Author Interview + Giveaway: Jeanette Grey

First, I’d like to thank you for contacting The Book Nympho for a review requests and taking the time to answer a few questions about the world you built in Unacceptable Risk.

Thanks so much for having me!

I’m not great with name pronunciation, so when I run across an unfamiliar name I’ll ask my husband how he would pronounce it. He usually shakes his head while telling me and then comments on how the names in the books I read are made up and silly (yeah, like the names in the Lord of the Rings books aren’t silly). 

How did you come up with Plix?

You know, I wish I knew!  When I was first playing with the idea of a cyberpunk story, the name 'Plix' just appeared in my head, and then suddenly the entire character sort of became clear. From there, the rest of the story unfolded itself too, so I very much see that name as the key to the entire book. I struggle with names a lot of the time, but that one was a magical gift from the gods who watch out for writers.

And for what it's worth, Plix rhymes with fix. :)

Unacceptable Risk had elements that reminded me of the Matrix movie series. Are you a big fan of the Matrix movies?

I am an enormous fan of The Matrix. It was a tight, innovative story with action and adventure, and it used technology and a futuristic universe to tell a story with real human truths. On top of that, it looked really, really cool.

As for the other movies? Well, I guess they looked pretty okay, too. Otherwise, they were epic disappointments.

In your own words example what Cyberpunk Romance is?

At its heart, first and foremost, it's a romance. What makes it a cyberpunk romance is that issues of technology and the future of humanity color that romance.

Cyberpunk is all about dark, dystopian futures, urban settings, and worlds where corporate greed and technology have insinuated themselves into every part of life. Cyberpunk romance is about finding the humanity inside that world and showing how people will still find love and connection against even that backdrop.

Given the chance, would you have any alterations to your body like the ones that Plix had done?

Plix has alterations that enhance her abilities physically and mentally, as well as ones that essentially turn her brain into a web-enabled computer, capable of downloading information directly from satellites and hooking into data networks. Considering how addicted I am to the internet, I doubt I'd be able to resist those last ones. I don't think I'd be interested in the others, though. I don't have much need for super-powered fine motor skills or augmented strength, and my glasses do the job just fine for my eyesight. I'd be particularly wary about some of the alterations she had done to her mind, allowing her perfect memory and the ability to record everything she sees. Some things are better forgotten, I think.

After researching your website and your book catalog I see that you also write M/M romances. Which do you find harder to write, M/F or M/M?

I don't find one more difficult than the other, but they each represent their own challenges and opportunities. As a female author, I do find it easier to use my own experiences in M/F romances, and it's more natural to write a female POV.

That said, there are themes you can explore in an M/M romance that M/F romances just don't lend themselves to. I like writing emotionally wrought stories with a fair amount of angst, and I think there's an inherent tension to M/M romances because they're still not accepted in some parts of society. I also think there are more opportunities to write a more vulnerable male character in an M/M romance, where sometimes that isn't considered as acceptable in a M/F romance where alpha males are so common.

Also you are published under different publishers (Samhain Press, Silver Publishing, Xcite Press, Freaky Fountain Press) why is that?

Most of those are short stories which appeared in anthologies or other collections. When I first started trying to publish, I submitted a lot of shorts to a lot of special calls for submission, just hoping something would stick. In the end, I got lucky and quite a few things stuck.

While I've had a great experience with every single one of the publishers I've worked with so far, it is my intention as I begin to concentrate on longer fiction to develop long-term relationships with a smaller number of publishers. Since I do write in multiple genres of romance (contemporary, futuristic, and M/M) I imagine it will remain advantageous to work with multiple publishers though, just so readers can be clear about what they're getting.

Who’s your favorite author(s)?

Orson Scott Card (before the year 2000 – he got weird after that), Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Larissa Ione and Julia Quinn, to name a few.

(I read in multiple genres, too.)

What are you currently reading?

I just finished Immortal Rider by Larissa Ione. Next up on my queue is the science fiction romance Kithra, by fellow Samhain author Dani Worth.

Thank you for taking the time to stop by The Book Nympho to answer a few questions. And thanks for contacting me for a review request, I really enjoyed your writing style and I plan to check out some of your other titles soon.

Thank you!

Unacceptable Risk
by Jeanette Grey

Cyberpunk Romance Novella
Publisher: Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
Publication date: 12/13/2011
Format: eBook
Pages: 113
RATING:
Plix spends her lonely, gritty life trying to solve the mysteries her father left behind. Armed with a variety of cybernetic enhancements and a talent for getting into places she shouldn’t be, she searches for clues to his murder-and who’s responsible for poisoning her city.

Waking up on a street corner with her brain wiring fried to a crisp, she figures she must have gotten close this time. There’s only one man she trusts to pull her back from the brink: a tuner who can retrieve the evidence hidden deep in the recesses of her mind. A man she dares not let too close to her heart.
When Edison downloads a secret SynDate schematic from Plix’s burnt-out circuitry, he knows with dreadful finality that nothing-not even the fiery kiss he’s been holding back for years-will stop her from pursuing her quest past the point of insanity.
All he can do, as he helps her plan her final mission, is ease her pain, watch her back.and hope one of them doesn’t pay with their lives.

Unacceptable Risk is available at:

Amazon | Barnes & Noble 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Jeanette Grey believes that everyone deserves love. Love is transformative, and the physical expression of love can be one of the most powerful human experiences.

In her fiction, Jeanette explores characters from all walks of life. From gritty cityscapes to magical fantasy worlds to settings as familiar as the house next door, she takes the reader on journeys of self-discovery and redemption – and above all, love.

After brief, unsatisfying careers in advertising, teaching, computers, and homemaking, Jeanette Grey has returned to her two first loves: romance and writing.

When she isn’t writing, Jeanette enjoys making pottery, playing board games, and spending time with her husband and her pet frog. She lives, loves, and writes in North Carolina.

She is a member of Romance Writers of America and Carolina Romance Writers.

Find Jeanette at:

Website | Twitter | Facebook