Unbreak Broken Blog Tour—An Interview With J K Hogan and Giveaway

09/22/2015 In Author Profiles, New Releases

Andrew

Sep 22, 2015

Unbreak Broken Blog Tour—An Interview With J K Hogan and Giveaway

I’ve long been a fan of JK Hogan, and I’ve been stalking her Facebook page to see pictures of her son, so I was glad to be able to get the chance to interview her as part of her Unbreak Broken book tour. After you read the interview, make sure to enter the contest and check out the other blogs for more information about her and the Unbreak Broken.

An Interview with J K Hogan:

Welcome J. K. Since this is your first time on the blog, take a moment to tell everyone about who you are and what you write.

Thanks for having me, Andrew! I live in North Carolina with my husband, with whom I’ll be celebrating 10 years this year, and our son. Got one more on the way, too! I’ve been writing off and on for most of my life, but I’ve only been in publishing since 2012, and I’ve just released my 7^th title. I’m a stay-at-home (work-at-home) mom, since I do both writing and freelance graphic design.

Your son is just a bit younger than my daughter. How do you find balancing writing and family?

I’m not gonna lie, it’s hard. I pretty much just have to adapt. I just have to squeeze in writing time whenever I can, because no day is ever the same. A sturdy laptop helps. LOL

It took some adjusting, because I was always one of those people who sort of needed to get in the right mindset to really get going. It’s been a lot harder recently since I’ve been pregnant. Makes my brain fuzzy. L

What types of stories do you write? {This is mainly a genres question, but I left if vague so you can take it wherever you like.}

I’ve done a few different things over the last four years. I have an m/f paranormal romance series that was originally with a small publishing house, but I self-publish them now. They were pretty fun to write; they were about witches with a few shapeshifters thrown in.

With Wilde City Press, I have an m/m contemporary romance series, which Unbreak Broken is a part of, and a romantic (slightly paranormal) suspense novel that will eventually become a series.

Before we talk about your newest release, Unbreak Broken, what was the first book you had published?

My first book was Fire on the Island, the first in that m/f paranormal series.

How has your writing changed since then?

I’d like to say my writing has matured a lot. I try to put more into planning (I plotted “Fire” out loud to my husband over a 2 hour dinner and that was the extent of it), but I’m more of a pantser. I’ve learned a lot from my editors along the way, so I try to pay more attention to the technical stuff as I go. Mainly I’ve stopped worrying about what I should or shouldn’t write. I write what pops into my head, make sure it’s the best I can make it, and then it’s up to the publisher whether they’re interested or not.

Unbreak Broken, is the third book in your Coming About series. Let start with the series; what’s the common theme?

The common theme is the main characters affecting a change in their lives to become their true selves. They’ve all got baggage in their pasts and things they’re hiding, so the stories are about bringing all that to light and becoming comfortable with themselves as they are.

Tell us about book three, Unbreak Broken.

Unbreak Broken is mainly Rory’s story. His wedding—to a woman—is what started the series and brought all the characters together. But he’s been hiding some pretty big secrets all along.

Introduce us to your main characters, Rory and Bennett.

Rory is a big teddy bear of a guy who teaches photography to high school kids, including Bennett’s daughter. Bennett is a harbor patrol officer who loves nothing more than being out on the water—except his best friend Jessie and their daughter Addison.

As a gay man raising a daughter, my ears (or eyes) always perk up when I see that as part of the plot. What inspired you to write this story?

Well, all along, I had to find someone for Rory. He’s a big dude, but kind of cuddly, and he has this secret desire to be taken care of. He really wants someone to make him feel safe and… small, I guess. Once I started writing Bennett, giving him a daughter was initially a way to get him and Rory in the same room a couple of times, but Addison took on a life all her own. I wanted to convey that there are so many types and configurations of families, you can never assume anything.

Tell us something interesting that is not in the blurb?

There is a side plot about teen bullying. It’s not really depicted in the book, in case that’s a trigger for some, but we have some teens dealing with the aftermath. I was given permission to use Paul Richmond’s You Will Rise Project as an outlet for the kids to talk about bullying and self-expression.

Will there be another book(s) in the Coming About series?

I honestly don’t know. I’d always intended to end it with Rory, and no one is begging me for a story right at the moment, but who knows?

Since there is always another story to tell, what are you working on now?

I’m working on a standalone, kind of a dark romance, about two men who meet in a mental institution—I know, but I promise the circumstances aren’t as creepy as you might imagine. That should be wrapped up soon, and I’ll start working on the sequel to my thriller, Shadows Fall.

If you could meet any writer, alive or dead, who would it be and why?

Oh gosh, there are so many choices. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting a lot of my favorite writers. I’ll go back to my roots then and say Michael Crichton or Peter Benchley. I cut my teeth on books like Congo and Jaws.

Besides reading and writing, what else do you enjoy?

Most of my free time is taken up by my son, and I love spending time with him. I also enjoy doing outdoor things when I can, like camping, hiking, rafting, or skiing. J

The last question is all yours. Tell the readers anything you like about you, your works, things you like. Anything at all.

All I can really say is thank you for all the support. The wonder of having people choose to read my books really never wears off. Every time someone seeks me out to tell me how much they liked one of my stories is just icing on the cake. I write for myself but I write for you guys too!

Also, one more thing… I chose not to include an epilogue with this story, because it just felt so final when I finished that last chapter. But I know that people wonder what happens to the characters after “the end.” So I’ve decided to write a follow-up short to be available on my website. Look for it sometime shortly after GRL (October 14-18) if you’re interested in more Rory & Bennett, plus Jessie, Addison, and the rest of the Coming About gang!

Blurb:

Rory Donovan’s life is a hot mess. His marriage is failing and he’s in intensive psychotherapy, working through the unfortunate side effects of memories from a childhood trauma. The only thing good in his life right now is his job—teaching photography to gifted high school students.

Harbor Patrol officer Bennett Foster is co-parenting his teenage daughter with his high school best friend Jessie. When he meets Addison’s teacher and realizes they’ve met before, he can’t get the sexy stranger out of his head.

Striking up a sexual-tension-filled friendship, together they must help an angsty teenager deal with a dying friend. Bennett must keep his little family from falling apart while Rory struggles to come to terms with his new reality. Somewhere along the way, most unexpectedly…love happens.

Publisher: Wild City Press

Cover Artist: J.K. Hogan (KHD Graphics)

Series: Coming About–Book Three

(True series: Should be read in order)

Release Date: September 16, 2015

Excerpt:

Dr. Conlan treated me to a rare fond smile, almost motherly in its warmth. “I’m pleased to see you happier than you have been.”

I grinned back, but then my brow furrowed. “Does this make me gay?”

“Does that matter?”

“I don’t know. Should it?”

“I’ll never understand the fascination with labeling things that our society seems to have. To me, sexuality is as intangible as the universe. There’s no way to truly know what’s out there, and how it all relates to everything else.

“As humans, we seek to know, to understand, and somehow we feel that putting things in boxes and labeling helps us do that. But some things are fluid, changing and developing with the tide of the evolution of life. Do me a favor, Rory. Don’t put yourself in a box.”

I was dumbfounded, stunned speechless. I knew I’d remember Dr. Conlan’s words for the rest of my life, and I would try to stay as true to them as I could. “I won’t,” I whispered.

Buy Links:

Amazon:

Wild City Press:

About the Author:

J.K. Hogan has been telling stories for as long as she can remember, beginning with writing cast lists and storylines for her toys growing up. When she finally decided to put pen to paper, magic happened. She is greatly inspired by all kinds of music and often creates a “soundtrack” for her stories as she writes them. J.K. is hoping to one day have a little something for everyone, so she’s branched out from m/f paranormal romance and added m/m contemporary romance. Who knows what’s next?

J.K. resides in North Carolina, where she was born and raised. A true southern girl at heart, she lives in the country with her husband and young son, a cat, and two champion agility dogs. If she isn’t on the agility field, J.K. can often be found chasing waterfalls in the mountains with her husband, or down in front at a blues concert. In addition to writing, she enjoys training and competing in dog sports, spending time with her large southern family, camping, boating and, of course, reading! For more information, please visit www.jkhogan.com.

Where to find J.K. Hogan:

Facebook Author Page: http://www.facebook.com/OfficialJKHogan

Twitter: http://twitter.com/JK_Hogan

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/jkhoganbooks/

Other: http://www.goodreads.com/jkhogan

Other: http://instagram.com/jkhoganbooks

Other: http://jkhogan.com/blog/

Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26118822-unbreak-broken