Author Jocelynn Drake Character Interview and $40.00 Amazon Gift Card Contest LIVE Here!
Gage flopped down on the little sofa and looked around the brightly lit coffee shop buzzing with customers on the cool, fall Saturday. It was nearly eleven so the morning rush was over but the lunch rush had yet to kick in. The tattoo artist across from me looked a little bleary eyed but was starting to come around as he sipped his steaming mug of coffee.
“Don’t!” I sharply snapped as he lifted his foot and extended it as if he was going to place it on the coffee table before him. The scuffed and dirty boot hung in the air, waiting. “Don’t put that on the table or you’ll be wearing my coffee.”
A smirk grew on his face as he slowly placed his foot on the opposite knee. I relaxed, putting my own mug back on the coffee table between us. If anything, working with Gage was always entertaining and forced me to stay on my toes. It wasn’t as dangerous as working with a fiery vampire, but I had a feeling it would soon reach that point.
“Have you been staying out of trouble?” I asked, sliding the digital recorder closer to him on the table. The noise was low enough that I didn’t expect to have trouble recording him.
“If you’re worried about material for a third book, I’m sure I can come up with something,” he said with an evil grin.
“No doubt. I was just worried the Towers were still trying to remove your head.”
Gage shrugged, pretending nonchalance toward the ruling powers of his world, but I knew better. Every one cowered at the thought of the witches and warlocks – me included.
“I’m sure there’s plenty that want me dead, but they haven’t gotten to me yet.”
I shook my head. Yet was the key word. The Towers would prefer to have him dead following his escape, and I was worried they’d find a loophole in their agreement.
“Why did you want to meet here today? Tired of Low Town already?”
I had made a few visits recently to Low Town and it had been quite interesting as well as educational. “No, I wanted to talk about your world in general today, and I thought it might be easiest when you can easily compare it to my world.”
Gage sat forward a little and looked around the coffee shop and bakery with fresh eyes. I watched him stare at the people as they walked in alone or in groups trailed by kids on electronic devices. A frown grew on his face.
“Thoughts?” I prompted.
“It’s … boring,” he said as he sat back.
“It’s a coffee shop, not a night club,” I said.
“I didn’t say it to be mean.” He shrugged as if struggling for the words. “It’s all the same here. It’s like going to an all-you-can-eat buffet, but everything is chicken. There’s a lot of ways to cook chicken, but in the end, it’s still just chicken.”
“Because everyone is human here?”
“Yes.” He dropped his foot on the floor and slid to the edge of his seat. “You know the next person to walk through the door will be human. So will the one after that. In Low Town, we’ve got coffee shops exactly like this, but it’s filled with strange creatures. At any second, a goblin couple could walk through the door followed by a siren and a succubus. There would be flyers listing ingredients for everything because of all the insane food allergies of the different peoples, and warnings posted if a fey works in the kitchen. There seems to be less of a chance for something crazy to happen here.”
“Low Town has a lot of potential craziness,” I conceded. On my first visit to the city, I nearly ran into an ogre; met a troll, elf, and incubus; and was threatened by a warlock. There’s no telling what might have happened if I stayed another hour. “So I’m guessing you wouldn’t want to live here.”
Gage laughed. “Live here? No. But I think it would be a nice place to vacation. No vampires hunting you. No worrying about packs of shifters because it’s a full moon. No worrying about fey dusting your food and turning you into their slave.”
“Yeah, I can see your point. This world may not be as exciting but at least I don’t have to worry about some pissed off witch taking out half the city because her cat died.” I chuckled. I could understand Gage’s comments because I felt the same way about Low Town. It was an interesting place to visit, but it wasn’t somewhere I wanted to live.
“True,” Gage said on a sigh.
“I guess magic is what makes a world more interesting.”
The tattoo artist sat forward and reached for his mug of coffee. “It’s not the magic, but the people that make it interesting. Bronx is a troll and can’t do any magic, but I’ve seen him take out two vampires with a handful of buttons. That isn’t about magic. It’s about knowing interesting people.”
Watching Gage sink back into the sofa and contentedly drink his coffee, I found myself smiling. My writing had allowed me to cross into two worlds. In the end, it wasn’t what they could do that made the adventure, but it was who they were that drew me back again and again.
Want to learn more about Gage and his city of Low Town? Check out his new series, The Asylum Tales. This new series includes the novellas: The Asylum Interviews: Bronx and The Asylum Interviews: Trixie. What’s more, the first novel Angel’s Ink will be out on October 16.
Got some questions for me about Gage, tattoos, and Low Town? Leave me a question and I’ll be back around 5:30 pm Central Time to answer your questions.
Author Bio:
Love comes in many varied forms. There is the love of family, love of country, and love of chocolate. But for Jocelynn Drake, one truly treasured love is the love of a good story. This Midwestern native spends the majority of her time lost in the strong embrace of a good book. When she’s not hammering away at her keyboard, frowning at her monitor, or curled up with a book, she can usually be found cuddling with her cats, Harley and Demona, walking her dog Max, or flinging curses at the TV while playing a video game. Outside of books, cats, and video games, she is completely enamored of Bruce Wayne, Ezio Auditore, travel, tattoos, explosions, fast cars, and Anthony Bourdain (but only when he’s feeling really cranky).
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(RSVPed-its not in the form for this event)
Looking forward to reading this new series.
My question is:
What three words would you use to describe Gage?
What 3 words describe Gage?
Stubborn. Smart-ass. Loyal.
2nd question-
What 3 things does Gage always carry with him?
3 Things Gage always carries with him.
business cards for Asylum
chalk
cell phone
3rd question:
How many tattoos does Gage have and which one is his favorite?
Tattoos:
Gage actually only has one tattoo, but it covers his entire back. It’s of a tiger, which is his animal from the Chinese Zodiac. It is embedded with several potions that have permanently changed his appearance. He will be getting more tattoos as the series progresses.
After that fun interview, the first question to pop in my mind is – who is your favorite Bruce Wayne? (Me, Michael Keaton!)
Lois
That’s tough. I think my favorite is probably Michael Keaton, but Christian Bale did a pretty good job too. I grew up on the Batman: Animated Series and I love Kevin Conroy as the voice of Batman and Bruce Wayne.
1) Will there ever be an intimate moment between Gage and Trixie?
2) Will Gage’s teacher make an appearance at some point?
3) How old is Trixie?
1.
There just might be one in Angel’s Ink. Just maybe. 
2. You will meet Simon Thorn in Angel’s Ink.
3. I can’t remember exactly, but I believe she is between 500 and 600 years old.
andra lynn
USA
Is there anything we would be surprised to know about Gage? Love the book cover. Sounds like a great series.
Surprised to know about Gage? Hmm…. despite being an accomplished tattoo artist, he has only one tattoo. He’s really bad at dating. He love Mordred whiskey. He also love to drive me crazy.
OK Jocelynn, just remember YOU told me to ask *G*.
So…Gideon. Without spoiling things…were you shocked at things or did you maybe have a clue? Oh and how’re things with Trixie and the things w/the Summer Court?
HA! Nicole, you’re so funny.
I didn’t know what about Gideon until it happened. I was just as surprised as you were when you read it. (Yes, I know how crazy that makes me sound.)
As for Trixie and her issues with the Summer Court, they will all be resolved in Book 2 — DEAD MAN’S DEAL.
Fun interview! What kind of tattoo potion does Gage best like to apply, or, in what way does he best like helping people with his tattoos?
I think Gage’s favorite tattoos to do tends to be large, detailed pieces — particularly fantastic images. I think his favorite potions to create are the difficult ones. He likes where he has to really dig into his unique ingredients and come up with something he’s never done before. Gage likes to be challenged.
This sounds really good!! I ordered the novellas, lookin forward to the release date. Do you know if this new series will be available in audio? So what tattoos do you have? I have several, and so do my husband and son. Thankfully our son learned from our mistake about being young and getting some cheesy work that needed to be covered when we got older and wiser. He has been working on a sleeve and everything ties in well and is thought out and meaningful to him. I love art!!
Yes, Angel’s Ink is going to be released as as audiobook and should be out close to the same release time as the trade paperback on October 16. The novellas are not being made into audiobooks.
I currently have four tattoos. An hourglass, a large design, and a symbol from a video game are on my back. I have a sun and moon design on my left thigh.
This may seem like a silly question, but how did you name your kitties? Just a curious crazy cat lady.
I named my cats after some of my favorite things in the world. Harley is named after Harley Quinn, the Joker’s girlfriend from Batman. Demona is named after a gargoyle from the Gargoyles cartoon series.
how many books are there to this? it’s sound like a fun read!
For the series at the moment:
Novella — The Asylum Interviews: Bronx
Novella — The Asylum Interviews: Trixie
Novel 1– Angel’s Ink (available Oct. 16)
Novel 2– Dead Man’s Deal (available in May)
There may be more after that….
Do you have a favorite character in the Asylum Interviews?
There are just so many characters that I love in the series. For the novellas, I think one favorite is Parker, because he’s having such trouble in his love life. Other favorite side characters for the entire series include Chang and Sofie.
Do you have a process when you write a book or is it different for each book?
The early stage of the project involves me staring off into space a great deal and making notes on my whiteboards until a central plot starts to form. I don’t actually start the writing process until I have the entire book outlined. From there, I work from the outline so Gage and I don’t get sidetracked.
I’ve loved the novellas and can’t wait for Angel’s Ink to hit my Kindle. I’ve got it preordered.
Thanks for following me on this journey. I’m glad you’ve enjoyed the novellas and I hope you like the novel.
I’ve read so much about Gage, Bronx and their friends already that I don’t have any questions YET. I’m sure when I read the full length novel I’ll be wanting to know more:) I loved your other series and always will, but this new one is calling to me– with all the varied characters and magic. It’s like a roller coaster of paranormal fun:) LOL
Low Town and its occupants are a strange group but it has been a lot of fun playing in this world. I hope you enjoy the new novel!
What books are currently on your nightstand?
A strange combination of books are on my nightstand at the moment. I’ve got a pair by Richard Kadrey, some sexy books by Danni Worth, and Kerrelyn Sparks latest book.
Vampires, Shifters, Zombies, Angels – who wins the final ultimate battle?
When the battle is fought and done, the cockroaches will be all that’s left to inherit the earth.
What is the one thing you wish you knew before you tried to get published?
That writing books never gets easier. If you’re always pushing yourself to be better, the next book you write will always be harder than the last.
Thanks for a great giveaway and congrats on the newest release! What is the one thing that you have to have/do before writing?
Music. I must have the proper music playing to help set the mood for the scene that I’m going to be working for that day.
Hello Jocelynn!
(I RSVP’d even if it doesn’t say it there)
First of all, loved your excerpt!!! It promises LOTS of fun and awesome shenanigans. <333
From one crazy cat lover to another: What breed are your cats, by the way?
My cats are rescues, but from research, I think they are Norwegian Forest cats.
You gotta be careful of those boys who prefer trouble to “chicken.”
I love chicken, but… I confess I love those bad boys a little bit more.
As for a question: where did your interest in tattoos come from, and why do you like them?
That’s a hard question. My brother was one of the first people I knew who had one, but it was several years after he got his that I became interested. I like the outlet for self-expression. I like the art. I like the process — I find it relaxing.
Does Gage have any secret hobbies or obssessions?
ivegotmail8889@yahoo.com
Secret hobbies: while he doesn’t have much time for it, he’s quite good at growing rare plants.
Obsessions: Trixie
Okay so I have to say I too love, love, love Batman: The Animated Series! Whenever I hear Batman in my head, I hear Kevin Conroy. Not that I regularly hear Batman in my head like “voices” or anything. Just wanted to make sure I don’t come off as crazier than I normally do!
And at the risk of releasing my dorkiness, I think you are absoluteley awesome for naming your cats Demona and Harley! Two of my favorite older cartoons!And at the risk of increasing my dorkiness to creating my own dorkdom, I still watch them.
And I’m guessing the cats earned the names from the character personalities. I know mine have.
On to the book, congrats on the release! I am really excited to read this series. Because despite having no tattoos (yet), I am a tattoo fiend!
As for questions, I’m curious is there anything in Low Town that has something from Cincinnati or Kentucky?
HA! I have the first season of Gargoyles and all the season of Batman: The Animated Series. Love them both!
As for your question: yes, there are bits of my old hometown in Low Town if you know where to look.
I’ve got to ask…favorite chocolate?
I have to have a favorite. I love all chocolate. My ultimate favorite is milk chocolate and least favorite is white chocolate.
What are some of your favorite video games that you’re playing right now?
Favorite video games: the Final Fantasy series from 7 through present.
Uncharted series
Assassin’s Creed series
Going back and looking at the characters, is there any trait or quirk that you’ve noticed in them, that comes from yourself?
What is your favorite childhood book/series?
Have you ever written fan fiction? For what fandom?
If your mind were a house, what would it look like inside?
What kind of magic laced tattoo would you have Gage give you?
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