Tag: D. I. Jolly

I talked about D.I. Jolly’s BaIT earlier this afternoon, and now I’m pleased to bring you this Q&A with him. I’m particularly grateful to him for this because I sent them the questions under the mistaken impression that we’d previously discussed doing a Q&A. He graciously replied quickly anyway.

Could you take a moment or two to introduce yourself to my readers? What set you on the path to writing, describe your path to publication, genre choices, and so on?
My name is D.I. Jolly, I’m a South African author living in Germany. I first wanted to be a writer when I was about seven years old and played a video game called Gabriel Knight, where the titular character was an author and just the coolest person I could imagine, so I decided I would be him when I grew up.

I currently have seven published books, five novels and two short story collections. When I moved to Germany is started a writing group called Poetry Club, and in the last seven years I’ve written over 270 short stories for this event, and all the ones that aren’t in the published collections are uploaded onto my website. So, if anyone is interested in dipping a toe into my writing you can read over a hundred short stories for free on my site.

When it comes to genre, my aim is always to use it as a story telling element. Rather than a setting. So, with Mostly Human, I used the elements of lycanthropy to display mental health and bipolar disorder. With Counting Sheep, the sci-fi elements are there to create an exaggerated environment of capitalism and consumerism, the two key themes of that novel. With Bait, I wanted to have what is seen now as a cliched paranormal romance novel, but focus on themes of consent rather than lust.

What was the genesis of Bait—both the story and the themes (assuming they didn’t pop up together in your mind)?
As I said, the main theme for me in Bait is consent. I had often joked that I could just write a romance novel and publish it on the Inkitt platform and get thousands of reads no problem. And I joked about it so much that I was challenge to put my money where my mouth was. So, I did, and in researching what was the current focus and trends in romance, I noticed something I really didn’t like. Something called ‘soft consent’. For those who don’t know, soft consent is when a book is written in the first person and the reader is in their head, so even though a character is saying “no, no, no, get off me.” The reader knows that in their head the character is thinking, “actually yes I want you.”

Now, I’m not here to shame anybody, your fantasies are yours, enjoy them. But what bothered me was that a lot of the audience for these kinds of books on those kinds of platforms are younger teenagers. And I saw a pattern of the snake eating its own tail, in that, an adult with experience and understand would write a soft consent novel to live out their fantasy. Absolutely fine. That would then get read by a teenager who learns something about themselves and expresses it in their own book. But now you’ve lost the experience and some of the understanding behind that kind of story. That then gets read by another teenager who does the same thing, and now it’s just focused on the sex and lacking consent but being displayed as, ‘this is what love looks like’.

And I wanted to throw a wrench into that spiral. So, I wrote Bait and made sure to show that consent was vital and very important, that consent could still be very sexy, and that consent taken away was traumatic. Both sexually and in the case of not listening to your partner while they’re in crisis.

And low and behold it got hundreds of thousands of reads on Inkitt, and was so popular that the digital rights were licensed by Inkitt and published on their pay to read app Galatea, and the publishing company TinPot acquired the print rights and put it out into the world.

I picked up a nod or two to your Mostly Human books—does this take place in the same world? If so—these werewolves seem different from Alex and the rest. Am I wrong about that? Or do you have multiple species wandering around the world (which is kind of cool), and do you plan on having them intersect?
They are different worlds in my head, but I did just want to put Easter Eggs to my other books in the story. Mostly for my own entertainment but also just to have a little nod to people who maybe go from Bait to reading some of my other books. I like the idea of someone who loved Bait diving into Mostly Human and going. “Ooooooooooohh!”

Jessica is a big personality. I know people like her and they can (fully unintentionally) take over a room/conversation in a moment—was it a challenge to keep her as a secondary character and/or keep her from taking over most scenes she’s in?
Because Bait is written in the first person and Jessica is always preserved not given her own perspective it actually made it very easy to have her be a big personally but not stealing the story. Having the boundary walls of not getting her own point of view, made it safer in a way to let her steal the scenes she was in, and to really be herself. It was also a lot of fun to write.

You’ve got a few books now under your belt—I’ve often heard that writers, or artists in general, will forget hundreds of positive reviews but always remember the negative. What’s the worst thing that someone’s said about one of your books, and has it altered your approach to future books?
There is a two-star review of my first book A Guy A Girl and A Voodoo Monkey Hand that is about 2 pages long, that point by point breaks down everything I apparently did wrong.

There is also a review of Mostly Human with the line. “…and the author didn’t really know what Thai Chi was.” Which always makes me think. “I don’t think you know what a joke is.” But hey. It’s still a four-star review. But these are the comments that live rent free in my head.

Is there a genre that you particularly enjoy reading, but could never write? Is there one you’re dying to try?
I read a lot of classics, Russian and Japanese literature. Which goes from brutal to psychedelic realism. Which I really enjoy reading but really don’t think I could write in that way. The way I think and tell stories doesn’t lend itself to that sort of world building and descriptions.

here’s a game we play around here, called “Online Bookstore Algorithm”. What are 3-5 books whose readers may like BaIt?
I’ve been told that if you enjoyed the Twilight series, you’d really like Bait. There is a very popular book on the Galatea app called Millennium Wolves, and those readers would also get behind Bait I believe. Otherwise, I don’t know, Vampire Academy? Or the Sookie Stackhouse books.

What’s next for D.I. Jolly, author?
I wrote a dark psychological thriller called Blurred Lines that I’m currently shopping around. I’m also working on a new novel Milton (working title) which is a family comedy drama. That I’m really enjoying working on. I’m waiting for a video game to be announced that I can finally tell people which game I wrote the story for, which is exciting. Poetry Club is still on going, the last Monday of every month, so there will be some new short stories going live on my website the next day. Yeah, lots of things going on, and they’re all writing.

Thanks for your time—and thanks for Bait, and hope you have plenty of success with it.
Thank you, me too.

I’m Sending Some Mixed Messages about BaIT by D.I. Jolly (and picked up some from BaIT, too)

By HCNewton

On June 8, 2023

In Fiction, Urban Fantasy

A little later this afternoon, I’ll be posting a Q&A with the author!

BaIT

by D.I. Jolly

DETAILS:
Publication Date: February 21, 2023
Format: eBook
Length: 240 pg.
Read Date: April 14-15, 2023

What’s BaIT About?

Amber is a few short months away from leaving high school behind, going to college, and studying to become a teacher. It will be difficult saying goodbye to her best friend, Jessica, who is moving across the country, and to her boyfriend (and almost certain future husband), Frankie, who is also moving out of state for college—but she’s going to be okay. She has a plan, she’s got her hunk of a boyfriend, and life is looking good. Her future’s so bright, she’s gotta wear shades.

Until one day when a young man comes into the coffee shop that she’s working in and takes her breath away. He’s gorgeous, he’s shy, and she can’t stop thinking about him. It’s not just her, Jessica, is almost as smitten—but Bastian (as they learn he’s called) really only seems interested in Amber.

What neither girl realizes that beyond their giggling lusting and certainty about true love—Bastian coming into their lives brings threats and complications that they didn’t know existed. It’s not long before Amber is involved in ages-old struggles between werewolves and vampires, werewolves and werewolves, and a father and son. None of these characters will move on unchanged.

Worldbuilding

This is the best part of the book, period. The particular take on Werewolves here (and to a lesser extent, Vampires) really worked for me. There’s a little bit of the flavor of The Marrok from the Mercy Thompson series—but there’s group of elders instead of just Bram (and many other differences, but like I said—flavor).

There’s reason to think that this exists in the same world as his Mostly Human books. But it feels like the werewolves are organized differently (for lack of a better term). This raises some questions: are there multiple types of lycanthropes in this world and different types of lycanthropic magics? Has Jolly changed the way he thinks about them in this world? Has he just been inadvertently inconsistent? I ask about this in a Q&A with Jolly that will go up in an hour or so, but I haven’t read his response yet. So go see what he said to get a better take on this paragraph.

There’s also this Djalia-esque place/plane of existence where Bastian communicates with some people who I won’t identify. That was an excellent touch and proved to be a good way for Bastian to develop.

Even the concept of soulmate is an intriguing addition to this world—and if it had been presented differently, I might not have the concerns I’m about to talk about.

Consent

Vague spoilers ahead. Feel free to skip to the next section header.

This novel was pitched to me as “a Paranormal YA-Romance novel focusing on the theme of consent”. This is not my typical cup of tea, but I’ve read enough of all of those to be interested in Jolly’s take on them (especially in combination). When I wrote about his Mostly Human 2, I talked about wanting to see a Lad Lit novel by him, and this might be something in that direction. So I went for it.

First, this is not what I’d call YA. NA/New Adult—sure. But that’s not what I want to talk about.

There is a storyline that comes up later in the book all about consent in the ways you typically think about that storyline. Impaired judgment tied to underage drinking (not for a second saying it’s deserved or excusable, just painting the scene) and some jerk not bothering to get consent (or care about it in the first place). It’s dealt with well, Jolly is really good here. I do wonder if the punishment fits the crime, but hey…when you deal with werewolves and vampires (even if you don’t know it), things happen.

If that’s all that happened, I’d wonder why it was described as “about consent” because while it’s a vital storyline, it happens relatively late in the novel.

I can’t help but wonder, however, how the novel undercuts what it wants to say about consent. Throughout the novel Amber, Jessica, Frankie, and Bastian are really careful along those lines, and everyone is open and honest about their desires. But there’s this magic whammy of the Soulmate at work. Where Amber and Bastian are tied together emotionally, physically, and supernaturally before they know each other.

Can Amber and Bastian truly be said to consent to anything? It’s definitely not an informed consent. Had the whole soulmate thing grown out of their bond, or enhanced what happened naturally, that’d be fine. But truly they had no agency here—they chose to spend time together, to love each other, to be intimate with each other, and so on. But could they have made any other choice? I can’t buy it.

I might have missed something. I might be misinterpreting something—I absolutely am open to that. But for now…ick.

So, what did I think about BaIT?

This is a tough one to write. Jolly and I have interacted a bit over the years and I like him as much as you can like someone you’ve emailed with a couple dozen times. I enjoy his writing on the whole and look forward to seeing new books by him. And I have no doubt that there are people who are really going to get into this book and want more like it. And more power to them.

I am not one of those people.

It’s not just the consent issue (although that’s part of it). It’s not that I’m a prude and this book is definitely (and almost aggressively) “sex-positive” (although both are true, I’ve read and enjoyed more graphic work since this book).

Some of what put me off were the intensity of every thought and emotion expressed—it really felt like everything said, thought, or felt by the characters in their teens and twenties should’ve been accompanied by 5+ exclamation points. The pacing of the relationships, personal growth and change, and the story felt off and too accelerated to be believable.

I really think that this book plays into his strengths (it’s very much along the lines of the parts of Mostly Human 2 that I thought were the most successful). There are some great moments (Frankie witnessing werewolves changing and realizing what he was seeing, for example). There were some promising characters. Again, I really liked the Elders council idea. But for every “pro” in this book, I had two or three “con”s.

I’m not—very carefully and deliberately—saying, “don’t read this book.” I’m saying, “go into it with open eyes.” It’s a book that feels to me like it needs—like its primary characters—to grow up and mature a bit.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for this post and my honest opinion.

This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, the opinions expressed are my own.

Mostly Human 2 by D. I. Jolly: The Further Adventures of the Rock Star Werewolf

By HCNewton

On December 3, 2020

In Urban Fantasy

Mostly Human 2

by D. I. Jolly
Series: Mostly Human, #2

Kindle Edition, 343 pg.
Tinpot Publishing, 2020

Read: September 28-October 25, 2020

What’s Mostly Human 2 About?

On the heels of the dramatic events at the end of Mostly Human, the werewolf rock star, Alex Harris has to leave town for a while. He needs to stay out of the limelight before people figure out how his nephew was rescued and start asking too many questions about the “dog” that freed him. He also needs to get his head on straight after it. So he takes off incognito, eventually winding up in a wolf sanctuary in Norway, where he finds work (and where he can take off every few weeks and fit in).

He settles in and establishes a home there, at some point, he strikes up a friendship/borderline romance with an intern, and things really come to life for him.

Eventually, circumstances force him to leave and he answers an inner call to go to Russia to find out more about his lycanthropy. From there, he’ll return home and try to re-establish his life with family and bandmates. If only the mysterious (magical?) voice in his head and a fellow werewolf with an agenda will let him.

To Re-cap or Not?

So, Mostly Human was the first book I read in 2017, I started this at the end of September of 2020. There’s a lot of months and a lot of books between those two (sure, most readers won’t have as many books between these two, but they might share the time gap), and I’ve gotta say, I had a lot of trouble remembering details/names/plot points from the first one. Jolly didn’t do a lot to help.

It’s a tricky thing (it seems) to decide how much of a recap to work into the early chapters of a follow-up book. Generally, I’m in favor of a minimalistic approach—unless it’s a situation of “remember that character who showed up for 3 chapters in Book 2? Well, they’ll be a major player here in Book 9.” But when there’s this much time between the publication of the two books,* you’ve got to toss readers a bone.

* December 2016-November 2020, officially.

Yes, eventually, he gave enough bread crumbs that I could piece together enough of what happened—especially once I read my original post—and, yes, between this release and the re-packaging of the first book, hopefully he picks up new readers that won’t have to reach back 35 months for their memories. It’s not a deal-breaker, by any means, but detracted from the experience.

A Very Talky Urban Fantasy

While there are some good scenes of werewolf action, some nefarious goings-on, and a respectable amount of violence. But man, there was a lot of talking. A lot of banter. A lot of emotional naval-gazing.

Which is a very pleasant change of pace compared to your typical Urban Fantasy. Jolly focuses on the relationship (in various stages) between Alex and Cassandra, Alex and his sister, his sister and her boyfriend, and so on. There’s more space devoted to developing and evolving the relationship between Alex and Cassandra than anything about Alex and his wolf nature.

The book is notionally about Alex, his curse/lycanthropy, and his growth in knowledge about other lycanthropes, but I’m not convinced that’s the case. It seems to be more about Alex understanding and accepting himself, how that will the relationships around him and his future. His lycanthropy plays a huge part in that, and its shadow looms over everything, but that doesn’t seem to be where the heart of the book is. He may have set out to write an Urban Fantasy, but I don’t think he fully succeeded and ended up writing a Lad Lit-kind of book with Urban Fantasy flavoring.

I’d pay money right now to see a straightforward Lad Lit novel from Jolly, I think he’d do great with it. Or something like Mike Chen does with SF, using that setting to tell family stories. Jolly purposefully doing that with UF (rather than accidentally as he seems to have done here), would be something to get excited about.

So, what did I think about Mostly Human 2?

I enjoyed this, I like the story he told and the story he set out to tell. The best part of a werewolf character is seeing how the wolf affects the human and the human’s life.

This is a great world, full of interesting characters. I don’t know if this is the end of Alex’s story or not. It could easily be that. Or it could be the launching to a new phase of Alex’s story with a greater understanding of his condition and a new path for life. I think it could go either way, and I’d be fine with either outcome.

It’s a fine tale, a solid (and different) take on lycanthropy, with a lot of things to grab a reader in addition to the protagonist growing extra hair on occasion. You should check it (and its predecessor) out.

3.5 Stars

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this novel from the author in exchange for my honest opinion and this post.

Have you met . . . D. I. Jolly?

By HCNewton

On April 30, 2018

In A Few Quick Questions With...

The first book I read in 2017 was Mostly Human by D. I. Jolly — and it was one of my favorites (but man, I’d have sworn it was 2016, man…I’ve read a lot in the last 15 months). We did a little other business via his then-day job at a publisher, and a Q&A. And I’ve really, really intended on coming back for more of his work (as much as I’ve read, there’s more I want to ). Anyway, he’s got himself a snazzy new website and is trying to get some eyeballs on it (and, hopefully, the books he talks about there).

So, click the link above — or this one — and, if you have the inclination, check out my thoughts about Mostly Human and the Few Quick Questions with him.

A Few Quick Questions With…D.I. Jolly

By HCNewton

On March 3, 2017

In A Few Quick Questions With...

Update 4/28/18: D.I. Jolly’s got himself a snazzy new website, and I wanted to make sure that people who read this Q&A can find their way there to get more info about him. So, here, go visit the site.

D.I Jolly’s Mostly Human was the first novel I read this year — and it’s one of my favorites so far. I’m very glad I finally got the chance to ask the author a couple of questions. As is the norm, I kept it short and sweet, because I’d rather he work on his next book than take too much time with me, y’know? Some really good answers below.

If you can without ruining anything you have planned, tell me about the island setting for Mostly Human — why there?

Syn Island has actually been the principal location for all the books I’ve written. It started with my very first novel A Guy, A Girl and a Voodoo Monkey Hand. Which I wrote when I was 19. I knew I didn’t want to set my story in the USA because I felt like everything happened there, and I didn’t want it in England because I didn’t like the weather. South Africa (where I’m from) is just too isolated. So I decided to invent my own country, also it meant I wouldn’t have to do geography research.

Although my books so far are stand alone and don’t faction in the same universe. They all give a bit more information about the island. For example the burnt out bar where Annabel meets Frank Oslo. The destruction of that bar takes place in A Guy, A Girl and a Voodoo Monkey Hand. And in Counting Sheep and Other Stories (my second book) the main character Kester reference reading about some of the things Alex does through his life.

Love that answer.

I don’t want to ask where you get your ideas, but how did you get to the point that from the dozens of ideas floating around your head you got to the point where you said, “You know what I want to write about? A Werewolf Rock Star.”

It started as I wanted to write about a brother and a sister and a werewolf. Even at the first what I thought would be the most important factor was their relationship not him being a werewolf. I then started to trance back on their time line to find out how they got to where they were. If she had a job and he could just sit around all day, how does he afford it? then what if he was actually a child when bitten, what would their lives look like?

I came up with most of this while driving from lunch with my sister to my mother’s house which was about 2 and a half hours away.

What surprised you the most about the writing of Mostly Human?

How much I wanted to keep going as soon as I was done. I already knew how I wanted to start the sequel and where I’d start and take the story as its own book rather than just continuing to write more of the first one.

Your day job is with a publishing company — what impact has that had on your approach to writing?

I don’t know if it’s had much of an effect on my actual writing, but it is very interesting to know both sides of the coin. And it definitely changed the way I think about marketing a book and myself. Which I’m not sure I ever took seriously enough in the past.

Also, at the moment it’s more correct to say my day job used to be in publishing. For the next few months at least, I’m a full time writer. So keep an eye out for Mostly Human 2.

What’s the one (or two) book/movie/show in the last 5 years that made you say, “I wish I’d written that.”?

Whole projects none really, but occasionally I hear or read a really good line or concept which strikes a chord. The most recent of those was in Transcendence starring Johnny Depp which I only recently watched. Johnny Depp’s character is dying and he’s sitting with his best friend and sees his wife through the window and says. “I know I’m a dead man, but I’m scared I’m going to miss her.”

Loved it.

Can you tell us what books/writing projects you’re working on and when we can expect them? Bonus points if any of these involve Alex Harris.

At the moment my principle writing project is a thing called Poetry Club. On Monday nights myself a few very talented friends and anyone who cares to sit close enough to listen, meet in a bar in Berlin and read out short stories and poems that we’ve written that week based on the chosen theme or topic. We’ve been at this every week, without fail since July and after a year we plan to collect all the stories and poems and publish them as an anthology.

But as I said, I’ve also taken some time to get a few other things done and Mostly Human 2 is on the cards. I am about 41k words into it so far so maybe a third.

Sounds interesting — and you do score the bonus points.

Thanks for your time, D. I. (and thanks for Mostly Human!)

Mostly Human by D. I. Jolly

By HCNewton

On January 7, 2017

In Fiction, Urban Fantasy

Mostly Human

by D.I. Jolly

Kindle Edition, 494 pg.
TinPot Publishing, 2016

Read: January 2 – 4, 2017

When Alex Harris was 10 years old and visiting his grandparent’s farm in Canada, he is attacked by an injured wolf. He recovers more quickly than the doctor predicts and at the first sign of stress after returning from the hospital, hulks out. But instead of turning green and growing a handful of sizes, he sprouts hair everywhere and his body transforms its shape into a large wolf.

The book follows Alex for the few days following the bite, then high school (learning to cope with the wolf), and then his career as a rock-star. I loved this approach, this way of dealing with the werewolf. Not just Jolly’s way of dealing with the werewolf, but Alex’s family’s way of dealing with his animal form (I’ll keep the details up my sleeve, read it yourself). There’s a lot of emotional ups and downs for Alex — like any pre-adolescent and adolescent male (and, like most rock stars, a post-adolescent male that acts like a teenager) — he’s emotionally volatile, and trying to learn to deal with the world in general. It’s a little harder for him than most teens — thanks to his resistance to injury and disease, and his strength. Once he reaches his adult years, there’s some interesting developments regarding his artistic career and his family’s brush with organized crime.

I love a good werewolf story — I really enjoy a decent one, out of all the various types of Fantasy Creatures/Races/Monsters out there, I don’t think there’s one I enjoy more than a lycanthrope. Mostly Human keeps that streak going.

One of the best parts of this book is how the curse/infection/condition affects not just the human who goes furry every now and then, but everyone around him (whether they know it or not). When Alex was on the farm and initially turned, everyone was supportive and encouraging — just the way a good family should treat a kid going through something major. But then later, when the initial crisis had passed, everyone falls apart (at least for a few minutes). Not en masse or anything, but individually they express some sort of anger or grief, puzzlement, despair, etc. Once that time is passed, they regroup and come together to support Alex. That was so great to see — I’m not sure that there’s anyone I’ve read who shows a family coming together to support the lycanthrope the way this family does.

Alex’s sister, Annabel, is a gem and my only complaint about her is that we don’t get more of the character — and every age and stage. I liked his friends, doctors, and relatives, too — actually, every character that gets more than a handful of paragraphs is well-used and appealing. But Annabel outshines them all.

I don’t have any major concerns or problems with this book — it was a fun escape. Not that it was perfect, there were three things that didn’t work for me, none of them were deal-breakers, but they were things that kept nagging at me.

I have no idea why Jolly felt the need to invent a fictional setting for the Harris’ home — it may become clear in a sequel (which I can only assume is forthcoming), maybe it won’t. I liked the setting, but I don’t see where it helps (it doesn’t hurt). I’d feel better about things if I could figure it out — too much time was spent describing it for it to be a throw-away detail, there’s something to it and I can’t see it.

The first sex scene was more detailed than I really needed — I see where he was going (not just the comedic intent) with it, but still, I didn’t need that. Thankfully, after that, Jolly gave everyone the privacy they deserved when it came sex.

The 10-year old version of Alex doesn’t talk like a 10 year-old. He’d be a stretch at 13. Still, I enjoyed that part of the book so much I shrugged it off.

This was a lot of fun, with a large cast of characters that draw the reader in and keeps you engaged. The story seemed secondary to character development — not just Alex, but his whole family (both officially and those considered family). Yeah, I’d have liked some more of Alex the rock star — and the organized crime thing the book description promised — but what we got was good, and saying that the book was mostly character development isn’t a bad thing. It’s just not what I expected.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this novel from the author in exchange for my honest opinion.

—–

4 Stars

Mostly Human Giveaway

By HCNewton

On December 12, 2016

In Books, News/Misc.

I really don’t know much about the book Mostly Human by D.I. Jolly — it’ll either be the last book I read of 2016 or the first of 2017. But it looks appealing — and the author seems like a nice guy. So I was glad to chip in when he asked if I’d help spread the word about a Goodreads Giveaway for some physical copies of the book.

Alex Harris is a world famous rock star, lead singer of the Internationally acclaimed band The Waterdogs. But Alex is no ordinary rocker, and has a secret that he and his family have painstakingly kept since he was ten years old.

While playing on his grandparents farm, Alex discovers what he presumes is a dead wolf. With a slip of the hand he realises it’s not as dead as he thought, and come the first full moon, everyone realises it wasn’t just a wolf.

What would you do if your son could never be normal again?

There ya go: Rockers, Werewolves, British spelling, and (according to another description I read) Organised Crime — sounds like a quiet weekend for Ozzy Osbourne or the makings of a fun book. I can’t help you enjoy the former, but if you click this link, maybe I can help you enjoy the latter.