Welcome to APOOO J.D.!

In 140 words or less, tell us a little about you.

My life is better now that I’m in my 40s, than it was a decade ago, so I’m really looking forward to turning 50.  It took me seven years to get my first publishing deal, but even if it had never come, chances are, I’d still be trying to land one.  My goal is always to write the best book I possibly can.  Sometimes I know I hit that goal right on the mark, other times, I’m not so sure, but even though the outcome may change, the goal never does.  And finally, but most importantly, I have two great kids, and two cute dogs who are entirely too affectionate (the dogs, not the kids).

In 140 words or less, tell us why your book would make a great addition to our personal library.

There’s enough drama going on in this book to hopefully make you forget about any drama happening in your own life.  And if you are fortunate enough not to have any drama going in your world, then you can help yourself, and live vicariously through these people.  CLICK HERE to read APOOO’s review from team member Phyllis Rhodes.

When you write, do you develop the plot or the characters first?  Why?

Characters always come first for me, and it’s always been that way.  I start with the idea of a particular character, including their name, and then build the story up from there.  My thought is that the characters are the story.

The characters in your latest book, That Devil’s No Friend of Mine, are very colorful.  How did you come up with the characters for this book?

Of all the characters, the role Bishop played in these people’s lives was an afterthought.  The three main female characters, Kristine, Rayne, and Nora, were all meant to be vastly different from each other on purpose, because initially, all three were meant to be connected to one love interest in the original outline for the story.  The story shifted a bit, but I liked the differences in the women, so I left it that way.

Lamar was pure desperation as a character, and he was hard to write, because he is so extreme and irrational.  I wanted his desire for Kristine to be so profound that it pushed him over any kind of rational edge, and sent him spiraling out of control.

The other characters came along as the others developed.

What’s the main message you want readers to take away from That Devil’s No Friend of Mine?

Probably that everything is not what it seems on the surface, especially when it comes to the people you think you know best.  And as with all the books I write, I really hope they encourage people to look outside of themselves and what they consider right, wrong, good or bad, and put themselves in someone else’s shoes, just for a short time to see a situation from someone else’s perspective.

Describe a day in the life of JD Mason.

That depends on whether or not I have an actual job to go to.  So, here are the two scenarios:

With a 9-5:

Out of bed by 5:40, get dressed, let the dogs out to pee, make sure the kid is awake, hit the road, and grab an Egg Mcmuffin and medium cup of coffee from McDonalds.  Put in my 9 hours, come home, eat, plan on writing, but more than likely, I’ll end up vegging in front of the television, scolding myself for not writing, and then in bed by 9:30.

Without a 9-5

Out of bed by 7:30, plan on going to the gym, let the dogs out to pee, make sure the kid is awake and off to school, maybe actually make it to the gym, grab breakfast somewhere or make it at home, shower and chill for about an hour, try and stay focused and write (ideally), or…waste the day away and scold myself, yet again, for not writing.

If you had to name a smell that always makes you nostalgic, what would it be? What sorts of memories does the smell evoke?

Texas.  When I was a kid, my mom used to send me and my brother to Texas every summer to spend with our grandparents, and for me, Texas actually has a distinct smell to it.  Every time I go to Texas, I swear it smells like Texas (Don’t ask me to describe it, because I can’t, but it’s neither good nor bad. It’s just Texas.) and it reminds me of the summers I spent with my grandparents in that small town in that small house.  I almost said snuff, because my grandmother used to put it in her bottom lip and the smell of snuff is very distinct and potent, but I can honestly say I haven’t smelled snuff since before she passed away many years ago.  I guess snuff isn’t too popular here in Colorado. LOL

Of all your favorite foods, which one would you find the most difficult to give up for the rest of your life? Why?

I cannot and will not ever give up breakfast.  I can’t narrow down which part of breakfast I couldn’t give up because I love all of it; eggs, bacon, pancakes, and coffee.  I wholeheartedly adore breakfast.

If you were to choose any fictitious world in any piece of literature, which place or book would you live in and why?

It’s a toss up between Hogwarts and Oz, I think.  Probably Oz, because I’d be much more leery of the Dark Lord coming back than the Wicked Witch, and people in Oz seemed way perky and oblivious to the truth going on around them.

April is National Poetry Month.  Are you a poetry writer or lover?  If so, share with us one of your favorite poems or tell us who is one of your favorite poets and why.

Ntozake Shange is one of my favorite poets because I understand her.  A lot of poets write so obscurely that it’s hard to wrap my mind around their words to make sense of them.  But with her, it’s as if she’s speaking to me like she’s standing in front of me, and we’re having a conversation.  Here’s an excerpt from one:

you are sucha fool

you are sucha fool/ i haveta love you
you decide to give me a poem/ intent on it/ actually
you pull/ kiss me from 125th to 72nd street/ on
the east side/ no less
you are sucha fool/ you gonna give me/ the poet/
the poem
insistin on proletarian images/ we buy okra/
3 lbs for $1/ & a pair of 98 cent shoes
we kiss
we wrestle
you make sure at east 110 street/ we have cognac
no beer all day
you are sucha fool/ you fall over my day like
a wash of azure

J.D., thanks so much for taking time out of your busy schedule to hang out with APOOO!

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