GHP Counts Down to Summer! - featuring Josh Wilcox

Although it feels--for a lot of us--like summer has been in full swing for the past few weeks, the “official” first day of summer is this Wednesday, June 21. We don’t care, though, as we’re already celebrating and worshipping the sun as much as we possibly can!

Our very last author featured in our Countdown to Summer 2017 is Josh Wilcox. Josh is ready for some fun in the sun and can’t wait to start the best summer tan trend we’ve ever heard of!

If Josh lived anywhere besides Portland, he would consider his favorite season to be fall. But, as he says, “Summer's my favorite season in Portland, because it's the only time the weather's not miserable.” We hear you on that one, Josh!

Read on to discover what Josh has been anticipating about Summer 2017 during those long, cold winter days?

What is the THE event that you’re most looking forward to this summer?

I love Renaissance Faires, so I'm really looking forward to the Oregon and Washington fairs this summer. If I had to pick one as the most epic, even though it's a drive, it would be The Washington Midsummer Renaissance Faire.

Where do you live? Describe this winter in your area in three words.

Portland, Oregon, and that would be 222 rainy days.

What do you hope to accomplish in your writing over the long summer days?

Keeping at it. Summer's always the hardest to write through in Portland because you actually want to go outside. My goal, though, is to finish editing a book I've been working on for far too long and first draft another. A bit aggressive, but I find aggressive goals help me get work done.

What trend or catch-phrase are you going to start this summer?

Lizard tan. It's where you're tan everywhere but your chest and belly.

What is the BEST summer story from when you were a kid?

I originally read ‘story’ as ‘novel,’ so I’m going to answer that misunderstanding first: Mus of Kerbridge by Paul Kidd. It's a book I'll forever treasure. Close second is a book I've never been able to find again. I read it in junior high, and it was about a girl who wanted to be a knight, who dressed up as one and fought to be respected, while at the same time struggling with a love triangle between another warrior and a monk. If anyone knows what this book was called, please let me know. It's my long lost love.

As for the best summer story of my actual life, if it wasn't reading Mus of Kerbridge under the oak trees outside the Medford Public Library, it was probably going to the Lava Caves on a Boy Scout trip. A few friends and I decided to light off some fireworks in the catacombs and the incredibly dense smoke of our foolishness forced us to crawl through a narrow passage to escape. We promptly got lost and spent several hours wandering miles of confusing caves without any adults. We saw some really cool stuff, though we may have been a bit too panicked to appreciate it. When our leader found us, we didn't even get in trouble. He told us he was going to rip us a new one until he saw our faces, and realized we'd been punished long enough.

What is the WORST summer story from when you were a kid?

On a hot summer afternoon, my older brother's friends locked me in a shed. I was not happy about it. It probably took me half an hour to jimmy the lock with a screwdriver. When finally I broke out, they were getting on their bikes to head somewhere else. In a rage, I sprinted after them. I caught the slowest one at the end of the cul-de-sac and jammed my screwdriver in his tire. The rest escaped with their rides intact. But they didn't do it again.

Summer blockbuster you are most looking forward to watching and why:

Dunkirk. Christopher Nolan is my favorite director, Hans Zimmer my favorite composer, and I've loved everything they've made. Of course, Dunkirk wasn't supposed to be coming out in summer. Until that point, I was most excited for The House. I'm a Will Ferrell fanatic.

Rapid Fire Questions:

The All-Time Best Song of Summer is:

Ugh, so difficult to pick one! I might've said Summertime by My Chemical Romance until Chris Cornell's passing. That reminded me Black Hole Sun was the first song I ever loved.

Your Summer Guilty Pleasure:

Yum Yum Bars. My mom always made them for Independence Day. There's a myriad of so-called bars on the internet but the ones she makes are pure chocolatey, graham-crackery hedonism. They're disgustingly addictive.

Daylight Savings Time for Summer: yes or no?

I'm gonna go off on a Jonah Ryan-esque rant here and say that Daylight Savings Time should occur every week, with a shortened hour occurring at 9 AM on Friday and a lengthened hour on Sunday. Of course, if weekly is too much to keep track of, let's just enforce spring-forward to always be on a Friday at 9 AM.

Beach or Mountains? Mountains.

Swimsuits: yes or no? Either way I'm just wearing shorts.

Sandals or Bare Feet? Flops.

Ice Cream or Popsicles? Is that a question? I'm an adult. Ice cream.

Memorial Day or Independence Day?

Independence Day. As they said in The Simpsons, celebrate the independence of your country by blowing up a small part of it.

Put these words in order: Swimming, Baseball, Hot Dogs, Ice Cream, Air Conditioning, Vacation

Vacation, Ice Cream, Swimming, Air Conditioning,

Hot Dogs......................................................................................... Baseball

Sum up Summer 2017 in five words: Sun, soccer, swashbuckling, and stories

Follow Josh on social media to find out more about his upcoming books and his summer lizard tan progress!

Twitter: @jdavidwilcox

Instagram: @jdpendragon

Facebook: JDavidWilcox

Pinterest: JDavidWilcox

INAUGURATION BLITZ DAY SEVEN!

Right, so we're ending the second week of this gig, and we have to say--we're pretty stinking proud of our authors at this point. Last week we started an Inauguration Blitz—not annual, since this only happens once every four to eight years! Our … once-every-four-to-eight-years Inauguration Blitz, then. And this week we're finishing up, since we had so many authors involved that we couldn't fit them all in. We're focusing on government, how the country was born, presidential and congressional behavior and ethics, and—most importantly—the idea of revolution. With that in mind, we’ve gathered some of our favorite revolutionary characters for some down-and-dirty answers about their fights, who they’re fighting against, and when they know it's time to stand up and fight for the right side.

This week, we're focusing on some of our newer authors--and their main characters, who are fighting for their right to survive. Next up is JD Wilcox, who writes hard sci fi and space operas (as well as fairy tales, if the rumors are to be believed!), and his first book features a space mission gone ... well, wrong. We took a moment to interview his main character about her world, the situation, and how she's fighting to stand up and take control.

1.     So first, the obvious. Tell us about your world. Where do you live? What’s the story there? 

Well, I don’t live on a world. I hope to one day, I think. I live on Endeavor, an interstellar colonial transport. Or what’s left of it. We were only one year from our destination when everything went wrong.

2.    Got it. And now, the bad guy. Who are you fighting against? And why? 

I … don’t know. We don’t know what happened. We’re trying to figure that out. But right now, our first priority is finding a way to survive. Whatever it takes.

3.    So your fight is a completely different one, then. And it sounds like someone who was supposed to take care of you left you in a bad way. What’s going on there?  

My mom was our captain, and my whole life's been spent in her shadow. But she died with the rest of the adults. And now, with everything that’s happened … I'm realizing I’m not ready for this. I might have thought I was, but I was definitely wrong. Everything’s going sideways, and I don’t know what to do about it. Do I trust my older brother, even if I think what he's doing is wrong? What if it means watching my friends die? How can I live with myself if I stand by for that?

4.    Ouch. So what’s your biggest fight right now? 

 We have to live. The few of us that are left have to survive. Whatever it takes, I have to be capable of doing it. Even if it means standing up to my commander. Even if it means alienating the others.

5.    Do you think you’ll succeed? 

I hope so. I think my brother’s strong enough to lead us.

6.    Sounds like you’ve got a fight on your hands. And that the fight might set you up against members of your crew. How do you know you’re doing the right thing?  

When I feel lighter, when my chest flutters like it’s in the vacuum of space, I think I’m doing what’s right. But how do I know my reality isn’t wrong? My brother would never intentionally lead us into danger. And if he made a mistake, and I said so, would the others even believe me? I wish I knew.

7.    Final question. What do you think of being a heroine rather than a hero? Does it matter? Can a girl be just as revolutionary as a boy? 

Yes. Of course! It doesn’t matter if she’s a girl. My mom was captain of the most ambitious undertaking in the history of humankind. Everyone loved her. Didn’t they?

Keep up with J David and learn more about his world--and the process!

FB: @jdavidwilcox

Twitter: @jdavidwilcox

Instagram: @granitespire