Science Fiction/Military Romance Author DL Jackson and Her Newest Book "Blown Away"

Scribal Love Welcomes D. L.  Jackson

D L Jackson is an author of urban fantasy and science fiction/military erotic romance. Her newest work Blown Away is available from Passion in Print or through most major book retail outlets like Amazon and Barnes and Noble.
　
What is the name of your latest book?

Blown Away.

And how did you come up with the title?

Since it has to do with EOD, the explosive ordnance disposal in space and on alien worlds, I couldn’t think of a better title for the first novel in my space EOD series.

What is this book about?

The novel is broken into two novellas, Detonate—about Alice MacKay and Boomer, a former Terran Marine, looking for a serial killer whose weapon of choice is Odroxian bombs. Happy Trails—takes place in space on a mining ship and later on a planet in a city called Trios Port, where Jenna and Tyson find a bomb stuck to the hull of the ship—only the beginning of an ugly game of cat and mouse.

And what genre is this book in?

Erotic science fiction/military romance.
　
Who is/are the main characters?

Alice MacKay, Boomer, Tyson Rivers and Jenna Clark.


And why did you choose them?

Opposites attract and make the best fiction material. These characters have history.

What is the coolest or best part about your book?

Detonate~The final standoff between the bombers and MacKay and Boomer in Trios Space Port.

Happy Trails~ A chase scene that starts with a HALO (high altitude, low observation)jump from the edge of the Stratosphere, and ends with the characters trying to escape white water rapids after a stolen forester’s vehicle stalls and they have to abandon ship.

Do you have a favorite character in the book?

Boomer

Why him?

Besides the weird name, that has most the people reading this asking, WTF? LOL. There’s a good reason for his name, and though it sounds ridiculous, it won’t seem so once you know where it comes from. Boomer is a man that’s wanted a family all his life, someone to love and be loved by. He’s an unwanted half-breed and child of two worlds, who was orphaned at birth. He’s the pull to MacKay’s push, the one person she can’t seem to scare away with her prickly personality, brought about by a deep tragedy.

Is this book part of a series?

Yes

If so?

What can we expect in future books?

Jayson Rivers, Tyson River’s twin has a story called Bomb Voyage. There’s a shotgun wedding, or the futuristic equivalent of it, and a trip into space on a shuttle loaded with explosives, where the hero and heroine wake up naked, tied to their seats with nothing to wear but socks.

The Infamous Ava Frost, the second novella in the next book in the series, is a story of a woman baptized into revolution with blood and violence. The daughter of a bomber and rebel leader, she lives to free her people from oppression, smuggling dangerous goods to other side of the galaxy.

It opens when Ava is in her 70s, facing execution. The man she loves also happens to be the one responsible for her execution. It’s a timeless game of cat and mouse, where one man holds to his honor and duty, instead of grabbing the love of the one woman he can’t have, until Ava forces him to finally choose. Will he stop the execution or watch as she dies.

If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in your latest book?

Yes. I would have probably written two novels, instead of the two novellas that are woven together to make up the one book.

Did you learn anything from writing your book and what was it?

Yes. A nuclear explosion in space is nothing more than a pop and it looks like a camera flash. The blast isn’t significant because it lacks oxygen and gravity, but the EM waves can knock out power over a large area, because they have no problem traveling through space.  Also, holding your breath in space will kill you. 

You don’t freeze instantly and moisture in your body will boil away, fizzle on your tongue. You also swell if you’re not wearing a pressurized suit. I can’t think of a more terrifying death. Your first instinct when you lose oxygen is to hold your breath. Can you imagine blowing that air out, knowing there’s nothing to breathe? Even underwater we hold our breath.

Do you have a publisher?

Yes. I’ve been published with three different publishers. I have short stories with Ravenous Romance who gave me my start with my first short story called Sex, Shoes and Combat Boots, in the Sex and Shoes Anthology. I have two e-novels with Liquid Silver Books. The editor I worked with there is amazing. All of the staff is professional and awesome to work with. Passion in Print is a new imprint of MLR press. When given the chance to write a new science fiction erotic romance with them, I couldn’t help but jump on it. The staff is amazing and hard working. They burned a lot of midnight oil to get my novel released before Thanksgiving.

I’m 100% behind e-publishing, because I truly believe this is the future, but I also like to be able to offer my novels in print to readers who like the traditional format, instead of digital readers.

Passion in Print publishes in both formats, giving me the best of both worlds. So I can promote online and offline. Plus, it’s nice to be able to sign your novels and give them out.  :)
　
If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?

Hands down—Barbara Elsborg. She’s been through this journey with me, smacked me upside the head when I needed it, and was great support when I needed it as well. A close second would be my other peers, Arlene Webb and Laurie Green. Both amazing writers with unique styles.

What books are you reading now?

James Patterson’s, Witch and Wizard, Zoe Archer’s, Stranger, and various WIPs from my indispensable peers.

What are the current writing projects that you are working on?

Not necessarily in this order, but here you go. Legionarii—part of the Blown Away world. Hear No Evil—a novel to follow Slipping the Past. The Infamous Ava Frost and Bomb Voyage. Backward Momentum, a new sci fi romance series I’ve started with a fantastic group of writers we hope to shop this coming spring. The always painful rewrite of An Alien’s Guide to Abducting a Bride, and last but not least, a sci fi YA romance—Intergalactic Bounty Hunters, Inc.

Do you write full time?

LOL Oh, no. I have to pay the bills. I work 40+ hours outside the home and full chief cook and bottle washer inside the home. I write on my lunch hour in my vehicle. I like the solitude. The lack of internet makes me behave and I can listen to the radio for inspiration.

If not, do you hope to do so one day?

I’d love to, but I’d probably go crazy from the lack of human contact. I like to socialize.
　
Do you recall how your interest in writing originated?

Yeah—down to the moment. There was this movie that hit the big screen when I was a young child called Star Wars. It was an iconic moment for kids in the 70’s, like Woodstock was in the 60’s for that generation.

I remember looking at that screen and falling in love with a world, far, far, away, wanting to be part of it. My generation saw the birth of a technology that would bring a reality to the movies we’d never seen before. This more vivid world sparked my love for science fiction and fantasy. I found my niche, the place I wanted to spend my time.

I was a voracious reader as a teenager, consuming five to ten books a week. I swiped my mother’s bodice rippers and devoured those without her knowing and still wanted more. I wanted the love story. I wanted Star Wars. I wanted them together. So I started writing and combined the love with the science. Since I was a big time daydreamer, it was a small step for me to put it to paper. I had notebooks full of stories as a kid.

When I turned 17, I enlisted in the Army. My military background feeds into my novels, in what I hope are unique worlds readers have never seen. 

Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?

Time and family. They don’t always understand the time it takes to turn out a book. Sometimes it takes time from them, and I hate that. They’re my heroes for putting up with me when I go on a writing binge.

Do you have any advice for other writers seeking to get published for the first time?

Take your time, learn your craft. Read, read, read. Read everything out there in your genre and in genres you’re influenced by. Know what’s in the market and know what is selling.

Write the best damn book you can, listen to your Beta readers and don’t let pride get in the way of making cuts and changes. Then when you’ve polished it an inch within its life, send it out and don’t give up. Everyone gets rejections. It’s par for the course.
　
　
Thank you D. L. for Dropping By! 


You can find D. L. on the web at: