Writerly Wednesday - Meet J.C. Isabella

Hello, everyone, and welcome to another fun week of Writerly Wednesday, where I share some writerly knowledge, introduce you to authors I've met or tell you what's going on my writerly life. :) Today, I want to introduce you to J.C. Isabella. She's a self-published author whose third book, Chasing McCree, just came out on Sunday, April 15! I'm so excited for this book! I've read J.C.'s other two books and she is a phenomenal writer! So without further ado, I give you J.C. Isabella.

J.C. Isabella is the author of The Unofficial Zack Warren Fan Club and a romance novel junkie. Ever since she discovered the genera in high school, she has been a self proclaimed fan. This led to penning her first YA romance. When she isn't thinking up new recipes for the cookbook she hopes to one day write, she is brainstorming a new novel and listening to country music. She lives in the tropics of Florida with her big fat Italian family and ornery feline companion. Her next book, Chasing McCree, is due out April 15th. 

Tell us a little about Chasing McCree. Where did you get the idea for the characters and story?

Taylor Swift’s song, Only Me When I’m With You. I listened to it and I was like, this would make an amazing story! I looked up the lyrics and I read them and it just all clicked. I thought, what would the boy and girl in her song do to be together if someone were to try to keep them apart? Would they run away? Stand up to everyone who didn’t believe in them, saying that it would never work? It was obvious from the lyrics they would do anything for each other. If I could sum up the whole book, it would be the title of this song.

As for the rest of the ideas in the book, the people in Briar’s life weren’t hard to dream up. Growing up, I actually lived in a neighborhood very close to where Briar lives in the book.  Belleair Bluffs is a real city in Florida, full of well to do people that are very active in the community. Lots of doctors. I had a few friends from families like Briar’s. So her world is very real, though the characters are not. There is a scene in the book where they go to an outdoor movie theater on the beach. (not a spoiler:) It is called Sunset Cinema, and I go with friends every once and a while.

The Council has a very well put-together system of magic. How did you create that? Did you use mythology, wiccan/pagan/or other arcane knowledge bases?

I actually read up a bit on the English monarchy. It would have been the time of the Tudors, King Henry the VIII. It was the only familiar system of government to the characters. But having one king that might favor his kind and suppress the others had been a concern for them. So my idea was to have three kings, each working together with equal power, so each magical being is represented. They rule somewhat separately, though their people abide by the same laws, and they come together in times of need.

You said in your Q&A that you create character sometimes based on people you once knew or from characters in books you’ve read. Where did the inspiration for Henry and Venna come from? Briar and Chase?

Henry was a boy I once knew. He was very kind, and he had this light in his eyes when he smiled. I worked with him a few summers at camp and we went to the same church. Then one day I received news that he’d been killed in a traffic accident, hit by a car while riding his bike. Shortly after I started writing this book, I only saw him. I thought he deserved his happy ending.

Venna was a little harder to pin down, until I saw a movie called Accepted. It had been out for a couple years already, but I saw the girl playing the character named Rory. She had red hair, and a little bit of an attitude. I was like, that’s Venna!!

As for Chase, there wasn’t one person. He’s just my idea of the American cowboy. Sure, steady, and tough. He made himself, in a way. But I also listen to a lot of Josh Turner and Luke Bryan :)

Briar just kind of came to me. And I was thinking a little about Buffy too, lol. Here you have this cheerleader who is one person on the outside, but she really is so much more than a pair of pompoms and a high kick. She just needed the opportunity to become who she was meant to be.

Do you believe in magic or unseen phenomenon? Any personal anecdotes to explain why?

Uh, to be honest... I think there are things in this world we can’t explain. Is it magic, ghosts, parallel universes? I have no idea, and I can’t say that I believe or don’t believe. If there’s proof, I’ll jump on the bandwagon :) If not, then there are some really great stories out there to keep us guessing.

The Unofficial Zack Warren Fan Club revolves around a club Chloe started when she was in grade school and escalates into a monstrosity still in existence in college. When you were younger, did you begin your own fan club of some kind? If so, what was it?

I never was part of a fan club. Though I did watch the Mickey Mouse club on occasion.


Can you tell us anything about what is in store for Zack and Chloe or Henry and Venna in future novels?

Hmm, I can tell you you will be seeing all four of them again, though in their respective books. Venna and Henry’s story is complete. They will become secondary characters now, but they will make appearances from time to time. After Kyle’s book, there will be a final book featuring Zack and Chloe...but I’m not saying what is going to happen :)
[Author's note: there is a Zack and Chloe scene on J.C.'s blog in her "Book Extras" section that I highly recommend you read after reading the book! It takes place after the book ends.]


Fast Five
Favorite food? Oh God this is hard...I have to pick one??? Uh....okay, apple pie.
Favorite book? One For The Money by Janet Evanovich
Favorite vacation spot? St. Augustine Fl!
Hollywood crush? Chris Pine [great choice!]
Werewolves, vampires, zombies or witches? Werewolf....but only if he was a cowboy in another life :)


The Giveaway:
J.C. has been kind enough to offer up 3 e-copies of Chasing McCree through Smashwords. Just leave a comment before midnight tonight with your email address in the (at) (dot) format (ex: erindanzer(at)gmail(dot)com). Winners will be chosen sometime Thursday!


Where to buy J.C.'s books:
The Unofficial Zack Warren Fan Club: Amazon, B&N, Smashwords
The Council: Amazon, B&N, Smashwords
Chasing McCree: Amazon, B&N, Smashwords


Stalk... er, I mean, find J.C. online!
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/jcisabellabooks
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/JC-Isabella/249262975154372
Website: http://www.jcisabella.com/
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5158465.J_C_Isabella
Tumblr: http://jcisabella.tumblr.com/

Good luck for the give away! I hope you will come to love J.C.'s books as much as I do!

Happy Reading!
EM