Jay Bell Books

The Cat is back… with kittens!

Er, I’ll explain the kitten thing in a bit. The most important thing is that the revised version of The Cat in the Cradle is now out! What’s so new and exciting about this? Well, for you eBook lovers, all of Andreas’s art is now included. That means twenty-five gorgeous illustrations that complement each chapter. Some are of exotic locations, others of strange or terrifying creatures—and if that’s not enough—there are even a few cute boys in there as well. The print version is also looking sharper than ever. The previous font was much too small. I suppose my former publisher wanted to save paper, which is a noble cause, but now the book is much easier on the eyes. That’s not the only way the layout has improved. I’ll spare you the details, but you should find the entire reading experience much more pleasant.

As for the story, I did another rewrite and had the book edited again to bring it up to par with my other releases. There’s even some new content! A few scenes have been flushed out, the story matured ever-so-slightly to get away from the Young Adult taboo that causes so many adults to tremble and flee. But wait, there’s more new stuff! Andreas designed a glorious fantasy map that covers the northern portion of the Five Lands. The southern map will be included in the second book.

That’s right! Now we’re finally to the kittens reference. The Cat in the Cradle is now part of the Loka Legends series. I wrote the second book earlier this year, and rarely have I ever been so excited about a project. For those that haven’t read the first book yet, much of it has to do with Dylan and Tyjinn and the love they feel for each other. I wanted to continue Dylan’s story and see where the growth he experiences in the first book would take him. I don’t want to give anything away, but believe me—if you don’t read the first book you’ll be missing out on an amazing sequel.

As always, buying options are to the right. You’ll find them below Hell’s Pawn, which is still king right now. Or you can learn more and read free chapters on the book’s product page. I hope you guys will join me for my first series. Something tells me it won’t be my last.

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Hell’s Pawn is out!

Take off your pants and celebrate, because Hell’s Pawn is out! For me this means fame, fortune, and living solely off champagne and vegetarian caviar. For you, this hopefully means a couple days of edge-of-your-seat entertainment. What’s it all about, you ask? A dead guy. No, not a zombie or a ghost, but a guy that finds himself in the afterlife. That’s a strange enough experience to go through, but John Grey discovers that the next world isn’t quite what he expected. He doesn’t start in Heaven or Hell, for instance, but with a little bit of luck, he might get to one of those places. … Oh, all right, just look at the cover. Obviously he gets to Hell, but hey, there’s one charming, sexy demon waiting for him there.

Sounds like a pretty weird book, doesn’t it? Well, it is, but you’ll find the same comfortable elements I put into all my stories. There’s romance, gay main characters, ill-advised humor, and most of all, adventure. This isn’t Something Like Summer though. I know you guys are hungry for more of that style and I won’t disappoint you, but for now, I hope you come along with me as I try something new.

Buying options are to the right. Tree friendly eBooks are the cheapest at only $2.99. Paperback costs a bit more at $12.99, but Amazon is always generous with a discount. You can find the cheapest paperback price over on the right.

Once you’ve read it, please come back and tell me what you think. If it turns out you love Hell’s Pawn, please leave a review to help spread the word. Many humble thanks in advance! Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to pen more stories for you guys!

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Falling in love again

I’ve been working on a new contemporary romance novel and I’m struck by how similar creating a new character is to going on a first date. At first everything is awkward, the conversation stilted, and I’m a little more focused on how the person looks than who they are. Then words start to flow, some trivial, others revealing the truth about the person in front of me. As time passes, and if everything goes as it should, I begin to fall in love. This may sound odd, since we’re talking about people I make up in my own head, so I feel it’s important to explain just what kind of love I mean.

As I get older, I notice just how beautiful youth is. I mean more than just the physical. Being the terribly nostalgic person I am, when young people catch my eye I think back to how wild, stupid, dreadful, mysterious, and wonderful life was back then. For me, it also meant a lot of romantic adventures. When I look at these hot young guys, I’m not undressing them in my mind. Nor do I have any desire to see them in my bed. Instead I’m thinking of all the opportunities they have, all the fun waiting for them, and I hope they find someone their own age to experience this journey with. This is my wish for my characters too. I adore them, enjoy being in their heads or seeing them from the outside, but I want them to find their own way in the world. I love them, but they aren’t for me, so the most I can do is admire them from afar and try to guide them in the right direction.

As crazy as all of this might sound, the infatuation I feel for people that don’t exist is a good omen. If I write a joke that doesn’t make me laugh, chances are you won’t laugh either. If I don’t fall head over heels in love with my characters, then why would you? The days I’m too busy to write, I have a nagging feeling that tells me to call these characters, to check up on them and make sure they’re doing okay. With a little luck, you’ll feel the same way when you set the book down for too long. Speaking of which, just wait until you meet Connor. It’ll be awhile before you do, but believe me, you’re going to love him!

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Goodbye Cat in the Cradle

Farewell Kio, Dylan and Tyjinn. It was nice knowing you, but your story will no longer be told. *wipes tear from eye* Actually, I’m being a little dramatic. You may have noticed that The Cat in the Cradle is no longer on sale at all the usual places. Don’t panic, because Kio and company are only going on vacation. The rights for this book recently reverted back from my publisher to me, and instead of just republishing it as is, I’ve decided to give it another rewrite. I’ve learned a few tricks since writing this book and wanted to polish the prose. I also want to get those chapter illustrations worked into the Kindle and Nook versions. I have even bigger plans than that, but for now, rest assured that The Cat in the Cradle will be back. With a vengeance.

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Two Interviews and a Free Book!

Wanna get inside my head? There have been two interviews with me as of late, one of which that gives you the chance to win a copy of Something Like Summer. The first is here at Curious Queer, where I talk about homesickness, future releases, and being gay in Germany.

The second can be found at Taboo Indeed. There I chat about explicit sex scenes, Something Like Summer, and famous people coming out. Leave a comment on Taboo Indeed’s site, just below the interview, for a chance to win a print or eBook copy of Something Like Summer. Have fun!

*Update* A winner has been chosen.  Congratulations Carmen, and thanks to all that left a comment!

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The Evolution of a Book Cover

My third novel, Hell’s Pawn, is nearing release. Rather than just reveal the cover art like I usually do, I thought it would be fun to show you all the stages we went through to get to the final product. Hell’s Pawn is a story that takes place completely in the afterlife. Not just Heaven and Hell, but the realms of many major religions, past and present. Most of the characters are contemporary, souls that lived in our time, but there’s one character that’s different. Rimmon is an incubus, a handsome male demon and sort of the love interest of the main character. Some time ago, Andreas was doing character sketches for fun and asked me for an idea. I slyly described Rimmon, and Andreas came up with the drawing below.

As fun as it was to see one of my characters come to life on the page, Andreas didn’t draw this with a cover in mind, but this piece did end up influencing the direction we took. I liked the idea of Rimmon being on the cover, since he’s not only sexy, but intriguing. I don’t like to pin Andreas down creatively, so I described Rimmon vaguely, mostly only stressing his attractiveness. The first result is below.

Yeah, that’s hot, but it’s also a lot younger than I expected. Naughty Andreas! I asked him to age Rimmon up, since his character is both mature and intelligent, which isn’t quite conveyed by such a youthful appearance. A little bit of magic, and Andreas had finally done it. We had found Rimmon.

Now that we had our centerpiece, it was time to set him on stage. In the novel, Hell isn’t depicted as fire and brimstone. Instead Hell is based on a modern European city, so the bar scene could still work. Andreas came up with this rough concept, which we were both very excited about.

The front cover would be an outside view of the bar, with Rimmon visible in the window. The back cover would wrap around to an alley, where an old Gurney steam coach is parked. Er… It makes sense if you read the story, I swear. The best part is that the book’s title could be the bar sign, an idea that I still love.

Unfortunately, this new mockup began to worry us both. If Rimmon was behind a window and realistically placed further in the interior, he wouldn’t be nearly as visible to the viewer. Besides, who stands in a bar facing the window? Andreas suggested we keep the concept but turn the entire thing inside out.

I’m pretty sure I jumped up and down in excitement at this point. Not only could we see Rimmon better, but there was now room for another character. Rimmon had someone to seduce, rather than staring forlornly out the window. In this case, I decided it should be John Grey, the novel’s protagonist. John has a rough time adjusting to the afterlife, but things get a lot more interesting for him when he meets Rimmon. John’s a sharp dressed man though, so the figure in front needed to change.

Obviously Andreas really ran with the concept at this point, turning his full attention to the background and fine detailing. Now, with a full blown piece of art, all that was left was formatting into a book cover. This means setting the title, placing the back blurb, working in the bar code and tons of other things. The end result can be seen below:

I couldn’t be happier. Andreas really outdid himself this time. Is it any wonder I’m head over heels in love with him? A proof copy of the book is winging its way to Germany right now so we can see it in the flesh. Once we do, there might be some other small changes, but we’re more or less there. Once my early readers give me the green light, Hell’s Pawn will be ready for release, hopefully by mid summer. No matter what the critics make of the insides, thanks to Andreas, I can’t imagine anyone complaining about the packaging.

If you want to see more of Andreas’s art, stop by his website or his blog.

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