Today I am so pleased to welcome J.V. Speyer to Joyfully Jay. J.V. has come with some questions and answers about her latest release, Whirlwind. She has also brought along a great tour wide giveaway. Please join me in giving her a big welcome!

What inspired you to write this particular story? What were the challenges in bringing it to life?

Hm. Well, it’s hard to say where many of my story ideas come from, to be honest. This one had been sitting, outlined, on my hard drive for a while. I kept putting it off, and then I saw a call for submissions from JMS Books for stories with characters who were opposites. I said to myself, Well, I’ve got one of those hanging around and ready to start!  It was a good opportunity to finish something I’d kind of started. In terms of challenges bringing it to life… well. One of the bigger challenges was that this is my first f/f story to be published. I usually work in the m/m space. I know more people in that space, so logistically it was more of a challenge, and writing about women was more of a challenge because it feels more personal.

Do you use a pseudonym? If so, why? If not, why not?

I do. My pseudonym, J.V. Speyer, is a variant spelling on my birth name. Most Americans have a hard time pronouncing my birth name as written, and no one’s going to buy books from someone whose name they can’t say. My married name is also difficult to pronounce, and it’s not commonly found in the US. My Spouse’s family is deeply conservative and very religious, and they would prefer not to have their name associated with any of the subjects I write about. I have to respect that.

Where do you like to write?

Hah! I like to write at Panera. There’s just enough background noise to keep those back burners of my brain occupied, so I don’t wind up drifting off and thinking about eighteen other plots I could be working on or finding all the reasons that this book I’m working on right now is the worst one ever put on paper. My computer outright rejects their free Wi-Fi, so I can’t be distracted by Facebook or Twitter or Pinterest. And I can sit in an actual chair, with a back, and use an actual table. My cats prefer that I work from home, in my bed. They’ve appointed themselves my supervisors and let me know when it’s time for breaks (by sitting on my hands) or quitting time (sometimes by actually closing the laptop, more often by coming in and yelling at me until I agree to go to bed.) I work three times faster at Panera, but to be fair no one cuddles my feet there. That would be creepy.

Tell us something we don’t know about your heroes. What makes them tick?

Hm. Well, Jo has a lot to prove. I don’t want to say she’s got a chip on her shoulder, it’s not exactly like that. The band took off when she was still very young, and she was still pretty young when she wound up being outed. Most of the time she doesn’t think about it, but when she’s around her family she does feel like she has to prove herself, show that she’s made it without them. Valeria is a bit of a different story. She’s complicated. She loves her mother, but she doesn’t share any of her values. She knows her mother’s advocating terrible things, things that apply to her even if her mother doesn’t know it. This is still the same woman who put Band-Aids on her knees when she was a little kid and made her warm milk if she couldn’t get to sleep, and it’s hard to turn her back on that.

Who did your cover, and what was the design process like?

My cover came from Written-Ink Designs. I got to pick a few images from a provider they use, and they did the rest. Which is definitely for the best, I’m pretty incompetent when it comes to making anything pretty. My eight-year-old daughter has to help me pick out clothes for conferences or else I wind up in mismatched plaids, it’s sad.

What do you like to read in your free time?

I read a lot of romance. It’s mostly LGBTQ+ these days, but I will read m/f if the story is right. I like to read history, too. That’s kind of my way of self-soothing, I guess. “I’m super agitated, I’d better pick up this book about cholera epidemics in the 19^th century. That’ll calm me right down!” Lol.

What are you working on now, and when can we expect it?

Right now, I’m working on a m/m romantic suspense story with an FBI agent and a State Police detective as the main characters. It’s a second chance romance, and a chance to explore some of New England’s weird and creepy historical sites. With any luck, you should see it in late summer or early Fall.

Blurb

Rock star Jo Avery didn’t have a choice about coming out, but ever since her ex outed her as bi she’s been a proud advocate for LGBTQ+ issues. Most of her family wants nothing to do with her, but her brother has always supported her. When he gets married, he wants her in the wedding party, and she has to accept. The only problem? Her new sister in law is the daughter of conservative pundit and anti-LGBT warrior Sarah Tremblay. Sarah has another daughter, too, the beautiful and charming Valeria. Valeria has been in the closet since she was fourteen. She’s always envied Jo’s strength and freedom, if not her path to living her authentic life. She soon finds herself falling for the fierce, pretty rocker, but coming out could cost her everything. How many risks can she take for someone she’ll only know for two weeks? Can Jo and Valeria turn attraction into love, or will their whirlwind romance blow out before it gets off the ground?

Bio

J.V. Speyer has lived in upstate New York and rural Catalonia before making the greater Boston, Massachusetts area her permanent home. She has worked in archaeology, security, accountancy, finance, and non-profit management. She currently lives just south of Boston in a house with more animals than people. J.V. finds most of her inspiration from music. Her tastes run the gamut from traditional to industrial and back again. When not writing she can usually be found enjoying a baseball game. She’s learning to crochet so she can make blankets to fortify herself against the cold.

Giveaway

J.V. has brought a $10 Amazon gift card to give away along their tour. Just follow the Rafflecopter below to enter. 

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