Across the Beer Bar with D.L. Jackson

It has been a year since we've last gotten together over beers at  my bar.....what can I pour for you to start?
Not much of a beer person, but I hear you’ve got some good stuff. Surprise me.
hmmm...yep, let's see...try my Premium Lager to start I think...
What's happened in your publishing life since then? Any Big News? I’ve published several titles with Decadent Publishing, including some short stories. Recently, I contracted, Being Prince Charming, which is the story that follows Cinderella Wore Combat Boots. It should be out late this year, or early next year. I also contracted, Last Flight of the Ark, for republication.

 Well, since then I have read Seducing Liberty AND My Boogie Woogie Bugle Guy--loved them! So creative and beautifully written. Do you have more books along the lines of those planned or in the works? Absolutely. I have Finding Mercy, part of the Prepper Line and the first book in the Evan’s Point series. I’m working on Dry Spell which follows that. Also, Being Prince Charming is about Gunny and Lissa, who you first meet in Cinderella Wore Combat Boots. It’s a fun story about second chances.
Tell us about how you market yourself as an author--what has worked, what hasn't? I try to blog several times a month, but that can be hit and miss. I find a website that makes it easy for your readers to see not only what is soon to be released, but what you have in the works, books you’ve read, love and recommend, and yes links to your books with excerpts and reviews. Keeping it up to date and easy to navigate is one of the best things you can do.
I’ve also heard from readers and reviewers they wish my stories were longer. I have listened, and have just finished a full novel that is close to 100k. And this is the first book in the series. I’ll be shopping it soon. I plan to continue my short stories, but I also will be working on larger novels, for those that want more of my worlds and characters.
What else.... Oh, I’ve found short two day blog blitzes are a great way to get your name out there, show your readers what’s new, and get to know them a bit. My numbers on my website jumped for a good two months after a blitz I did in April. I think the best way to promote yourself is to get out there and share a bit about your writing, yourself and try to balance the promotion with socializing and having fun. If all you do is post promo, readers get bored. Same old thing. Who wants that? They like to hear about freaky stuff you’ve researched, what you’re working on, and maybe some fun and quirky things that might have happened during your week.
your glass is empty--what can I get for you next? I’m easy, surprise me with something that’s the polar opposite of what you just gave me, then at least I can say I tried a broad range beer.
Well that's easy...here, try this bourbon barrel aged Imperial Dark Lager...
Name one book you read in the last 12 months you wish you had written and why (can be any book any genre, not just one published in the last year either).  Okay, I’ve read a lot this year, and I have to say, Lauren Dayne’s, Never Enough was amazing. I loved the characters, the story line. Arlene Webb and Barbara Elsborg’s Prepper novels completely blew me away. And...Beautiful Creatures. I love this book. Well done, creative and I love books that teach you a little something, like the whole bit about painting ceilings blue to confuse the bees so they won’t nest in them. Not sure if it’s an old wive’s tale or what, but I love it.
If you had to pick one of the sub genres you write in and focus on it, which would it be?
Dystopian. There are so many ways I can take it. On this world, other worlds. I can take it back to a primitive world or keep it high tech.
What is your least favorite trend in publishing right now?  Not fond of copy cats. Be original. Write what speaks to you, not what you think is going to make you breakout. If it’s shifters, then write shifters, vampires, then do it. Just don’t write it because someone else was wildly successful doing it.
And give us a quote that will help us remember you by.... My mother used to say, don’t say anything, if you haven’t got anything nice to say, or do unto others what you’d want them to do unto you. I say write a book. Then you don’t have to be nice and you can do unto your characters whatever you’d like.
Nightcap time! what's your poison? Better give me a water. Two beer—lightweight here.


Bio:  D. L. Jackson is an award-winning author of urban fantasy, science fiction, military romance and erotic romance. She loves to incorporate crazy plot twists, comedy and the unexpected into her worlds. As a U.S. Army veteran, she naturally adores men in uniform and feels the world could always use more. She does her part by incorporating as many sexy soldiers in her novels as she can. When she isn't writing or running the roads, you can often find her online chatting with her peers and readers. Grab a cup of iced coffee, pull up your virtual chair and say hi. She loves emails and blog visits from her readers. www.authordljackson.com
Links:
http://backwardmomentum.blogspot.comwww.authordljackson.com (excerpts and buy links for all my books are under “Book Store” on my website.)
FaceBook:  Dawn JacksonTwitter:  Dlaree69
Blurb for Being Prince Charming:  “You’re no Prince Charming.”Words screamed in anger, an empty nest, empty life--there are a lot of reasons people divorce. For Gunny, a diehard Marine who refuses to give up the Corps, and Lissa his wife of over twenty years, the reason isn’t a good one. When words exchanged in anger morph beyond their control, Lissa leaves and August doesn’t go after her, letting his pride get in the way.Two years later, Lissa is about to move on with her life and marry another man, except her reason isn’t the right one either. Her heart still belongs to a Marine she left behind. Now, an unexpected gift in the form of a 1Night Stand may change everything.August is back, looking for a second chance, but this time he isn’t letting Lissa walk away without a fight. He’s thrown everything he’s got into their date to prove that he can still be her Prince Charming. But if he can’t convince her in one night it’s for keeps, he may very well lose the only woman he’s ever loved.A peek at my WIP, Dry Spell:She reached in her pocket and pulled out an inactive reserve card. “I just got out of the Army a month ago. I’m headed to California and running low on funds. I’m a meteorologist, or that’s what I used to do in the Army. I’m hoping I can pick up a job doing the same thing.”That state again. He held his hand up, not wanting to hear a word about the West Coast. “That doesn’t explain why you were climbing over the fence onto private property.” He glanced down at the card. SSG. Addison Smith. Army? She didn’t look like any female soldier he’d ever seen, but then again, he didn’t get out of Wyoming much. “So, Miss Smith, care to tell me what any of this has to do with you breaking the law?”“I knew if I could get video of this storm, I could sell it for a profit and have change to spare when I got where I was going. Plus it would look great on my resume. Best shot was from up there. Just trying to make a little money to get home.”The hair on his neck stood on end. There was a funny electricity in the air, like he clung to a high voltage wire. Jake shook off the warning and focused on the pretty woman before him. “So you were going to stand in the rain and film, hoping something would happen?”“Actually,” she said, “something is going to happen.” She used her thumb to gesture behind her. “See all those bumps in that cloud that dip down like a bunch of breasts? That’s a cumulonimbus. Those pockets hold hail stones. A supercell is created when a cold and warm front collide. I’ve been tracking this weather, watching and waiting. And look at how low they are—the little wisps and the rotation? Incredible. I can’t put words to it. It’s....” He looked up and noticed not only the rotation, but the twister that dropped down as she spoke. “A tornado.” Though he could appreciate the graphic description, breasts in the clouds and all, there were much bigger things than tittles in the sky to worry about. He grabbed her hand. “This way.” Jake dragged her at full run a hundred yards down the interstate toward a culvert that ran under the highway. They were lucky she’d stopped so close to it, or they’d be out of luck.She glanced back. “Oh. A tornado. Wait.” She lifted her camera and he jerked her around and all but shoved her over an auto-gate and down into a dried out stream bed. He gave her another push toward the galvanized pipe under the pavement, big enough for two people to squeeze into. “Get in there.” The beast roared behind them, drawing closer. Jake unclipped his flashlight and slapped it into her hand. She looked back again, but this time she didn’t hesitate, diving into the dark tunnel, the bright beam bouncing before her. He crawled in after her.