Saturday 17 October 2015

NORTH TO SOUTH - JACK OR J.K.

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It's been a while since I last blogged, which is bad of me of course. But I've been busy working on a new book, and my head wouldn't allow for much else going on. Anyway, the first draft is now finished and I need to bounce a few things around.
My plan is to do a pre-release of the book, with a release date of 1st December. That gives plenty of time to polish and market. But while there is the ability to change, I need to come up with the pre-release materials, the main thing being the book cover and the blurb.
Oh yes, and the ever so small detail of which name to release the book under.
Now most authors don't have an identity issue, but I have multiple personalities. You just need to look at this web site to see three of them. Of course I'm Jack, but I'm also Fergie when in a softer mood, and Tom when I want to write more in the first person. It's a bit of a mess, but it works for me.

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And then there is J.K. Brighton.
He came into existence two years ago when I decided to do some mainstream gay fiction and wrote 'Naked Hero' a two book set comprising 'The Journey Away' and 'The Journey Home'. It didn't seem right to put them out as Jack Brighton as there was no sex whatsoever in the books. So I tweaked the author name to J. K. Brighton, which sort of implies the same person. I think it was the right decision as people familiar with the Jack Brighton stuff would have been confused and probably disappointed in the books, even though they were pretty good and got lots of positive reviews.
Anyway - what's done is done. But now there is a dilemma. Having written the first book 'North to South' in what I plan to be at least a trilogy, I now need to decide what name to release it under. Again there is no sex as such, but there are plenty of sexual undertones and BDSM themes, with an old Jack Brighton character taking the lead role. 

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Polar North!
He made an appearance a year and a half ago, when I was actually living in Brighton during early 2014. I wrote 'The Brighton Storm' when there was a huge storm in Brighton, and created the character Polar North, along with his sidekick Tucker. To be honest, it should never have been released as a piece of erotica. It starts off as a mystery/thriller, and it should have carried on that way. I had my J. K. hat on, and in my humble opinion, the opening few chapters are some of the best I've ever written. But instead of sticking with it and doing the much harder task of writing the book properly, I took the easy option, turned back to Jack and threw in a few sex scenes.
Well, as I'm planning to relocate back to Brighton at the end of this year, I decided to revisit Polar North, and write 'The Brighton Storm' properly. But before getting there (it will be book three in the series), I wanted to write Polar's back story. Why is this Scotsman in Brighton? And how did he come to own a BDSM club? So I go back to May 2013 when Polar North comes south to Brighton, from Glasgow where he is a detective in the Scottish Police force. North to South - get it.
Anyway, that's the background to the book. And those are some of the ideas for a book cover. I would appreciate any feedback on them. As you can see, my gut feel is to release them as J.K. Brighton. But should I say to hell with it and put them out as Jack? Life can be a bitch when you have multiple personalities. Jack writes erotica, and pretty strong stuff at that. These are more mainstream. Can anyone please tell me who I should be? Jack or J.K.

Jack

(Shit! Is that the answer. Perhaps I need to go see a shrink!)

Oh, in case anyone is wondering, because you probably aren't familiar with the city. The top one shows Brighton's West Pier which features heavily in the book. The second shows Brighton Pier with the fireworks which forms the grand finale. The third is the Royal Pavilion which is Brighton's most iconic building and also features in the book. Personally I think the second one is too busy, and my gut feel is to go with the top one. Once again - I would really appreciate comments and feedback.

Jack / J.K. 

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