Featured Author & Giveaway: Jackie Nacht

Short, sexy and sweet—where a little love goes a long way. That’s the best way to describe Jackie Nacht’s stories. She was introduced to M/M Romance through her sister, Stephani, and read it for years. Then, she thought it was time to put her own stories on paper. She began writing short and sweet stories that ended with a happily ever after... and sometimes more than one, in the case of her YA Fork in the Road series, which has interactive endings.

Thinking back to her own book addiction, where there were many nights she stayed up way too late so she could read just one more chapter—yeah, right—she decided to write short romances for young adults as well as adults. Hopefully, they will give high school and college students, or working men and women something they can read during their lunch hour, in between classes or just when they want to briefly get away from the daily stresses of everyday life.

Connect with Jackie Nacht on Twitter @jackienacht or visit her website: www.jackienacht.com www.jackienacht.com/blog.

Q&A with Author Jackie Nacht:

1. Tell us something we’d be surprised to learn about you.
   
   That just about every story that I’ve written came to me while running. I absolutely love to run and it has been a lifelong passion of mine. Running is also the time when I get to clear my head the most and just zone out and think for a while. Now, it is the time that stories come to me either from things I saw earlier in the day, inspired me or just popped in and demanded to be written.


2. Is there anything from your own teen years that has been placed into your books? (Example: car you drove, song you listened to, food you loved.)
   
   Yes, the old fashion soda fountain in Fireflies and Crickets. I worked at one for a year when I was sixteen years old and absolutely loved it. Also, the fair was a real thing that happened in my town every year when I was growing up. And if you haven’t guessed it…my favorite drink was the Cappuccino shake.


3. How do you research for your books?
   
   Barnes and Noble. For research, I have to have a print book in my lap so I can highlight it and dog ear it. Also, a lot of the places I’ve written in books I have lived or visited there. I need to visualize it in my head or I lose the scene.


4. Do you have a nervous habit when writing? A guilty pleasure when writing?
   
   LOL! I bop my head and make faces. I copycat all the expressions my characters make in real life. As for the bopping of the head, I have no clue. It only happens when the scene is tough to write. I feel like the little engine that could.


5. If there is one message you would like to get out from your book, what would it be?
   
   Please keep your eyes open. Look to reach your hand out to those that need it and help them. A smile or simple words of encouragement make a difference. For those who need help, please, I implore you to search for the one with the hand out. There are so many out there trying to find you. You are not alone.


6. What would you like young readers to take away from your novels?
   
   That you are not alone. No matter what, there is always someone in your life that you can lean on even if you think there isn’t in a time when you need someone. It can be anyone from your parents, friends, siblings, to a person that is around you in passing just waiting for you to reach out and ask for their help.

Now Available from Jackie Nacht:

Fireflies and Crickets (Ripples in the Water, Book Two) After enduring a painful rejection, Kennedy journeys to discover first love and support in the unlikeliest place.

Junior year has completely sucked for Kennedy. On his last day, out in his front yard, no less, he’s outed by classmates in front of his own father. When questioned about it, Kennedy comes out to his parents, only to find himself being sent to spend the summer with his aunt the very next day. Pained by the rejection, he has a hard time coping with his new environment until he meets his aunt's neighbor, Evan. Together, the two will spend the summer enjoying friends and discovering first love. However, there’s the dark cloud hanging over their newfound relationship—thoughts of what will happen at the end of the summer and with Kennedy’s parents.

See (Ripples in the Water, Book One) When love allows you to see in your darkest hour.

Drew has had a tough couple of months. Coming out to his parents wasn’t too bad except it hasn’t been brought up since. However, coming out to his friends his freshman year in high school is a whole different story. His friends turn their backs on him and have become leaders in the daily tortures he has since had to endure. When a humiliation page pops up on the internet showing pictures of Drew being bullied, he decides to end it all.

Just before he takes his life, the fourteen-year-old Mason appears telling him that he will be Drew’s husband in the future and spirits are guiding him to help stop Drew from making an irreversible mistake. Mason will be advised to take Drew on a journey to see what his future would be like if he didn’t end his life. When Drew is still unconvinced, Mason will show Drew the impact his life will have on the others around him if he does end it all. Will Mason be able to show him that Drew has a future to live for and give him the guidance to help him get through his darkest hour?

Kale's Spirit (Fork in the Road, Book One) When Kale comes to the fork in the road, who will you choose for his happily ever after? Kale has just a few more weeks of school and can’t wait to graduate and get on with his life. At home, he has amazing supportive parents but at school, he has habitual run ins with the popular kids, who want to make everyone’s life miserable. After catching the group in the woods doing drugs, Kale has an encounter fighting for his life. The road to recovery is long and Kale has the help from his rescuers Hunt and Volk. Hunt is the strong, take everyone under his wing kind of guy while Volk is the sweet, caring guy. Kale finds himself falling for both of them. Who would you choose for Kale to have his happily ever after?

A Snowy Winter Path (Fork in the Road, Book Two) When Gray snowboards his way to the fork in the road, who will you choose for his happily ever after? An interactive ending. Eighteen year old Grayson has been training hard to make it onto the Snowboard cross circuit until he hits a major growth spurt and his riding goes south. When he finds out he has an opportunity to get professional training and all is not lost, he realizes he has some tough decisions to make if he wants to make a go of being a professional snowboarder. He finds support from his best friend, Brody, and also from a most unexpected place—his brother’s training partner, Parker. While each of them help Grayson along the way, he also realizes both may be more interested in him being more than just friends. And now with his growing feelings, he needs to make a choice between the two. Who will be Grayson’s choose? An interactive ending where readers will get to choose the happily ever after.

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Fireflies and Crickets Giveaway!

Jackie Nacht has generously donated a free copy of Fireflies and Crickets for one lucky winner. To enter the drawing, please leave a comment below along with your email address. A winner will be selected on July 22, 2013.