It Has a Porn Star as the Protag? Where Do I Sign Up?

Hey kids!  I have a funny, talented new friend on facebook and when he asked me to help him promote his new book (series, saga, etc.!), I was happy to help.  And when he told me the concept, I was even more in.  Porno stars?  Hollywood movie? Drugged out friends?  Where do I sign up?  No, I'm kidding, the premise is fresh and current and controversial.  Sounds like the makings of a terrific series!

So, I got a great chance to learn about the books with this interview.  Enjoy meeting my new friend, John Tucker.

What's your novel about?    

Romancing the Fox is the story of John McKenzie, a successful screenwriter who's given the reins to produce his latest screenplay – Hell Hath No Fury. In order to give his film some Hollywood buzz, he makes the decision to hire a porn actress to co-star in his movie. After interviewing seven hand-picked women, he chooses one he thinks has the charisma and ability to make it on the silver screen. He also falls in love with her. That's when the book kicks into second gear.

In Los Angeles, she prepares for her role, slowly warms up to him, and deals with old enemies, and bitter associates. In Manhattan, he toils away on his film and struggles with the doubts of his friends, and past flames who are jealous about his budding romance with a woman they view as beneath him.

The novel has characters that will make you smile, curse, and roll your eyes. On the west coast there's a whip-wielding dominatrix, a conniving vixen who wears Catholic schoolgirl attire, and an aging veteran with familial ties to the titular Fox.  On the east coast, McKenzie deals a snarky British actress who's caused 14 divorces, a flaky former swimsuit model who's not what she seems, and an ex-lover who grows increasingly unstable when McKenzie and his Fox are reunited in New York.     

How did you come up with the concept?

This is my first novel. I wrote it in 2008 and had to do some massive re-tooling in order to ready it for publication. My original concept was to have a loser at love fall for a woman who physically dealt in it. She would play on his emotions and at the end, would leave him a bitter, lovelorn husk. Around chapter 11, I changed the focus and had her willing to confront her own shattered thoughts about men and give him a chance to claim her heart. After that, the novel seemed to write itself.

Did you do any research on the porn industry before you began writing?

No, I was once a porn star myself and....just kidding. :-D   No, I prepped for the mindset by watching several documentaries about the industry, took notes on over a dozen interviews with adult entertainers on You Tube, and liked the Paul Anderson film Boogie Nights enough to buy it. And yes, I glanced at a few actual X-rated movies...but I didn't like it. :-)

Who's your favorite characters in the story?

John McKenzie is a borderline alcoholic who has self-confidence issues, two failed marriages, and worships women. Putting him in a situation where he falls in love with a porn-star seemed to be the thing to do. The Fox also has self worth issues, distrusts almost every man in her life, and has a short fuse. Of the secondary characters, the villains are very compelling. Trix is a conniving porn star who will do anything to get out of the industry. Megan McCoy is McKenzie's longtime Friend-With-Benefits who waits too long to snap him up for herself. She becomes the Big Bad of volume one.

Volume one? You have a sequel in mind?

I have three sequels in mind. Romancing the Fox deals with selecting the Fox, giving the reader the growing relationship she has with McKenzie, and ends on the day before they shoot the actual movie.  Chasing the Fox will deal with the film, the promotional tour, and the red carpet gala. Tempting the Fox will focus two years in the future and examines Fox and McKenzie's relationship – the good and the bad. The finale, Rescuing the Fox is presently being worked on and wraps up what I'm calling The Fox Saga. 

Since the novel deals with people in the adult entertainment industry, what did you do to give the reader insights into a profession generally sneered at by most people in the world?

Like in real life, some performers love their job, while others despise it and settle for the money they bring in. Shayla Sinn successfully markets herself on the internet, Debbye Taunt has a sugar daddy, and Solitude is damaged goods and fresh out of rehab when she interviews for McKenzie. They're all part of a destructive career path that hardens their heart, compels them to partake of recreational drugs, and forces them to hang out with unsavory friends and associates who lead them into the darker recesses of their life. In the novel I go into their personal lives, the movie sets, and the casting couch offices of the business owners who employ them – nothing explicit but the reader will know what's going on. While it may seem glamorous on the outside, rest assured I don't make their stories appealing. In real life, the successful ones are few and far between and many leave the industry bitter, broken, or dead.

From what you've published, you don't seem to be pigeonholed into one genre. Divisive is a dark drama full of irredeemable characters. The Little Girl You Kiss Goodnight is a YA mystery with a teenager investigating her estranged mother's murder. How would you classify Romancing the Fox and why do you branch out in different directions while most authors are complacent to stay in one?    

Romancing the Fox is a Romantic/Drama with comedic elements. When I wrote it, I envisioned each chapter as being an episode of a HBO/Showtime series. Mostly drama, sprinkled with a few funny touches, and ending every chapter with a cliffhanger or a defining moment by various characters. While each of my novels have different themes, you'll see my writing style and three dimensional denizens are all appealing, nefarious, and sometimes disconcerting. As far as branching out, I think readers like to have their minds and emotions taken to assorted locales, professions, and unusual thematic elements.

When is Romancing the Fox available?

It's available Jan 29- Feb 3 on Amazon for a dollar, along with my other two novels. I also have a rollout event on Facebook Feb 1-3 that will include games, free books, and random discussions pertaining to the novel.  

Ok campers, like John alluded to, he is having a huge entertaining giveaway related to the release of this book.  Check out all the fun and action here:  https://www.facebook.com/#!/events/151091075044686/

And don't forget to connect with my new indie friend.

Remember, the best way to support an independent author is to BUY THEIR BOOK!  :-)  Buy John's latest here:  http://www.amazon.com/Romancing-Fox-The-Saga-ebook/dp/B00B87PBA8/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1359643021&sr=8-10&keywords=romancing+the+Fox

How I Started as a Writer - by John Tucker

Hey all.  John Tucker is a new friend I have on FB.  We have been communicating back and forth and when I asked him for a post, he happily (and promptly!) replied.  Please enjoy getting to know him as I have.

How I started as a writer ----  Some guys buy Lamborghini's or marry a twentyish trophy wife when they have their mid-life crisis. Instead of those dull things, I began to write. After raising my sons and seeing them leave the nest, I had to fill a hole in my life and chose to do something I always wanted to do - write a novel. I soon discovered it's hard to write at a professional level thirty years away from school. After I joined a wonderful place to hone my skills - The Internet Writers Workshop - I think I've finally grown decent enough to terrorize readers who want a little grit with their reading.

The hardest thing about writing -- Besides the computer related issues of formatting, the hardest thing for me is the last few chapters leading up to the ending. I always start a novel by developing the scenario, come up with a starting point and an ending, outline the characters, plot out a series of 'event's for my characters, and do a chapter-by chapter 'working script' that I usually deviate from once I get the novel in gear. The last few chapters - the wrap-up - are probably the most stressful and time consuming for me.

J.D. Tucker is the author of Divisive, a Psychological/Crime novel aimed at adults. The plot involves Dennis Rask, a man who insinuates himself into dysfunctional families, heals the unit, and turns them against the other using lies and manipulations. He’s ripped apart three families in the past, leaving six corpses behind him. Now, he’s focusing his newest ‘game’ on the Connors – Widowed Carolyn, snarky seventeen-year-old Elizabeth, and precocious twelve-year-old Emily. Will they make a stand against his malevolence, or fall to his wicked desires?

 

How did you come up with the concept of your latest novel, Divisive? Is there a little bit of the main evil character Dennis Rask in you?

(Laughs) I love any book or movie that has elements of horror, suspense, action, and wicked twists that keeps the reader/viewer on the edge of their seats. With so many families being dysfunctional these days, a man who comes into their lives, pulls them together, only to tear them apart his way seemed like a good starting point.  As far as Rask’s similarities to me, I’d have to say he’s the Mr. Hyde to my Dr. Jekyll. He’s a charming rogue who’s chauvinistic, brutal, appealing, and a sociopath. I’m just charming…in a totally adorkable way.

You took the chance of starting Divisive near the end of the book. Did the revelations of the first chapter, where the detective walks the reader through the crime scene before interrogating Rask ruin any suspense for the reader?

I don’t think so. The biggest reveal was the death of a main character. Another is in a psych ward, and one hovers near death after a suicide attempt. As in any good mystery, the fun is how the family gets to that point and what did Rask do to cause it. If anything, the storyline of the character that’s revealed to be dead in the first chapter becomes even more poignant after the fact. While the reader knows her fate before reaching the chapter that shows what really happened to the Connors family, I toss in a few red herrings that’ll keep them wondering if it was an accident, or a cold blooded killing.

You write Divisive with two story lines alternating through the book could be confusing to readers. Why did you write the novel that way, instead of using a linear path?

That’s a good question. First, I wanted to start my novel out with a bang. The current physical fate of the family is provided in the first chapter. One is dead, another in a coma, the other hospitalized in a crazy tank. Chapters Two and Three have the Connors family meeting Rask for the first time and falling under his beatific spell. Chapter Four brings the reader back to the present, where the detective starts his first day of the investigation. Each chapter has a title and a date to help the reader know if they’re in the past or present, until the time lines meet and propels the story to its shocking and devastating conclusion.

What was the toughest scene to write?

The actual death scene of the character mentioned in chapter one. Up until it happens, the reader has several different reasons why the character could have hanged herself. Was it an accident? Did Rask kill her? Did her mother? The disgruntled next-door-neighbor who wanted her for himself? By the time I reached the scene, I was so invested in the character I debated changing the entire book to save her life. I’m not afraid to tell you I shed a few tears when I wrote it.

In the end, I left it alone figuring if I wrote her in a way that tore out my heart, if would do so to the reader’s as well.

     

Most novelists have an underlying theme in their books. What’s yours in Divisive?

That’s easy enough. In Divisive, as in real life, everyone has evil coursing through their veins. It could be a small amount, or it could be so dark their heart has to work overtime pushing the black sludge through their system. For some, a fine line separates them from good and evil – and only a slip in the wrong or right direction stops them from acting like a saint, or living like the devil himself. Over the course of my book, one major character will surpass Rask in malevolence. When it gets to that point, the roller coaster begins and it won’t stop until it hits the brick wall of the end.

Are any of the characters in Divisive based on real life people?

Yes. (smiles) Several friends and relatives. And I’d like to keep it that way. 

What special piece of advice would I give a new novelist ---  Make your character's three dimensional. Virtually every scenario you could ever come up with has already been done -- so make your character's unique with flaws, various temperaments, quirks, and foibles. Those are the elements that will make YOUR book something different.

Biography

A life-long Georgia native, John D. Tucker has burned through three wives, raised two sons, and has persevered despite being brought up in a wonderfully dysfunctional family. Following on the heels of his first published novel 'Divisive' he plans to release two more books over the course of the year - the suspense laden The Little Girl You Kiss Goodnight, and the first of an trilogy, the drama-romance novel Romancing The Fox. He is a proud member of The Internet Writers Workshop and Scribeslice, both of which he highly recommends to aspiring authors.

Contact JD:   http://www.facebook.com/john.tucker.353

and Buy his Book:  http://www.amazon.com/Divisive-ebook/dp/B005GAAZW2