Friday, December 2, 2011

MEN in YA: Interview + Giveaway with J. Gabriel Gates (2 US copies + 1 International!)


I'm insanely excited to welcome the fabulous J. Gabriel Gates to my blog today! He was awesome enough to stop by for an interview! We will also be giving away 3 copies of his FANTASTIC YA book, Dark Territory. If you missed my yesterday's review of Dark Territory, make sure to check it out ASAP - this book will rock your socks off! After you enjoy the interview and check out J's totally HOT MEN in YA photoshoot, head over to Rafflecopter to enter the book draw! :) 

Guys, please give a warm welcome to our super talented YA Galaxy Defender, J. Gabriel Gates!



E: Evie
JGG: J. Gabriel Gates
E: Welcome to Bookish J.! I can’t tell you how happy and excited I am to talk to you today! Thanks so much for taking the time out of your schedule to join us here today! Your recent YA novel, Dark Territory, is a wild, gut-wrenching and action-packed ride! Where did the inspiration for this book come from?
JGG: Thank you very much for having me! The idea for the Tracks Series and for Dark Territory came to me a few years ago when I was living in L.A. My roommates were into watching teen dramas like Degrassi and the O.C., and I was taking kung fu classes at the same time. One day I thought: “You know what would be awesome? A teen drama with kung fu.” That’s how the idea started.
E: How long did it take for you to write Exiled?
JGG: Well, my co-author Charlene and I initially planned to pitch it as a TV series, but we never got around to it. She contacted me years later and suggested that we write it as a book series instead. I thought that was a great idea, and once we got our publisher HCI on board, the process went quite smoothly. The initial draft took about five months, with another month or so of revisions. The characters and the concept were so compelling that it almost wrote itself.
E: Are any of your characters based on people in your own life? Which of your characters do you feel is the most like you?
JGG: None of the characters are really based on anyone; even though they are fictional, they are their own people! I did get the name Ignacio from a guy I knew when I was living in L.A., though. He was the bassist for my ex-girlfriend’s rock band, and a really cool guy. As for what character is most like me: I’d have to say it’s Raphael. He’s an honorable guy who’s always trying hard to do the right thing and take care of the people around him despite whatever hardships they might be facing. I relate to that.
E: What was the most fun part of the book for you to write?
JGG: All of it was a blast! But I’d have to say that the beginning was a lot of fun. You’re meeting all these new people, getting to know them and peeling back layers of their world. It’s exciting. I enjoyed writing the later stuff too, though. Writing action is always exciting.
E: How do you approach writing a new novel? Are you a plotter or a pantser?
JGGHa ha. A little of both. I generally stake out a few plot points—maybe five or so—then just let the rest flow. The joy of real life is that it’s spontaneous and unpredictable, and I really try to capture that in my work.
E: Do you ever experience writer’s block? If so, how do you deal with it?
JGG: You know, I’ve never had writer’s block. I think the cure to writer’s block is to write. That ‘s what being a professional writer means, you do it whether you feel like it or not. You don’t hear NBA players saying they have “basketball block” and refusing to practice. If you don’t know what to write, come up with something. Maybe it will be good. If it’s not, scrap it. It’s that simple. But if you really want to be a writer, you write regardless.
E: If your book was made into a movie, who would you cast for it?
JGG: That’s always a hard question for me. I really see the characters as such individuals that it’s hard to imagine them being “played” by someone. To me, they’re just who they are. So I guess I’ll have to leave that one to Hollywood.
E:  What’s next in line for you? When can we expect to see the next book in The Tracks series?
JGG: Book 2 of The Tracks series, Ghost Crown, is finished and is coming out in March. And I have to say, my co-author, my editor and I all agree that it’s better than book 1, so buckle your seatbelt! I also have an awesome teen horror book called The Sleepwalkers that came out last month. If you decide to read it, make sure you’re wearing underwear. It’s been known to scare the pants off of people.
E: What advice would you give to aspiring authors interested in writing YA novels?
JGG: Read a lot. Write daily. Revise your work many times before you even think of showing it to anyone. Most of all, have faith in yourself and your work. Before I got my publishing deal, I was rejected by just about every agent in the biz. Nothing great in life can be accomplished without transcendent faith.
E: What genre do you like to read in your free time? Which of your favorite books would you recommend everybody to read?
JGG: I read an extremely wide range of books. To give you an idea, the last two books I read were 1776 by David McCullough and World War Z by Max Brooks. Before that, I read a book on Christian mysticism. But my favorite genre is probably literary fiction. I love the classics. I love guys like Hemingway and Fitzgerald. A few books I’d recommend are: Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux, House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski, and The Dark Tower series by Stephen King. I also enjoyed the Hunger Games series. If there’s anyone out there who hasn’t read it yet, you should get on it!

J., thank you so much for joining us today!  
I can't wait to get my hands on the second book in the Tracks Series!

I hope you guys enjoyed the interview, for more information about J. Gabriel Gates and his books, please visit his website: J. Gabriel Gates or/and read my review of Dark Territory.

Here's some serious awesomeness from the wonderful author!
Exclusive MEN in YA photoshoot for your enjoyment!








Huge thank you to J. Gabriel Gates for the exclusive MEN in YA photoshoot! <3

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Thanks to the fabulous HCI Teens:

I have two copies of DARK TERRITORY to give away to two (incredibly) lucky winners!!!
I am also sponsoring one INTERNATIONAL copy for my INTERNATIONAL friends!
To be eligible to win all you need to do is be a follower of my blog and enter through Rafflecopter below.

Ends: December 20th
Please let me know in your comment if you're in US or if you're entering to win the BOOK DEPOSITORY copy!





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This interview and giveaway are posted as a part of the MEN in YA event (Nov 20th - Dec 20th)
For more awesomeness (reviews, interviews, giveaways, guest posts) please click the banner below!


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About the Author
Evie is the Blogger behind Bookish. She enjoys reading many different genres, especially YA, Paranormal, Contemporary Fiction and Fantasy.
She loves talking to authors and is always happy to welcome them for interviews, and guest posts. She also likes spreading the love for awesome books and  chatting with fellow book-worms.
You can find Evie here: Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Shelfari | The Library Thing

32 comments:

miki said...

Great interview, i'm really to have discovered you thanks to this event ( thanks evie)

thanks you for this giveaway and for making one for international i really appreciate

international

Yiota said...

Great interview and totally amazing photoshoot!!

Thanks for the INT giveaway as well :)

Naj said...

The photos are amazing! And its really awesome how J.G did it just for the feature! Wonderful Interview as well.

Thanks for the giveaway!

Asheley T. said...

lovely interview! i'm always in complete AWE of people who can co-author a book. it seems like that would be extremely hard to me. i'm amazed.

also, WOW on this photoshoot. so incredible.

love it!

Andrea @ Cozy Up said...

Evie, this was an awesome interview!!! I'm loving your Men in YA Series, it's so much fun to come to every day. And I loved reading that J Gabriel Gates is a fan of The Phantom of the Opera... it may have just made my day!

Andrea

Megan said...

Cool giveaway. I agree that it would be hard to cast an actor as one of your characters. It happens to be all the time when books I've read are made into movies.

I'm International!

Bhand35 said...

Great interview. I have never heard of this book, but look forward to reading it thanks.

Lisa Richards/alterlisa said...

Awesome interview and gorgeous pics. That hair is so beautiful. Love that he loves The Hunger Games Trilogy.

Julie S said...

Thanks for the post and giveaway. This sounds like a really interesting read and I enjoyed the nice photos ;)

Mary Preston said...

The beginning part of a book is great to read for the same reasons: meeting new people & visiting new places. Loved the interview thank you.


marypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com

Janie said...

I am really digging the author interviews ~ I feel like a lot of who the author is goes into the book and it's pretty awesome to hear about them. They are the amazing people who give us one of the greatest things in life: books! :)

Janie said...

P.S. I'm in the US :)

Haley @ YA-Aholic said...

I'm US!! (: If you didn't know! lol This whole Men in YA thing is so epic!!!!! Bah you are a blogging genius! ha :D

Anonymous said...

Great interview! I can see why its so hard to cast his own characters.

I really liked the pictures by the way, must have been some awesome photographer. :)

druidgirl said...

This is a great giveaway and the book sounds like something I would really like to read Thanl you for the giveaway

mom2000_18@yahoo.com

roro said...

Thanks for the INT giveaway

FireStarBooks said...

I'm entering for the book depository version.

LOVE the review! The photoshootings are on fire! So unique!! Keep blogging! I want more!!

Carmen Shaw said...

Sounds like an awesome read! And he has some great hair! lol

Mr. Mystic said...

Thank you all for your kind words about the interview, and the book . . . and my hair. ;)
I hope you'll check out my website www.jgabrielgates.com and be my buddy on Facebook. Until then...
~J Gabriel Gates

Andra Lyn said...

nice interview chick! and Dannggg...J.Gabriel Gates puts my hair to shame...I feel the need for some intense conditioning or something right now..lol

Thanks for the giveaway! I'm in the US as ya know :D

Unknown said...

Does anyone else think he looks like Sawyer from LOST? (hehe) Anyways great interview as always!!!

Diayll

www.mothergamerwriter.com

Vanessa said...

Great advice for aspiring authors! I agree. I think aspiring writers should read more than they write :)

WildIrishRose33 said...

Great interview. I like reading how different people get over writers block. And I love the photos.

Jana said...

Thank you for the interview :)
I´m international...

Aleksandra said...

Great interview. I read a wide range of books also, and from the review of the book, it seems like a great mix of genres, so I know I'll love it :) And if the sequel is even better, that's amazing :) Can't wait to get my hands on this one, so thanks for the opportunity to win :) I'm entering for the international copy!

Nedraw said...

Love the photos! Thanks for this series of interviews. I am enjoying reading them all.

Melanie S. said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Melanie S. said...

J. Gabriel Gates is a new author to me but the book sounds really interesting and fascinating. I will definivitely keep it in mind after that great interview - thanks for sharing.

Please enter me for the international copy :)

Sana said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Sana said...

I am liking the photos! Great interview you've here =D

International

Patricia said...

The more I review books, the more I am in awe of writers - especially fiction writers. How do they come up with this stuff??
Then I read JGG's comment to you, Evie:

"All of it was a blast! But I’d have to say that the beginning was a lot of fun. You’re meeting all these new people, getting to know them and peeling back layers of their world. It’s exciting. I enjoyed writing the later stuff too, though. Writing action is always exciting".

JGG speaks of meeting these fictional characters and getting to know them. I am in awe and wonder.....

Thank you for posting this interview, Evie!
Patricia
madley (AT) cogeco (DOT) ca

Mary @SweepingMe said...

<3 J. Gabriel Gates work. He's fantastic!

Mary

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