2014 GRL Blog Tour: J.P. Bowie
Starting from March up until September I will be part of the 2014 GRL Blog Tour as featured blogger. I will host authors attending the GayRomLit Retreat in Chicago (October 16-19, 2014: gayromlit.com/content/2014-grl-featured-blogger-program). To my guests, I asked to brainstorm around the common theme "inspiration". Today author is J.P. Bowie:
What is inspiration? The dictionary says it is something that makes someone want to do something or that gives someone an idea about what to do or create.
I think that is a bit vague frankly, because inspiration to me is a force, either sudden or lasting over time, one that brings you creativity, spurs you on to take chances, even risks, and leaves you fulfilled, or badly shaken. Inspiration comes in different forms and from varied places. Nature, that grand, ever changing panoply of beauty that stretches across continents and leaves us breathless at times, or in moments when tragedy strikes in the form of earthquake, tsunami or tornado, struck dumb by its relentless aggression.
People are inspiring. Those that write, paint, compose, or sculpt-who leave us gifts to treasure, to revisit, to admire and wish that we had been given those same talents, that we might also inspire those who follow us. People even closer to us can be inspiring. Our parents who lovingly instilled in us the difference between right and wrong; friends who are steadfast in their support, even when we might make the wrong decisions, and of course the one we love above all else, who stands at our side with an unquestionable loyalty, yet is still able to knock some sense into us when the need arises.
I draw my inspiration to write from all of the above. Most of my stories are based on real life events, albeit with some embellishments, and many of the characters have the traits, if not always the looks, of people I am close to. Of course in my vampire novels those traits are stretched considerably to give the characters a paranormal persona, but I still give them some very human nuances so that the reader can relate to them as someone they’d like to know, rather than some fang gnashing monster.
Inspiration can come at times out of the blue. I have to confess to being a ‘fly by the seat of my pants author’ and have a tendency to sometimes write myself into a corner then cast about yelling, Help! It’s then that I need inspiration more than any other time, and so far, by the grace of my Muse, it always comes just when I’m about to give up and press the delete button.
I also draw inspiration from the many people I have met since becoming a published author-Elisa Rolle for one, Carol Lynne, Ethan Day, Laura Baumbach to name just a few more. It’s inspiring to see so many amazingly talented authors writing such fresh, exciting and often poignant stories in the m/m genre. With such a wealth of talent we’ll be enjoying stories of man love for a long time to come.
J.P. Bowie/www.jpbowie.com
Author's bio: J.P. Bowie was born and raised in Aberdeen, Scotland. He wrote his first (unpublished) novel - a science fiction tale of brawny men and brawnier women that made him a little suspect in the eyes of his family for a while.
Leaving home at age eighteen for the bright lights of London, he found himself in the midst of a “diverse and creative crowd” that eventually led him to the performing arts. For the next twelve years he sang, danced and acted his way around the theatres of London and the provinces, appearing in shows with many famous British singers, actors and comedians.
After immigrating to the US and living for many years in Las Vegas where he worked for that incomparable duo, Siegfried and Roy, J.P. found himself entranced by the fair city of San Diego where he currently lives with his partner, Phil.
J.P. Bowie is offering a copy of Paris Connection to one commenter on this blog. You can comment on LJ or DW if you have an account (I will send a PM to the winner), if you don't have an account, please leave a comment on DW with a contact email.
Paris Connection by J.P. Bowie
Publisher: Totally Bound Publishing (April 10, 2014)
Amazon Kindle: Paris Connection
A young American falls in love with Paris, and a stunning Frenchman, but murder and mayhem, let alone distance, might ruin his chance of lasting happiness.
After seeing the movie Midnight in Paris, Jay Harrison becomes obsessed with the idea of a vacation in the City of Light. Jay has always been a bit of a dreamer and while he doesn’t think he will actually have the same bizarre experiences the main character in the movie had, he is certain that Paris holds something very special for him.
Jay is a shy man and a bit of a lightweight in the sexual experience arena, so he’s nervously surprised when Anton Delcour, a handsome Frenchman, introduces himself at the Café Les Deux Magots on his first day in Paris. He’s even more surprised by his own eagerness to know more about Anton-a lot more. When Anton offers to give him a personal tour of Notre Dame Cathedral, he jumps at the chance to perhaps get better acquainted with Anton.
The two men bond quickly through their mutual attraction, and Jay’s visit to Paris takes on a new dimension when he’s in Anton’s company. But when a case of blackmail and murder threatens to get in the way of his budding summer romance, Jay begins to think that the movie he loved might just pale in comparison to what is actually going on around him.
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