These two boyfriends have been through a lot. Best friends since childhood, fell in love in high school and thought they would be together forever. They stuck together even when their friends and family found out about their relationship. Struggling with challenge after challenge, they have finally made it to college and are living on their own. Living together is a whole new world and being open with their relationship is even more so.
Spending every day together as a couple they begin to learn about their differences. Things that never bothered them are now annoying traits driving a wedge between them. Can their relationship survive their differences? Can it handle new friends and new romances? Will they find their way together or will they drift apart?
Drifting is the third book in the Finding our Way series that chronicles the lives of best friends and boyfriends, Justin and Derrick. Finding our Way started us on the journey with these two as they discovered their feelings for each other and explored the possibility of a relationship together. Tormented Discovery followed them through their senior year of high school as their relationship blossomed and they started thinking about colleges.
Drifting picks up where Tormented left off. Justin and Derrick are attending separate colleges in the beginning, but soon not only are they at college together but they are roommates. Differing schedules, friends and interests quickly drive a wedge between this previously strongly bound couple. Drifting further apart everyday, will Justin and Derrick be able to find a balance and salvage the relationship they struggled so hard to build? Or will their now obvious differences tear them apart?
What I love about this series is the depth, realism and rawness of the writing. James writes the books from both Justin and Derricks POV, so we always have both of their perspectives of current situations. The eclectic mix of secondary characters balances out the storyline and adds an outside view of what Justin and Derrick are telling us at times.
This is not your average M/M series. Justin and Derrick are very young, emotional, rough around the edges and yet sometimes naïve and James writes them that way. It's what sets his books apart from other's in the genre. The best word I can use to describe it is 'raw', his writing is very raw. If you haven't read this series, you should!
Drifting picks up where Tormented left off. Justin and Derrick are attending separate colleges in the beginning, but soon not only are they at college together but they are roommates. Differing schedules, friends and interests quickly drive a wedge between this previously strongly bound couple. Drifting further apart everyday, will Justin and Derrick be able to find a balance and salvage the relationship they struggled so hard to build? Or will their now obvious differences tear them apart?
What I love about this series is the depth, realism and rawness of the writing. James writes the books from both Justin and Derricks POV, so we always have both of their perspectives of current situations. The eclectic mix of secondary characters balances out the storyline and adds an outside view of what Justin and Derrick are telling us at times.
This is not your average M/M series. Justin and Derrick are very young, emotional, rough around the edges and yet sometimes naïve and James writes them that way. It's what sets his books apart from other's in the genre. The best word I can use to describe it is 'raw', his writing is very raw. If you haven't read this series, you should!
*Note: Summer Escape is FREE everday on Amazon*
What were you like at school?
Jayson: Average I suppose.
What
is your favorite movie and why?
Currently I would have to say Pitch Perfect. There is
something about this movie that I love and I can watch it over and over again
without ever getting bored with it.
What
advice would you give to your younger self?
Watch your weight. Get out and exercise, diet, or whatever you
need to do. It all adds up and is
difficult to take it off later in life.
Also, believe in yourself. Do not
put off doing the things you dream of doing.
You will be surprised at how far you can go when you put your mind to
it!
You recently adopted a puppy. How has that changed your life?

*That's Cooper right there >>
What are you reading currently and why?
Under the Dome by
Stephen King. It is a book I have always
been curious about, but thought it would be too long for me to read. After the series started on television, I
wanted to read it even more. A couple of
different friends told me that I should and that I would get into it. I bought it for my Kindle and was immediately
sucked into it.
Writing
Do you write on a typewriter, computer, dictate or
longhand?
Although there are times that
I will use my smartphone to write parts of it I mostly use my computer and
type. Most recently I started using the
speaking to text feature on my phone, which puts my writing into a whole new
perspective.
What
are you working on at the minute?
It's a book I have been calling TED. Previously I would have come up with a solid
title by the time I’d gotten to the halfway point of writing a book. TED has been different in many ways. I have started and stopped several times. Although it is taking me awhile to write, I
think that it will eventually have a real title and become a published work. I am
writing the story in layers, giving the readers an inside look at each
character as the storyline unfolds.
What’s
it about?
The story focuses on three
guys dealing with individual issues. It
also focuses on serious matters such as bullying and depression. I wanted to explore the effects it has, not
just on one person, but other people's lives as well. This book will have similarities to my other
published works as well as several differences.
What
genre are your books?
Gay, young adult
What
draws you to this genre?
I read a book by Mark Roeder
called A Better Place a couple of years ago and enjoyed the way it
was written from each characters perspective.
A couple of months later I read Jay Bell’s Something Like Summer and it had me thinking about how I would love
to write a book of my own with the same content. Though at the time I wrote my first book, I
was only doing it to get the story out of my head, I am glad that I published
it and shared it with others.
Who
designed your book cover and how did you chose them?
I did. My friends have
always been insistent that I use my own artwork. Unlike my writing, I am still quite shy when
it comes to my drawing talents.
I’d seen two guys walking along, holding hands out in public one
day. They did not seem to care about the
looks they were getting and seemed to take comfort from each other. I thought it was so cool that I snapped this
picture of them with my phone, real fast so they would not see me. It ended up being fuzzy and chopping their
heads off, but I had this overwhelming urge to draw the picture. A friend saw it and thought it would be great
to use on the cover of the book. A
couple of redraws and coloring later, I finally had a picture I liked.
Do
you think that the cover plays an important part in the buying process?
Although I have heard the saying,
“Don’t judge a book by its cover” many times in my life, I think people tend to
take the cover into consideration when buying a book, especially if it is an
author they are not familiar with. Often
times I have thought about doing a cover like most of the books out there in my
genre are, but each time I consider it none of my supporters like the
idea. A couple of people have said that
using my own artwork for the covers has kind of become my trademark.
What prompted you to release Drifting a month before doing any marketing on it?
The fans wanted to read it
and I wanted them to read it. I have
been getting an email a week and some weeks several with fans expressing their
desire to read what will happen to Derrick and Justin. After Tormented
Discovery there has been a lot of speculation about what happens to these
two as well as the other characters. I
have loved reading so many passionate thoughts people have had on my
books. Drifting is a book I have looked forward to writing and sharing for
quite some time. I have been delighted
to see it selling so well prior to any marketing.
What is the plot of your new book?
Drifting is about
two best friends who fell in love in
high school and became boyfriends. Now
they are in college and after being in a relationship for a couple of years,
they find themselves drifting apart.
These two deal with what happens in a relationship when two people quit
liking who they are with, but instead would like them to be more of what they
expect them to be. Although it is the
third book in the series, I wrote this book so that it could be read as a standalone
story.
How did this book come to be?
I have never seen a book
written about a gay couple having relationship problems. You see stories about guys falling in love,
beating the odds and becoming a couple, but I have yet to see a book about what
happens after they’ve been together for a while. This is a book I’ve wanted to write for quite
some time and I am glad that it is finally written.
What is your favorite part of this book?
Not to sound conceited, but I
have quite a few. Perhaps my most
favorite is ???
Who is your favorite character?
Although I adore Justin and
Derrick, I think Ian is my favorite character in this book. Ian is an overweight gay guy and it was somehow
therapeutic and fun for me to write from the perspective of what a heavy set
gay guy deals with.
What do you think the reader’s will like most about this
book?
I think that anyone who has
read the previous two books with Derrick and Justin in them will enjoy that
several characters from previous books make an appearance.
As
with all of my books parts are true fiction with a lot of realism to balance
things out. I find it amusing when one
of my friends will read something and tell me how they can remember when that
happened. Most of the time ideas simply
come to me as I am writing and I type them as fast as I can before I lose them.
Would you be willing to share one of your favorite scenes from Drifting with us?
Sure! This is from
earlier in the book and is told from the character, Ryan’s perspective. Ryan is a shy guy who is single and hoping to
find love. I was tired one morning and
had this scene stuck in my head. I can
remember how easily it flowed and how pleased I was with it after I wrote it.
“Wakey wakey eggs and bacey!”
I opened my eyes to my father’s hand on my shoulder,
shaking me as he towered over me in bed.
I groaned and stretched. He’d
grown up on a farm after immigrating from Mexico, where every morning they had
to get up a 3AM to take care of chores before heading off to school. Although he hasn’t had to be up that early in
over two decades, he still wakes up before dawn each and every morning. Unlike my mother, he had learned English at a
young age. Whereas my mother hadn’t
learned English until she was an adult
Moments later my father was shaking me again, “Wakey
wakey eggs and bacey!”
It was too damn early to be up. “Thirty more minutes.”
“No Ry! You’ve got
to shower and brush your teeth.” He
walked towards the door, “I go get the cold water.” I could hear him walk down the hall. From past experiences, I knew he wasn’t
joking.
“I’m up!” I
hollered as I sat up in bed rubbing my eyes and stretching.
He shouted back, “Good!
Get showered and dressed! And
don’t yell. You’ll wake the rest of the
house.” He was humming a song as he walked
down the hall.
Once I was showered, teeth brushed and dressed, I walked
into the kitchen where my dad was reading the paper. There were a couple boxes of cereal, milk, a
bowl and a spoon sitting out. He glanced
at me and grinned, “Look I even made you breakfast. You so slow, I am sure it’s gotten cold.”
“Thanks dad.” He
was always a comedian early in the morning.
I did not sit down, but I walked over and poured myself a cup of coffee,
adding six tablespoons of sugar. Then I
sat down at the table and waited for Hayden to pick me up. My father would periodically try and talk
with me, but the coffee was working slowly at waking me up.
Thank you so much Jayson James for stopping by today, until next time...
it's great to know more stuff about you Jayson and Drifting. thank you for sharing and for being gracious.
ReplyDeletethank you Tammy for hosting! :)
This looks awesome! Thanks so much for doing this! I LOVE IT! --Jayson :)
ReplyDelete