Welcome Our Guest Author: J.L. PERRY Who Wrote: BASTARD

Written Interview

By Author:

J. L Perry

“Bastard”

***THIS BOOK IS A STANDALONE AND TOTALLY AWAY FROM THE DESTINY SERIES***

Bastard

My name is Carter Reynolds. I was born a bastard and I’ll die a bastard. I learnt it at a young age, and nothing and nobody can change that. I’m on a one-way path of destruction, and god help anyone who gets in my way. I hate my life. Actually, I hate pretty much everything.

That’s until I meet the kid next door. Indi-freakin’-ana. My dislike for her is instant. From the moment I lay eyes on her, she ignites something within me. She makes me feel things I thought I was incapable of feeling. I don’t like it, not one bit. When she looks at me with her big, beautiful, haunting, green eyes, it’s like she can see into the depths of my soul. It freaks me the hell out. She’s like sunshine and rainbows in my world of gloom and doom. I hate sunshine and rainbows.

********

I’m Indiana Montgomery, my friends call me Indi. Despite losing my mum at the age of six, I have a wonderful life and great friends. My dad more than makes up for the fact that I only have one parent. I’m his little girl, the centre of his world. I adore him.

When Carter Reynolds moves in next door, my life takes a turn for the worse. He’s gorgeous—sinfully hot, but that’s where my compliments end. He seems hell bent on making my life miserable. He acts tough, but when I look into his eyes I don’t see it. I see hurt and pain. To me, he seems lost.

I should hate him for the way he treats me, but surprisingly I don’t. If anything, I feel sorry for him. I want to help him find peace. Help him find the light that I know is buried somewhere within his darkness, but, he won’t have a bar of it.

He’s warned me time and time again to stay away, but I can’t. I’m drawn to him for some reason. He’s always referring to himself as a bastard. That may be true, but to me, he’s more like a beautifully, misunderstood bastard. Whether he likes it or not, I refuse to give up on him.

***WARNING This book is recommended for persons over the age of 18 years, due to sexual content and coarse language.

Rad-Reader:  This was one intense book.  Where did you come up with the concept?

JL: I was having lunch with my mother one day and mentioned that I’d like to write a book about a Bastard. I told her that all the men in my other books are really nice, and I think it would be fun to write about one that was an asshole. She told me she hated the word bastard, and explained that she had a cousin who was an illegitimate child. She said she could remember her grandfather referring to him as a bastard when she was a little girl, and went on to say how sorry she felt for him. Lightbulb moment. My mind started ticking. Her words stuck with me on my drive home. The minute I walked through my front door, I sat down at my laptop and wrote the prologue. The rest of the story flowed from there.

Rad-Reader:  Carter took on the shame that was meant for his mother, Elizabeth, as if that was any better.  How did you find the right words to convey the depth of pain that a 5 year old felt?

JL:  I don’t know. I always try and crawl inside my characters heads whenever I write. I try to grasp what they would be thinking or feeling in a certain situation. This is the first time I’ve ever had to write something from a child’s point of view though. I also have a young son, who is super sensitive, so that helped. I tried to imagine how he’d react in a situation like that. Words can be powerful, especially for an impressionable child.

Rad-Reader:  When you said something to the effect of he didn’t know what “Bastard” meant but he knew he didn’t like it.  Those were powerful words.  Where did you find them or did they find you?

JL:  They found me, I guess. It’s that old saying, it’s not what you say, it’s how you say it. Carter knew by the tone of his grandfather’s voice, that whatever that word meant, it wasn’t good.

Rad-Reader:  How did Elizabeth not once catch on that her new husband was verbally abusive and mean to Carter? 

JL:  Her husband was cunning and sneaky with his attacks. A master manipulator. He made sure not to do it when Elizabeth was around. Carter never let on there was a problem, so she had no reason to suspect that everything was not as it seemed.

Rad-Reader:  On day one you can tell he likes Indi.  But the fear of being rejected first kicks in so as you say he had to force the Bastard.  Was this the first time for him not to have it be automatic?  If so why do you think this was different?

JL:  When you get inside Carter's head, you can see he’s not really a bastard. To me his bastardry was always forced, even if he didn’t realise that. He was hurt and felt unworthy and acted out. Pushing people away was a defence mechanism for him.
Rad-Reader: Indie basically called him on his crap by wiggling into him inner walls of his heart.

Rad-Reader:  Didn’t it get old for him to be on guard all the time?  Being a Bastard before someone can be it to you takes a lot of thought doesn’t it?  Or at least writing about it?

JL:  I’ll admit there were times I wanted to slap him silly, but there were also times I wanted to reach into my laptop and hug him. I guess he’d acted that way for so long, it became the norm for him. I hated the way he treated Indiana sometimes, but occasionally he let his guard down enough for her to see the true person he was inside.  Rad-Reader:  Even though it was heartbreaking to have them go through it they both needed to grow as people.  Especially Carter in the was he had to find his feelings.  All the events that lead up to that and then the reconnect make it all the better for them both.

Rad-Reader:  Carter made friends with Indi’s dad.  Being that he was a cop why didn’t he feel threatened by that?

JL:  Because deep down Carter had been craving the attention or acceptance from male/father figure for most of his life. His father and grandfather never wanted him, and his stepfather hated him. It meant everything to Carter when Ross offered to help him with his car the first day they met. I guess from that first interaction, he could see what a genuine guy Ross was. Nobody had ever offered to help him like that in the past.  Rad-Reader: <3

Rad-Reader:  Later on you find out her dad, Ross, keeps in contact with Carter why?  And why didn’t he tell her?

JL:  Because Ross is a man of his word. He promised Carter he wouldn’t tell Indiana or Elizabeth where he was. He knew that Carter had been let down by the other males in his life. He wanted to be the one he could count on. He knew that losing his trust wouldn’t help matters. Carter respected and listened to Ross and he needed to keep that relationship strong so he could help guide him on the right path. Ross adored his daughter, but over time he came to love Carter like a son, as well.  Rad-Reader: <3

Rad-Reader:  How would she have felt if she knew?

JL:  Oh she would’ve been pissed that’s for sure. Super pissed, but I also think she would’ve been grateful that her father was there for him. She loved the relationship they had. 

Rad-Reader:  When push comes to shove they are there for each other.  No matter what. Was it hard to find a middle ground?

JL:  They’ll always be there for each other. Even in the beginning they had that bond that neither of them realised.

Rad-Reader:  Would they have met and gotten together 5 years later if Carter’s stepfather hadn’t have died?

JL:  I’d like to think so. What’s meant to be will be. I truly believe that. Carter and Indiana were most definitely made for each other. I’m pretty sure fate would’ve brought them together with or without John’s death. I’m so glad he died though. God I hated that man.  Rad-Reader:  Hahaha! Me too!

Rad-Reader:  When they caught their parents together in a delicate situation why didn't either get upset?  That had to be one of the funniest scenes.

JL: Because in their hearts, it’s something they had both wished for. I’m pretty sure they’d never wished to witness their parents doing the nasty on the kitchen table, but they both knew they were perfect for each other. Elizabeth and Ross deserved a HEA.  Rad-Reader:  I could not stop laughing they both had immediate reactions that just cracked me up.  Especially with the baby. :)

Rad-Reader:  If your book was made into a movie who would you want to play:

Indi:  Elizabeth Gillies
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/cb/8c/5a/cb8c5a4728b8bdf783bb835d09710593.jpg

Carter:  Robbie Amell
http://cdn01.cdn.justjaredjr.com/wp-content/uploads/pictures/2015/03/robbie-shu/robbie-amell-shoestring-magazine-05.jpg

JL:

Indi:  Jessica Lowndes
http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/people-dont-have-to-be-anything-else/images/9/9e/Jessica%2BLowndes%2Bnormal_37.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20131119083720

Carter:  Ryan Guzman
http://static.tumblr.com/mug93c0/DPRm83pn2/376816_398250126903764_1233830834_n.jpg

They’re the actors used in my book trailer. 

Rad-Reader:  What song out right now reminds you of “Bastard?”

Rad-Reader:   Creed - Wash Away Those Years

JL:                         Conrad Sewell - "Start Again"

I occasionally listened to this on repeat when I was writing Bastard. Especially in part 2.

Rad-Reader:  What is your favorite dessert?

JL:  Anything with caramel in it.

Rad-Reader:  What can’t you leave home without?

JL:  My phone

Rad-Reader:  What is your next project?

JL:  I’m currently writing two books. Hooker, and Nineteen letters. Hooker will be my next release though. When a high class hooker has a one night stand with a handsome stranger, it changes her life. It’s different to my other five books, but I’m really enjoying writing it.

Blurb for Hooker:

Jade

          Jade’s young life was tough. After her mother died during childbirth and her father could no longer look after her, she was placed in foster care where she stayed for the next ten years. She grew up feeling unloved and unwanted as she was passed around from one screwed up home to the next.

          Things began to look up for her when she was adopted by a wealthy socialite at the age of eleven. Sometimes though, things aren’t always what they seem. Jade didn’t know it at the time, but her new adoptive mother had big plans for her, and spent the next seven years grooming Jade for that role.

          Jade learnt early in life that she couldn’t rely on anyone but herself. Instead of letting her circumstances beat her, she took all the negatives she’d been dealt, and used them to her advantage. She grew up to be a strong, successful, determined and independent woman. She was a loner by choice.

          The only thing lacking in her life was companionship and love. She’d never experienced it, so she didn’t know what she was missing, until she had a one-night-stand with a handsome stranger. One night, that would change everything.

Brock

          Brock grew up privileged. He had everything going for him. Money, looks, charm, success and an endless array of beautiful women. He wasn’t interested in commitment. To him women were easy. They practically threw themselves at his feet. All they wanted was to do something nobody had ever managed before. Snare the hot, rich bachelor.

          Then he met Jade. She was like a breath of fresh air. A challenge. Nothing like the women he was used too. Their one night together ignited something within him. A burning desire to own her, possess her, but Jade had other plans. Nobody says no to Brock Weston, nobody.

          He’s left wondering about a woman he knows he can never have. But, when fate brings them together again, will he get what he wants? Will he be able to claim the unattainable? Or will her secrets crush him, and destroy any chance they have of being together?

Rad-Reader:  When is your next book coming out?

JL: Early 2016 

Rad-Reader:  Where can our readers find you?  (Website?)

JL:  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/J-L-Perry-Author/216320021889204?fref=photo

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/JLPerryAuthor

Amazon Authors page: https://www.amazon.com/author/jlperry

Twitter: https://twitter.com/@JLPerryAuthor

I have written a 10,600 word bonus chapter on Carter and Indiana. It’s set 2 years after the epilogue. I’ve posted it in the Bastard Discussion Group of Facebook if anyone who’s read the book would like to read it. https://www.facebook.com/groups/1889439411280337/

Rad-Reader:  Where can they buy your books?

JL:  Amazon - 

US Link: http://amzn.com/B014DTSTKG
AU Link: http://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B014DTSTKG
UK Link: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B014DTSTKG
CA Permalink: http://www.amazon.ca/dp/B014DTSTKG

Apple: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id1033434259  
Kobo: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/bastard-8

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/bastard-j-l-perry/1122568569;jsessionid=ACAE938E4E6BEE0702B019103B1C9356.prodny_store03-5?ean=2940152170597

"Bastard"

My Review:

This is a story about a young man who was labeled by someone who was supposed to love him.  Yet, this same man couldn’t even love his own daughter, Carter’s mom.  When Carter’s mom took Carter at five years old to meet his grandparents his grandfather had answered the door and sent them both away and telling Elizabeth his mother to take her “Bastard” child with her.  At that moment Carter hated being a “Bastard” child but really he had no clue what it meant.  Once he got older found out what it meant it fed the anger and the pain he felt for his mother and himself.

     Once that word took on meaning so did his behavior.  He was angry at the world.  Then after 17 years of it just being him and his mother she finds happiness and gets married.  The only thing is that the guy hates Carter and behind his mother’s back this man let him know just how much.  With the marrying it also meant they were moving into a home of his choosing.  He hated moving from all that he knew and loved but it would only be for 6 months

     Where they move to there is this fine looking chick with a great “ass” as he puts it.  Hey he says those shorts tell it all.  Anyway, her long haired German Shepard that she named Lassie is awesome.  What are you kidding me Lassie for a boy dog?  She did really.  So Carter said that’s a pussy name and renamed him Larry.  He just hadn’t told Indiana that yet.  Indie is the girl that lives next door with her dad, a cop.  Her dad Ross and Carter bonded over the fixer upper Carter bought himself.  When she and Carter first meet he likes her a little too much that he has to force the “Bastard” to come out.

     You see his way of thinking was make them leave first or you leave first so you’re the one always in control.  So how do these two unlike people come together?  Can’t be tattoos she doesn’t have any.  Can’t be friends because he doesn’t have any.  Can’t be over sex because she’s never had any.  She becomes cargo transported to and from school for her dad’s piece of mind at least that how Carter played it in his head.

     Watch and see how Indie is able to take out a brick at a time to live a full life sometimes with him and sometimes not.  This is a love story with so much more.  I give this 5 stars.

Provided by netgalley.com.

Hubby's Review:

This book opens up with a women knocking on a door and asking for help, for her and her son. The man who answers the door does not say no, but says, why are you here and I would not help you or your bastard! The boy who was looking forward to meeting his grandfather asked his mother what a bastard was, she told him to forget it. He also said he did not like that man. The boy’s name is Carter Reynolds, and when he gets a little older he looks up that word and actually acts that way to keep people away from him. It also allows him to stay by himself and not make any friends or at least the friends he wants to make. It stays his mother and him until he is 17 and then she finally marries a man and they move to Sydney where he has a home. The man is very nice when his mother is around but when she is gone he treats him like s…t and he does not talk back because he figures for once his mum is happy and he is only going to stay around until he turns 18. Then he is out of their and on his own. The first day he moves in with his mother to the new home he is immediately attracted to the female who is bent over washing the car in the driveway. The look of her body does something to him that will last with him for a lifetime. When he meets her. Indiana Montgomery, is a very beautiful and tells him she goes by Indie for short. Just as everything is going good it admittedly goes bad when he sees her dog and asks its name and she says Lassie. He goes on a tear and turns his name into Larry, and then they start to argue. The next morning it does not get any better when he stops at the bus stop and tells her to get into his car. She says no, and he gets out and picks her up off the bench and places her in the car. Once they get to school he tells her to be there after school so he can take her home. She says she does not like it but she does. He does not make any friends and actually makes a few enemies his first day. Once home he meets her father who happens to be a detective and sees the type of car he has and they start talking and the next thing he is helping him with fixing it and showing him different things he did not know about the car. Carter also puts a stop to Indie going out Saturday night with one of the rugby players from school because all he wants to do is score. The first couple of weeks he is living next door to her they end up spending a lot of time together and her best friend asks if she is attracted to him. She is but says he won’t let anyone close. Then she starts to hear his step father yelling at him and just degrading him by calling him all different names, and when she asks him about it all he says is that he will be gone when he turns 18. The more things go on at his house her father asks him to stay for dinner and then one day after school she takes him to a place where her father gets used car parts. Then their relationship changes because afterwards they go to a dinner and talk. Also he notices that she actually eats, cheeseburger, fries, and a shake. This really gets him going and then when they start spending more time together he gets into a fight with that guy from school. He wins of course but then the next day at school his car is trashed. Tires slashed, windows broken etc. A few days later the two of them are at it again but this time at school and when they are in the office the other kid starts bragging about destroying his car not knowing that the principle is standing behind him. As much as she wants to stay away from him she is pulled towards him more. This leads to a night they spend together in the woods and he takes care of her both sexually and physically, which is not what she heard from her best friend after her first time. Now she is really torn but he has always told her he was leaving but the day he does is a shock and he does not turn around to say goodbye as she is standing there. He leaves and starts not only a new life but also a career and becomes a business owner, her father though finds him and stays in touch but does not tell his daughter. It turns out he comes back five years latter because his step father passes away and his mother needs his help for the funeral. While back he meets up with Indie and though she is very upset still she talks to him after a couple of days. Then the story turns because her boyfriend asks her proposes, but it is really like a last minute thing. She says no and he not only leaves her in a bad part of town miles from her home but also with a five hundred dollar bill. After some negations he does pay back the money. Carter then works on repairing the damage he has caused in their friendship and relationship because he realizes that he wants her in his life forever. He is willing to do anything. This part of the story is very moving because now she has the upper hand and it really takes off. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and could relate to it on so many different levels. I think the ending or right before the story ends is my best part and Carter gets his second wish but the way they find out is great. A fabulous book. I got this book from netgalley. I give this 5 stars.

Carter had it bad for Indiana but his past experience wouldn't allow him to take the friendship and then the love she was offering.  He had to become worthy.  Well that is not the case here with author and this book "Bastard" it jet fueled her to the front of the line.  She not only wrote an emotionally charged book but she was open and honest with giving us answers to our burning questions into the insight of our characters.  For that we are grateful.  Thanks for being with us and now you too are stuck with us.  You are a part of 1 Rad-Reader Reviews so stop by anytime and let us know how you are doing.  Thanks again,
Char & Pat