J.D. Blackrose
Today I’m happy to welcome J.D. Blackrose to the blog. She’s answering a few questions and telling us more about her books. Please help me welcome J.D.!
Featured Author Q and A:
Can you tell us about your newest release?
My new book, just out July 28th, is Wish Magic, the fifth installment in the Summoner’s Mark series. The first book, Demon Kissed, is 99 cents August 1-15, in case anyone wants to start at the beginning, although Wish Magic can be read as a stand alone. In this book, Gregory Adamos, who is a reforming mobster, decides that he wants magic of his own since everyone around him has magic and he doesn’t. He seeks a djinn trapped in a crystal and releases it. All heck breaks loose because sometimes you get more than you wished for. Meanwhile, a person comes back into Becs’s life (my kick butt main character) who she completely doesn’t expect. You know, because he’s dead.
Becs is a summoner, a person who can summon magical and powerful beings with no danger to herself. But as she discovers in Demon Kissed, that doesn’t mean without threats to those she loves and when she gives up summoning to protect her friends and family, she winds up hiding out bartending in a fae bar. But danger doesn’t leave her alone, and neither does her mysterious and sexy upstairs neighbor. It’s like if A Crown of Thorns and Roses met Buffy.
What inspired you to write this series?
I had just finished my Monster Hunter Mom novellas series and my zombie cosmetologist series. The publisher at Bell Bridge Books came to me and told me she wanted a gritty urban fantasy, and I said, “I can write that.” For me, everything starts with character so I needed to get a handle on who my main character would be. I looked through my phone where I keep notes and ideas and funny things I overheard in the grocery store and found this phrase, “I was fat-shamed by a fortune cookie.” You see, I’d had Chinese food takeout with some co-workers and gotten a fortune cookie that said, “No one looks good in skinny jeans.” And I was wearing skinny jeans at the time! So I said to my colleague, “I think I was just fat-shamed by my fortune cookie,” and he laughed, so I wrote it down. That became the first line of the book. “I was fat-shamed by a fortune cookie,” and the follow up line was, “Did you eat it and show it who is boss?” The first line was said Becs’s sister and the second line was Becs. That gave me the toe hold I needed and from there I developed the story.
Do you have any pets?
Yes, I do. I have two orange cats who are dumb as a bunch of rocks. Sweet, but they aren’t winning Jeopardy any time soon. They are brother and sister and the sister sometimes doesn’t want anything to do with her brother. They are soft and sweet and we love them. They both like to sit in my office’s cat trees when I am writing.
What drew you to Coastal Magic?
The people! Both the authors and the readers, plus of course, Jennifer and Dolorianne. I had heard about CMC through my author friends like Nancy Northcott, Gail Martin, Eric Asher, and others, and knew how much they loved CMC. I had met Jennifer at DragonCon years ago. It was my first DragonCon and she sat down next to me at dinner (Also Chinese food, oddly enough. There is a theme here I never noticed before.) I wasn’t writing yet and she asked me if I was a writer. Despite the fact that I wanted to write, I could barely admit it. She made me practice saying, “I am a writer,” but I couldn’t do it! She gave it her all. A valiant effort, but it took a while for me to write well enough to get published and then finally to be able to say I was a writer. Although, being a writer has nothing to do with being published. I was just too new, too green, and too scared to admit what I really wanted to pursue. I got there, though!
CMCon Quickies:
Ocean or Lake? Ocean.
Winter, Spring, Summer, or Fall? Spring.
Ebook, Paperback, or Audiobook? ebook.
Alpha male or Cinnamon Roll? Alpha male.
Ted Lasso or Roy Kent? I have never watched Ted Lasso so I do not know. 😊 My answer? The Witcher.
THANKS so much for playing along!
Now let’s learn more about J.D.’s book:
Wish Magic by J.D. Blackrose
Hi, I’m Becs. And I’m a Summoner.
The Kiss on my wrist–a mark I’ve had since birth–signals my rare ability to call on immortals and negotiate with them on behalf of my clients for information, favors, or other services. In the past few years, these powers got me entangled with the demon Valefar, a bevy of fae and even Lucifer himself!
It’s complicated, dangerous, and exhausting…especially when dealing with a guy like my pseudo-friend, businessman/mobster Gregory Adamos.
When Gregory told me he was having a package delivered to my door, I was suspicious. After all, I know he’s desperate to get his very human hands on any sort of magic. So, I opened the package…and found a crystal that had no business being in the United States, much less Smokey Point, Ohio.
Worse–this crystal contained a djinn. And when Gregory released it, all hell broke loose. Gregory thinks he can control this ancient creature, but I know better. The djinn has to be put back in his prison and locked away forever. But Gregory wants to use the genie’s power for himself. Before long, the entire magical community of Smokey Point is in chaos.
And if that isn’t enough to keep me busy, Asher has returned. Only he’s human this time, not an angel.
I don’t know which will be harder to do–imprison a genie or trust the love of a man I thought long dead.
I wish I knew.
Series: Summoner’s Mark series #5
Genre: Romantic urban fantasy
Release Date: July 28, 2023
Publisher: Bell Bridge Books
Read an excerpt: https://slipperywords.com/excerpt-from-wish-magic/
Purchase Link:
https://books2read.com/wishmagic
I hope you’ve enjoyed this Coastal Magic Convention Featured Author Spotlight post. J.D. Blackrose will be one of the amazing authors we’ll be hanging out with during the 12th annual reader weekend in Daytona Beach, FL, Feb 22-25,2024.
For a full list of Featured Authors, info about the weekend, and link to register to attend, visit the Coastal Magic Website HERE. And be sure to watch for more Featured Author spotlights coming up here each month!