Voudou Juice (Originally posted on AnchorsToDuskPublishing.com):
The time has come; my intention wasn’t to launch more tidbits and information on my forthcoming (and first, mind you) New Orleans thriller novella around Halloween, you know, “the season of the witch,” but everything happens in its own time and for a reason. You may have seen some spoilers on social media over the past several months concerning this: spooky still photography of young men in masks and Mardi Gras beads, excerpts from unpolished chapters and the like.
I have a deep connection to the south, namely South Carolina and Louisiana. I hate to be a cliché, but I call those destinations my second homes. They got into my brain, my blood, my soul. And so did the idea for this book. Originally, I began writing it — the twists and turns of swamp life and voodoo witchcraft — in Myrtle Beach in 2012. The original idea started with a heavily mixed cocktail I purchased from a beach bar, and a sexy, bisexual young man named Riley. Unfortunately (or fortunately, however you may look at it) for the original character, he evolved into something even darker and unimaginable. That occurred when I visited New Orleans, in October of 2014. The darkness and excitement found its way to the heart of my inspiration.
And here we are, further introductions and all. The novella is almost completed (ish), and I have a cover model. You may have seen him, too, Mr. Mikey Buszczak, splattered on Instagram and Twitter. Scantily-clothed and shrouded by mystery, Mikey is a good sport. He has some words to share with ya’ll, concerning his portrayal of the new and improved main character, Riley Clarke, and his thoughts on working with a visionary such as myself.
“I’ve been looking forward to work with Joe for years now. When Joe reached out to me, my first response before really knowing much detail about the project was ‘yes.’ What I love most about working with Joe is the artistic freedom. As an artist and having done collaborations before, you never know if two artists (or more) are going to really be compatible together. This is Joe’s idea and vision for a character, however, he’s so on board with me personally, to discover and create this character for myself in my images,” Buszczak explains.
He continues, “Joe allows the artist to play around and have some real fun. He told me all I really needed was to wear a mask. ‘Awesome! I can do that!’ I thought. Now about the character: Riley Clarke. Riley has a ton of mystery; I think what I’m most attracted to in this character, is the darkness within, but more so in this idea of expressive sexuality. Some of the ideas I’ve been playing with is Riley ‘in action.’ Whether he is at a party or seducing some guy, it will end up in simplistic misery. Knowing the setting takes place in New Orleans, I wanted to provide some soulful magic, and Riley’s journey to be dark and gritty. He’s a fun guy, but with fun there comes consequences. I cannot wait for everyone to read the story, and for the world and the GLBT community to go on Riley’s wild journey.”
As you have read, Mikey is not only a sport and visionary himself, but is an utmost professional. He studies the characters he is to portray, and gets to the heart of what makes him tick. Mikey wasn’t coaxed or prodded to say such splendid things about me or my upcoming book. He’s a friend and well, a real human being. He’s honest and excited, and that speaks volumes.
I truly hope that you’re, at the very least, slightly more excited about this wild trip that is coming to the internet and local bookshops in the coming months. The introduction is also written by none other than Norman Korpi, one of the original cast members of “Real World: New York” in the early-1990s. He’s another dear friend of mine, and has a solid story to tell himself.
For more spoilers and tasty tidbits about this New Orleans thriller, feel free to message me, or connect with my company on Instagram (@Anchors4Authors) and Twitter (@Anchors2DuskPub). A very happy haunting to you and yours, and I will see all ya’ll in St. Louis cemetery #1.
