Hello! Thank you so
much for visiting Written Butterfly with me today!
Q) How did you dream up the dynamics of your characters?
I was at a book
conference in Germany and a bunch of us were talking about zombies. One of the
people was a male model who was regaling us with tales of his stripping debuts,
and we were howling with laughter. Somehow strippers and zombies got mixed up
in the conversation, and Kris Alice, a friend of mine, told me I absolutely had
to write the story. After that, it was all downhill – or uphill? At any rate,
it took off from there!
Q) Is this part of a series?
If so, tell us about it!
The series is called
M.U.C.I., or Mutant and Undead Criminal Investigation. It's ultra secret, so
everyone knows about it, especially the people living in the huge trailer park
right next to it. In this parallel universe, in a city reminiscent of New
Orleans, mutants and undead live alongside humans. Rare and discreet, they are
nonetheless required to register with the Mutant and Undead Branch of Interpol
to get passports and social security, (pink cards for vamps, yellow cards for
shifters, and purple cards for zombies...).
At MUCI (or moosie as it's fondly called), a dedicated bunch of humans,
undead and mutants work hard to keep everything running smoothly and keeping
everyone more or less within the law.
Q) If you could choose, which published author would you like to
brainstorm with and why?
I'm lucky,
I don't have to dream about that - right now I'm in the middle of brainstorming
with a good writer friend, Brandon
Rucker. We've
been in contact for many years now, starting with the old Zoetrope online
writing workshop! We've decided to do a project together, and so, for now, we
are tossing ideas back and forth like tennis balls all the while trying to
juggle our jobs, our families and our writing – honestly, there are not enough
hours in a day!
Q) What are your upcoming projects?
Well, my immediate
goal is to finish the third book in the M.U.C.I. series, and also to finish a
YA book I started called the Road to Eternity, hopefully it won't be an
eternity before it's finished. Brandon and I are also keen on doing a book
together (or several books) but for now, the story is still in the outline
stage, and we're still arguing about who gets to start it, - lol. I usually
have three or four ideas simmering, and I always have a book in hand or in my
purse (I carry my e-book reader with me everywhere) because I am a voracious
reader. Reading good books is one of my best inspirations for writing!
JACK THE STRIPPER by Jennifer Macaire
Thank you having me here! I’m so excited to be sharing
my book JACK THE STRIPPER with you!
Jack's back from the dead. His
mission? Catch the Heart Taker, a mutant terrifying human and undead alike.
Jack teams up with his ex-girlfriend Brianna and a hot zombie named May to
catch the killer – but he has to hurry, the Heart Taker has chosen Brianna as his
next victim.
Blurb
Welcome to The Purple Dee. Pull up a chair and get settled in, the show will start soon!
Our featured performer tonight is Jack the Stripper. He's Jack Severn, newly back from the dead. He's magical, he's hot, but evil he's not!
Jim Ling-Li, Necromancer extraordinaire, brought him back to life, gave him
some extra features, and, as you'll see, made him irresistible --
Especially to Jack's ex-girlfriend Brianna. Jack's sexier than ever, and
they're better together. But she doesn't want to risk her heart, not again, and
definitely not with a zombie.
Jack also has a mission. He's back to catch the Heart Taker, the mutant that's been terrifying human and undead alike. His current obsession's none other than Jack's Brianna.
Jack also has a mission. He's back to catch the Heart Taker, the mutant that's been terrifying human and undead alike. His current obsession's none other than Jack's Brianna.
So give a big hand for Jack...he's going to need all the support he can get to
catch his own murderer.
*Jack the Stripper was origianally published by Loose Id as "Zombie Jack". It has been re-edited and re-issued by Evernight Publishing.
*Jack the Stripper was origianally published by Loose Id as "Zombie Jack". It has been re-edited and re-issued by Evernight Publishing.
Excerpt:
His arm fell off again. The first
time it happened, he’d been holding a heavy suitcase. A woman noticed and let
out a horrified scream. He looked down. The suitcase lay on the ground, his
hand still gripping it.
“Ahhhh!” he screamed too. Suddenly everyone in the bus
station was either screaming or running. Panicked, he grabbed his arm, first
having to pry his fingers off the suitcase, and fled.
With the bus station far behind him,
he slowed down and tried to take stock of his situation. He was lost. His arm
had fallen off. Well, it could be worse. At least he hadn’t lost it. He took
his shirt halfway off and popped his arm back into its socket—getting it
backwards the first time.
It was so bizarre. His arm was like
part of a toy that popped in and out of its socket. A strange, magnetic,
magical effect held it together. At least he didn’t feel any pain and it wasn’t
too gross once you got used to seeing bare bone and muscle. No blood. No pain.
No suitcase—he’d left it in the bus station. No clean clothes. A raindrop
landed on his nose. Then the sky opened up and let down a deluge. Great.
Hunching his shoulders against the
rain, he hurried down the street. A sort of whispered tingle ran through his
body, urging him this way and that. It was the same sort of tingling pull that
made him go to the bus station. It had led him this far—he might as well follow
it to see where he’d end up. The mysterious force coursing through his body
tugged him along, and then spun him around and pushed him into a dark, narrow alleyway.
He looked around. At one end of the
alley was a dumpster. At the other end was the quiet street where he’d arrived.
He knew where he was. Things were starting to fall into place.
He waited a few minutes, but no one
had followed him. He sighed, and went to the green door. He tried the handle,
but it was locked, and when he pulled it, his arm fell off again.
Depression and dismay rolled over
him. He bent down, picked up his arm, and put it back in place. Nothing was
going right. He kept hoping he’d wake up from the nightmare he found himself
in, but it wasn’t happening. He was dead, and he had no place to go except
here. Timidly, he rapped on the green door. No one answered, so he knocked
harder, and then, when the door remained shut, he made a fist and pounded with
all his might.
After a few moments it opened and a
man with long blond hair down to his waist peered out at him. The man rubbed
bloodshot blue eyes, yawned, and then said, “You’re too early for the audition.
It won’t be for another couple hours.” With that, he shut the door in Jack’s
face.
Audition? Jack blinked, backed up,
and looked more carefully at the green door. Taped to the door was a sign.
“Auditions. All day Sunday.”
He rapped on the door again, and the
blond man opened it. He looked cross. “Look man, it says starting at 2 p.m.”
“It says all day Sunday,” said Jack. “Is today Sunday?”
“Of course.” The blond man looked perplexed. “All day
Sunday? Let me see that.” He stepped out and examined the sign. “Right.” He
looked at Jack. “Wait a minute.” He went inside. A minute later he was back
with a felt-tipped pen. Carefully, he blacked out the “All day” and wrote,
“Starting at 2 p.m.”. Putting the top back on the pen he nodded. “Better.”
“Could I wait inside?” Jack asked. “It’s raining.”
The blond man had been about to shut
the door. He scratched his head then shrugged. “All right. You can wait in the
lounge. Follow me.”
Gratefully, Jack entered the
building where he was pretty sure he’d been killed.
Review:
"...The story is really enjoyable as Ms Macaire deliciously brings on the
zany dark humor in a manner that really appeals to the fan of the macabre in
me. The humor is not too overpowering or too farcical
- just enough to keep me
laughing. There is already a beautiful kind of poetry in the premise, what with
a hero who lacks a heart, but is in love, and who is supposed to be dead but
ends up a hero instead. The story doesn't disappoint in delivering a fun Tim
Burton kind of romantic adventure where I am concerned."
~ Mrs Giggles eBook review of Zombie Jack (Loose Id edition)
Buy links:
About Jennifer:
Jennifer Macaire lives in France with her
husband, three children, & various dogs & horses. She loves cooking,
eating French chocolate, growing herbs and flowering plants on her balcony, and
playing golf. She grew up in upstate New York, Samoa, and the Virgin Islands.
She graduated from St. Peter and Paul high school in St. Thomas and moved to
NYC where she modeled for five years for Elite. She went to France and met her
husband at the polo club. All that is true. But she mostly likes to make up
stories.
Find Jennifer on the Web:
