Interview and Contest - Love By Design by Jambrea Jo Jones

Love By Design by Jambrea Jo Jones

Publisher:  Total E Bound

Interview

Maria : When did you first know that you could be a writer?


Jambrea :  Well...I wanted to be a writer around the 8th grade. I didn't really think I could be a writer until I got my first acceptance letter.

Maria :  What made you want to be a writer?

Jambrea :  Reading and an active imagination. I always think...what if?

Maria:  Who or what influenced your writing once you began? Do you consider anyone a mentor?

Jambrea:  I think what I read always influences my writing. I really don't think of anyone as a mentor. Not really. But I do have a couple people whom I admire. One would be TA Chase and the other would be Carol Lynne. They are always there when I need a hand or have a question and they are two of the best, in my opinion, m/m writers out there.

 Maria:  What is your favorite quote, by whom, and why?

Jambrea:  Anyone who can only think of one way to spell a word obviously lacks imagination." Mark Twain Um...I like it because Mark Twain is an awesome writer and I can't spell.  I've always said that spell check is my friend, but even he lets me down sometimes. lol

Maria :  What inspires you to write?

 Jambrea :  People, the world around me and music.

 Maria : What is your greatest strength and your greatest weakness as a writer?


Jambrea :  Goodness, I'm quicker with knowing what my weakness is than my strength. I think my greatest weakness is procrastination. And it takes me longer than I think it should for me to write something. Hmm...my strength? Maybe that I'm versatile in what I write? I hope that I have a little something for everyone.

Maria :  Who is your personal favorite author?


Jambrea :  Its a tie. It used to always be TA Chase and it still is, but I've added Carol Lynne. There are plenty more, but those two are the tops.


Maria :  So tell us your latest news.

Jambrea :  My newest release is Love by Design out August 31st from Total e-Bound. I also have a release on Oct. 4th. Total e-Bound is release my story that was in an anthology as a stand alone. I'm very excited about it. I also will have a release soon from Ellora's Cave called Steamy Reunion. I don't have a date for that one yet, but I'm hoping this year. I have a Christmas type story coming out in December from Total e-Bound called Wishing Star and I'm working on a cowboy story for an anthology from Total e-Bound that I'm hoping to get into. It's called A Fistful of Emmett.


Maria :  Why did you choose to write this particular book? What was it's inspiration and is there a particular message you want readers to understand from this book?


Jambrea :  I started writing Love by Design as a contest story. I wanted to do something Sci-Fi and it just took shape from there. The contest was to write a story based on a picture. I ended up added a LOT to this one to make it longer. So the inspiration was the picture. I don't think I have a message. I think if there is one that is for the reader to decide.


Maria:  In conclusion, Can you share a little of your current work with us?

Jambrea:  Here is the blurb and a little unedited excerpt from Love by Design.



Blurb: 


A Soldier can be programmed for war, but what about love?

Zeke Andrews and his band of soldiers volunteered to be experimented on by the government to help protect the world from an invading force of aliens.

Is there more to the programs implants than he thought?

An overwhelming urge fills his soul when he meets an intriguing woman.

Could it be science or love? Cassandra Dawson could have the answers. Is Zeke man enough to find them?



Unedited Excerpt:

 

Zeke Andrews paced his quarters in Rafe Towers, the building that housed the Sentries. It was nice for a barracks and had everything he needed. What was that old saying? If it was needed, it would be issued. That sounded about right.

It was almost time for his guard duty shift, and he was on edge after his meeting. Nothing had happened for weeks, and they were preparing for the worse, afraid this could be the calm before the storm. It seemed as if the Raxioni had gone to ground.

Thomas had said there were rumblings on the magical front that something big was about to happen. Zeke hated how vague the man was, but a Mage couldn’t know everything.

Then he was told he’d have to do field exercises on some new contraction Joseph came up with. He remembered the last debacle. Chuck, the Sentries’ medic, had to be called in to set a few broken bones.

Welcome to my fucked up week. When Joseph had shown the group his ‘flying coat’, Chuck had had the nerve to laugh and tell Zeke he’d prepare a nice bed for him in sick bay. The bastard.

The group had objections to what Zeke really wanted to do. He wanted to go into the streets and root out the aliens. To send them back to where they’d come from.

Zeke stopped in mid-step and went to his closet. The time for contemplation had past. He put on his uniform and made his way to the ammunition's room to pick up his weapon and ‘coat’.

Minutes later, Zeke sat atop Rafe Towers and watched over the city as the sun set. He’d calmed down, the peace of the night seeping in. He didn’t expect any action tonight and was surprised when the tattooed dragon on his shoulder pulsed a warning.

Time to fight, hell yeah.

This was what he’d been made for. His perch on the building lost its appeal with the threat and excitement of danger calling his name. Guard duty usually bored him; he was ready for action. Zeke needed to find the source of the threat. The Mage might be in the lab. He could help with a location spell of some sort. Zeke really had no clue how Thomas did what he did, and he really didn’t care as long as it helped.

The Sentries were equipped with the most hi-tech equipment in the universe, thanks to the scientist who had created them and the Mages who supported them. He turned and headed to the door only to stop at the screeching sound that rose from the street. Seemed as of the Mage wouldn’t be needed after all. The threat presented itself in a woman’s scream. It echoed through Zeke’s body, and he rushed to the ledge to look below.

The woman had rammed her car into one of the Raxioni, but that wasn’t what caught Zeke’s attention. Normally, people ran at the sight of the Raxioni because they were huge hulking brutes who usually carried big swords and weren’t afraid to use them. The woman must be incredibly stupid or incredibly brave. Zeke reserved judgment as the scene unfolded. She stood toe to toe with the Raxioni and yelled something at the beast while her finger jabbed its chest. The monster moved closer to the woman. An attack was imminent. Zeke needed to get in gear before the thing killed her, and he didn’t have time. Shit, he shouldn’t have taken off that damn coat. He raced to the corner to throw the coat back on.

He couldn’t let the woman die. The Raxioni did not tolerate humans at all. Zeke had no idea why this one happened to be on the street alone. They usually travelled in groups to cause chaos.

It must be Zeke’s lucky day because he really didn’t relish taking on a group by himself no matter how much he needed to fight.

The lone Raxioni had to have caused Zeke’s tattoo to pulse its warning. The dragon part of his tattoos always pulsed when the Raxioni were near, a built-in warning system the Mages and scientists had given to each Sentry. The other warnings included an orb to let them know when the planet was under threat and the whole tattoo tingled when Rafe Towers was under attack. The thing had saved his ass a time or two.

Now, it was time to save the woman because it went against his very nature to let a human die. The SE’s were made and trained to protect the innocent. When the creatures landed on Earth, the scientist knew regular military wouldn’t be able to handle the aliens’ brute strength. A super soldier needed to be created. Zeke’s team had volunteered for the experiment and had never looked back. Earth would not fall to the Raxioni. Not if he had anything to stay about it.

No matter how much he wished it was different, he had no time to get his extra gear from the lab. His Sig Sauer P1050 would have to do. Zeke ran and jumped off the seven-storey building. His coat billowed behind him, acting like a small parachute, true to its design. As he drifted down he heard the woman yelling at the beast.

“You killed my sister, you fuck!”


Contest

1.  One copy of "Love By Design" will be given to 2 winners

2.  Please leave a comment below regarding either the interview or the excerpt.

3.  Make sure to include your email address in your post so that I can notify the winner.

4.  Winners to be chosen using Random.Org

5.  Contest will run from Monday, 30-Aug-10 until Noon on Tuesday 31-Aug-10 at which time the winner's will be announced.

6.  Contest open to all entries regardless of location.

Good Luck!

FTC Disclosure:  Prizes to be awarded have been purchased by the review site.