The Big Picture on mmmMMMonday from Jeremy Pack

Jason, Ellie, and Jeremy Pack

Wt--- Greeting and salutions. This is Wt Prater 
with Just Write and SO Gay,  and I am here
today with Author Jeremy Pack. Thanks for
allowing us the time, good sir.

JP ---Thank YOU for the opportunity.

Wt--- So I feel like I should start off with honesty. . . I have been crushing on you for months, ever since I read your blog for "HOP Against Homophobia"

JP--- Haha. That's very sweet. I had fun with that post--and felt like it was a fantastic event to participate in. One of the cool things about being a part of this community is events like that, where readers and authors come together and make a statement.

Wt--- After visiting twenty or so blogs, I laughed my ass off reading yours and became an instant fan. And I have stalked from a distance since.

JP--- Alas, I'm afraid I must have been a bit of a letdown on that count. I'm pretty dull by most standards. Work, sleep, Ellie and Jason updates, the odd book news....

Wt--- So, in researching for this interview, I glanced over your FB statuses and saw you had watched The New Normal, or at least the first episode. Have you continued watching?

JP--- I'm afraid I haven't. Jason and I were a little offput by the couple in the pilot. I had a really difficult time reconciling the way gay men were portrayed. Our approach to parenthood is very, very different. Probably because I view being a dad as a sacred duty, something I cherish with my very soul, I was sad that it was portrayed in a way that felt disrespectful and vanity driven.

Wt--- I've been watching it with my wife, and our straight and gay friends, and discussing it. We all love it, but then. . .of course, our POV is different because none of us have children. But I love the characters. But I can understand others wouldn't.

JP--- I imagine they would grow on me if I would give it a chance. I just have a hard time with the idea of the "children as accessories" stereotype. I think that sends a dangerous message and probably isn't really a good representation of the reasons a gay couple might want to have children.

Wt --- I know the show is a little "preaching to the choir", but my hope is that there is enough comedy, and reality in it to get the naysayers to understand "Love is love, and being a parent is about that, and not anything else. "

JP--- I hope so too. I think gay men becoming fathers is still a really exotic idea for a lot of people. We encounter some wide eyes and double takes every now and again, even though we live in a very liberal part of the country.

Wt--- I can imagine, and that saddens my heart. Your daughter, Ellie, is six, and you and Jason have been together for four years, is that right?

JP--- Actually Jason and I have been together for just about three years. He is the most amazing partner I could ever have hoped for. Ellie and I are so lucky to have found him. The two of them became immediately inseparable. I adopted her before Jason and I met.

Wt--- And do you both work full time?

JP--- Jason stays home with Ellie, and I have a day job. He works 100 times harder than I do. I could never do what he does, certainly not with as much love and care. I'd be a wreck inside a week--not to mention what would happen to the house, the yards, the dogs, and Ellie. Talk about utter disaster. Shudder...

Wt--- Do you want writing to become a full time job, or are you happy as is?

JP --- I have to be honest, I like the social stimulation and the challenge of my work. I have a very interesting day job that I love. That being said, I would love to be able to write full time because I have so many stories in my head wanting to get out. There's always retirement, right?

Wt--- That is true. So you currently have two books out: The Heart of the Jungle, which one reviewer compared to an Agatha Christie classic, and To Touch the Stars, which Poppy Dennison, author of Mind Magic, calls "The best book I've read all year!" Are you excited with all the raving people are going over your books?

JP--- I'm still so new at this and learning to believe in myself, so I have to tell you, I cry every time I read a review or someone emails me to tell me they liked my work. True story: I almost didn't write To Touch the Stars yet. I didn't believe I had it in me to do it justice. I'm glad I manned up and gave it a go because I grew immensely as a person in the four months it took to write it.
I am so grateful for all the kindness and welcome I've been shown since being published. I am a little teary thinking about it right now. This is an incredibly supportive community. The publishers, the writers, and especially the readers.

Honestly, that kindness and Jason's support--those are the things that made me believe in myself enough to keep writing after The Heart of the Jungle was accepted.

Wt--- Well, the only thing I've read beside the blog is Brianna, your short for The Heart of the Jungle, which hooked me so I definitively plan getting your books soon. Do you have any conventions or anything planned to promote your books?

JP--- My plans to attend GayRomLit this year were unfortunately sidelined by a business trip to the UK that will occur during the same week. I would like to attend some events next year. I'm actually very shy so I'm hoping the extra time getting my legs under myself will help me come further out of my shell.

I have had the opportunity to meet a few of my fellow Dreamspinner Press authors in a social setting and enjoyed getting to know them immensely. I felt like a commoner among kings--they're all so talented and well known--but they made me feel so welcome. Bless them.

Wt --- Thank you again for taking time to do this. One last question before we go: Is there a question you wished I had asked and/or are there any questions you wished do never be asked again?

JP --- The one question I'm asked often and always like to have come up as a discussion point relates to the lack of erotic content in my work. I bring it up regularly because I don't want readers to feel as if I've failed them somehow by not including it in my stories. As a person, I don't have any moral objections to explicit content. As a writer, it just isn't what I write. One reason I love Dreamspinner Press is that there is room for a lighter touch in their catalog and they're willing to indulge that particular idiosyncrasy of mine. Hopefully, my stories will be strong enough that it won't be missed.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to get to know you and spend some time with you! I have had a great time! 

 

Jeremy Pack is a writer of fiction about men who happen to be gay. You’re as likely to find him thrilling to a midnight release of the latest popcorn actioner as weeping in the greeting card aisle to a particularly touching Hallmark card. It is these tastes that inform his storytelling. A fan of car chases, heartmelting sentiment, and head scratching puzzles, he strives to pepper his stories with all three.

Born and raised in a small-town in Idaho, Jeremy now resides in the Pacific Northwest with his partner and their weak-in-the-knees-cute, but teenager-precocious six-year-old daughter. Jeremy believes the best part about writing is making connections with readers! Find him on the web at:

E-mail: http://www.jeremy-pack.com/contact/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/JeremyJPack
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/JeremyPack1973
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/JeremyPack