Today I am so pleased to welcome Wade Kelly to Joyfully Jay. Wade has come to talk to us about her latest release, No! Jocks Don’t Date Guys. She has also brought along some awesome giveaways! Please join me in giving Wade a big welcome!

 

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They like what I like!

I’m not sure how other authors create realistic characters to where they come off as real people, but for me I basically write myself into them. I do enjoy watching people and I have created characters based on others, but when I have to give them likes and dislikes and flaws, I can’t get those just from “watching” people. I can see from a distance that Mr. Busrider is taking a medical-type class because he’s reading a medical textbook, but I don’t know his favorite color is red—that’s me. I have to think up what the character’s like and dislike because that is part of being a real person. So how do I choose and why do I use specific things with specific characters?

I have probably said it before, but I’ll repeat myself here: the characters write themselves. It’s totally true. Sometimes I don’t even know where a character is going until he’s going there. This applies to plot AND personality. I might get a physical description from people I have met, etc., but I can’t get their personality from them all the time. Maybe I did with my friend Lance in No! Jocks Don’t Date Guys, because I tried to make the character as sweet and wonderful as my friend, but I DID embellish. I’ve never seen Lance flirt with anyone! He’s engaged as far as I’ve seen he’s not behaved like that. I wrote it into the character because in that scene at Birdie’s Café it worked. The events in the story fell out of my head.

So where have I used MY likes/dislikes in a story? The list is long.

Let’s start with the things I LIKE that my characters like.

1. In No! Jocks Don’t Date Guys, Chris mentions (internal dialogue) that All Time Low is Doug’s favorite band. Hmm, I wonder why? If you didn’t already know, All Time Low is MY favorite band. So far, I have written the band name into almost all of my books! I discovered the band through Pandora in 2012, which is why they are not mentioned in My Roommate’s a Jock? Well, Crap! or When Love is Not Enough. But when The Cost of Loving came out in 2013 I added All Time Low to the list of bands Darian had in his iPod. I went and saw them in concert last May, so be prepared to see it mentioned in a couple books in the future. (*ehem, Bankers’ Hours, *ehem.)

2. I like Mounds bars and Dr. Pepper. As I write this post I am wearing a Dr. Pepper shirt. I put this into Jimmy (Jamie) Miller’s character in When Love is Not Enough. Mounds Bars are my favorite candy as I love DARK chocolate and coconut. If Almond Joy had DARK chocolate then they’d be my favorite as I love nuts. I don’t drink soda all that much, but when I do I love Dr. Pepper! (I normally drink water.)image1

3. I like snakes. It says so in my bio! “She likes snakes, can’t spell, and has a tendency to make people cry.” I have 7 snakes so I wrote about them in Names Can Never Hurt Me when I gave RC Coppola the same hobby. (Although, he’s taking it a bit farther than I have.) My first snake is named Tuck just like his! ?

I put a snake in Bankers’ Hours as well. I like snakes. My bio even says it! ?

4. I love X-Men! In The Cost of Loving Darian mentions wanting to fly “like that guy in X-Men.” That is from ME and MY DESIRE to fly! I always dreamed of having wings as a kid! (And as an adult) I think flying is something many people wish they could do. I have seen all the X-Men movies and I am excited another one will be coming out!

5. I like DARK BROWN eyes! Mmm, love them! I gave Darian, Zach, and Alonzo brown eyes! My daughter had gorgeous brown eyes with gray around the outside. Funny how I could have sworn I gave that trait to a character, but I can’t figure out who? If you know which one it is, please remind me :p

Although, I do have to say that men with dark brown hair (or black) with blue eyes, are super hot! Ian Somerhalder comes to mind 😉

6. Red is my favorite color. Again, I gave that to Jimmy in When Love is Not Enough. I never used to wear red, as sometimes I don’t look very good in it. But more and more, the shirts I like only seem to come in red or black, so I wear red and black. Hahah. This is why I have a RED Stilinski shirt.

7. This leads me into another thing I like: Teen Wolf! Hahahhaha. Yes, I love this show! I haven’t referenced it often (yet), but Stephanie (Alonzo’s sister) in No! Jocks Don’t Date Guys does think about how she likes Teen Wolf.

8. I also like Glee. I mention this in the upcoming novel Bankers’ Hours. Grant likes Glee! And—surprise, surprise—he likes Darren Criss as well. Look for where I mention other things that are RIGHT OUT OF MY LIFE in that book. 😉

9. I love show tunes like Chris Jackson in No! Jocks Don’t Date Guys. I often sing them in the car. Wicked is my favorite sound track ?

10. And stopping with #10 I’ll mention how much I LOVE Red Dwarf! Rob McAvoy references Red Dwarf in My Roommate’s a Jock? Well, Crap! And again in JOCK 3 (the book I am still writing) I found it really awesome to learn at GRL in October that Belinda McBride also likes Red Dwarf!

I am sure there are more things I like that I gave characters, but coming up with a list is harder than I thought it would be. I had to research my own books and look things up, believe it or not! Hahaha.

What DON’T I like?

1.  I can’t think of what I wrote into characters that I don’t like! Hahah. This is really hard. It’s like taking a test and I haven’t studied. I know I gave Grant my dislike for hand-dryers in bathrooms. (I like paper towels) – in Bankers’ Hours– But for the life of me I can’t think of other things to list.

We’ll stop with 1.

I know this is supposed to be a blog tour about my newest release, No! Jocks Don’t Date Guys, but I thought it would be more interesting to read about ME and my writing process and how characters reflect different parts of myself ?

Blog tour:
Nov 18 – GGR – cover reveal
Dec 7 – RGR – Writing What I know: Emotion
Dec 14 – Jeff Adams – Finding a Muse
Dec 15 – Novel Approach – Writing My Own Experiences
Dec 16 – Multitasking Momma – Giving Characters a JOB!
Dec 18 – Love Bytes Reviews – Striving to Improve
Dec 21 – Tammy Middleton – My Faults are Their Faults
Dec 22 – Joyfully Jay
Dec 23 – GGR


Blurb

1_NoJocksDontDateGuys5What is a sexy soccer stud supposed to do when “following family tradition” falls 180 degrees opposite his closeted ideal?

From birth, Chris Jackson has been schooled on how to land a cheerleader. After all, his father married one, and his father’s father before him. Heck, even his older brother married a stereotypical cheerleader the summer before Chris went off to college. For two years, Chris dodges invasive questions about relationships by blaming his lack of female companionship on grueling practices and heavy coarse loads. But his lack of interest in girls should’ve given his family a clue. It isn’t until Chris mentions meeting a boy that his father’s synapses short-circuit.

Alonzo Martin is anything but a buxom blond. From his black hair, combat boots, and trench coat to his nail polish and guyliner, the mysterious introvert isn’t easily persuaded to date. Alonzo’s insecurities keep Chris at arm’s length, but Alonzo’s painful past might meet its match in the charismatic jock’s winning smile and sense of humor.

When opposites attract, only cheerleaders and gummy bears can help overcome fear and family tradition.


Bio

Screen-Shot-2015-12-06-at-8.31.09-AMWade 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 three children. She likes snakes, can’t spell, and has a tendency to make people cry.


Giveaway

As a thank you I have several giveaways. Leave a comment on this blog for a chance to win an Amazon gift certificate. I am going to take all the names from all the comments from all the blog stops and put them in a drawing. I have 8 stops including this one. The more comments you make then higher your chances of winning. I will have 3 winners of a $10 Amazon gift certificate, and for those who comment on ALL 8 STOPS, I will enter each of them into a grand prize drawing good for: 1) An eBook from my backlist of your choice, 2) A $10 Amazon gift certificate, 3) A Wade Kelly Spoon in the colors of your choice ?, and 4) One autographed paperback copy of the novel of their choice (Includes all the books in my back list, as well as JOCK 2 AND Bankers’ Hours coming up in March) Note: I am willing to mail things to other countries so don’t let that stop you! Winners will be drawn December 24th. 

  • By entering the giveaway, you’re confirming that you are at least 18 years old.
  • Winners will be selected by random number. No purchase necessary to win.  The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning.
  • If you win, you must respond to my email within 48 hours or another winner may be chosen. Please make sure that your spam filter allows email from Joyfully Jay.
  • Winners may be announced on the blog following the contest. By entering the contest you are agreeing to allow your name to be posted and promoted as the contest winner by Joyfully Jay.
  • Prizes will be distributed following the giveaway either by Joyfully Jay or the person/organization donating the prize.
  • All book prizes are in electronic format unless otherwise specified.
  • By entering you are agreeing to hold Joyfully Jay harmless if the prize or giveaway in some way negatively impacts the winner.
  • Readers may only enter once for each contest.  Duplicate entries for the same giveaway will be ignored. In the event of technical problems with the blog during the contest, every effort will be made to extend the contest deadline to allow for additional entries.
  • Void where prohibited by law.
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