Author Spotlight: Jaz Cullen

Biography

 

Pen names: Jaz Cullen, J.C. Gordon

 

Genres: Sci-Fi/Steampunk & Retropunk, Romance, Erotica, Non-human Romance

 

Works Available:

·        Fighting the Inevitable

Available at the following locations

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1B3qXsH

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/544989

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/fighting-the-inevitable-j-c-gordon/1122070390?ean=2940151951760 

I-tunes: https://itun.es/us/mP_U7.l 

Createspace: https://www.createspace.com/4462364

 

·        Gypsy Soul.

Available at Amazon and Smashwords

 

·        Scent of Fear (Doherty Brothers Book 1)

Available at Amazon and Smashwords

 

·        Art of Seduction (Doherty Brothers Book 2)

Available at Amazon and Smashwords

 

Profiles and links:

·        Facebook Author page - https://www.facebook.com/JazCullenWrites

·        Facebook Book club page - https://www.facebook.com/JCBookclub

·        Amazon Author Profile - http://www.amazon.com/J-C-Gordon/e/B00NB1S5U2/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1

·        Smashwords Author Profile - https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/JazCullen

 

Works in Progress:

·        Wattpad - http://www.wattpad.com/user/JazCullen

·        Blog - http://jaz-deardiary.blogspot.co.uk/

·        Literotica - https://www.literotica.com/stories/memberpage.php?uid=1159372&page=bio

 

 

This week I am pleased to introduce Jaz Cullen, author of Fighting the Inevitable and Top 10 author on Literotica, the world’s largest free erotica website. She was kind enough to take a break writing to answer a few questions.

 

1. What do you read in your spare time?

 

I don’t get a lot of time to read these days but when I do, I tend to stick to the paranormal romance genre. I love Nalini Singh and have most of her work but I am behind on some of her recent books just from lack of time.

 

2. What do you write? (As in what genre - novel, poetry, series, etc.)

 

I mainly write in the paranormal romance genre though I have tried my hand at contemporary romance and I have a Steampunk Sci-Fi eBook out too.

 

3. How long have you been writing?

 

Off and on for many years, though I have only been out here among the masses for the last five years.

 

4. What do you have published to eBook or paper back? What genre(s) can those stories be found in?

 

 My contemporary romances, Scent of Fear and Art of Seduction are in eBook format.

My Steampunk Sci-Fi romance is Gypsy Soul
Fighting the Inevitable was released last week in ebook and also my first ever paperback which is incredibly exciting for me.

 

5. Where is all your work currently available to read or purchase?

 

The bulk of my work is currently free on Literotica. I also have one of my books on Wattpad and some bits and pieces on my Blog.

My self-published works can be found on Smashwords and Amazon

  

6. Do you have any upcoming events?

 

 I have just completed an event for the release of FTI which was great fun. Currently, I have nothing else planned but hope to have more projects coming to fruition this year.

 

7. Do you have any contests or giveaways at this time?

 

 Nothing at the moment, though as FTI has just released, I would most definitely be willing to offer a couple of free ebook copies to your readers for an honest review on either Amazon or Smashwords if they might be interested.

 

8. Do you have any upcoming book releases and when?

The FTI book launch as mentioned above. I am also hoping to have one or two eBooks ready for release soon too however they are still in the pipeline.

 

9a. Have you read any of Jaz's work?

 

I would hope so…seeing as I am Jaz ;)

 

9b. If yes, what do you think of her work?

I rock???? bahahahahahaha

Hot Summer Reads returns to kick off Summer!

Hot Summer Reads returns to the Amazon Free list this Friday and Saturday, June 12th and 13th!

 

Returning just in time to kick off the official start to summer, Hot Summer Reads will be available for free on Amazon for two days only. Hot Summer Reads is an anthology of ten stories by ten writers of erotica. The stories vary greatly, offering something for every reader. From the mature romance of Steve Williams, the youthful teen science fiction of Shea Mara, the gay scene in Washington D.C. with J. Kendall Dane, and divorcee love at the campsite with Patient Lee.

 

What others are saying about Hot Summer Reads:

 

·        Romance Lives Forever Blog - http://romancelivesforever.blogspot.com/2015/05/lange.html?zx=b5b757a305b71a91

·        A Readers Review Blog - http://areadersreviewblog.com/2015/05/23/release-blitz-hot-summer-reads-an-anthology-of-erotic-stories/

·        Cara Sutra Blog - http://carasutra.co.uk/2015/06/erotic-author-spotlight-series-freya-lange-the-hot-summer-reads-anthology/

 

Find your own copy here: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00Y1ZDLO2

Source: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00Y1ZDLO2

The Beauty of Creation

We raise ducks and chickens on our property, and occasionally when we’re feeling a little crazy, think about raising more species of poultry. Today I came outside to find the eggs that one of our ducks has been sitting on for about five weeks now have started to hatch. She’s doing her best to keep the little ones under her, letting them warm themselves with her body but every now and then you can see a hatchling peek out at the world.

 

Mama duck started her nest about six weeks ago, just starting with a hollowed out, covered area and tucking her eggs away into it. As time went on she added bits of straw and shavings that we provided and down from her own coat, building it up until the eggs were surrounded in a warm bed. From there she sat on it, leaving only to feed herself, and even then she would take her time to cover the eggs up with down and straw to ensure that they were cozy warm. She kept a vigilant eye upon the nest, never straying too far from it, and always on the lookout for predators, though she was helped by being in a nursing pen with only other ducks nearby. Now she’ll have the fun of watching her little ones explore the new world around them, teaching them how to exist within it. It’s stressful work, they’re bound to drive her crazy with all the energy she’s going to have to put into it, but for her it will be worth it in the end.

 

What she is going through is kind of like what writing a story is to me. You start with an idea, just an egg in a hollowed out area. Maybe it’s a scene, a certain phrase, a setting, or a character. But soon it’s joined by other eggs, characters, settings, dialogue, and a plot. Soon, it becomes the nest being cultured as an idea. Not all of the eggs will make it, much like mama duck removes the bad eggs, the author will remove parts of the idea that just don’t make it. I sit on the idea for a while, be it a week or a couple of weeks, always letting it just sit in the back of my mind. Every now and then when I have a few quiet minutes I let it come out and work out a few details. Slowly but surely it forms until finally it gets typed out, put to actual words. From there the story is sculpted, grammar edited, phrases and sentences changed, sometimes even removing whole paragraphs till at last it is ready for release.

 

Ah, but like mama, the work is not done once released upon the world. Marketing comes into play, trying to show off to the world your creation while hoping that the world accepts what it is. You watch the numbers, read the reviews, and hope for the best. Some days you’re proud of what you’ve done, and some days you see the imperfections, but every day it’s yours. Overall though, it is a joy to show off each story I create and to hope that I brought a little bit of happiness in your day with my work. Thank you for being a reader and thank you for taking the time to read my work. 

Source: http://www.amazon.com/author/jcwinchester

Trail Magic Update

Just a quick update, I finished writing the draft to Trail Magic and have sent it off to my beta reader to start the editing process. Currently I am planning to post the story to Amazon on Friday and have it available for purchase Friday in the evening US Eastern.

 

Trail Magic is a story about a young pair of best friends Dan and Jillian, told from Jillian’s perspective. It is about her longing for her bestie as she calls him but having always put it aside for whatever flame he was currently with. Finding him newly single right before his birthday, she takes him on a backpacking trip to their favorite peak under the guise of reminiscing and getting away from his sorrows. Jillian, though, has much larger plans in mind for the weekend than she lets on. Once at the peak she lets her plans begin and her hands to slip into his pants, taking them down unfamiliar territory.

Happy Memorial Day!

Thank you to all those that have served and all those who have sacrificed for our freedom. I had the honor to see Arlington National Cemetery on Memorial Day a few years ago and it is truly a humbling experience to stand amidst the rows of headstones for those who gave it all for our country. And a thank you to the families who have had to overcome the loss of a loved one.

Be careful out there

In the past couple of weeks a teenage girl and two hikers on the AT have had encounters with wildlife much closer than they ever desired. One person is now hospitalized with serious wounds and two others are very thankful that they are not in a hospital themselves.

If you haven't heard about the young woman in Yellowstone, she was seriously injured but the injuries are reportedly not life threatening. She was standing 3-6 feet away from the bison to pose for a picture, way, way too close. For the hikers they were awakened by the bears tearing into their tent to steal their packs. The two women hiked out through the night to get away from the campsite and to a known safe area.

Both of these incidents could have been easily prevented by people learning to respect wildlife. Last month I was in the Smokies and fortunate to catch a view of a pair of bull elk, then of the idiot who decided to try and get as close as he could to them. Fortunately for him, they remained docile but they can and have been known to attack. Their hooves can split skulls and break bones. But people need to learn to respect them and maintain a distance. The National Park Service recommends a distance of 25 yards whenever possible.

For the hikers, do not sleep with tasty scents in your tent. Yes I know it's the AT and you want to go light but bring something to hang your pack away from your tent. A pound is not worth your life. 

 

Catching up

Slowly getting around to things and catching up here. The last time I ran a webpage was way back in the heyday of Geocities so please do bear with the sawdust. At least htmlgoodies is still around!

Spent the weekend in Shenandoah doing some research and trying to get in some much needed relaxation. The best was getting to spend a little free time on my favorite trail, the AT. Somehow, no matter what state I'm in, the AT always feels a little like coming home for me. 

Currently I have two stories in progress, one is a stand alone story tentatively titled "Trail Magic" and the other is a sequel to the Fraternity Fluffer series. Depending on how this week goes I'm hoping to be able to add one of these for the upcoming weekend. 

New website

So finally getting around to starting up a website to keep everything under one roof. Bear with me as the dust is growing rapidly. Hope soon to have a few more features launched and will let you know how things are going.

In the meantime I have a story in an anthology that will be coming out shortly. The story is called "Tryst in the Trail Shelter" and is one of eleven stories collected in "Hot Summer Reads". It will be available on Kindle Unlimited starting May 23rd, just in time to kick off summer!

http://www.amazon.com/Hot-Summer-Reads-Anthology-Stories-ebook/dp/B00XDSA4NY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1431185183&sr=8-1&keywords=%22hot+summer+reads%22

To all the Veterans out there

Thank you for your service, thank you for being the one to offer Uncle Sam that blank check. I know what it takes, 6 years I offered that check and thankfully never had it cashed in full. So thank you again, and I hope your commands gave you liberty early today. [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTs6a0ORdQU&w=560&h=315]

NaNo update

So I'm changing my goal a bit for NaNo, just to write 50K words this month between the number of stories I work on. Reality kind of reminded me that I don't in fact have all day every day to write. Ah well :) Current NaNo word count stands at 13,988. Anyways, the current project is my Winter Contest story for Lit, with a working title of "Greedy Christmas". Savannah's a workaholic, VP of her firm with visions of someday taking the top seat. She's weary of the holidays and the constant barraging for good will towards others. One drunken night she gets a visitor...

So begins NaNo

This weekend starts NaNoWriMo, the National Novel Writing Month. The goal is to write a 50,000 word novel during the month. This month is fairly busy for me, particularly since the Literotica Winter Contest will kick off on the 10th, but I'll give a fair crack at it. I urge anyone who has the inclination to start writing to give this a shot, it's free to join in and there are plenty of friendly folks to give out advice and cheer you on. You can find more information here: NaNoWriMo . Feel free to join some of the Lit authors participating in the Literotica Hangout in the Erotica forums and follow along with my progress under the name JC Winchester. Happy writing!

Dirty Dozen Wilderness Challenge

For those of you that have been reading my stories for a while, you may have guessed one of my favorite hobbies, besides writing, is hiking. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Wilderness Act which created the Wilderness Preservation System and initially set aside over 9.1 million acres as Wilderness and not subject to human intervention. In celebration of this Act the Southeast office of the Wilderness Society is hosting a hiking challenge. The challenge runs from September 2014 to September 2015 and is to hike 10+ miles per area in 12 wilderness areas. For signing up they will send you a sticker, complete the challenge and they'll send you a patch and you'll be eligible for other prizes like hiking the most miles, the most states, best photos, and best descriptions. For more information, follow this link: http://www.southeastwilderness50.org/dirty-dozen/ Happy Hiking!

Quick update

Phew, after a marathon writing session of a few thousand words, Witches Brew is finished being written. It'll get a couple of days to sit before I start editing and creating the cover for it. With any luck it should be ready to go to Smashwords next weekend. Be sure to swing by the blog to check for updates! Till it's up here is a little preview!

The sound of a waterfall not too far off caught his attention, beckoning him towards the sweet smell of water. The louder the rush of water falling became, the slower he moved, goose bumps forming on his skin as he felt heavy air wrap around him.  As he slipped closer to the source of the water the air began to fill with droplets of water, forming a mist and cutting down on his vision. Going by sound alone he picked his way through the trees, toe feeling the ground for firmness before every cautious step. When the tip of his shoe found water instead of earth, Dylan drew his foot back and slowly raised his eyes.

Before him lay the stream coming from a small pool of water, babbling lazily through the maze of tree roots and rocks. As he continued to look up the pool of water began to take shape, an elongated oval turned white with foam at the opposite end. So drawn into the falls he was, that Dylan almost missed the shock of long, wet, auburn hair draped over a pale back, reaching almost to the waist of its’ owner. Eyes wide he openly stared, taking in the sight of the nude figure, water coming halfway up her ass just low enough to reveal the shapely curve. Her arms almost blocked his view of the side of a full breast, with a little sag, and capped with a small, pink nipple.

So enthralled he was with the vision before him that Dylan almost missed the husky voice call out, “well, it seems this little spot isn’t quite so hidden as I’d hoped it was.” The sudden sound of the voice startled him out of the daze, his foot slipping on the moss coated roots and down to his ass he went. Sitting at the base of a tree he blinked rapidly, feeling his cheeks grow hot as they filled with blood. “I…I’m sorry…” he stammered.

Story Updates and Life

Just wanted to put up a little update. Life is still quite busy at the moment so for now my writing time is quite limited. Some days I can put out a few hundred words and some days I don't get any writing going. Still working and wanted to update my current projects: 1) Witches Brew. Dylan takes a last hike before the start of the fall semester. Along the way he runs into a mysterious, older brunette that leaves him wondering if he found someone that never quite left the Back to the Land movement. If only it were that simple...

This will be a novelette that is intended to go on sale at Smashwords in time for the Halloween season -crosses fingers-. It is currently sitting at about 4,500 words in length.

2) Hurricane Party. Scott is a former member of the Coast Guard, still adjusting to the civilian life. Instead of getting to enjoy a Halloween party he's having to bunker down for an incoming hurricane. He still might just get to have that party though...

This will be a novelette to be published in the Literotica Halloween story contest. It is currently at 1800 words.

3) Shelley's Not a She Chp. 5. Currently in the planning phase, I have a few ideas floating around and will most likely start putting words to electrons once I have the Smashwords book published.

Busy

Just wanted to post up that the reason there hasn't been any new work posted for the last few weeks is that I've been swamped with a project at work. Hopefully the end of the project will come in the next week or two and give me some time to get back into writing, but for now I just wanted to let everyone know that I haven't given up writing or left, just been very busy.