Christie Capps Identity Reveal & Giveaways

WHO IS CHRISTIE CAPPS?

After reading and reviewing her first story, I wondered, who is Christie Capps? Her bio states this is a pen name for a best-selling author. I was curious and found out I wasn’t the only one who was intrigued as the question had been posed on Goodreads as well. So, who is she?

I went into private detective mode and look what I discovered. Christie Capps is none other than Joy King, who writes as J Dawn King. Ah-Ha! Case solved.

I decided to ask her a few questions about her pen name and she was kind enough to satisfy my curiosity 😉

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Joy, why did you choose to write in the same genre using a different identity?

Primarily, I wanted the freedom to try something new for me in the world of JAFF. In the back of my mind, the desire to write comedy, dark drama, and contemporary was becoming almost overwhelming. I needed a channel to give expression to these stories. They were so unlike my J Dawn King tales that I figured I’d better put them under a different name.

 

Why are you limiting your stories to 20,000 words?

Great question, Rita. My life has become very busy, leaving me less and less time to read. As an older woman with no children at home who happens to work from home, I find I rarely can start and finish a book in one sitting. Talk about FRUSTRATING!!!

How many JAFF readers are parents, students, and/or full-time workers? What is the common issue to them all? A lack of time. With that in mind, I wondered if I could provide a variety of complete stories ranging from 20,000 – 25,000 words for those busy readers. I had to give it a go. Thus, Mr. Darcy’s Bad Day was born and the tagline popped into my brain, “TIMELESS ROMANCE FOR THE BUSY READER”.

Another reason was the challenge of writing a complete story within my self-set restraints. It’s much harder than I imagined. I love to embellish details and minor characters. I also enjoy writing mixed points-of-view. With these short stories, I am not allowing myself to do so. Should I give in, I would not meet my purpose in having a book that could be read in about an hour.

 

Were there any other reasons you decided to write and publish short stories under an assumed name?

Yes, Rita. I purchased pre-made covers which I’ve never done before. I wasn’t brand conscious when selecting them so they are a random mix of colors, subjects, and fonts. I had a ball choosing them from the catalogue and then sheer terror at trying to get the positioning of the fonts just right. It made me appreciate the skill of my regular designer, JD Smith – Designer. I’ll NEVER do this again without her help.

 

In what formats will these short stories be available?

All of them will be in eBook, paperback, and audiobook.

 

The storyline permeating “For Pemberley” is dark. Do you feel you did it justice in this short story?

I spent many sleepless nights worrying about this, Rita. To protect readers who may have a trigger response to Elizabeth being assaulted, I posted it on the book and the purchase sites. (It was a FAILED assault that is not described.)

When I put this online at a fanfic forum, I received over 350 comments and reviews in less than three weeks from readers who supported this story. I appreciated every single one. There is no doubt that events move right along. It must in this format. Elizabeth’s responses were taken from the experience of a close friend so I was confident in my approach. My objective was to have Darcy and Elizabeth forge an unbreakable bond, while keeping in character, in about an hour’s reading time.

Several reviewers asked me to write a sequel where I address the future of minor characters. I’m going to leave this up to the reader’s imaginations, as it was not necessary to the story.

Again, this is a training experience for me to discern when to self-edit extra baggage. It’s driving me nuts, but I’m enjoying the learning process and hope to be a better author because of it.

 

What is in store for Christie Capps?

Right now, I’m in the process of getting the print and audiobooks done for my latest short story, For Pemberley. I have two more stories planned. The next one is a contemporary (yes, my first) and my final story is set as a sequel to Pride and Prejudice (also a first). My plan is to lump them together with Mr. Darcy’s Bad Day and For Pemberley at the end of the year in a boxed set (tentatively entitled, “Oh, Mr. Darcy!”. I’ve attached the covers, Rita, should you like to look at them. They are not final. The titles may change. We shall see. I’m not planning on any more short stories after these four are complete.

 

How did you choose your pen name?

My husband has always liked the name Christie. I’m a huge fan of National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) drag racing and one of my favorite Funny Car drivers and last year’s national champion is Ron Capps. Not very brilliant, but it’s what I came up with at the time.

 

Will you ever use another pen name?

NEVER!!! It’s a royal pain to keep track of the different social media and email accounts. Plus, I forget to sign my name as Christie instead of Joy when I reply to messages.

 

Would you share your best experience so far?

Certainly. When I put Mr. Darcy’s Bad Day up for auditions for the audiobook production, Stevie Zimmerman sent in her sample. Out of 84 auditions, hers was my favorite. When I made her the offer of a contract I had to use my real name. Surprise! She was stunned. We had a good laugh afterwards.

 

What is in store for J Dawn King?

My next book, Friends & Enemies will launch sometime this summer. I am trying to coordinate having the audiobook ready at about the same time as the eBook and print. This is made more challenging since I approached Richard Armitage about narrating and producing this version. He has my manuscript and is reviewing it so I haven’t received a “no”—yet.

If I end up setting aside my Bingley/Jane story, AGAIN, I have two epic tales outlined for Darcy and Elizabeth. With the amount of research I’ll need for each one, I doubt I will finish either before the summer of 2018. We shall see where the muse takes me.

 

Are there any more surprises up your sleeves? Anything we should anticipate in the future?

Nothing that I know of—for now. However, always at the back of my mind is trying to reach more and more readers by researching where they are buying and what it is they are looking for in the world of JAFF. Sometimes I can adapt, other times I cannot.

 

Thank you very much for stopping by and for helping us know Christie Capps. I understand you come bearing gifts.

I have a few presents your readers/followers might enjoy.

First, I had one embroidered handkerchief with Mr. Darcy’s monogram left from my newsletter giveaway. It’s gorgeous.

Second, I have ten eBook copies for either or both of Christie Capps’ books (Mr. Darcy’s Bad Day and/or For Pemberley.)

Third, I have a $100 Amazon gift card just waiting for a winner to by books and more books.

To be eligible for these prizes you need to leave a comment below with your answer to the following question: Would you choose a long story or a short story as the next JAFF book you read? That’s it!

Small print: The Amazon gift card will be adjusted to the exchange rate if the winner is outside the US. Winners have seven days to reply to the email notification. If they do not do so, for whatever reason (including the winning notification being dumped into their SPAM folder and they didn’t see it), another winner will be drawn. As always, my giveaways are available internationally.

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Thank you, Joy/Christie for your generosity!!!

As instructed, please leave a comment below until the 26th of May to qualify, and of course, if you haven’t heard of this pen name before, you can find Christie Capps’ works on the links below:

Mr. Darcy’s Bad Day

For Pemberley

And of course, to see the Joy’s published books, click here.

 Good luck everyone!