little state that you can cross in a few hours and be at the ocean on one end and the mountains on the other!
>And here I am again! Popping my head up, looking around. I'm following Kari around. Please enter me.
lacrimsonfemme at gmail dot com
>I love getting a little bit into the heads of authors. 🙂
I also agree that it is refreshing not to have a particular actor as a reference for books (unless they will ultimately play that character in a movie). I would much rather run with the image on the cover or in my imagination. Also, if it ended up being someone I didn't like or find attractive, that might take a little away from the book for me. Thanks for the insight and great interview!
PS-just went to Myrtle Beach for the first time this year. Can't wait to go back!!!!
>I LOVE the sound of Collared! The setting/genre is one I very much enjoy. I too LOVE The Stand!
joderjo402 AT gmail DOT com
>I enjoyed the interview; it was a great read.
I've added Collared to my must have list; I can't wait to read it.
Thanks,
Tracey D
booklover0226 at gmail dot com
>The book sounds intriguing! Love the alternate universe idea, and maybe I have a little of the Dom/Sub kink myself, although I'd probably never be able to do it full time! (i'm too stubborn)
One reason I (almost) never like movies made from books is that the actor never looks the way I had him pictured from the description in the story. I like to make up my own mind about what the person looks like! But the cover pictures or drawings help with the characters sometimes. 🙂
blhouse99@gmail.com
>Great interview!
Don't enter me in the contest, I'm just coming by to say hi! 😀
>HI Amara! Thanks for stopping by!
>Great post! I hadn't heard of PB Oreos but will definitely check them out 🙂 Must move Collared to the top of my TBR mountain!!
smaccall AT comcast.net
>I'm such a Def Leppard fangirl. They're my favorite band. =)
adara adaraohare com
>So freaking excited to read Collared. I just purchased it. I simply couldn't wait. Hot, HOT, HOT cover!!! lol…
oooh~ and I am really looking forward to your January release. Sounds like another fantastic read!
Judi
arella3173_loveless(at)yahoo(dot)com
>Hello Kari & Jay,
Thank you Jay for hosting Kari on your Blog & also Thank you to Kari for spending time out of your day with your Fans. I really enjoyed your interview & how much you shared with Us. Your new release, "Collared" sounds so HAWT, I can't wait to add this eBook to my Santa List, as well as your coming soon release, "In The Red". I really enjoy your writing & LOVED, LOVED, LOVED "I, Omega" & also "What Rough Beast" (which wasn't even M/M Genre lol), but I had to have it!
Thank you for the opportunity to win one of your Backlist Books, what a Great giveaway!
Take Care & Have a Safe & Happy Holiday Season,
Renee' S.
paranormalromancefan@yahoo.com
>Reading is my guilty pleasure, too. My family threatens that they will take my ebooks away, but I keep coming up with excuses and so far it has worked 😀
Thanks for the interview!
japoki at inbox dot lv
>Collared looks good, & ITR sounds interesting, too.
Thanks for the interview, Jay & Kari.
aunt_cori(at)yahoo.com
>Your book sounds amazing! I'm definitely going to read it sometime. If I remember…. Oh well. Great interview!
>Collared sounds like a great book…looking forward to reading it.
yratpatrol@aol.com
>The Stand is my favorite book, too! Never thought to read it during flu season for the extra thrill. lol 🙂
>Collared sounds great. I'm adding it to my TBR list.
Ruth_junk at yahoo dot com