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Saturday Spotlight!
Today we are spotlighting one of America's Heroes
J. P. Wille's
Blood in the Woods!
We want to be the first to say THANK YOU J.P for your
service to our country!
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J.P. Willie!
J. P. Willie's
Blood in the Woods!
SOON TO BE A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE:
Rural Louisiana country life is peaceful, idyllic, and sanguine. One bucolic town leads to another in an endless series of southern country life. Yet beneath the tranquil surface lies another story. A story of the south which hasn't been told only hinted at.
As 26 -year -old Jody stands on the cracked, aged driveway of his childhood home, a black mass settles itself on his chest. A sense of fear is manifesting around the edges of his psyche as unmentioned memories flood back to the last time he stood on this spot years ago. There is an empty space where the trailer once stood. The place he called home; thought of as his refuge together with his mother and younger brother, but all was ripped apart along with the innocence of childhood.
Growing up in the late eighties and early nineties in the small town of Hammond, Louisiana, with his best friend Jack, was full of wonderful memories. Their lives on Rhine Road are typical for boys their age. Time is spent playing in the woods, shooting pellet guns, blowing up mailboxes, fighting at school and the beginnings of interests in girls. Their lives are what you would expect from children with no responsibilities or worries beyond the next pop-quiz or getting to second base.
As they grow older together and experience the joys and pains of life, love, family and friendship, they discover a meddlesomeness borne of lazy summer days, boredom and childhood rebellion. Through idle curiosity, they stumble upon something horrific in the woods one evening and their lives quickly take a turn.
They soon become hunted by an unspeakable evil and the hunting ground was home.
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Check out these articles about Blood in the Woods!
Q & A with J.P. Willie about Blood in the Woods!
Tell us about BLOOD IN THE WOODS.
BLOOD IN THE WOODS is a dark and terrifying coming-of-age novel mixed with the perfect narration about family, first loves, and friendship.
What initially inspired you to write BLOOD IN THE WOODS?
Upon returning home from my second deployment to Afghanistan, my best friend Jack lost his sister, Jamie, to a car accident. At that time in my life, I was in a terrible marriage and suffering with PTSD. I started writing as a form of therapy and while doing so, I remembered some terrifying true events I experienced during my childhood, and before I knew it, BLOOD IN THE WOODS was born.
Tell us little about the characters in BLOOD IN THE WOODS.
The two main characters are Jody and Jack; two best friends growing up in the small town of Baptist, Louisiana. Jody is the loud mouth and energetic one, while Jack’s more reserved and the toughest of the duo. They’re wild, reckless, relentless and rebellious, but because of this, they soon find themselves in over their heads.
What was the hardest part of writing this book?
Some of the graphic scenes within the novel were tough to write. As a father of 5 children, it was truly a challenge, but as a storyteller, I knew I had to shock the readers and pull them out of their comfort zone.
What was your favorite chapter (or part) to write and why?
I didn’t really have a favorite chapter, but my favorite part in the novel, and for most readers, is the creek scene. Believe me, you’ll know when you get to it.
What are your future project(s)?
I’m currently writing my novella, HOT SUMMER SAVIOR, which will be out this summer.
Is there anything else you would like to tell the readers about this book/series?
The novel has been slated for film in 2018, so keep a lookout.
Now an exciting excerpt from Blood in the Woods!
“Hey.” I said, quietly.
“Hey.” Angela replied, trying to keep her back to me.
“So, are you still mad at me?” I asked, going straight for the elephant that was in the creek with us. “Is that why you haven’t said a word to me this whole time?”
“What do you think, Jody?”
“I don’t know,” I said, raising my voice a tad, “We haven’t talked to each other since we broke up.”
“And you think I should’ve been talking to you,” Angela spat, uncrossing her arms and getting into a defensive posture, “You said a lot of hurtful things to me that day, Jody. Things I haven’t forgotten. And then, after breaking up with me, after we’d been together for so long, you asked Laura to go out with you! Right away!”
“You broke up with me; remember?” I hissed, “I wasn’t the one that wanted to break up. You were the one that wanted to. I believe it was because you’re Mommy and Daddy forced you to do it. Am I right?”
“I didn’t want to,” Angela said, her eyes were becoming glossy, “But I did it. And now, ever since we’ve split, I’ve had to watch you walk happily through the halls, holding hands with Laura like I’ve never even existed!”
“It’s not like that.”
“Then tell me what it’s like,” Angela pried, “Do you not really like her?”
“Of course I like her.”
“Well then, tell me how much you like her. Tell me how long y’all stay on the phone talking to each other on the weekends,” Angela ranted, “Tell me anything.”
“I haven’t stopped thinking about you, Angela,” I yelled, silencing her rant, “Just because I’m going out with Laura, doesn’t mean I still don’t have feelings for you. I think about you all the time.”
“And I think about you all the time.” Angela said.
After the short argument was over, Angela started to cry. I walked over to her and placed my hands on top of her boney shoulders.
“I didn’t mean any of those things I said to you. I was angry; there’s been some things going on in my life for the past couple of years that you wouldn’t understand.”
“We’ve all been going through things.” Angela said, she had stopped crying.
“No doubt about that,” I said, agreeing wholeheartedly with her, “Look,” I brought my hand under her chin and raised it until she was looking me dead in the eyes, “I’m sorry if I hurt you. Can you not be mad at me anymore, please?”
“Sure.” Angela said, letting loose a long sigh.
“Good, now come here.” I said, warmly.
I pulled her into a tight hug and she wrapped her skinny arms tightly around my waist. As our bodies pressed closely against another, I brought my head down to her shoulder and squeezed her tighter. Her hair smelled like raspberry, and I could feel her heart beating against mine. I began swaying with her in my arms; it almost felt like we were dancing a slow dance that was just for us. Time seemed to stand still; I felt her arms loosen around my waist and she leaned back as we continued to rock slowly from side to side. The sun was still hot, and dragonflies were now landing in the water below our feet, searching for small insects. She brought both her hands up to my face, running her fingers through my spiked hair. My heart was pounding, and I could feel Angela’s doing the same.
“Kiss me.” Angela said.
“Okay.” I said, innocently.
I licked my lips quickly, hoping she didn’t notice that I was nervous, but somehow conjured up the intestinal fortitude and began to lean forward slowly. As I continued my movement to seal the kiss, splashing in the distance broke my concentration. I heard Jack screaming at the top of his lungs and we both opened our eyes instantly, letting go of each other. I focused my attention on Jack and Krystle, who were heading right for us.
His first novel, BLOOD IN THE WOODS, which is inspired by true events from his childhood, is terrifying readers across the globe and soon to be a major motion picture. He enjoys writing Horror, Psychological Thrillers, Supernatural Fiction and Dark Fiction. He is already working on his second novel, THE TRAGEDY OF C. MOORE COOPER, and his first novella, HOT SUMMER SAVIOR, will be out this summer. His short story WELCOME HOME, ROUGAROU is ranked #5 in the Amazon Kindle store for short reads and is available now.
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