Parallax by Dixie Jackson

Please welcome Dixie Jackson author of Parallax

Dixie Jackson will be awarding a $50 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

Parallax

by Dixie Jackson

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GENRE: Romance Suspense

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INTERVIEW:

What or who inspired you to start writing?

I have always felt a pull to write my stories down, however, I had a couple of teachers who really encouraged me along the way. My sixth-grade creative writing teacher was the first person to tell me he believed I’d be published someday. That really set the ball in motion as far as believing in the dream. My English teacher from high school was a great influence on me, as well. As far as what I currently write, romance and romantic suspense, my husband is a 30-year veteran of the Marine Corps. He’s encouraged me along the way and his career has spurred nearly every story line I’ve published into fruition.

How did you come up with ideas for your books?

My ideas seem to come from everywhere, everything, and everyone. One of my favorite pastimes when we lived on the Eastern seaboard was to go to the local mall and people watch. I had a few key questions I’d ask myself about interesting looking folks I’d see. And the stories would come to life and the questions would pile up after those initial questions I might have. What’s their story? What are they here shopping for? Who are they shopping for? Is it a thank-you gift? What are they thanking someone for? Is it an apology gift? What did they do? What does that person do for a living? Is he a single dad? You can see how this game of questions and note taking might grow and grow and fertilize all manner of stories and ideas. I still keep notebooks in my car and pocketbook, just in case I see anything interesting and the muse starts talking.

As far as your writing goes, what are your future plans?

I plan to write until my last breath. While not everything I write will see publication, I keep everything I write, at least now. There was a time my perceived disasters would go in the dumpster, but I stopped that. Everything I write has some value and I kind of envision my kid and grandkids going through my attic some day after I’m pushing up daisies and finding a treasure trove of stories to go through. In the short-term, I have several more books lined up that will see the light of day and I’m excited about bringing those to the readers over the next few years.

Do you belong to a critique group? If so how does this help or hinder your writing?

I actually do not. I’m not afraid of criticism at all. However, I want constructive criticism and I think a critique partner has to be a very good fit or the relationship won’t work. I have a bestie who tinkers in writing and we bounce ideas off each other and if I need critique, I seek her opinion first and foremost. I also have an ARC team and a couple of those individuals are very good about pointing out things I could be doing better in a meaningful way and I appreciate that so much.

When did you first decide to submit your work? Please tell us what or who encouraged you to take this big step?

When I was on the cusp of forty. I had been writing and honing skills ever since that sixth-grade teacher I mentioned above blew my ego up sufficiently to pursue writing, but I’d never taken the leap to submit anything. So obviously the ego wasn’t quite blown up big enough to take that crucial step. Forty put the fear of something in me (I guess it was a number not a someone who encouraged me) and I realized I was way behind on life goals, so I wrote something completely brand new and submitted it. And it was accepted! I was flabbergasted, but wasted no time prepping the next thing I wanted to submit.

Do you outline your books or just start writing?

I’m typically a plotter. I like to have everything detailed out in a notebook and if it’s a series I have to at least have noted where the series is going and all characters figured out, and a pretty solid timeline. However, there are occasions when a scene comes to me so vividly that I sit down and write it then build a story around that scene or character. There might be notes involved, but not as detailed an outline as I would normally do. Sometimes they’re winners and sometimes they’re losers, but I enjoy having that freedom to just let the cards fall where they may and see what I can come up with.

Have you started your next project? If so, can you share a little bit about your book?

I’m three books deep into the S3 series, Parallax being book one. I have six books planned for S3 with a tentatively sketched novella for a side character I believe needs something of his own. The second book is called Recoil and right now it’s with my editor. It’s as full of intrigue, second-chances, and action as Parallax, and it also features a kick-butt heroine who can hold her own in a fight.

Can you tell us a little about the black moment in your book?

Parallax starts in the black moment when Trent, the hero, gets the phone call from his estranged wife telling him their daughter is missing in a foreign country. I believe in diving headfirst into conflict.

What is your favorite reality show?

To be honest, I hardly watch television at all and I don’t watch reality shows when I do happen to watch something. Life at my house is realistic enough so I just prefer not to watch someone else’s train wreck when I have a front row seat to my own at times. In fact, we’re probably some of the few people you might run across who don’t have cable. We have a streaming device and pick out a movie here and there when we feel like just relaxing with a visual escape.

Can you tell us a little bit about what it was like to write a series.

The S3 series isn’t my first, but it is my first in a few years. I absolutely love to world build and explore the lives of all the characters who float in and out of a storyline. However, I also believe in knowing when the story/series is done. I think sometimes series writers take a story far too long and it loses something toward the end. I always want to try my best to end things when they are at a natural ending point and not stretch things too far, damaging the quality the characters and readers deserve.

Thanks so much, Christine, for hosting me today! It’s a pleasure being here and interacting with your readers and fans.

BLURB:

Six years later, Trent Wayland still isn’t over his spring fling. Probably because he was convinced when he married Captain Leila O’Neil, their fling would go on a lifetime. Leila is his soul mate and Trent knows it. He might not admit it on a regular basis, but that doesn’t negate the raw emotion she draws out of him each and every time he thinks about her. Forget the fact his heart splits in two all over again when he’s afforded the luxury of hearing her voice. That doesn’t happen often, however. Leila only tosses a handful of words his way when she initiates the weekly video calls he’s allowed with the other love of his life, their daughter Lucy.

Once upon a time, Leila O’Neil wanted to be a Marine when she grew up. She worked hard, she landed a seat at the Academy, and she was the head of her class. Then her dream was destroyed and she traded it in for a new one at the nearest Coterie portal. She wears so many faces and so many hats, at some point she lost track of her soul. That didn’t really bother her until Trent Wayland came along and almost peeled her dressing room curtain back nearly exposing her innermost person. The real person, the real Leila, who once upon a time wanted to be a Marine when she grew up.

Leila misses the real person, and realizes it at the worst possible moment. With her daughter’s life on the line and Trent on the scene of the crime, Leila figures out she’s been using her hurt and anger to fuel all the wrong goals. In a daring move, she puts it all on the line, hoping it’s enough to gain her freedom from her handlers and her husband’s forgiveness.

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EXCERPT:

“Can this wait?” she asked, clearing her throat and speaking in a much lower, calmer voice than she felt like using on him at the moment. “I need to compartmentalize everything that’s coming at me all at once so I can process it in some sort of orderly fashion and manage to not get us killed before we get the chance to talk about what may or may not be going on between us.”

“Do you have a label for that box?” Trent drilled, glaring at her.

“Which one?” She tapped her fingernails against the table and pursed her lips, trying to stay the wellspring of anger bubbling up at his completely inappropriate timing. And if he only knew. Leila had so many boxes she neatly placed things in it’d be easy to completely lose track of the exact number and location inside her head of all them.

“The one you stuff us in every time things reach a point you might actually have to say it.” When his nostrils flared, Leila could no longer hold back the sarcastic cynic she could be so easily.

“Say what?” She quirked one side of her mouth up and all but batted her lashes, daring him to continue down this path.

“You know very well what,” Trent roared, slamming a fist against the table causing the silverware still setting on the edges of plates on the other end of it to rattle and tea to spill out over the top of her unfinished cup, which was most likely cold and bitter by now.

“You’ve not said it in a long while, either, you know.” Leila pulled her now drying hair behind her ears and gnawed on the inside of her lip. Trent didn’t answer, instead just sat back down and grabbed his phone. “I have my reasons but they’re not the same as yours, you coward. You’re afraid.”

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Born and raised in the heart of the Ozarks, Dixie Jackson learned a love of the written word at a young age. She remembers spinning tales before she could even write them down, but it was the encouragement of her sixth-grade creative writing teacher which would plant the idea that just never seemed to go away. She wanted to someday see her works in print.

Dixie makes her home in the Great Smoky Mountains with her retired Marine husband, two rescue dogs, and her beloved chickens. When she’s not writing, you can find her digging in the dirt and nurturing her plants while plotting the next step in one story line or another. She also loves experimenting in her kitchen, embroidering, quilting, crocheting, tracing her family’s twisted tree, and of course reading.

You can find Dixie at:

Blog: https://www.dixiejackson.net

Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sweetteamafia/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/19160992

Instagram: @dixiejwriter

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

Amazon: amazon.com/author/dixiejackson

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/dixie-jackson

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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE

Dixie Jackson will be awarding a $50 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

RAFFLECOPTER:

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/28e4345f3526