I am editing, editing, editing… I am editing, editing, editing… That’s all I’ve got today beautiful people, LOL.
Please welcome Jack Harper to the blog!
Author Bio
Born and raised in Colorado, Jack is an average guy just trying to express himself in the medium he knows best. Bouncing between Colorado and Indiana allows him to enliven his vivid imagination, which is the driving force behind all of his work. Prince of Bedrock was his debut novel, but the real guy behind the name has been writing LGBTQ fiction since 2010 under prior monikers. And if you think “Jack’s” first few titles pack quite the punch, just you wait and see what else he dreams up!
Second to devising compelling stories, Jack enjoys watching movies and television, and listens to approximately 3,000 hours of music each year. While he’s been told by Starbucks baristas that he consumes way too much caffeine, he refuses to give it up. At this point, there’re surely worse addictions. If you adored one of his books, there’s way more from where it came from. Follow him on his Amazon Author Profile to be kept abreast of all his current and future releases. And if you’re feeling froggy, he’d flip over in his seat if you told him that his books brought you even the most basic enjoyment via Facebook/Instagram.
Jack’s Quirky Questions
Holly: Would you visit the future or the past, and why?
JACK HARPER: I would 100% go to the past. I want to see firsthand where the world could’ve made an appropriate change early-on for the fight on Gay Rights, acceptance, etc. And if that means I could break the time-space continuum and rearrange a few things to make people today accepting, I would.
Holly: How does the world end?
JACK HARPER: Oh my God, girl. It practically already has. Clearly you didn’t see my recent rant about being out of cheese and energy drinks.
Holly: What was the first book that made you cry?
JACK HARPER: “Where the Red Fern Grows,” and I will say this again—it is NOT appropriate reading material for a young mind. LOL
Holly: What other artistic pursuits (if any) do you indulge in apart from writing?
JACK HARPER: Graphic design and I think I make some pretty funny memes if I can say so myself.
Holly: How did you come up with the idea for this book?
JACK HARPER: The birth of my very basic idea for “Hart’s Inferno” came to me when I (myself) was stuck inside a psychiatric hospital in 2017. I’d finished a phone call with my “father” who expressed his lack of respect for my well-being and basically told me “oh okay,” when I told him about my dangerous suicide attempt which landed me there in the first place (from a few weeks prior). All I could think was, “I’m never going to have a happy ending, am I?” Then, and only years later, did I decide to pick up the pen to try writing something again. I had about 100 other ideas besides Orson and Dante by that point, so it took a backseat while I wrote my previous six novels. Now that I’ve offloaded those stories from my brain, I’ve been able to devote my undivided attention to Orson, and writing the happy ever after I wanted seven years ago.
Holly: Tell us something we don’t know about your main characters. What makes them tick?
JACK HARPER: Orson’s driving force is the constant need for approval and validation. And provided his many, many years of abandonment issues—the constant need to ask people if they’re okay and/or if they’re mad at him.
Dante’s love language is service to others. As a firefighter, he’s not happy if he’s not actively helping another person. And finding Orson that October night for the first time in the Castro District of San Francisco sparked a blaze so deep inside him, he wasn’t willing to accept any answer from Orson except “Please help.”
Holly: Let’s talk to your characters for a minute – what’s it like to work for such a demanding writer?
ORSON HART: Him, demanding? Yeah right! I feel so often as if I’m screaming into his soul to listen clearly. When Jack’s gone a single day without caffeine, his ability to comprehend what I need him to goes straight out the window.
DANTE DELATORE: Contrary to what young Orson said here, Jack is the prime example of intuitive and caring. His tears on almost each page of our book are tokens, similes binding his past realities with the fictional lives for a couple of schmoes like us.
Holly: What do you do when you get writer’s block?
JACK HARPER: Wank! I cannot lie. That rush of dopamine opens the floodgates to possibility and productivity.
Holly: If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?
JACK HARPER: I would tell him to move to a larger population of creative minds like Hollywood or New York City, so he’d be closer to his dreams becoming a reality.
Holly: Do you ever base your characters on real people? Do you tell them?
JACK HARPER: I think the real question is, “Do you have any character’s who’ve been complete products of your own imagination?”
Hart’s Inferno
In the poignant novel ‘Hart’s Inferno,’ Orson’s life is a tapestry of pain, from the loss of his mother at a tender age to the tragic suicide of his middle brother. At thirty, his spirit is shattered, until he encounters Dante, a seasoned fireman with a heart of gold. Their meeting ignites a blaze of hope in Orson’s soul, as Dante’s unwavering presence becomes a lifeline amidst the storm of his past. Set against the vibrant backdrop of San Francisco, ‘Hart’s Inferno’ is a powerful tale of redemption and connection, where love’s healing embrace mends shattered hearts—paving the road towards a future filled with promise and possibility.
Excerpt
The gravity in his body weight practically sends him to my lap like a piece of timber. He falls back into my robust frame, staring up at me with such vulnerability. I owe him an explanation of how I can relate to his pain, if even a small amount. But it’s a story for another day.
I clear my throat. “Oh there’s a book up on the table,” I say. “I noticed in your apartment last night that you like to read,” I add, caressing his shoulders.
His skin is so icy, this might just be the first touch of warmth he’s felt in weeks. Orson wipes his reddened eyes with the back of his left wrist.
“I do—I’ve always wanted to write my own book,” he admits. “But I’ve never had the time or focus to try.”
Leaning forward, I raise the back of his hand to my nose. Whatever soap they use in a place like this isn’t as boring as once imagined. Pretty similar to lavender if anyone needed a best guess.
“I can’t wait to read it,” I respond firmly.
My soothing reply must resonate under his clammy skin, because Orson shivers with a slight moan upon finishing. Maybe insinuating that he’ll achieve his goal is responsible for such a glimmer of optimism.
Orson doesn’t break his stare for even a second. “I’m not complaining or anything,” he says. “But we hardly know each other—and here you are petting me like some dog—” he stammers. “Smelling my paw as if it puts off that scent reminiscent of corn chips.”
He’s right. I should slow my roll. But having him in my lap is a strange yet comforting sensation. This is only my second visit to Tranquil Peaks, yet there’s some instinctive need to hold him, conveying some form of reassurance through touch and smell. If it didn’t sound like total insanity, I’d almost believe we’ve known each other for a lifetime. My feeling raises questions about the power of my emotions for him. How did he manage to reach this place in my heart so quickly?
A tickle at the back of my throat brings the need to let out a cough. “Anyway, the book I brought—” I bring our conversation back on track. “You’ve probably read ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ at some point in your life,” I add. “But I thought reading it now would be kinda reaffirming, given our current situation.”
Orson tilts his head slightly. “Our current situation.”
Immediately panicking, I bite my bottom lip. “Well I meant your situation—”
He smiles, calming my nerves by showing his beautiful teeth for the first time. “I’ve actually never read it,” he admits. “I was more of a Fitzgerald kinda boy.”
“Then promise me you’ll read it with an open mind, okay?” I ask, my stare narrowing. “And Mark said my other surprise will be delivered by tomorrow morning at the latest.”
NEW FROM ME (Holly Oliver)
When a plan for revenge goes wrong, the Array find themselves ill-equipped and underprepared for the monsters on their doorstep.
Kerry, a hedgehog shifter, finds himself facing the demons of his past and is filled with a rage that won’t quit. His loyalty to the Array is put to the test, and an unexpected mate turns his world upside down.
Dayton, a fennec fox shifter, had one job, but from the moment he arrived at Helena’s, he felt forces moving him in another direction. Torn between his duty to the Array and his heart, Dayton attempts to honor both, but at what cost?
Kerry and Dayton is a story featuring magic, shifters, and death. It also mentions the deaths of parents and gruesome monsters, but if all goes well, there will be a happily ever after for the unlikely couple by the time we reach the end.
I hope you enjoyed this week’s episode of Holly’s Quirky Questions.
A huge thank you to Jack.
Next week we have Raquel Riley.
Until then: Find a Spark of Magic Every Day.
