Interview with J.D. Thompson

Can you tell readers a little bit about yourself and what inspired you to write in this particular genre?

I’m a 29 year old author, photographer, mother and multitasker from Canada with a long-time obsession with books. Because I’m a grownup who doesn’t accept no longer falling under the “young” adult umbrella, it seems only natural to write novels of that genre.

To be honest, what inspired me to write the Bloodlines Series was boredom. No, not boredom of my life. Anyone with two kids and a husband who works 3000 miles away would understand that it is impossible to be bored when one is this busy. I was bored with the books I was reading. The idea for the series came to me while reading yet another YA generic vampire novel. I finished it thinking disappointedly: "Well that was just like every other book I've read in the last year." So I began thinking of what had yet to be done in the YA genre, and what I would like to see as a reader. From there Lucas was born, as well as Alexis and the mysteries that surrounded her.

Please tell us about your latest release.

Blood and Champagne is the second novel of the Bloodlines series and picks up much where Silver and Stone left off. Alexis is having difficulty coming to terms with the truth behind her hellish existence. Now aware of her dark past, she struggles deeply between following her heart or her head. A rift with Lucas only complicates matters further and Alexis finds herself making new alliances that could change her destiny in more ways than one.

Is there a character that you enjoyed writing more than any of the others?

I’m a hopeless romantic. I’m also much like a young teenage girl when it comes to hot swoon-worthy characters. So naturally, writing the characters of Lucas (hot leading man) and Theo (brooding underdog) were especially fun for me. (*cough* Silver and Stone – Chapter 18 *cough*)

What is your favorite scene from the book? Could you share a little bit of it, without spoilers of course?

Ironically, my favorite scene of the book may in fact be the reader’s worst. It’s no secret that things between Alexis and Lucas turn sour at one point in Blood and Champagne. There’s one scene in particular that felt so real to me, so utterly heartbreaking, that when I wrote it I had a hard time not crying. Everyone has been through a break up at one point or another in their life. The dialogue and emotion between the two felt very raw and real to me. I hope fans can relate.

With the book being part of a series, are there any character or story arcs, that readers jumping in somewhere other than the first book, need to be aware of? Can these books be read as stand alones?

I wouldn’t recommend reading the books out of order. It’s an intricate storyline that might be confusing if a reader isn’t aware of the character’s backstories. However, I am working on a spin off series involving one character in particular that will stand alone. The project is very exciting to me because I believe it’s a new spin on a very old mythological creature.

Do any of your characters have similar characteristics of yourself in them and what are they?

Without knowing it, I’ve put a lot of my own personality into Alexis. I was slightly oblivious to this until a close friend pointed it out, but now I see our similarities pretty clearly. Consciously or not, I think it’s natural for a piece of the writer to go into their novel in one way or another. However, though Alexis and I do share a dry sense of humor and unruly mane of hair, Alexis’s troubles are thankfully much more complicated than my own.

When did you consider yourself a writer?

That’s such a hard question! It still feels so strange to say that I’m a writer. When I think of authors like J.K. Rowling, Suzanne Collins and Cassandra Clare, all strong kick-ass women storytellers, I suddenly feel like a silly school girl scribbling down nonsense. Nonetheless, I suppose I began considering myself a writer after reviews for my first novel were favorable and readers didn’t come after me with torches and pitch forks.

What can readers expect next from you?

I’m currently working on completing the last installment to the Bloodlines series entitled Feathers and Lace. It’s such a bitter sweet process for me since this will mean the end of my first book series as well as the death of some characters I hold dearly to heart (yes, I said it – a select few favs don’t survive). Following Bloodlines I plan to write a spin off that will reveal a world we only skimmed in the first series.

Where can readers find you on the web?

Readers can find me on my blog (www.jdthompson.blog.com) as well as my Facebook fan page (www.facebook.com/authorjdthompson ). I try to answer every fan question asked so feel free to reach out!

Would you like to leave readers with a little teaser or excerpt from the book?

Absolutely! I hope that fans of the series enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it. The following is the first chapter to the upcoming Blood and Champagne, available in all major ebook stores October 1^st!

Chapter 1

The Urge. The first time I felt it was the night after the Ghostly Gala. It started off as a low hum under my pores that made me fidget even more than I normally do. It wasn’t long before the subtle irritation turned ugly and became a full blown gnawing sensation, eating away at my insides and making me want to literally crawl out of my skin. Like a child with the chicken pox who is told not to scratch or having the sudden need to cough in an otherwise quiet classroom, the Urge was all consuming. A never ending battle between what I am and what I should be. A battle that I knew in the long run I would lose.

That first night I laid in bed sleeplessly tossing and turning, begging for the sun to rise and put me out of my misery. The moon had a great influence on the unbearable calling, its soft rays tempting me to break free of my human shell and give in to my animal impulses.  And though I wore my mother’s pendant fiercely, holding it, rubbing it, it did nothing but make me feel prisoner of my own body. I contemplated swallowing the white stone until the sun finally began to climb above Brook Mountain and the nearly full moon melted away into the clear dawn sky. It was a relief to say the least and, even if I had a sneaking suspicion the feeling would be back sooner than later, I was glad it had subsided. If only I had realized that sooner was much closer than anticipated. Try every night thereafter.

Lucas had warned me this would happen. On the night of the Ghostly Gala, everything I knew about my life shifted. I was no longer a sixteen year old human girl. My life would no longer revolve around bad dates, next season's Louis Vuitton handbags or college admissions (though I have to admit, my life had long been abnormal prior to the actual "transition" as Lucas likes to call it). I was something more, something completely unhuman, and trivial things like lacrosse and extra credits meant very little now. Apparently werewolves such as myself had more to worry about than every day affairs. Hence; the Urge.

I had to fight it. It was one of the few details Lucas had been clear on. I needed to keep a low profile for as long as possible to avoid drawing any added attention to myself in case Gwen and her army of death angels were watching. There's no doubt that she will be back, her return is inevitable, but Lucas said there are others that can do much more damage than her. Archangel Michael, for example.

Lucas also specified that with the transition came unstableness. If I were to morph to my lupine form I may not be able to control my desire for blood. Human blood to be precise. On the up side it appears that I haven’t attacked a human in centuries, though something else in Holler Creek most definitely has. A number of unsuspecting hikers went missing within the last few months and though he is a Seeker, Lucas has yet to pinpoint who or what is responsible. My innocence regarding the deaths however doesn’t hold as much weight as I would like. In previous lives I have never survived long enough to see my seventeenth birthday, the day which I will no longer teeter between human girl and adult werewolf. A day that just happens to be today.

“Happy birthday,” a seductive voice murmurs into my ear as I pull out yet another embarrassingly atrocious wool sweater out of my closet.

I whirl around panicked since I am currently wearing nothing but a stained pink sports bra and granny panties (it’s laundry day) and I was most definitely alone a moment ago.

Of course it’s Lucas, smiling ear to ear and looking impossibly handsome as always. This has been the drill since Lucas came clean on what he is (newly fallen angel) and what I am (Lucifer's former pet mutt). He randomly sneaks into my room in the morning, or more preferably at night, and then soars down to the backyard and meets me at the front door of my family's Victorian home. My father is oblivious.

My heart is still racing from his unexpected presence as I glance over to notice that my second story window has been pulled wide open, letting in gusts of cold early winter air and sending my light lavender curtains into an uncontrollable frenzy. I quickly cover myself with the first available piece of fabric that I can find (a dirty blue towel from two nights ago) and run to close it.

“I thought I told you not to sneak up on me like that anymore,” I reprimand sternly as I walk away from the frosty window and begin digging through my underwear drawer desperately hoping to find a decent looking thong.

“But it’s your birthday, and surprises are mandatory on birthdays,” Lucas glides fluidly to my side and wraps me in his wonderfully muscular arms, pulling off the soiled towel and letting it drop to the old hardwood floor. “Plus, this is the longest I’ve ever had you.”

The sadness streaking the timber of his voice is crippling. Unlike me, who has incessantly reincarnated over the last millennia despite Gwen and Marcus’s futile attempts to eliminate me, Lucas has remained living. And between our short blissful years together his time has been filled with long empty spaces of loneliness and guilt. And fear. The fear that I may not return the next time around. Lucas has admitted that he still doesn't comprehend how I keep coming back since those of my kind who have met Marcus and Gwen were never so lucky.

“Well, if you intend on keeping me around for future birthdays you’d better stop scaring the crap out of me or I might keel over and die of a heart attack.”

Lucas laughs under his breath, a sound that is entirely too irresistible to deny. I lean in and kiss his soft mouth once, twice, completely drunk on his sultry scent. Suddenly remembering the god awful underwear I am wearing, I quickly pull away and return to my rummaging.

“You’d better let me get ready or we’ll both be late for Environmental Science,” I order through blushing cheeks. “And I don’t know about you but I’d rather stay off Mr. Mason’s psycho-teacher radar.”

Mr. Mason is recently divorced and makes everyone around him miserable for it. I mean, it’s not my fault your ex-wife ran off with her yoga instructor. Get over it.

“You’re probably right, but I’m not leaving until you open your present,” Lucas says as he pulls out a small cranberry colored box from his back jean pocket.

I cautiously take the delicate parcel out of his hand. I had specifically asked Lucas not to buy me anything, as gifts always make me feel self-conscious and uncomfortable. People expect a certain reaction along with gift opening, a reaction to which I fail miserably. I dread birthdays for this very reason. I’ve tried the “Oh my god I love it!” and the “How did you know?” but it always seems fake. I’m a bad actress and pretending to love a pack of tube socks or an itchy cable knit scarf makes me feel like a fraud. Feeling Lucas’s intense green eyes watching me doesn’t help.

With a deep breath I pop open the box and exhale noisily. Nestled in deep red velour are two diamond studded gold chandelier earrings shimmering under the light morning sun. 

“You shouldn’t have,” I whisper, in awe. Maybe birthday surprises aren’t so bad after all.

“I didn’t, actually. They were yours a long time ago…”

As I examine the intricate jewelry from a closer angle I realize that he’s right. I recognize them from when I was Elizabeth Edgar. It’s still extremely sci-fi to think of myself as someone else, another body and face, but it was me inside all the same. I had planned to wear the earrings on our wedding day. A day that never came thanks to Marcus and Gwen.

“Wow. Thank you.” A fake response isn’t needed. I really do love them.

“I know they are old fashion and you probably won’t want to wear them every day but I thought that since they went to waste last time…” His words trail off hesitantly, a lopsided smile forming on his perfect mouth. “Maybe this time we could put them to good use.”

The air leaves my lungs faster than I can say “I do”.

Seeing the look of alarm in my face, Lucas doubles over laughing.

“Don’t worry, I’m not proposing – yet. I understand that your memories feel more like movies than actual lived events. But remember that I have lived through them all. To me it’s like we’re already engaged. I’ve been dying to marry you for centuries.”

I laugh along nervously as I finally pull out a lacy black thong from my cluttered drawer. To marry Lucas would be a dream, a fantasy most girls dream of since childhood. He is wonderful. But only one word comes to mind when thinking of a seventeen year old bride in today’s world: freak. People would either assume I’m a religious weirdo or knocked up. And since I’ve been on the outskirts of Weatherford high society lately, I do not want to add to the already rampant rumors.

Seeing as my frozen look of horror hasn't changed and I likely look like as stale as a Madame Tussaud's wax figure, Lucas quickly interjects.

“Forget that I mentioned it. I'm happy just to have you." Lucas kisses my bright red cheek and turns to leave.

“Wait for me outside?” I ask hopeful that I haven't hurt his feelings and damaged chances of him ever proposing.

"Of course. I’ll be on the front steps.”

And with a wink he jumps out the window.

Silver and Stone

Bloodlines Book One

J.D. Thompson

Welcome to high school high society hell. 

As if senior year at Weatherford Preparatory School wasn’t hard enough, sixteen year old Alexis Bardolph had to add school outcast to the curriculum.

A new found notoriety following a family scandal, her lacrosse star boy-friend dumping her for a former BFF and a string of perpetually bad hair days were among the many things going wrong in her already turbulent teenage life. 

But when the haunting nightmares that have plagued her since childhood begin to take an eerily tangible form and several Holler Creek residents are reported missing, Alexis can’t help but wonder if there isn’t more to her hellish dreams than meets the eye. 

The unexpected arrival of a mysterious and dangerously handsome new student ultimately leads Alexis to troubling truths that not even her wildest imagination could have conjured.