Meet John Reeves, star of THE FALL OF BILLY HITCHINGS and WIP, WRATH, by @KirkusMacGowan:

My friend Kirkus MacGowan is at an undisclosed location with, the star of The Fall of Billy Hitchings, John Reeves—or at least in my mind he is. John agreed to answer a few questions for his fans, but keep in mind, Reeves is a secretive individual. Kirkus’ goal is to give the reader some insight into just who John Reeves is. There may be questions John can’t answer, especially those relating to his involvement in Secret Ops.

Welcome, Kirkus, I’ll hand the reins over to you, as you know John better than anyone does.

 

Thank you, Carmen. I’ll do my best to keep on task, but there have been some issues lately. Our work together on the Wrath has made our relationship a bit, shall we say, tenuous. Okay, if you could see the look on his face right now, you’d know it has been more than tenuous. Let’s just do this. Without further ado, my interview with John Reeves.

Kirkus:  So, John. Fans want to know more about your origins. Let’s start there. Where are you originally from?

John:  What? No coffee? C’mon, Kirkus. You know me better than that.

Kirkus:  Oh, ah, hold on. I just came with your driver. I didn’t…

 

John:  I’m kidding. I have my own right here. I grew up in Michigan. A small town named Clarkbridge, just north of Detroit.

 

Kirkus:  I’m actually from Michigan as well. Just north of Grand Rapids.

 

John:  Go figure.

 

Kirkus:  Okay, let’s get on to the questions from readers. What was your goal when you joined me on The Fall of Billy Hitchings?

 

John:  What do you mean? You don’t think I was needed?

 

Kirkus:  No. I mean, yes I needed you, but you didn’t come along until I was halfway through the first draft. I could have finished months sooner.

 

John:  Did you see where Billy was going? Amfar? And what about Kelly? I couldn’t sit around and let you muss things up.

 

Kirkus:  It wasn’t all that bad.

 

John:  Kirkus? Really?

Kirkus:  You’re right. It was pretty messy. That does lead me to the next question though. Where would you say you developed your leadership ability, those very skills that prompted you to save my book? The military? Your dad?

 

John:  A decent question. Only I don’t know the answer. I’ve been me as long as I can remember. My father, Ed Reeves, probably went overboard on his “fathering” as he called it. I called it training. The military helped, but not as much as one would think. They’re more about getting you to do things normal people are smart enough to keep their noses out of. If I had to narrow it down to one thing, I’d say genetics. I’m quite like my father used to be.

Kirkus:  I don’t know that I’ve ever heard you say so many words in one sitting.

 

John:  Maybe you should listen more.

Kirkus:  I suppose I deserve that. Don’t you think I’ve listened to you more with Wrath?

                                                                                                             

John:  Don’t even get me started. That last scene? I should swat you.

 

Kirkus:  Let’s move on to another question. This one is the lead question from the females. They’d like to know why you are the way you are in relationships. I don’t want to say much more than that for people who haven’t read the book yet, but I think what they really want to know is, aren’t you lonely?

John:  Lonely? Not really. Don’t get me wrong, there are times I think about having a wife and children. Waking up next to somebody is always nice, but the whole relationship thing has never been for me. I like that at the end of the day I can kick my sandals off and leave them in the middle of the floor. That I can listen to the TV too loud, drink a six-pack, or put my feet on the coffee table. I enjoy being me. If you ever find a woman that wouldn’t mind any of those things, and doesn’t have more body hair than me, send her my way.

 

Kirkus:  I’ll be sure to do that. Really, though? You haven’t met one woman you thought could fill that role?

John:  Look, I don’t want to ruin anything for the readers. Let’s just say it’s easier for me, and whoever I’m with, if it doesn’t get serious. It’s hard for them to accept the jobs I take. More than that, there’re jobs people need help with, and I can’t give them that help if I worry about my home life. Like how I rescued your book, for example.

Kirkus:  Low blow, John.

 

John: Just speaking the truth.

Kirkus:  Let’s move on. There’s one scene that’s been running through my head since the beginning of our interview. It’s a sensitive subject, I’m sure, especially since you wouldn’t entertain Joel’s questions in my book, and he’s your best friend. Who is the boy Joel mentions during that scene in the bar? Somebody you knew?

 

John:  Next question.

 

Kirkus:  You don’t have to tell me all the details. Maybe just if he—

John:  Next question. Don’t make me say it again.

Kirkus:  I apologize if I offended. Let me just take a look at what else we have here. We should have time for a couple more. Here’s a good one. Tell us one thing the fans of The Fall of Billy Hitchings wouldn’t know about you.

 

Kirkus:  John? Are you there?

 

John:  Are you in a hurry? Give me a second. I guess people might want to know where my money comes from. It’s not really a big secret, more a matter of luck. After my time in the military, I took some odd jobs. Not strictly legal, but I can’t say more than that. They paid a lot of cash, and I didn’t have anything to spend it on. When you don’t have family at home, and as often as not you find yourself sleeping in some back alley or the bombed out shell of a building, it’s easy to save. You can throw a couple smart investments in there along the way too. I thank my uncle for that.

 

Kirkus:  How can you sleep in a place like that? Wait. Don’t answer. We only have time for one more. Many people view you as the hero of the story. A few of the other characters definitely think of you that way. The question is who is your hero, John Reeves?

 

John:  The mistake with that question is assuming I only have one. My dad is the obvious choice. Cop, tough guy, strict as hell. Kelly Pierce too. She’s one area I wished you’d spent more time on in The Fall of Billy Hitchings. She’s stronger than you gave her credit. Smarter too. Not as smart as Rachel, but smart in other ways. I could throw Rachel on that hero list as well. She’s pulled my butt out of the fire more times than I’d like to admit. Who’s my hero? My mother. She passed away years ago, but I still hold her with me. She taught me to love, to laugh. To appreciate what my father could give us emotionally though it was much less than we wanted. Well, what about that? I think you may have opened me up a bit, Kirkus.

Kirkus:  Your answer surprised me. I never thought you’d say your mother. Thought maybe your dad, or even your brother.

 

John:  Well, my brother is certainly a hero, especially up in Clarkbridge. It’s hard to picture your brother that way, though. And to be honest, I doubt he’d want me thinking about him at all.

 

Kirkus:  Care to share?

 

John:  Nope.

 

Kirkus:  Alrighty. I think that’s about as much time as we have anyway. The driver you set me up with is urging me to hurry. Anything else you’d like to add before we end this?

 

John:  Yeah. Never count out a Reeves.

 

Kirkus:  Does that pertain to The Fall of Billy Hitchings or Wrath?

John:  You’ll find out.

 

Kirkus:  On that note, if you have any other questions for John, ask away. I’ll do my best to keep in touch to set up another dialogue. Thanks for your time.

 

Thank you, Kirkus. And a special thanks to you, John. I don’t know if Kirkus told you, John, and I’m sure I wasn’t the first, but I begged Kirkus for more stories with you as the lead. And I agree with you, John; I wanted to see more scenes with you—umm, well, we’ll leave it at that. Sheesh, I'm normally not so tongue-tied. LOL! I'll let you gentlemen go now.

 

Readers, please feel free to send Kirkus or John your comments below. I’ll make sure they get them.

 

Until next time. Happy reading, friends!

Carmen

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If you haven't read The Fall of Billy Hitchings, here's more info:

Readers rating: 55 average 5-stars

Genre: Action-Adventure with a very slight Paranormal 

Book Description:

John Reeves, an ex-Marine, drives to Myrtle Beach to confront his fiancée, hoping to repair their damaged relationship. Instead, he finds her unconscious in the hospital, the victim of an unexplained explosion at a local restaurant.

During his investigation, Reeves meets Billy Hitchings, a teenager who knows more about the explosion than he should. Their questions lead to an ancient legacy best left alone.

Pulled into yet another crossfire, John Reeves fights to protect his friends and keep a primeval power from falling into the wrong hands.

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