Interview with J.B. Salsbury

Can you give us a brief overview of your latest book? Is it part of a series?

Fighting to Forget is the third book in The Fighting Series. Every book in the series covers a different MMA fighter, and this is the story of Rex “T-Rex” Carter. He’s damaged beyond repair and uses pain as an anesthetic, a way to cope with his demons. Until the past walks back into his life in the form of a beautiful barmaid and destroys the fragile balance he’s managed to build.

Do you have a favorite character?

It’s a toss up between Rex and his love interest Mac, but if I had to choose I’d say Rex is my favorite. They’re both insanely strong and equally weak, which is such an unfathomable dynamic and yet somehow makes complete sense, but Rex pulls at my heart a little differently. He’s an alpha male like the rest of the guys in the series, but he’s sugary sweet and so vulnerable that it’s hard not to love him.

Have you ever had a minor character evolve into a major one? Did that change the direction of the novel at all?

Yes! There’s a biker in this book named Hatchet who was supposed to make an appearance in chapter one, but as I wrote his scene he exploded onto the page and made it very clear he wasn’t going anywhere. He ends up being a huge player in the plotline and climax of the book and I’m now entertaining the idea of giving him his own book somewhere down the road.

Did you try the traditional route to publishing, i.e. querying agents/publishers?

No. I’ve always been dead set on self-publishing.

How long before you got your offer of representation/your first contract? Was it for your first novel?

I got my first offer from an agent about three weeks after I published my first book Fighting for Flight. More rolled in after, but I went with Trident Media Group and am still with them for foreign, audio, and movie rights.

What factors influenced your decision to self-publish your book(s)?

Traditional publishing was always the direction I was headed until I hooked up with a fabulous group of writers who were working on getting traditionally published. I knew I’d never go that route, but what solidified it for me was listening to their struggle. I’m not anti-traditional publishing and I’m not saying that if the right opportunity presented itself I wouldn’t jump all over it, but spending years and years working on getting an agent and then years to get a publisher didn’t appeal to me. I suck at delayed gratification.

If you used a graphic designer/publisher’s designer, how involved were you during the creative process for your cover?

Because I’m self-published I have 100% control over my cover designs. I have an incredible graphic designer, Amanda at Pixel Mischief, who tells me when my ideas are horrible and she’s an artistic and marketing genius so we brainstorm the covers together until we come up with something that we’re both in love with.

Do you belong to a critique group? Have they helped improve your writing?

I do. There’s a group of six girls including myself that all write different genres of romance. Some are traditionally published and some are self-published. They’ve absolutely helped to improve my writing. I’ve learned more from them than I have anywhere else. They always let me know when I’m on to something great or when I need a swift kick in the butt. They’re honesty is what I appreciate the most. I don’t know what I’d do without them.

What is your writing process? Do you listen to music or do you like silence?

First thing I always do is take off my bra! :D Comfort is key. No, but really I do try to find a comfy place to curl up with my laptop. Silence is good for certain scenes, but others I prefer to pop in my earbuds and have music playing. It just depends on what I’m writing and where my head’s at.

Do you outline your story or just go where your muse takes you?

No, I don’t outline. I’ve tried and find it’s a complete waste of time because I always end up veering away from my outline. For me, writing is like sitting across from a friend and listening to their life story. I quiet myself, listen, and type what I see and hear from start to finish.

Did you hire an editor to review your manuscript before publishing?

Yes! Absolutely, yes. It’s impossible for me to find my own mistakes. I’ll read the same sentence ten times and because I know what I want it to say my mind reads it that way. It’s crazy, but true. A good editor is worth his/her weight in gold. I’d never put anything out there that hasn’t had a thorough scrub down.

What advice would you give a new author just entering into the self-publishing arena?

Write what you love, and never read your bad reviews.

What’s next for you?

Next book with be Fighting the Fall, Eve’s book. I introduce her love interest in Fighting to Forget and I’m really excited to throw these two together on the page. 

 

Fighting to Forget

Every fighter is drawn to the violence, the release that a perfect hit can bring. But very few are drawn to the pain. Rex Carter lives behind a wall of indifference. The demons from his childhood act as an anesthetic, keeping him distant from emotional connections. Only the ache from a knock to the jaw, the sting of a tattoo needle, or the heat from a piercing can jolt him back from the numbness. The fiery pain is all he can feel, and nothing compares to the burn. Or so he thought. Working in a Las Vegas bar isn't Georgia McIntyre's dream. But she hopes it'll be an end to the nightmare. She's watched him, followed him and kept tabs, all in preparation for this moment: to make amends and share the secret she’s been carrying since she was a kid. But she didn't count on the feelings that seeing him again would stir up, the vacant look in his stormy-blue eyes, and his perfect body now mutilated by ink and metal. And she knows why. She's lived his pain every single day, since the day he left. Changed by time, Rex doesn't remember the girl from his past. If only she could do the same. Will she get the absolution she's spent her life seeking? Or will he continue Fighting to Forget?

 

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Author Bio

JB Salsbury, USA Today Best Selling author of the Fighting series, lives in Phoenix, Arizona with her husband and two kids. She spends the majority of her day as a domestic engineer. But while she works through her daily chores, a world of battling alphas, budding romance, and impossible obstacles claws away at her subconscious, begging to be released to the page.

 Her love of good storytelling led her to earn a degree in Media Communications. With her journalistic background, writing has always been at the forefront, and her love of romance prompted her to sink her free time into novel writing. Fighting for Flight, Fighting to Forgive, and Fighting to Forget are the first three novels in the MMA romance series. Fighting the Fall is due to be released in October 2014.

 For more information on the series or just to say hello, visit JB on her website, Facebook, or Goodreads page.

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