Jay Northcote Guest Blog!

Jay Northcote is a friend of mine and I love having her here on my blog!  Today I’m asking her some personal questions, and asking about her AWESOME new release Not Just Friends. 🙂   Soooo, questions first…

Describe yourself in three words:

Impatient, temperamental, passionate

Your guiltiest pleasure:

I don’t tend to feel guilty about anything pleasurable *grin* but I guess maybe the days where I just give myself time off to just sit on the sofa and read instead of working on my own projects or business. That feels bad in a really good way.

What’s your earliest memory ?

I remember being in a cot, so I must have been really young—maybe not much over a year old. I think it was early in the morning and nobody else in the house was awake but it was light so it must have been summer. I was standing up against the rails of the cot and I had a rag doll in my hands. I was pulling out the white strands of her woollen hair and dropping them on the carpet. I just have a very clear visual memory of the white pieces of wool against a dark red carpet. I have no idea why that was significant for me but the memory stuck.

Favourite celebrity crush:

Oh that’s difficult to pick just one. I have a lot of celebrity crushes. But I guess maybe my current favourite is Colby Keller. I do love an intelligent man and Colby is so articulate and interesting in interviews and his blog posts, as well as being smoking hot… obviously. He also doesn’t seem to have a huge ego which is refreshing, and adds to his attractiveness.

Favourite thing about being British:

Marmite – I bloody love the stuff.

Favourite curse word, and why:

Arse!

Because it’s beautifully British, and also not so rude that I feel bad about saying it in front of my kids.

The book you wish you’d written:

The Hunger Games. It was a great concept and I think she did a wonderful job with it, plus all the millions of sales would be a bonus of course *grin*. I didn’t enjoy the rest of the trilogy so much but the first book really was a great read.

Introduce us to the main characters of your newest release:

Not Just Friends is about two guys who meet when they leave home to go to university and end up living in the same student flat.

Lewis is fairly quiet and self-contained. He’s not super shy but is cautious in his dealings with others. At the start of the story Lewis still thinks he’s straight—he had a girlfriend all through sixth form at school and was happy to fit in and be what everyone expected him to be, so when his unexpected feelings for Max take him by surprise.

Max is very different to Lewis. He’s open about his sexuality and doesn’t take any shit from people. He’s also quite snarky and funny, but there is a vulnerability to him too although he hides it pretty well most of the time. I adored Max, he’s one of my favourite characters so far.

Leaving home to go to university is an exciting phase in anyone’s life. One that’s full of new places, new friends, and new experiences. But Lewis is not prepared for the sudden and intense crush he develops on his out-and-proud flatmate, Max—given that Lewis had always assumed he was straight. Max starts dating another guy, and Lewis’s jealousy at seeing them together forces him to confront his growing attraction.

When Max’s relationship goes awry, Lewis is the one to comfort him and one thing leads to another. But after a night together, Lewis is devastated that Max wants to go back to being just friends. Lewis tries his best to move on and their friendship survives, but the feelings he has for Max don’t go away. He faces other challenges as he deals with coming out to his parents, and needs Max’s support more than ever. But Lewis isn’t the only one who’s conflicted. When Max finally admits he cares for Lewis too, Lewis must decide whether he dares risk his heart again on being more than just friends.

Not Just Friends is available at Dreamspinner Press

And at Amazon

Who is Jay Northcote: 

Jay lives just outside Bristol in the West of England, with her amazing, occasionally ridiculous husband, two noisy-but-awesome children, and two cats.

She comes from a family of writers, but she always used to believe that the gene for fiction writing had passed her by. She spent years only ever writing emails, articles, or website content. One day, she decided to try and write a short story–just to see if she could–and found it rather addictive. She hasn’t stopped writing since.

Links

Website: www.jaynorthcote.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/jay_northcote

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jaynorthcotefiction

Jay’s books: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/index.php?cPath=55_953