Interview with Jackson Jablonic & Evan Goodwyn

My name is Riley Parks and I’m the author of Bleeding Like Me, a romance novel about Jackson Jablonic and Evan Goodwyn, two men in rival street gangs who fall in love. I’m lucky to be joined by these antiheroes today.

Riley Parks: Thank you so much for agreeing to sit down with me to talk all things Bleeding Like Me.

Jackson Jablonic: Antiheroes, huh?

Evan Goodwyn: Guess she’s not down for us like she said she was when she started writing the book.

JJ: Guess not.

RP: In all fairness, you guys have done some questionable things in the past, and some things are blatantly wrong. It’s not that you aren’t likable. I like you…

JJ: What do you say about motherfuckers you don’t like then?  

EG: Shit.

RP: Do you want to be heroes? Role models?

JJ: First, that’s two questions. We told you we’d answer five, and you’re going for two right from the jump.

RP: We could call it one.

EG: We could, but we won’t.

RP: Tough crowd.

EG & JJ: (crickets)

RP: All right (clears throat), do you want to be a hero, Jackson?

JJ: Would I get to fly and shit?

EG: That’d be pretty cool.

RP: I was thinking more an “everyday” hero, not so much a superhero.

JJ: The problem with you is you do too much thinking.

EG: Too much limiting really. I’d be down to be a superhero.

JJ: Do you write that kinda shit?

RP: I don’t. I like to focus on more realistic, true to life gritty stories, like yours.

EG: That sucks. Jack would look fucking hot in some superhero shit. That ass would be like, POW!

(all laughing)

JJ: Shut the fuck up.

RP: Me or Evan?

JJ: Both.

RP: Let’s move on. Role models. Do you want to be role models?

JJ: To who?

RP: To anyone.

JJ: That ship’s sailed, capsized and sank, so probably not.

EG: I’d like to be a role model.

RP: Yeah?

JJ: You would?

EG: (shrugs) Why not? Do you only get one chance to be an okay person? Two? What’s the limit?

RP: That’s not for us to decide, I guess. Maybe that’s a question for the reader.

JJ: I don’t give a shit what they say about it. If he wants to be a role model, they’re not gonna tell him that one day he can’t be.

RP: So maybe we don’t call you antiheroes anymore. What should we call you instead?

JJ: You’re the writer.

RP: How about works in progress?

EG: I like that.

JJ: Fine. You got three more questions to go.

RP: What was your favorite part of the book?

EG: I liked when you wrote about how I painted Jack.

JJ: I liked when you wrote about Evan’s dick.

EG: (rolls eyes) Really?!

JJ: That’s quality content right there.

EG: Do you regret interviewing us?

RP: (bites inside of mouth) Not at all. What about your least favorite part of the book?

JJ: You wrote about shit you shouldn’t have written about. That’s all we gotta say about that.

RP: (looks at Evan)

EG: That’s all we gotta say about that.

JJ: Last one. Make it good.

RP: What’s something you want readers to know about you that they may not have learned in the book?

JJ: I don’t want them to know anything else about me. They know too much already.

RP: Evan?

EG: I want them to know I’m trying to be a better person.

JJ: You’re doing fine, Evan.

EG: (shrugs) It is what it is.

RP: Thanks for talking with me.

JJ: We done here?

RP: We’re done.

JJ: Thank fuck. Continue reading →