September 16, 2012

Top 10 with J. Bridger {Plus an Excerpt from Shifted Perspective}

Please welcome J. Bridger to the blog today as we dive in and see what makes her tick AND we also get a look into her new book Shifted Perspective.
Caleb Byrne is a bright high school senior who has enough to deal with between college choices, taking care of his single dad, and dealing with his headstrong girlfriend Joanna and an eccentric set of cousins in California. He was managing to get by until the day he woke up a Cocker Spaniel. Even if it only happens monthly and is more embarrassing than painful, the so-called ability is something that he's anxious to be rid of.
 
He didn't realize his transformations would drag him into a hidden society of canine and lupine shape shifters as well as a family legacy he hates. To make matters worse, after moving to Los Angeles to learn more about his heritage from his Aunt Moira and his cousin Kalista, Caleb now struggles through life-and-death matters. He keeps angering the werewolves in charge of the shifter world, especially Kalista's boyfriend Peter, the Southern California alpha's son, who also happens to be grade-A sociopath. Worse, Caleb's floundering to keep his secret from Joanna.
 
While his family offers him some support, they may not be enough as Caleb realizes that the rules in shifter society---number one is supposed to be don't kill humans---are not so ironclad. Some werewolf out there is leaving a blood-soaked trail across the Midwest and it might just be with the alpha's blessing...



1.   guilty pleasure?
I love movie marathons on the weekend. There’s nothing more fun for me than sitting in my pajamas at about three in the afternoon on a Saturday while watching the latest SyFy Channel made-for-tv schlock.

2.   1 book you could read over and over?
Stolen by Kelley Armstrong. Obviously, I’m a big fan of werewolf literature, but I’ve found no better or more delightful werewolf heroine than Elena Michaels. I could read that book on a loop!

3.   fictional character you would love to spend the day with?
This is super cheesy and old school but Atticus Finch of To Kill a Mockingbird. He’s the type of person I want to be, and I think he’d be a great source of inspiration. If I’m going a bit more shallow, maybe Harry Dresden of The Dresden Files because he’s so sarcastic and intense.

4.   one thing you cannot leave the house without?
My IPhone.

5.   fav song/singer?
Again, my corniness is showing. Hands down, it’s the Judy Garland version of Somewhere Over the Rainbow from The Wizard of Oz. I also love her rendition of Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas. Some classics never go out of style.

6.   hobby?
Field hockey is my favorite thing to do but I haven’t done it in a few years because there aren’t too many club teams in my area, but there’s no better release for aggression and energy.

7.   fave movie/actor and or/actress?
Michael J. Fox --- I’ve had a massive crush on him since I was two years old after seeing the film version of Teen Wolf the first time, and the affinity for him has never waned. Actually, it’s only increased after watching all his philanthropy and activism work on behalf of those with Parkinson’s Disease.

8.   one place you would love to visit?
Machu Picchu. I lived in South America for six months but never had the money to make that trip to the Incan ruins in Peru, and I’ve always regretted it.

9.   fav food?
Macaroni and Cheese, and any kind works, even the Kraft from a box.

10.            pet peeve?
Day dreamers and people who say “some day I will…” I think one of the best pieces of advice in the world is from the Star Wars franchise: “Do or do not; there is no try.” Honestly, if you want to do something, you’ll do it. If you’re not that invested, you’ll just sit around and talk about how you would have been awesome at it. So why not just go for it starting now? J

So your love for weres started at age 2 thanks to Teen Wolf? LOL! that is some kind of great! And what do you mean you didn't have the money to go see the ruins? Could you not sell your blood or a kidney? I am so kidding..but gosh that would be neat. :)

Get in touch with J. Bridger....


Book Teaser for Shifted Perspective:

Things were good for a while. 

School got back to session, I exchanged a few polite emails with Kalista, and Joanna and I went back to keeping The Gazette afloat even if it was far from popular. It was also a great relief and thrill to be able to send my uncle's check to my new alma mater. Duke class of 2016 that was me. 

Then, about a month after finals, maybe the sixteenth of January or so, my hearing got worse. It was so bad that when I woke up in the morning, it felt like the morning news dad was watching over coffee was going to kill me. That or someone was taking a railroad spike to my skull every time the anchor talked. Rolling over, I pulled the pillow over my head and hoped I'd die. I'd never had a migraine so severe before that I was seeing auras; I wondered if something was wrong with me like a tumor. 

When dad knocked on my door, I shuddered. "I can't go to school today," I said under my nest of pillows. 

"Son, look up at me." 

I did as I was asked, even if it was reluctant about it. "My head is staging a revolt. I have a migraine." 

My dad came to sit at the chair by my bed and frowned. "Your pupils aren't the same size and your eyes are pretty bloodshot." He reached up and put the back of his hand to my forehead. "Do you have a fever?" 

"Do I feel like it?" 

"A little warm. You haven't missed since a cold in September, so I think it's alright. You're not exactly pulling a Ferris Bueller. I want to give you a day to get better, but if you don’t, you’ll have to go to Dr. Seiberman." 

I shuddered. “No, I’m not that bad off, just hurts. Besides, that's great. A day off from the school grind and I just want to curl into a ball and die. I...my hearing is awful. Everything's too loud, like a throbbing all over. Can you not have the TV on for a while?" 

He blinked back at me, dumbfounded. "It wasn't that loud downstairs." 

"It was bad enough, definitely. I just think I'm going to pass out with the curtains drawn and see how it goes from there."  
I guess sometimes pillows can be good for more than comfort because after my dad left, being careful not to stomp his boots on the way out, I managed to fall to sleep, my dreams odd for me, about running through the woods by Pilot Mountain, chasing something that remained mysterious throughout the day and night. 

Even now, I have no idea what it was, can only guess. 
** 

When I woke, I knew something was off. The sun was just rising over the horizon and I had no idea how I'd managed to sleep almost for twenty-four hours. My hearing didn't pound in my head, but that wasn't reassuring. Shaking my head, I shivered with the cold. I'd slept walked again and of all things come to rest on the sofa downstairs. 

This was getting ridiculous but at least it didn't involve waking up tangled in drying deer hide. Thank God for small favors. 

"Christ this is pathetic," I said to no one in particular. Then I froze, everything muscle in my body taught. 

I hadn't heard my voice, not at all. 

But I had heard a series of plaintive barks. 

What in the world? 

Scared, I started just trying something simple, starting into the alphabet, but it was just more barking. I gulped and braced myself. Looking down, all I saw were four modest-sized black paws. 

I could only hope I was hallucinating.






2 comments:

  1. Thanks for posting this up!

    J Bridger

    ReplyDelete
  2. Awww, Michael J. Fox! I LOVE him! And, um, I totally had a crush on him, too. :) Great interview!

    ReplyDelete