2015 is proving to be a busy year for Jason Luke.
His blog, a snippet of erotic romance fiction is a wonderful daily treat for readers of all genres.
http://jasonluke.typepad.com/jason_luke/
The Word Master, the first of 5 books he plans on releasing this year, had us all falling in love with Jericho James.
~ The Word Master is available on Amazon~
His upcoming release, The Light House, which releases on March 31st takes us into a whole new genre while we are graced with a tender, heartfelt love story.
~ Amazon Pre-Order for The Light House ~
Needless to say, we here at LLL were thrilled when Jason agreed to sit down and chat with us a bit about anything and everything. We were over the moon when Jason agreed to read to us a portion of his upcoming New Adult Contemporary Romance The Light House.
That was awesome. Thank you so much, Jason. We could listen to you read all day. You should really consider doing your own audibles.
So before we jump into your upcoming release The Light House, we thought we would start by talking about your blog. Most authors utilize their blog to promote their books, share their tour schedules and keep their readers up to date on new releases. You chose to write a blog for one purpose only, to entertain your fans.
Can we ask how this idea came about?
Jason: The blog idea came late last year. The opportunity provides a place to practice my craft and share it with people. I get to write a good tag line, improve description and publish these jewels for free. The blog allows me to showcase the proactive craft. I don’t use the blog to sell books. The blog is a great space to improve my writing. Why not share it and see what the people enjoy. I write to capture emotions, capture people in a very personal way. I love hearing people’s thoughts on the snippets and reply to each email I receive personally. In just 3 months the blog has 1,100 subscribers.
Jason will be celebrating his 100th blog post the week of March 22nd.
You have a large and very loyal fan base for your horror/zombie books written under the Nicholas Ryan pen name. In fact Zombie Wars was one of our favorite books last year. An absolutely amazing story.
~ Purchase Link: Zombie War ~
Do you have any plans to release a horror/zombie book within this year?
Jason: At the present time I don’t have an idea for a new zombie book. If inspiration hits I will write it. I really love to write zombie books. It’s not really about the zombies, I enjoy the action and adventure of the stories.
All four of Jason zombie books are Amazon best sellers. They have and continue to be very well received.
~ Purchase Links *Ground Zero * Die Trying * Dead Rage* ~
Needless to say you are extremely well known for your erotica/BDSM books. The Word Master, Interview with a Master and the other books in that series are loved by so many.
~ Purchase Links for The Interview Series ~
* Interview with a Master * In Love With A Master *
* Vignettes of a Master * Interview with a Porn Star *
Can we anticipate another release in this genre?
Jason: My intent all along was to move away from erotica. The Word Master was almost like saying the last goodbye. I feel I have said everything about BDSM/Erotica from a male point of view.
Jason became an Amazon top ten seller author with his release of Interview with a Master
Jason: If I were to write another book right now it would just be a repeat and that would not be fair to the people who buy and read my books.
If I found something that sparked an interest, something I felt was worth talking about I would write another BDSM/Erotic book but at this point my focus is on New Adult/Contemporary Romance.
Is it hard for you to know who and what you are going to write about?
Jason: My idea of plotting is determining two characters. No plot. I write the first 5 or 6 scenes and I usually disregard 3 and just keep writing.
I never edit my work nor do I read my work. I write it and send it off to beta readers. I have yet to read any of my books but I do plan on reading The Light House.
I made a mistake with The Word Master. I forgot to put love into the story. That is a mistake I will never make again. It felt almost superficial. I believe The Word Master needed more focus on the love story. The Light House is a love story. When writing nothing else mattered but the love. Interview with a Master was a character book. I feel really good about The Light House. I have to admit I am much more excited about this book than any other book I have written.
The Light House is a new genre for you.
What inspired you to write a new adult/contemporary romance novel?
Jason: I had the idea brewing in the back of my mind for a while to write a New Adult/Contemporary Romance novel. Though the thought was there, the idea was not formed. I could never grasp it. It was like smoke in the back of my head. Through conversations with another person the concept became clear.
The idea of writing a romance novel has been on my mind for some time now.
It gave me the opportunity to write a story in the third person and put the focus on the female character. Something that differs from my other books. The story has lots of flowing conversation. The Light House provided me with a platform to write and tell a real story.
Did the writing process of The Light House differ from your other novels?
Jason: When I wrote The Light House it was the first time I felt free to write lyrical prose. Each chapter is a song and the book is an album. Each chapter should have a different sound and feel. Zombie fans want blood and guts. Erotica has always held back on emotion. With The Light House, I was completely free to write the words I wanted to. If you are a fan of my writing style you will love The Light House. There is no restraint in the writing. The story is filled with beautiful language.
How long did it take to write?
Jason: I wrote Interview with a Master in 18 days. The story just poured out of me. My usual writing pattern in 2000 words a day.
With The Light House, I did not start writing immediately. I let the idea stew, had a few conversations and through that, the idea was fully formed and The Light House was written in 16 days.
What can you share about the your feelings for this story?
Jason: I don’t know if it is a unique or original story, but I do know it is a really good story. As a writer you serve the story. If an idea comes to you and it is good enough, it deserves to be told.
I pulled out my old computer, the one I wrote Interview with a Master on, and got to work. The energy and enthusiasm I felt while writing The Light House mirrored the feelings I had when writing Interview with a Master. I wanted the story to be infused with more than just words. I wanted the energy I was feeling to transfer.
With Interview with a Master, I was very passionate about the story but not passionate about the characters. I don’t really identity with the characters I write about. The most important thing is the emotion in the story.
I feel I have become more experienced in the last 12 months and the blog helps with that. The Light House is utterly relatable. The characters are average people. My hope is when people read the book they can relate the characters to themselves or someone they know.
Interview with a Master was 70% based upon myself. The people who have read Interview with a Master love Jonah. The people who have read The Light House love the story.
You say you’ve become more experienced in the last year, can you be more specific?
Jason: I feel that The Light House is 5 times better than Interview with a Master. The story is much more complete. It is intense and emotional. There is depth and the characters have a backstory. This is something new which I felt the story needed and deserved.
When I think over what I wrote, the early feedback has been more than I could have hoped for. This is the first book that I have written that my mom can read. No zombies, no blood and no BDSM. In fact I have dedicated this book to my mom.
Did you do anything different, other than the time spent writing, when writing The Light House?
Jason: One good thing I did while writing The Light House is I had the story read each time I had about 5000 words, a day’s worth of writing.
Including a reader, a woman, I found the feedback was very useful. There were three places where a suggestion was made and ultimately made its way into the book.
If you have a solid plot you can write. Having someone reading during the writing process really made a tremendous difference. Having an immediate reader, having it read in pieces proved to be very helpful.
I had a conversation once with a women who told me that 50 Shades of Grey is a love story. Being a guy that fact never occurred to me. Something clicked during that conversation that it all has to come down to a love story. I honestly think my writing from this point forward will be much better.
Can you share some insight into how you develop the characters you write about?
Jason: I never want to straight jacket a reader. I want the people who read my books to use their own vision. I will never fully describe a main character. Everyone has their own perception of a character. The basic key words allow the reader to create the visual.
Is this a genre you plan on continuing to write?
Jason: I hope to continue to write love stories and plan to release 3 more this year. There is a timeless quality to a love story. It is the type of story that can be picked up and read 10 years from now. Fundamental stories that hold true through all the ages.
I never expected to enjoy writing a love story. It has been 18 months since I started writing. I have had great success with my zombie and erotica/BDSM books. I am a top five selling author in both those genres. I just want to tell good stories. It is all about the story, regardless of the genre.
I know it cost sales and confuses fans when an author switches genres, but really it is all about telling a good story. I hope that fans of my erotica/BDSM will follow across genres to this new book. It really is a bloody good book.
We have no doubt that fans of your Erotica will follow you and take a chance on your Romance novel because they know you are that good a writer.
Jason: Writing a love story is like starting over again. I think that my fans know and trust that I can tell a decent story.
One thing I can tell you is that I will never write another series. I would rather wait for a fresh idea before penning a series.
We know the story revolves around art. Is this something that holds a special interest to you?
Jason: No art does not hold a special interest to me. Art is an important part of the book. The main character in the book is an artist. Circumstances in the book have a profound effect on the artist. While preparing to write The Light House, I did spend time researching the art world at a gallery in my hometown.
One trait that is always associated with Jason Luke and Nicholas Ryan is the wonderfully expressive detail provided within the pages of your books.
Is this writing style something you studied or is this just something that comes naturally?
Jason: Though it does come naturally, I don’t plan this out. I see the story in my head as a movie. The characters faces are never clearly defined. I can feel and hear the environment, I can sense the smells. Naturally descriptive is how I visualize a book. Stephen King once said, ” never write reality, write people’s perception of reality.” So if I am describing a beach, I may write, ” a smooth carpet of sand scrubbed clean by the tide.” Descriptions that are relatable. I try to describe what people feel as opposed to what they see.
Are there any other genres that you hope to write?
Jason: I always wanted to write action/adventure books. I wrote zombie books and substituted the baddies for zombie. I was raised on thrillers from the 60’s to the 80’s. Books I still read to this day. Zombie books gave me a chance to write the action stories that I love so much. I fell into erotica by accident when I decided to write a story about myself.
Of course no interview would be complete without a sneak peek into the man behind the words. So if you don’t mind we thought you might entertain a few questions.
If we walked by your office while you were working would we hear the click of the keyboard or music?
Jason: I write in complete silence. I envy writers who listen to music while writing. If I were to write while listening to music I don’t think I would be able to separate the two.
Do you exercise?
Jason: Exercise? No that is ridiculous. The heart is a pump. It is made to pump a certain amount of times each day why wear it out? Think about this, if swimming builds muscles how do you explain whales?
Favorite time of day?
Jason: My favorite time of day is morning. Waking up, knowing I am still alive.
Is there any other profession that holds interest to you?
Jason: There is nothing I would rather do than write. I enjoy writing and I will continue to write as long as people continue to read my books. I honestly don’t have another profession in mind. I hope to continue to do what I am doing. The last 18 months have been fantastic.
If you could have one of your books turned into a movie which one would you choose?
Jason: The Light House. By far it is the best book I have written.
The book I am most proud of and it would make a beautiful movie.
Needless to say we had a blast, lots of laughs and just an all around great time talking with Jason again. We would like to extend our thanks to Jason for his time, his openness and of course for sharing his wonderful talent with all of us. We hope you enjoyed this interview as much as w did.
Leave a Reply