Snowy Reading Blog Hop

Excited to take part in the Snowy Reading Blog Hop, in which I will interview the main character of one of my books. I have decided to interview Jake Murphy, the protagonist of A SCARRED MIND, the book I have been querying in hopes of publishing. Here is what it's about: 

Jake has always had a way of knowing things, but you’ll never see him on talk shows or late night commercials. Now that he’s foreseen the vicious murder of a stranger, he has to step out of his comfort zone and actually tell someone. Stung by years of ridicule and crystal ball jokes, he’s hesitant to contact the police. It doesn't help matters that he promised his wife he'd never use his gift again. But he can't ignore that he may be the only one who can save the stranger's life. He convinces two detectives to check it out and hopes that will end his part of the story.

No such luck. As his visions become more frequent and intense, he learns the stranger isn’t the only one in danger. Pretty soon he’s working alongside the detectives in a mad dash to stop the killer from turning the city into his personal hunting ground. If Jake and the detectives can't get a step ahead of the killer, more women could die. Now that Jake is forced to embrace his psychic side, he may end up with scars far worse than a bruised reputation.

Hi Jake! And welcome to the Snowy Reading Blog hop. We're so excited to have you here today. 

1. Tell us a little about yourself.  Hey. Thanks for having me. I'll admit this makes me a little nervous. I know everyone knows about my gift now but it's still a little weird for me to talk about. Ever since I was a kid, I've always known things and while it's cool to be psychic, it's gotten me into a lot of trouble. Anyway, I'm 36, married to a wonderful woman named Sarah (she doesn't like to talk about my "gift" but I'd rather not get into the reasons why) and I'm a published writer. My memoir will be coming out in about a year, about this recent experience, but you can buy my YA paranormal called Freak. The local Books-A-Million has a nice little local authors display. :) Other than that, I'm a pretty laid back guy. As you can tell, it's still kinda hard to talk about myself. No offense.
2. Do you enjoy or dislike winter? Tell us why. Sure, I like winter. I love the Christmas decorations in Wilmington (where I live) and also in Wrightsville Beach, a few miles away. They have this light display with dolphins jumping and the annual flotilla, where they decorate the boats in lights and have a show on the Intracoastal Waterway. It's very cool! We don't get snow often -- I can count on one hand how many times it's snowed in the past ten years. But who doesn't love hot chocolate and a fire in the fireplace? Even if you don't need it for heat. ;)  
3. What would you do on a date (or with close friends) on a snowy evening? See above! Ha ha. If it snowed, Wilmington would probably shut down (slight exaggeration) so I'd make hot chocolate or coffee and a fire and listen to my Sinatra Christmas album even if it wasn't Christmas. Maybe even make smores on the fire. 
4. When it's cold and dreary outside, what makes you laugh out loud? Will Ferrell movies, especially Elf
5.  If you were sitting around a fire, playing truth or dare, what would you choose and why? That's a tough one! It would depend on who I was playing with. It's been years since I played games like that but it might be kind of fun. Especially if Alex was there...
6. Tell us about a winter memory from your childhood? There was the big snow of 1989 in southeastern NC. It was my first white Christmas and everything shut down. The roads were too slick to go anywhere and we weren't prepared for how much it snowed. But it was so much fun. My family bonded more than ever and also went a little stir-crazy since we couldn't get to my grandma's house like we'd always done on Christmas. But the snow was magic. My first snowman too, at thirteen! And yeah, I predicted it would snow on Christmas that year. My mom finally believed I had a gift. 
7. What is the most creative gift you would put under the tree? Hmm...I guess you would think I'd give a free psychic reading to someone but it's not really my thing. Actually, all of my readings are free. Probably the most creative gift was a poem I wrote for my wife early in our marriage about how much I loved her. It was cheesy, yes, but she cried. 
8. Would you start a snowball fight? You know, I just might. It'd be interesting to see what Tom would do if attacked with snowballs since he's always so serious. ;) 
9. Tell us about your favourite winter movie or book? Probably Elf! 
10. How do you celebrate the holidays? Be it Christmas or Hannaukah or the Winter Solstice. We usually go up to Sarah's parents' house in Raleigh and have a quiet evening at home on Christmas Eve. I think things are going to be very different next Christmas so we'll see how that turns out! Everything in my life has changed now.