Sending Jack off to Jesus (A Southern Thing series book #2) | Audio Review, Interview & Giveaway {AOTM TTC}

~ July 2015 | Author of The Month ~ 

Sara York | 'A Southern Thing' series

{featuring Jason Frazier, narrator for the series}

This month I'm doing the AOTM feature a little different, I'm featuring the Author of the series as well as the narrator. Each week I will share my review for another book in the series with you, along with both an Author and Narrator Interview Q&A. Sara York and Jason Frazier were kind enough to answer a series of questions for me, so each week I will post several questions with their answers. You'll have to check back each week to see the next series of questions and answers as well as the new review for that week. 

There is also a great giveaway from the Author this month including a Signed paperback copy of Pray the Gay Away, book 1 in the series. And for audible fans, I'm giving away an audible copy of book 1 as well. So sit back and enjoy week 1 of July's AOTM, Sara York and her 'A Southern Thing' series! 

Sending Jack Off To Jesus

Book 2 of 'A Southern Thing' series

Jack Miller has more than he could ask for with Andrew as his boyfriend, but it's being taken away from him and there isn't anything he can do. His father knows he's gay, and his mother wants him to have sex with a girl to make sure he's not mistaken. 

Andrew Collins has found the perfect home in foster care with Cole and Melinda Kemp, but it won't last. The DA thinks his parents have proven they've changed, but Andrew doesn't believe the change will last. 

Just when Jack and Andrew think it can't get any worse, it does. Jack's father sends him to New Life Christian Camp, a program that promises to pray the gay away. But Andrew has it worse as his father takes out his anger on him, leaving him near death. 

Both Jack and Andrew are lost to each other, their lives in tatters all because their parents wanted to pray the gay away. 

Buy links: Amazon | Audible 

Oddly, this is my favorite book of the 3 thus far. It's disturbing and dark in some places but the strength of character that both Jack and Andrew possess while separated was astonishing considering their age and the dark place they are both in emotionally. While Andrew thinks he finally found some peace with his foster parents, his birth parents manage to convince the judge they've changed, and Andrew pays dearly for the justice systems stupidity. And poor Jack, shipped off to one of those horrid camps where their motto is "we can fix you" well, there wasn't anything wrong with him so all they do is fracture the teenagers psyche, not to mention he has to fend off the advances of one of the employees, a male employee, and they want to try and fix Jack???

Worlds apart, feeling trapped, depressed and utterly alone, both young men hit rock bottom and for a little while at least, it seems like all hope is lost. But like I said, these two young men still have just enough strength left to try and find their way back to each other. The road they have to travel is paved with hatred and ignorance though. Thankfully, one of the adults in their lives finally decides to act like one. 

I think what is most appealing to me about this series is the severity and the reality of it. Not to sound like a broken record, but it's a deeply emotional, dark storyline. What these young men go through just because they fell in love with each other is... well, it's horrifying to be honest. But York has this way of just grabbing you and I was so immersed in their story that I felt like I knew them personally. Which only made their pain that much more real to me. As usual though, there is that glimmer of hope in the end that some how, some way, everything will be alright. 

Jason Frazier continues to carry the torch as the narrator and let me just say, his best work yet. I was a kind of amazed with his ability to convey the scared, unsure and broken down tone of Andrew and Jack, and yet give them each a different tone so you always knew which character you were with. And then he could flip the switch and become a spawn of satan (Andrew or Jacks sperm donors, take your pick) quickly. The transition from one voice to another, then another, and often several in one scene was flawless. 

Definitely a must listen series, or a must read, either way you want to go. But listening to Frazier bring the words York wrote to life, these characters that I'm certain took a lot of her blood, sweat and tears, well that is part of the beauty of this series in my opinion. 5 stars, just in case you were wondering. 

Writing is Sara York's life. The stories fight to get out, often leaving her working on four or five books at once. She can't help but write. Along with her writing addiction she has a coffee addiction. Some nights, the only reason she stops writing and goes to sleep is for the fresh brewed coffee in the morning. Sara enjoys writing twisted tales of passion, anger, and love with a good healthy dose of lust thrown in for fun.

Author links: website | facebook | twitter 

This weeks Q&A with Author Sara York...

Tell us something about your newest release that is NOT in the blurb.

In Can’t Hide My Love, Alec’s first kiss was with Preston and he’s never gotten over the fact that Preston ran out on him. After a number of years he runs into Preston again and every bit of his desire is still there, pumping through his veins, driving him crazy.

Are you working on anything at the present you would like to tell us about?

I’m almost done with Bonded 2. It should be out soon. It’s so exciting. Chris, Liam, and Greg are back for more fun and action in part two.

What are you reading now?

I’m reading Secret by Kindle Alexander.

What books or authors have most influenced your own writing?

The authors who’ve had the most impact on my writing are James Patterson, Janet Evanovich, and Lisa Gardner. There are others, like Bertrice Small, Carl Hiaasen, and Stephen King.

How do you come up with the titles to your books? Before you start the story of sometime during the creation?

At some point in the creation of the story the title appears. There are a couple of titles I dislike that were chosen by the publisher, but most of my titles I like. Pray The Gay Away, Sending Jack Off To Jesus, and My Big Fat Southern Gay Wedding were titles that came about during GRL in Atlanta while sitting at one of the tables in the bar.

Jason Frazier

Voice Actor & Performer 

Follow Jason: website | IMDB | Youtube | Facebook | Audible

Jason Frazier is a Los Angeles-based voice actor and performer 
working in animation, interactive, audiobooks, theater, commercials, 
new media, film and television. SAG-AFTRA / AEA / ASIFA / TV Academy. 

This weeks Q&A with Narrator Jason Frazier...

How do you give the characters a voice? How do you decide what tone you’ll tell their 

story in?

It’s a collaborative approach to finding the “voice” and “personality” for each character in a book. I usually ask the author/publisher what tone they’re after with the overall book, and then become more specific with respect to each character and role. Many times, they offer great suggestions and springboards — and other times they aren’t entirely sure what they’re after and leave it entirely in my hands. However the collaboration happens, I ultimately end up using my instincts as a performer and mix in my gut reactions to characters and situations with bullet points the client has provided. That way the final product really is a collective effort on both our parts. It can be a challenge at times to create enough differentiation between characters (vocally) in a title, depending on the number of characters there are, but it’s part of the nature of the job, and something I feel adept at. It’s fun starting a project and getting to “know someone new” from a vocal and performance standpoint.

What, in your opinion, are the most important elements of good narration?

I referenced this somewhat in question #3, but I strongly believe that the most important elements of good narration can be summed up in a nutshell: The final product needs to be an entertaining and enjoyable experience for the listener. That should always be the goal. Beyond that, you need to bring a strong, dynamic performance to the table, create differentiation in the characters you’re voicing, find a rhythm and pace that works for the “mood” of the story you’re recording, and most importantly hit the overall tones and key points that is at the heart of the book. From a technical standpoint, your final product needs to be recorded, edited, mixed (if applicable), and mastered well for the final polish.

You’ve said you had to take a break for a little while after recording the Southern Thing series. Tell us more about that and why.

Sara York’s “A Southern Thing” series was a wonderful experience to work on, and I’m incredibly grateful she entrusted me with voicing the trilogy. In doing so, I got to know her characters quite thoroughly. I found that I needed to take a break of sorts after the completion of those projects because the nature and tone of the pieces, while managing to have great variety and good highs and lows, really spoke about the difficulty of being accepted as gay in the South, and the injustices the two protagonists faced. Both, at different times, endured severely traumatic verbal, sexual and physical abuse. As an actor, I’m working my hardest to give 110% to the reality of those situations so they’re palpable for the listener. But my reactions to many of those moments was so visceral that it became somewhat drained emotionally and needed to take a break to sort of re-center myself after living with Jack and Andrew for so long. That’s not to say their story is on the whole a dark or depressing one, but they DO go on quite a journey towards their HEA, and that’s a testament to Sara’s level of writing and her committment to her characters. “Pray The Gay Away,” “Sending Jack Off To Jesus” and “My Big Fat Southern Gay Wedding,” make up a fantastic trilogy and are an incredible read or listen, however you chose to enjoy them. Definitely worth checking out!

Are you working on anything at the present you would like to tell us about?

At the moment, I’m in various stages of recording and mastering several new titles for authors and publishers, and expect to have a total of 16 titles available by the end of the year. I’m also lining up some appearances at various industry conventions and am very excited about those opportunities to mix, mingle, connect and network.

The Q&A gets better each week! Don't you agree? Don't forget to enter the giveaway below, and if you already entered last week, remember, you can share on Twitter daily for additional entries every day in July. 

Stop back by next week for my review of My Big Fat Southern Gay Wedding, as well as the next round of Q&A with Sara and Jason! 

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