PROMO BLITZ - Building Home by J. Mackenzie
Length: 262 pages
Series: Home in the Berkshires Book 1
Prior Reading: n/a
Genre: contemporary
Tropes: Low-angst, Dual hurt/comfort, Found family, Renovation, Lots of pretzels, Even more dogs
Trigger/Content Warnings: Emotionally abusive relationship (off page and not between MCs), Parental death (off page), Nonmonogamy (MCs have sex on page with people who are not each other)
Then he gets a call from Ian Collier, who has a wreck of a house and no idea what to do with it. This should be just like any other job. Except that Ian is quiet and serious and looks at Spencer in a way that intrigues him like nothing has in a long time. There’s a reason Spencer doesn’t do repeats, but it’s getting harder and harder to remember the more time he spends with Ian.
When Spencer volunteers to help Ian clean out the house’s basement, he starts to understand why dealing with the place has been so hard for Ian, and he’s tempted to share in return. Will opening up to Ian be a mistake? Or is Spencer finally ready to put himself out there again?
How did you select the names of your main characters?
I kind of just start spitballing names until the vibes feel right. Though sometimes, once I start writing a character, I realize that their name needs to change because the one I initially picked no longer fits. There are also obviously names that are completely off the table for me because I know people in real life with those names.
How do you decide what to read next?
Sometimes I get my hands on a book I’ve been waiting for the day it’s published and I need to read it right then. Sometimes my library hold comes in and I have two weeks to read something. And sometimes I’ve had a book on my TBR forever and the mood finally strikes.
Have you ever written a character that was inspired by a real person?
Nope! I develop my characters by asking what kind of person would find themself in a certain situation. For instance, when I was writing Cat, my first question was how Spencer would meet his best friend. Then I had to decide what had gotten her to the point that she was renovating Spencer’s apartment. Then I had to make her the sort of person who would be a good friend to Spencer.
Do you prefer writing dialogue, action, or sex scenes?
More people should talk about how hard it is to write sex scenes! First you have to choreograph what’s actually happening. Then you have to make sure everyone has the right number of limbs the whole time. And even if you do a great job, by the fifth time you’ve read the scene, it all seems deeply cringe. I think I like writing dialogue best. Explicit verbal consent is sexy.
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