Interview + Giveaway With J.P. Barnaby

I’m pleased to welcome author J.P. Barnaby here at Fiction Vixen today.

Tell us a little about yourself how you got started in writing.

There’s not a lot to tell, really. For eight hours a day I write software, but for a few of the others I write fiction. When I was younger, I wanted to be a physicist, even majored in it – but writing software pays the bills. I’m single with no children and right now I’m having a hell of a lot of fun sharing my deviant imagination with others.

A contest drew me in to the world of writing. When I read the description, a small voice in the back of my head started to tell me a story that would fit, so I wrote it down. I’ve been taking dictation from the voices ever since.

What made you choose to write gay romance specifically?

The vulnerability of a man opening himself up both emotionally and physically is erotic to me, which is one of the reasons that I write gay romance. I love the beauty and the symmetry of complex relationships and find that my characters, while sometimes broken, are more dynamic and sympathetic for the way they are viewed in society.

I write heterosexual and ménage stories as well. The Forbidden Room and A House of Cards are primarily ménage, but end up being gay romance. Sonata, which is a free short story on my website, is heterosexual in nature.

Enlightened is the first book in your Little Boy Lost series. It’s a coming of age story of two young men who face the challenges of realizing their sexuality and the fears of coming out. The two protagonists are under the age of eighteen and you have written graphic sex scenes into the story. What do you think readers should know before reading Enlightened?

I think people should understand that I try to write my characters as realistically as possible. It’s not uncommon for teenagers to have sex before they turn 18, especially in a very small town with little else to keep them occupied.  The scenes are detailed, but the context is sweet and emotional. The impact their physical relationship has on their lives is important. In fact, I was unable to submit to several publishing houses because of their ages. It was suggested that I make them a year older, but I decided to protect the story.

You originally self-published this book but now it has been re-released by Dreamspinner Press. Are there any major changes to the story in the re-release?

There are three additional scenes totaling approximately 10,000 words (or 20% of the book length). It has also been reviewed and edited by a professional editor. Nothing was cut from the original story, and the plot is the same. The additional scenes support the overall plot but do not deviate from it. If you enjoyed the first book, it definitely worth it to get the new version, but if you don’t, you’ll still be in the same place in the story when Abandoned picks up.

Did you face any challenges after selling your series? For instance the editing and publication process as compared to the self-publication process.

I didn’t come up against anything like that at all, actually. Of course, everyone has heard horror stories about an editor making sweeping changes in a book, or leaving the best pieces in tatters on the editorial floor. I found none of that at Dreamspinner. The editorial staff that I worked with was amazing.

The only thing that I found that was more challenging was extra work due to the increased visibility.  When I published Enlightened, I had a short list of reviewers that a friend gave me, I tweeted about it, and I was done. With all of Dreamspinner’s contacts, now I have more to do to promote the series.

Where did you get the idea for this series?

Originally, I got the idea from reading a friend’s Twilight Fanfiction story called At the Deep End. The story was about two swimmers who had met at camp, but were then separated and reunited as adults. I loved the sweet innocence of the boys at camp, and how much I came to care about what happened to them. The idea for the tree house came first and then once the boys began to talk to me, other scenes came.

Do you do research for this series?

I do a lot of research for the series. For the first book, it was mostly religious doctrine and foster care placement in the state of Alabama. Since then I’ve done research on Google Earth for geographical assistance and interviews with different people on other subjects. I can’t get into too many specifics because a lot of my research is for the later books, and I don’t want to ruin the story for anyone.

I write out of chronological order most of the time, so I have been doing research for the third book for a while, but only began writing it in the last few months. I also have scenes written for the next three books after that sitting shelved, just waiting.

How many books are planned for the series?

There are six books in the Little Boy Lost series, all in the same chronological storyline with the same principal characters.

Besides more books in the Little Boy Lost series, what can we expect to see from you in the future?

I have a novella contracted with Dreamspinner Press called Mastering the Ride coming in August or September. It’s a BDSM story about a guy looking for the Master of his dreams.  I also have about a dozen works in progress at the moment which I work on as time allows. They are all vastly different from each other including stories about vampires, quantum physics, a single father, and a boy with severe PTSD.

Who are your favorite authors and how do they influence your style of writing?

Hmmm… My favorite authors… I’m a big fan of Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. I love how their books are plausible yet almost impossible to figure out before the very end. I also love authors who make me care about their characters, think about them long after I’ve read the last page. Rowan Speedwell’s Finding Zach is a great example of this, as is Rachel Haimowitz’s Anchored. I like stories with broken characters who find some measure of happiness because that gives the rest of us hope for our own lives. I like Joey W. Hill’s Rough Canvas, pretty much anything by J. L. Langley or Cameron Dane, and the Holmes series by Josh Lanyon. But, I’d have to say that my very favorite author is J. M. Snyder. I love how she doesn’t shy away from hard subjects, and doesn’t gloss over unpleasantness. Bad things happen, and realistic fiction – even romantic fiction – needs to address those times that aren’t all hearts and flowers.

What are you reading right now?

I just finished Promises by Marie Sexton which I enjoyed. I think next up on my list will be Broken Boundaries by Evangeline Anderson. I really liked her book Slave Boy.

Thank you so much for taking the time to stop by and chat.

Thank you for having me here, I really hope that you enjoy the series.

Read FVBR review of Enlightened HERE.

***Giveaway***

Not only is JP Barnaby celebrating the recent re-release of Enlightened but she is also celebrating her birthday today so she would like to giveaway an e-book copy of Enlightened: Little Boy Lost to one lucky reader. To enter leave a comment here indicating you’d like to be entered. Giveaway ends March 24, winner announced soon after.