Chicago and Wisconsin

by Nico Jaye

Hi! Thank you so much to The Blogger Girls for inviting me to chat a little about my new book, He’s Just Knot That Into You. I had a lot of fun writing this fluffy werewolf novella and am excited for you to meet Tanner and Jon. =) Right now I’m touring the web to talk about the book, how it came about, my processes—and anything else that comes to mind, to be honest. Of course, a blog tour wouldn’t be complete without a giveaway, so please check out those details at the end of the post!

HJKTIY is set partly in Chicago, partly in the woods of Wisconsin. Chicago has a special place in my heart after I lived there for three years during grad school. Sure, grad school was tough, but the city made it some of the most fun years of my life. There were jazz clubs. And great restaurants. And my little studio apartment along Lake Michigan.

And, of course, who can forget Wrigley Field? Its iconic red-and-white marquee and its famous ballpark franks make Wrigley Field one of a kind in the baseball world. When I lived in Chicago, I spent many a game there and enjoyed the setting immensely.

Tanner and Jon spend some time in Chicago throughout HJKTIY. I had fun revisiting the area through photos and memories, and I hope I did the Second City justice.

The latter half of HJKTIY takes place north of Chicago, in the woods of northern Wisconsin. Although I’d been to Wisconsin—indeed, I’d even stayed in the woods there—it’d been a while since I’d visited, and I wasn’t nearly as familiar with Wisconsin as I was with my daily lifestyle in Chicago.

Hence…research! Is anyone shocked that I discovered Vilas County through the beauty of the Internet? *hears crickets*

By this point you all know how awesome the Internet is for research. Heck, the Internet is awesome, period. I’m saying hello to you through the Internet, after all. =) And, yes, I mean official research in this case, and not the tumblr binges I find myself on when I want a distraction to see some pretties and shinies on there. 😉

Anyway, I digress! We all know the Internet is awesome. Yup, established and accepted into evidence. What I didn’t know was the breadth of information available about this random little corner of northwest Wisconsin that I was determined to feature as the setting of Jon’s family home.

(Used with permission of Life in the Northwoods)

Lucky for me there was a wonderful nature photographer who had a veritable bevy of inspiring photos on his site, Life in the Northwoods. Check it out and you’ll see what I mean. Just the variety of animals and scenery really had my imagination going. Add to that this amazing vacation home I found in the area, and I was all set.

In He’s Just Knot That Into You, I had a lot of fun with the setting—both going down memory lane to revisit Chicago and discovering gorgeous Vilas County, Wisconsin, through the powers of the Internet. =) If you decide to check out the book, I hope you’ll get a taste of the city and backwoods through Tanner and Jon’s eyes.

Nico ♥

About He’s Just Knot That Into You

When Tanner moves to Chicago for a new job, he experiences his First Shift, a revelation that signifies he’s met his mate since the last full moon. The only problem? He doesn’t know who it is. To find his mate, he enlists his new assistant Jon to arrange a series of dates, but each one turns out more disastrous than the last.

With the next full moon quickly approaching, Tanner finally determines the identity of his true mate. Unfortunately, Jon has since disappeared, and Tanner must now begin a new search. Is it really Jon’s family crisis pulling him away, or is Jon just not that into him?

Available at: Dreamspinner Press & Amazon

An Excerpt from He’s Just Knot That Into You

A note from Nico: Some of you might be wondering what First Shift means to an alpha werewolf in this universe. Well…here’s a little taste of the opening scene. Hope you like it!

He’d suspected nine days ago, but he hadn’t dared to hope.

This night, though, with the first full moon since he’d started at Dilarium, confirmed it.

Curled up on his side in the living room of his subleased townhome, Tanner gritted his teeth, his eyes squeezing shut as he felt the irrepressible movement of bones shifting beneath his skin. The silky carpet was cool and soft against his cheek, and he pressed his face into it, struggling with that over which he had absolutely no control. His body was on fire, his blood pumping through his veins at supersonic speed. An invisible spike pierced his fingertips, one by one, while his jaw rearranged itself on his face.

“AaaaaaaaAAAAAGGGHHH!”

He couldn’t hold back the scream that ripped through him as he felt his spine stretch, then curve, turning him into that one elusive form he’d craved for all of these years: werewolf.

A First Shift was supposed to be the hardest.

The first time bone broke and mended in its transformation into that creature of the night. The first time claws extended, pointed tips puncturing nail beds to replace human fingers. The first time fangs punched out, the teeth of a hunter replacing those of a benign human.

A First Shift was shocking. It was thrilling. It was painful.

Above all, it was exhilarating.

A First Shift meant he had found his mate.

About Nico Jaye

Nico Jaye is a fan of all things HEA and has dragged her romance collection along for her moves from San Francisco to Los Angeles to Chicago to New York and back. She thinks reading is awesome and loves that she can hang out night after night with crinoline-wearing debutantes, brawny firemen in suspenders, and werewolf shifters with Scottish brogues. An overall feline enthusiast, Nico secretly (or not so secretly?) adores Hello Kitty, cat GIFs, spontaneous traveling, pretending to be crafty, emoticons, hot menfolk, and parenthetical statements (not necessarily in that order). After starting as the pitcher for Team Awesome (literally) and visiting places like South Africa, Oman, and Fiji, Nico discovered that letting the boys in her head tell her where they want to go could actually be the most exciting journey of all.

Find out more about Nico on her Website/Blog, Twitter, Facebook or Goodreads.

There will be a giveaway across blog visits. Two winners will be chosen, and each winner will receive (1) their choice of an ebook from my backlist (not including HJKTIY), (2) a pretty ring with the word “love” inscribed on it, and (3) a crescent moon necklace. There are no shipping restrictions, and this giveaway is open worldwide where permitted by law.

The raffle will end on April 1st. To enter, just click the link below!

Rafflecopter Giveaway

Don’t forget to check out Nikyta’s review of He’s Just Knot That Into You to see what she thought of it!

Good luck!