ASK AN AUTHOR DAY 6: JESSICA KENNEDY HOSTS NICOLA HAKEN!

HEY GUYS, IT IS THE FINAL DAY OF OUR ASK AN AUTHOR SERIES :(, IT HAS BEEN SO MUCH FUN FOR US! TODAY JESSICA KENNEDY IS INTERVIEWING NICOLA HAKEN, YOU WILL LOVE IT! I WILL PUT A COUPLE OF BOOK AND SOCIAL LINKS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE POST, DON'T FORGET TO USE EM! LET'S GET STARTED:

1. Nicola, thank you so much for taking the time to do this interview with me! I know you've been crazy busy with The Making of Matt just releasing, how does that feel by the way to finally have Matt out there for the masses?

 It feels amazing! Matt was never supposed to have his own story, in fact Being Sawyer Knight started out as a standalone, but people took a shine to him and saw something in him that I didn’t. I’m so glad they did because he is freakin’ awesome! Health issues meant Matt’s story took me over a year to write, and there were times I didn’t think I’d ever write it at all, but I did and I love him. The most special thing about this book is that people didn’t forget about Matt. They waited for him and then they grabbed him and fell in love with him all over again. I can honestly say this has been my best release to date. I’m overwhelmed by the amount of love and support people have given me and my boys, Matt and Alex. 

 2. What drew you to the hot and seriously steamy genre of MM to start with? What was it that made you say.... damn I need to write in this genre myself?

 I didn’t know the MM genre even existed until I accidentally clicked on a blog post about Double Full by Kindle Alexander. Intrigued, I downloaded it and just two pages in I wondered where the hell I’d been all my life. Something about the connection between two men fueled something inside me that I didn’t even know was there and I wanted more! So I searched Goodreads for similar books, stalked as many MM authors as I could find, and eventually thought ‘I’m gonna give this a go!’

It was a daunting experience releasing my first MM book. I didn’t know whether my existing readers would like it, whether I’d do the story justice to people who were already avid MM fans or if I’d ‘fit’ into this genre. So when Being Sawyer Knight spent two weeks at #1 in the Amazon gay categories around the world I was blown away! Not only did a lot of my existing readers love it, I gained a whole bunch of new ones who still support me to this day. I have made some of the best friends in this genre, be it readers, bloggers, or fellow authors. I’ve found my home and I’m here to stay!

Jess: I used to avidly read MF, but when I found the mm genre/family I knew I had found home too. We are a crazy lot, but we love and support each other fiercely.

3. I absolutely adore every one of your boys, but with that being said who would you say is your baby, the one you just had to have their story out there, who touched your heart and why? I would have to say Ryder was my heart breaker just watching him overcome all he had been through.

 Of course I’m going to say I love all of them, and all for different reasons, but like you, Ryder is very special to me. He was such a broken boy and I loved giving him his happy ever after. But then we have Matt. Matt is someone I’d love to be friends with. We all need that someone we can laugh at as well as with, right? He’s so stupidly adorable, and genuine too. But as his story shows, he also has a huge heart and it’s just impossible not to love him despite his asshole tendencies!
   
Jess: I loved how we got to see Matt's big beautiful heart come out in his book. 

4.  Let's talk research.... haha 

*wink*
what do you do to get in the mind frame to write? Where do you look for visual inspiration? I know Tumblr is a favorite haunt of mine.

 Ah, Tumblr is addictive! I’ve heard rumours that there are Tumblr pages out there that don’t consist of naked men but I think it’s all lies! If they do exist, I don’t need that kind of negativity in my life! Same goes for gay porn. Everyone needs that in their day! I’m also lucky that my oldest friend is gay and if I ever need pointers I’ll call or text him, like, ‘So, if you were bent this way would that fit in there?’ and stuff like that. Thankfully, he’s not the kind of man who blushes easily! Love ya Luap!  

Jess: just to clarify I do not have a cockyboys or tumblr addiction...... that I'm going to admit to lol. And lucky for me my best friend is engaged to my cousin I ask them all kinds of embarrassing questions, they just roll with it these days.

5. did you ever see your Soul's of Knight series becoming so popular that people would cry and make memes, because they desperately wanted The Making of Matt to come out early? *cough cough* (I have no idea who did that) *cough*

 I cannot even begin to tell you how excited that makes me! When I see someone has gone to the trouble of making a teaser or meme because of one of MY books makes me so bloody giddy! I never, ever saw it coming and I truly mean that. I remember when I published my first ever book and the excitement I felt when ONE person bought it, then the next day two people bought it, then five, then ten…you get the idea. My numbers are higher these days but honestly, I still feel that same excitement with every single download I see. I genuinely still think of myself as a newbie author trying their hand at writing stories, and I’m gobsmacked and beyond grateful that people actually want to read what I put out there. I freaking LOVE what I do, and I love the readers who help make it happen even more. 

Jess: I can only imagine the elation you feel every time you see how much we the reader's absolutely love the words you put your heart and soul into.

 6. So what do we have to look forward to in the future? Any sexy gay boys currently whispering to you for some attention?

 Of course! I’m currently working with my new boys, James and Theo (and have to keep telling more new boys to shut the hell up and wait their turn until I finish this one!) It’s a whole world away from my previous books for so many reasons, which in turn is making me nervous as hell! It’s a new writing style for me, it’s set in a different country, and it’s turning out to be a very serious and emotional story. I can only hope I do it justice and people who fell in love with Matt’s humour are willing to give this more somber book a chance. I’m aiming to release in March and now Matt has flown the nest, keep your eyes out for teasers and info about this one which will be coming soon! 

Jess: as one of my most favorite one-click authors I'm more than sure we will love whatever your crazy, sexy mid comes up with.

Thank you so very much Nicola Haken for talking to me. I can't wait to see what you have for us in the future!♡

Thank you for having me! This blog is all shades of awesome :D

Jess: Isn't Nicola just awesome? If you haven't checked her Soul's of Knight series out you need to hop over to your favorite site and one click these babies!

I TOTALLY AGREE WITH JESS, THIS SERIES AND AUTHOR ARE AWESOME, THAT WAS A FUN INTERVIEW! HERE ARE SOME BOOK AND SOCIAL LINKS FOR YA, CHECK EM OUT! 

NICOLA'S AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE

NICOLA'S WEBSITE

USE THOSE LINKS FRIENDS, IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THIS SERIES OR MET THIS AUTHOR, YOU WILL LOVE THEM BOTH! THANKS FOR JOINING US FOR ASK AN AUTHOR, WE HAD A BLAST AND WE HOPE YOU DID TOO! JUST WAIT TILL YOU SEE WHAT WE COME UP WITH NEXT!! :p