Bryce had to reschedule his interview, so a new character I've been working with has kindly offered to step in and take his place. Please follow me as I chat with Jake Boudreaux from a new series I'm working with.
Jake Boudreaux slouches on the side of his Harley and watches as I ease my Santa Fe into a parking spot. The warmth of late morning in spring in Georgia has a low mist hovering over the grass and the drone of insects as the sun eases toward its zenith. He looks comfortable in his faded jeans, green tee shirt and scuffed biker boots. The black leather jacket is draped over the back of his bike while the matching leather chaps emphasize the muscles in his thighs and frame the substantial bulge behind his button-fly. In typical bad-boy fashion, he’s left his hair long, letting the glossy chocolate brown waves caress his shoulders, and his morning beard unshaven.
Jake Boudreaux slouches on the side of his Harley and watches as I ease my Santa Fe into a parking spot. The warmth of late morning in spring in Georgia has a low mist hovering over the grass and the drone of insects as the sun eases toward its zenith. He looks comfortable in his faded jeans, green tee shirt and scuffed biker boots. The black leather jacket is draped over the back of his bike while the matching leather chaps emphasize the muscles in his thighs and frame the substantial bulge behind his button-fly. In typical bad-boy fashion, he’s left his hair long, letting the glossy chocolate brown waves caress his shoulders, and his morning beard unshaven.
If there’s one thing that makes me nervous, it’s meeting a
new character for the first time. Especially before I’ve even finished his
book. I shut the engine off and climb out of the truck, dragging my tote bag
with my notebook, pen, and the list of questions with me. I approach him with a
smile I’m sure is more nerves than confidence. I hold my hand out. “Mr.
Boudreaux, thank you for agreeing to meet with me.”
His hand is warm and callused as it swallows mine, but
gentle, no squeezing, just a firm clasp. The sun-darkened skin evidence of his
time in hotter climes is shades browner than my own pasty skin. “My pleasure,
Miz Rain.”
The southern drawl is pronounced in his voice, an attempt to
put me at ease, I’m sure, but it doesn’t. I know what he’s done with his life,
the places he’s been. Laid back country boy may be the persona he’s trying to
exude, but specially trained warrior and hacker extraordinaire is what he is.
The grin he gives me assures me he knows exactly what I’m
thinking. “Shall we sit down?” He motions to the picnic table a few yards away
and I head in that direction, with him a few paces behind me.
Once I’m settled across from him, he waits for me to begin.
I fiddle with the papers and clear my throat before saying,
“This interview is for the Kinky Ever After blog, so the questions are ones the
authors have asked of their characters.”
“Understood.”
“What is your favorite ice cream?”
“Butter pecan.”
“What is your favorite thing about Norah Lipton?”
A soft smile lifts his lips and the chill in his azure gaze
melts away. “The way she looks at me. At the real me.”
I jot a note down, a reminder to make sure I make that clear
in the story. “And what does Norah do, what habit does she have, that is most
annoying to you?” I could list a dozen things I’ve discovered about Norah but
so far in the story there’s nothing that…
“She comes too fast.”
I blink, thrown by the answer. “She comes…?”
Jake nodded, leaning forward, forearms braced on the worn
wooden table. “Too fast. Yes. Twelve years is a long time to want someone, Miss
Qwillia, and I consider all the things I still aim to teach her, the fact that
she’s climaxing so quick, tests my control.”
The grin that spreads over his lips and the glint in his
eyes tells me this isn’t necessarily a bad thing in Jake’s mind. While I’m
still trying to find my voice for the next question, he continues.
“Not that I mind too much. It just means I get to wind her
up again and again before it’s my turn.”
I can feel the heat in my cheeks, not to mention between my
thighs. I swallow. Why do I get myself
into these situations… I shake off the thought and ask my next question.
“How old were you when you lost your virginity?”
The ice returns to his gaze and the smile disappears.
“Twelve.”
The clipped tone and foreboding expression warn me off, but
I ignore them, determined to dig deeper. “Twelve? That’s far too young, Jake.
What happened?”
He shakes his head. “Miss Qwillia, Norah likes your books.
She’s right pleased that you’re tellin’ our story, but she’s gonna read this
interview and I don’t want her knowing some things. Not yet.”
An inkling of an idea whispers in my mind and I think I know
what he’s not telling me, so I let it go. After making a note to revisit the
question during revisions, I look at the paper and grin at the next question.
“What is your favorite sexual talent of Norah’s?”
That brought the grin back and eased the tension in his
body. Leaning forward, he winks at me. “I’m teachin’ her new ones every day.
Give us a few years to get the basics down then we’ll talk, okay?”
I laugh and roll my eyes at him. “Yeah, yeah.” I look at the
list and ask, “What is Norah’s weirdest habit?”
Heat darkens his gaze and he gives me a wicked smile.
“Hiccups.”
I stop, my pen stilled half-way through writing the word.
“Hiccups?”
“She gets the hiccups when she’s too excited.”
An image of one of the love scenes from their story surfaces
and I remember just how Jake cured her hiccups the last time they struck. I
pick up the notepad and fan my flaming face before croaking out the next
question, “How did you meet Norah?”
This time he did laugh. He got up from the bench and moved around
to my side of the table. With his back to the table, he sat back down letting
his legs stretch out and his elbows rest behind him on the wooden surface. “She
beat me up at school.”
As he said it, the images flooded my mind. I have to admit,
I love interviewing my characters because the memories that they recall are
often telegraphed directly into my head. Since the readers couldn’t see what I
saw, I asked for the details. “Explain.”
“I was twelve, Norah was ten. Nick, her big brother, was in
the same grade as me and we got into a scuffle over something that was said. I
bloodied his lip and knocked him on his ass and Norah took exception to that.
She came chargin’ over and kicked me in the shin and punchin’ me in the arms.
She may be a little bitty thing but when she gets riled I wouldn’t mess with
her.”
“Did you stop her?”
He shook his head. “Nah, I thought it was cool that Nick’s
little sister would go wadin’ in on a fight. Nick wasn’t happy about it and
when he grabbed holda her I was afraid he was gonna hit her, so I stepped
between ’em and told Nick to keep his hands offa her.” A chagrined look flashed
across his face. “Nick yelled at me for thinkin’ he’d hit a girl, even if it
was his sister, and Norah yelled at Nick for yellin’ at me. It was the darnedest
thing.”
I chuckled as the scene played out again in my mind. “But
you and Nick became best friends.” It was a statement not a question.
“Damn straight. Harlen Krikkel, too.”
I looked at the list of questions. Eleven more to go. I plow
ahead despite my interest in learning more about Nick and Harlen and Jake’s
time in the Marines. “If there was something you could change about the first
few weeks you knew Norah, what would it be?”
That coldness descended over his features and he stared off into
the distance, refusing to look at me. I knew he was thinking about the events
surrounding the loss of his virginity. My stomach flip-flopped at the idea that
that would have happened so soon after he met Norah. “The weekend after we
met.”
“How would you change it?” I was pretty sure I wouldn’t get
details but a general idea would help my suspicions.
“I would stay home instead of goin’ to visit my dad in
Savannah.” The clipped, determined tone assured me nothing else would be
forthcoming.
“What about now, since you've returned to Magnolia and ran into Norah
again? Would you change anything about the first few weeks then?”
He took his time thinking about his answer. “Not much. My
assignment was need-to-know, and despite what you or Norah think, she didn’t
need to know.”
I glare at his arched eyebrows and ‘so there’ look and go to the next question. “What is your favorite movie?”
His lips pursed and his brow wrinkled as he thought about
it. “It’s a toss up between Evil Dead 2, Army of Darkness, and Monty Python and
the Holy Grail.”
I chuckle. “Ah, the classics.”
He nudged me with his elbow. “Hey, you know you like ’em. If
you were talkin’ tv, I’d have to add Sherlock, Leverage, and Burn Notice. But I
don’t get to the movies very often, and I only catch the shows on Netflix or
Hulu.”
Considering what I know about his lifestyle and his work, I
can see that’s very true. “So, where’s the craziest place you’ve had sex?”
He winked at me. “I’ll take the fifth on that one.”
Not even a puppy-dog eyed pout changes his mind, so I ask
the next question. “Which do you prefer? Coffee, tea, or…?”
“Coffee before noon. Sweet tea afternoon. And vodka or
bourbon after five.”
“What addiction can you not live without?”
“Norah.”
“Describe your favorite pair of shoes.”
He laughs and crosses his right leg over his left so his
scuffed up black leather biker boot is next to my hip. “I don’t know. You’re
the writer, how would you describe it?”
I look at the boot. “Well-worn and lived in.”
He nods. “Sounds about right.”
“What do you most fear?”
A solemn look settles on his face and he draws a deep breath
before slowly letting it out. “The day Norah figures out she’s way too good for
a fucked up bastard like me.”
I don’t let that go, and apparently neither did Norah. Considering I could sense her watching, I do my best impression of Leroy Jethro
Gibbs and wallop him a good one upside the back of his head. When he sits up
and glares at me, I glare right back. “Do not ever go there. Understood?”
His lips thin and his eyes flash with irritation, but he
knows exactly what I’m saying. After a tense few seconds of silence he dips his
head and grits out, “Yes, ma’am.”
I can feel Norah’s anger ebb and I know she’s stepped back
to allow me to finish the interview. I don’t envy Jake when he gets home
tonight…another quirk of being connected to my characters is that sometimes
they learn things from me. “If you were reincarnated, what would you like to
come back as?”
It was slow returning, but amusement lit Jake’s eyes as he
answered. “A pig. From the little messages goin’ around the internet, I hear a
pig’s orgasm lasts at least thirty minutes.”
I laugh and stutter out the next question. “If you…if you
could be in a different book, which book would it be?”
He seemed to think about it for a minute. “Hmm, considering
what I’ve heard from some of the other characters. I’d be curious to see what
Lanaan was like or even check out that Halsey club in Regency England that Cole
and Anthony keep mentioning.”
I groan thinking of the sci-fi stories and historicals I’ve
been kicking around ideas about. Jake in either of those settings would be
quite interesting. Instead of giving him an answer, I ask the next to last
question. “If your life were a book, what would you prefer the author not tell
readers about you?”
He rolled his eyes. “Now, Miss Qwillia. If I didn’t want the
author to tell the readers about something, why would I mention it in an
interview, hmm?”
I nod my understanding. “True. Seems like a silly thing to
do, huh?”
“Especially with you.”
“Last question. Who, living or dead, would be your hero if
you have one?”
“Hmmm.” He focused on the grass beneath his boot for long
moments. “I don’t rightly know. I’ll have to think on that one ’cuz puttin’ a
person up on a pedestal, callin’ ’em a hero, I’m not sure that’s a good thing
to do to another person.”
I pause as I write his response, aware that he’s right. In a
way. I finish my notes and tuck my notebook back into my tote bag. “Thank you,
Jake, for talking with me today.”
He stands up and helps me from the bench. “My pleasure, Miss
Qwillia.”
Ever the Southern Gentleman, he walks me back to my truck
and waits until I’m settled behind the wheel, the door shut and engine started
before moving back to his bike. I watch him shrug on the black leather jacket
and collect his helmet from the hard-sided saddlebags.
“Jake.”
He turns and looks at me.
“You’re going to have to tell her about that weekend.”
He goes stiff, but waits for me to finish.
“When you were twelve.”
I can see his throat work as he swallows. His knuckles go
white with the fierceness of his grip before he nods. “I know.”
I watch him tug on the helmet and straddle the Harley. The
engine rumbles to life and as I back out of the parking lot and make my way
back toward the highway, he follows me. Watching my back like the hero he is.
**Jake and Norah's story is still in the rough draft stage, so I can't give away their book, but one lucky commenter can win a copy of Santa's Elf. The winner will be announced on Monday, April 23rd.
**Jake and Norah's story is still in the rough draft stage, so I can't give away their book, but one lucky commenter can win a copy of Santa's Elf. The winner will be announced on Monday, April 23rd.
Enjoyed the interview. I've interviewed my characters, but never thought of asking them "fun" questions. Made it interesting.
ReplyDeleteThanks Cara, Candace came up with the idea and all of the KEA (Kinky Ever After) authors contributed questions. I always find it interesting when my characters answer questions. (And you can sneak some really good ones in when they aren't paying attention, LOL)
ReplyDeleteHave a great day!
Loved the interview! He's so sexy!! And you brought out his vulnerabilities, making him even more sexy!!
ReplyDeleteYou rock, Q!!
Thanks Lynn,
ReplyDeleteYou can actually blame Roscoe for Jake...Jake surfaced when Roscoe killed his plot bunny back in March and we were all trying to help him get a new one. LOL
What a great character interview. Jake is so sexy. I can't wait to read this book to see what happened to Jake when he was twelve(although I can guess). Write, woman, write! Write like the wind!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the giveaway.
LOL, I'm working on it Joanne.
ReplyDeleteI'm about half way through Jake's story, but have a few others I have to finish ahead of him.
Thanks for stopping by today!
Q
Well now, Qwillia, that was just plain MEAN! Introduce us to an interesting character and then tell us we have to wait! ANY of your books, though, are worth the wait!
ReplyDeletebooks4me67 at ymail dot com
LOL, thank you Books4me67. I'm hoping to have the series done by the end of May, but no guarantees. I do know that I have about half of Jake's book finished as well as half of one other book in the series.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by.
Q
Ohhh, I like Jake. Mysterious, tough exterior, with a soft squishy inside :)
ReplyDeleteExactly, Candace.
DeleteNorah has always known just how much of a hero Jake is, even if he's refused to believe it himself.
But she'll convince one way or another.
Q
Okay, you had me at Harley and didn't let go. Great interview! Can't wait till his book comes out because I definitely want to know more of his secrets.
ReplyDeleteKally
Kallypsomasters.com
Thanks Kallypso,
DeleteI love Jake and he's way too sweet.
I'm hoping to have Jake's story done by mid May. I'll keep everyone updated on the Poker Posse's progress.
Q
Holy cow! Jake makes me squishy inside. I want to read this book! I echo others' sentiments. Write faster...woman!
ReplyDeleteLOL, thanks La Crimson Femme,
DeleteI'm trying to write as fast as my characters will talk to me.
Jake is a wonderful character and I'm hoping everyone loves him when I get the story finished and out.
Q
Oh now I cannot wait to read Jake's story!
ReplyDeleteGabrielle
meingee@yahoo.com
Thanks, Gabrielle,
DeleteI'm hoping to have his and the other four stories in the Poker Posse series done by mid-to-late May.
Q
The winner of the drawing for Santa's Elf is....
ReplyDeleteJoanne!
Joanne, please contact me at qwilliarainATgmailDOTcom to let me know which format of the book you'd like emailed to you.
Thank you, everyone, for commenting. Don't forget to check out the other interviews that will be posted on the blog until May 18th.