Month: March 2014

Interview with author Matt Juhl

Hi, everyone. I hope you’re all having a great week. I know I am because I have recently discovered a fantastic author who’s been willing to give an interview for me. I’m talking about Matt Juhl who’s novel, The Straight Crimes is one of the most touching books I’ve ever read. Hope this interview will make you run and buy it (it’s not expensive either, so don’t miss this chance!)


Hello, Matt, please share a bit about yourself.

Hi, Shayla! I’m excited for this opportunity to share my creative process with you.  

When did your passion for writing start?

From as young as I can remember, I loved to tell stories. When I was twelve years old, I became interested in theatrical productions. Around the same time, I began playwriting. Eventually I realized that I preferred to create stories rather than portray them—so I gave up the stage and focused entirely on writing. In addition to penning several plays, I’ve written hundreds of poems and short stories. I haven’t stopped writing since!

Do you plot your stories or come up with the plot as you write?

Before I begin writing, I have a general idea of what I want the main plot to be and what lessons and feelings I want to convey to the reader. Then I begin thinking about my main characters—what they look like, what they sound like, and what their motivation is. From there, I begin developing my subplot and supporting characters. Characters are the key. I mostly rely on the characters to tell the story instead of reciting heavy narration. It’s more fun that way. As I’m developing the characters, dialogue will come to my mind almost as if they are speaking to me. For the novel I’m currently writing, dialogue came to mind so strongly that I began writing a month before I intended to begin! And as I am writing and developing the characters, little twists will arise that take the plot to even better places than I had originally intended. 

You wrote a fantastic novel called The Straight Crimes. In a nutshell, what is it about?

Thank you, Shayla, for your kind words.

The Straight Crimes is a young adult romantic suspense set in Silver Shores, a fictitious town along the breathtaking coast of Western Michigan, latent with beautiful beaches and amazing sunsets. The story is about the tragic events that surround Harper Jones, a young firebrand whose sharp tongue and ambition are overshadowed only by her gigantic heart. After losing their Louisiana home to a devastating fire, Harper and her mom, Mindi, are left with nothing. With nowhere to go, they return to Silver Shores to stay with Harper’s Aunt Faye. Having spent most of her adolescence in Louisiana, Harper is desperate for acceptance and struggles with her sexuality. Despite her turmoil, Harper’s luck seems to change when she meets the undeniably gorgeous Nik Roberts. Nik is physically the type of guy she could only dream about: tall, dark-haired, dreamy green bedroom eyes, a killer smile, and a chiseled body that would make anyone’s stare linger. However, his gentility and kindness are what capture her heart. From the second they meet—the spark is undeniable. They find themselves inexplicably tongue-tied and lost in fantasy of each other—but that’s the problem. In this role reversal story, Harper and Nik exist in a semi-imagined world, where heterosexual people are the minority and homosexuality is the societal norm. Almost immediately they fight to deny their attraction, but always find themselves together…or at the very least, thinking of each other. This displeases many people that surround them—creating several adversaries in a plot that gets more twisted as it goes and as more characters come into the picture…

Before long, tragedy strikes again—but this time, it’s no accident. When Aunt Faye’s house erupts in flames, bodies begin to drop and fingers point in every direction. Suddenly, Nik and Harper find themselves in a tangled web of hatred, passion, obsession, and murder. Not knowing who to trust or where to turn, Harper and Nik are not only fighting for their love…they are fighting for their lives.

Did it take you long to write The Straight Crimes?

Well—let’s just say it took longer than I wanted it to. I began writing this story while I had a lot of things going on in my personal life. From start to finish, it took almost three years. I had originally written one version. However, after receiving some feedback from my editor and friends that had read the original version, I re-wrote most of the book. After the second draft, I spent almost six months editing it before the final product went to print. Now that I have my formula down, I should never take that long again!

What books are you planning next?

Right now I am halfway through writing my second novel. The book is separate from The Straight Crimes. However, this next book is part one of my erotic thriller trilogy, The Desire Series. The first book, entitled Forbidden Desires, follows the life of Kylie James—a college senior haunted by the shadows of her troubled adolescence. Without revealing too much…Kylie struggles to understand sex and love—and if they can coexist—not because she can’t logically process the connection, but because of her girl friends who turn sex with men into games. Unfortunately for the men in their web, the women don’t care who gets caught in the crossfire. Between the friends she’s made, her dysfunctional family, and her inability to see people for who they are—Kylie finds herself struggling with every aspect of her life. What’s worse, she’s faced with several prospective men and can’t discern the difference between gentlemen and bad boys….that’s all I’ll say for now—but let me tell you, this book is so fun to write and I can’t wait to share it with everyone. I’m hoping to release it no later than November of this year!

Where can readers find you online?

There are several places to find me. I’m most active on Facebook, but here are my links:

LIKE me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/writemattjuhl

FOLLOW me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/writemattjuhl

Join me on Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7369427.Matt_Juhl

Also, readers can find The Straight Crimes in eBook and paperback exclusively on Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/Straight-Crimes-Matt-Juhl-ebook/dp/B00G8UA42U

Thanks a lot for the interview! You’re welcome to come by anytime 🙂

Thank you, Shayla! It was an honor and a privilege to spend this time with you. I truly appreciate it!

Review: Rough Boys by J. Vaughn

Rough Boys series – 4.5 stars
This wonderful trilogy written by J. Vaughn is something I never thought I’d touch. If it hadn’t been written by J., I wouldn’t have because, to my deepest shame, I am a crybaby. I tend to stay away from any books that have the potential to make me bowl. Anyway, I really wanted to read it, and, although a bit hesitant at first, I quickly fell in love with it.

The series is broken into three parts that are a macro example of the three act structure plotting technique. The first act (here the first book – Runaway) eases the reader into the universe if the series, present the main characters, both heroes and villains and their goal and stakes.

The second act (here the second book – Redemption) is the climax of the story; it shows the characters in their most desperate condition, when everything seems lost and there’s no hope in sight. Villains are the ones who gain terrain, while heroes are at the brink of the precipice.

The third act, in this case represented by the last book – Revenge, shows the heroes winning over the evil, both external, in the form of villains, but also internal, in the form of their own weaknesses, to finally emerge as better people at the end of the fight and get their long-awaited happy ending.

Based on the above, you can well guess that J. Vaughn is a master at plotting, because she didn’t just manage to write such a big project following the very schematic three act structure that I previously described, but she applied the same pattern in every individual book in the series. This feat alone is enough to earn five stars from any reader.

But, let’s say you don’t give a zilch about structure and technique (even though that’s the real proof of a writer’s talent); you’re only interested in the story. Well, in that aspect, there are a few things you have to be aware of beforehand, all summarized in one phrase – this is not an easy read.
If you expect lots of fluff and boys having raunchy sex, you might end up being disappointed (well, there’s plenty of sex and fluff too, but that’s not what this book is all about). Or, you might end up getting something out of it that you didn’t expect.

The universe portrayed by the author is a very rough one, clearly hinted by the title of the trilogy. J. Vaughn didn’t shy away from cruel realities, but spoke about them head on through the challenges hampering her characters. Some of the major themes she touched are: drug abuse, rape, racism, domestic abuse.
Like in real life, the line between right and wrong is often blurred during the book’s plot. Even the villains are given twisted reason for acting the way they do, in the end managing to somehow redeem themselves, however little.

I loved that one message that comes across the series is that you always get what you deserve; even when you’re on the good side, if you did something wrong, just a little mistake, the Universe will repay you in kind. Which is something real, guys. Many of us are too cynical to think everyone will get what they deserve, but in one way or another, life ‘takes care’ of everyone. I really liked this message and J. managed to make it come across time and again.

You will find both the bad and the good in this series. The bad, like I said before, are issues like drug abuse and rape. The author doesn’t spare us from details and I found myself musing a lot on many aspects I didn’t think of before. Some scenes were painful to read. I literally used dozens of tissues while I was reading the books.

There’s also the good, though, among which some very amazing sex scenes that will excite many fans of the erotic genre. The main characters are also a big part of the good. You’ll find yourself cheering for them and praying they’ll get a happy end. I loved all of their stories, especially Sean’s and Kaeden’s. They are such amazing characters. If there were any character awards, they’d definitely get the gold IMO (in case you’re curious, these two are the ones featured on Revenge’s cover above; at first my favorite couple were Abe and Ty, featured on Redemption’s gorgeous cover, but Sean’s persistence conquered even me 😛 )

Generally speaking, no matter how gritty the world J. Vaughn portrayed in her trilogy, I think the big picture was a positive one. This series is about fighting the bad in life and winning the battle. It’s definitely a read I’d recommend, especially for those who are facing some ugly problems in their lives and they think there’s no way out. I think you’ll have an aha moment once you get to the end.

I give it 4.5 stars instead of 5 simply because at times it was too sad. Be prepared to have a lot of tissues at hand. It gets to you, but if you force yourself to get through, you’ll be rewarded with a beautiful happy ending 🙂