Boone and Jacque: Cytrus Moonlight continues the saga of two friends who have grown up together and now, as adults, wind up investigating a murder together. What was the inspiration for the setup to your story?

I wanted to create a new adventure that would add tension between families in a way that doesn’t lean heavily on magical realism. Have the magical realism only appear once the damage has been done. As in the magical realism is not what caused the chaos and questions the characters had about themselves.

The murder case was meant to be something that tugged at Jacque’s heart strings while feeding his need to solve a mystery. In addition, corner Boone and Shammy into participating but with their own reasons. Being to protect and keep their family together. They said they were done with adventures, but it’s not so easy to escape adventure.

As for what exactly was the inspiration, I wanted something a little more neutral. Something that would give me room to explore the psychological side of Boone, Jacque and Shammy. Though I did focus more on Boone, I will balance that out in the final book.

Are there any emotions or memories from your own life that you put into your characters life?

The biggest one I will share, which was incorporated in certain scenes and lessons about love, is the memory of me being involved in a romance scam. Last year, a so called woman Sonia Daniels, manipulated me into believing she was a real person. Even though I never met her, heard her voice, or seen her on video chat. There was something spellbinding about her personality and how she talked to me that kept me in her control. In fact, I was so in love with her, that I was completely distracted at my day job. So much so, that when this person gave me guilt trips, I genuinely felt guilty for hurting her. I can’t believe I was head over heels for someone I don’t know. Let alone feel bad when I hurt their feelings.

When I came to from the spell, I “broke up” with her then blocked her from all forms of communication. Even then, this person was able to make several fake profiles on social media, phone numbers and emails. Reaching out to me, pleading for my attention and love. It’s as if all the work they did being undone drove them mad. Being in this so called relationship drove me mad as well yet I ended up valuing true love and trust even more.

Because in order for love to be true, you need trust, time face to face, common interest, share everything, hide nothing, embrace each other, care and support one another, be there through the good and the bad, and lastly, understand that love is complicated.

I guess, through the process of writing this book, the fear of not having true love was a strong inspiration. I’ve never felt that before. Or at least I thought did at one time. But she didn’t feel the same way. That’s ok though. Because true love is mutual.

The other emotion was one that I used to have. One that came from a time where I was a sheltered kid who didn’t know if he’d ever have a purpose. Or if he had one, could he do something great with it. But through writing this series, I realized telling stories is my purpose. It’s the only thing that made sense to me. Whatever day job I have, is simply something to keep me fed. Not happy. Telling stories makes me happy.

What was one of the hardest parts in Boone and Jacque: Cytrus Moonlight for you to write?

One of the hardest parts for me to right was what happened to Gene towards the middle of the book. Which I won’t spoil for those reading this. All I can say is that I never experienced this myself, but I do know about trauma and that some suppress those memories.

Another part that was hard to write was the fight Boone and Shammy had. I never wrote that type of scene before because I hadn’t really thought about any fights I’ve had with a life partner. But when I thought about my first relationship, the times where I got mad, frustrated, scared by my partners actions or words, the scene just came to me. It even came into play for the little spats Jacque and Xantia had.

There is one more thing that was hard to write. More so at the beginning. When I was first writing this book, it was slow going. I felt disconnected from my characters. Probably because I was lost in my own life. Plus, I had just ended my so called relationship with Sonia Daniels. I just couldn’t figure out why the town, Cytrus, and the characters weren’t connecting. But once I started talking about my life with friends and family, asking for help with research on certain elements of the story, it all came together and I fell back in love with the characters.

What is the next book in the Boone and Jacque series that you are working on? Can you give readers an idea of what to expect?

I am working on the last book of the series. In which the subtitle is: Sahon. I was going to write a sixth book, but I know their arc will conclude in this storyline. Meaning they still have room to grow after this series, but more as secondary characters or passersby in other books.

As for what to expect, it will be more philosophical and psychological. Boone and Jacque will be somewhere terrifying yet mesmerizing. As for what will happen to them, or what will become of them, you’ll just have to wait and see. I will also have interlude chapters to wrap up loose ends in Cytrus and show what is happening with the other characters. This will be the hardest book I’ve written, yet the most rewarding.

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Original source: https://literarytitan.com/2022/09/03/its-not-so-easy-to-escape-adventure/