Today on my stop of the RULE Blog Tour I have a Q & A with the lads and check out the giveaway. If you have not read this series yet. Get on to it! I love it!
I just happened to be in the area so with the lads permission
I have come down after hours to the Marked Men tattoo shop where Nash, Rule
& Rowdy work to ask them a few questions for the Rule Blog Tour.
The lads are sitting about having a quiet beer, ready for the
interview.
Howdy Nash, Rule & Rowdy I am Michelle from Novels On The
Run from Australia. Jay has made you all very popular with her story about Rule
and Shaw. You are all tattooists.
Michelle: What drew you all to being a tattooist?
Nash: Graffiti is illegal and this was as close to
street as I could get without going to jail. It’s also one of the only ways to
create art that is around as long as the person wearing it is. It never goes
out of style or fades away.
Rule: I could always draw, was always
interested in making myself stand apart from the crowd from, Remy. When Phil
offered to teach us how to do it, there was no way we could turn it down.
Rowdy: I just fell into it. I had a rough time
in my early twenties trying to figure out who I was and what I was doing,
tattooing fell into my lap and gave me a direction. I was never artistic or
interested in it as an art form until I understood how powerful it could be to
forever change someone’s body. That’s a big responsibility
Michelle: What does putting a piece of art onto somebody’s body
mean to all of you?
Nash: It’s a job. Like any job you have to do your
best or you get fired, only if you suck at this job you can really fuck up the
way a person looks forever. You have to take that shit seriously.
Rule: It means you’re putting a piece of
yourself on someone else. If you’re invested in the work, if it matters, as it
should, the client is walking away with something you worked to make just
right.
Rowdy: Sometimes it means more than others.
It’s hard to get excited about tattooing the 500th butterfly of the
summer or another koi fish. But occasionally you get a piece that is a
challenge, that makes you think and have to work to make it awesome. It’s a
kickass job, but like Nash said, it’s a job.
Michelle: A tattooist must
be an artist. It is a select field of work. I mean I could pick up a tattoo
needle gun thingy but I could only draw a stick person. It is not the job for
me. Jay has made me uber curious about your field.
What has been a more memorable thing you have all been asked
to do for a client?
Nash: First off it’s a tattoo machine, not a gun.
And there’s all kind of weird shit out there. As long as it’s not racist or
outwardly offensive to anyone, we do it. It’s what we get paid to do.
Rule: Dude you have to admit when guys want
their junk inked that’s fucking weird and awkward. And the inside of the lip,
that’s always a trip.
Rowdy: Yeah, but that happens like never.
Chicks getting inked down there is way more common. Who are we to judge what’s
odd or what someone decides has meaning to them? Nash has flames on his head,
Rule has a cartoon ghost behind his ear and I’m not even going to go into why I thought it would be a good idea to get a rooster right next to my junk.
Michelle: Cora handles the body modification. Would you lads ever
go onto making that part of your work too, or is that more a separate job?
Nash: Separate, some shops it’s not, but ours is.
Rule: She handles more blood and guts then
us…thank god. I would lose my man-card the first time I made someone bleed
jabbing a needle in places no needle should ever go.
Rowdy: I think it’s easier for a lot of girls
to get pierced by another girl. IT’s a total joke that they think she’s the
nice and gentle one of all of us. She’s a tiny barracuda.
Michelle: What has been one of your favorite pieces of tattoo art
to put onto a person or yourself?
Nash: The first tattoo I ever did was a jacked up
horseshoe on Rule. It was awful, but I finished it and he wore it for years
until I covered it up with a better version….it’s cool that it got us to this
place.
Rule: I like tattoos that have significant
meaning to the person getting them. I love the snowflakes on my girl because
they remind her of me, I just did a piece for Cora because she wanted to make a
statement, I love my cross on my back because my brother meant the world to me.
I like it when it’s a tattoo that goes beyond image and art.
Rowdy: I like when a client gives me free rein.
The piece I just did for Jet was badass. I have an anchor tattooed on the side
of my neck to remind me to stay grounded…it’s all subjective. As long as it’s
good work and the client is cool they can all be my favorite.
Michelle: I have a friend, every time he visits Hawaii, he gets
more of his arm tattooed. He could get it done here, but he has a guy in
Honolulu he likes going to so, he does.
I find myself looking more and more at people’s artwork they
have on their body. Do you find people stop you and want to talk about the art
you guys have on your bodies?
Nash: Uh yeah….
Rule: (snorting) Anymore instead of hello it’s
“Where did you get your work done?” People like to ask you about your ink just
so they can tell you about theirs.
Rowdy: Show and tell. I gotta say I like it
with the ladies better than with the fella. If you’re a pretty girl please show
me yours so I can show you mine!
Michelle: We all know you lads don’t have trouble with the chicks.
Rule you are happily off the market. Has anybody ever inspired a tattoo that
you have wanted to put on somebody or on yourself?
Nash: No
Rule: I have Shaw’s name inked where everyone
can see, I have my brother’s name in huge letters across my back…I’m a
billboard for people inspiring me to make them a part of my skin.
Rowdy: I don’t think I know you well enough to
answer that…
Michelle: You are all pretty tight with each other. Is there
anything you wouldn’t do for each other?
Nash: There hasn’t been anything yet.
Rule: I can’t think of anything.
Rowdy: I don’t know that I would be down to
help either one of you move a body…but I guess it would depend on the
circumstances.
Michelle: I am a blank canvas, but even I am getting itchy for a
tattoo. I want something that means something personal to me, I am just stuck
on getting it right. I am not sure if I want it hidden or on show ? Hubs and I
went into a tattoo shop and we were all deer in headlights not sure what to do,
so we pretended to look at the book and some ideas that were up on the wall and
then we left. Ha! If I was to go back
again, what tips would you give for a virgin tattooee ( is that a word?) I mean everybody was born with skin that was
a blank canvas. Even you guys had your ‘first’ tattoo.
Nash: Make sure the shop and the artist has a good
reputation. They should charge by the hour and work with you on your design.
You need to be comfortable with the atmosphere and the person doing the work.
Rule: Don’t settle. Don’t pick a design or
flash off the wall. Get something you can live with being on your body for the
rest of your life. Cover-ups hurt and are difficult. Don’t try and shove too
much into one design, it’ll be too busy. Don’t expect a full sleeve or a giant
back piece to get finished in one day. Shit like that takes a loooong time to
complete.
Rowdy: Tip your artist! Ha. Dress comfortable and with a mind as to
where you are getting the piece done. Don’t sit for too long if you’re
uncomfortable. If it’s a big piece break it up into sessions.
Michelle: A crazy question to finish off with. If you could tattoo
a quote onto yourself what would it say?
Nash: "It is what it is."
Rule: "The best thing to hold on to in life is
each other."
Rowdy: (rolling his eyes) "Whoever said it is
better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all is an idiot!!"
Michelle: Thanks guys for letting me interview you. Enjoy your beers !
Cheers!
GIVEAWAY TIME
Tour-Wide
Giveaway: Ebooks and Posters
US RESIDENTS
ONLY for Posters
Title: Rule (A Marked Men Novel #1)
Author: Jay Crownover
Genre: New Adult
Publication Date: May 7th, 2013
Event organized by: Literati Author Services
Publisher: William Morrow an imprint of HarperCollins
Synopsis
Opposites in every way . . . except the one that matters
Shaw Landon loved Rule Archer from the moment she laid eyes on him. Rule is everything a straight--A pre-med student like Shaw shouldn't want--and the only person she's never tried to please. She isn't afraid of his scary piercings and tattoos or his wild attitude. Though she knows that Rule is wrong for her, her heart just won't listen.
To a rebel like Rule Archer, Shaw Landon is a stuck-up, perfect princess-and his dead twin brother's girl. She lives by other people's rules; he makes his own. He doesn't have time for a good girl like Shaw-even if she's the only one who can see the person he truly is.
But a short skirt, too many birthday cocktails, and spilled secrets lead to a night neither can forget. Now, Shaw and Rule have to figure out how a girl like her and a guy like him are supposed to be together without destroying their love . . . or each other.
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17851754-rule
Title: Jet (A Marked Men Novel #2)
Author: Jay Crownover
Genre: New Adult
Publication Date: May 28, 2013
Event organized by: Literati Author Services
Publisher: William Morrow an imprint of HarperCollins
Synopsis
With his tight leather pants and a sharp edge that makes him dangerous, Jet Keller is every girl’s rock and roll fantasy. But Ayden Cross is done walking on the wild side with bad boys. She doesn’t want to give in to the heat she sees in Jet’s dark, haunted eyes. She’s afraid of getting burned from the sparks of their spontaneous combustion, even as his touch sets her on fire.
Jet can’t resist the Southern Belle with mile-long legs in cowboy boots who defies his every expectation. Yet the closer he feels to Ayden, the less he seems to know her. While he’s tempted to get under her skin and undo her in every way, he knows firsthand what happens to two people with very different ideas about relationships.
Will the blaze burn into an enduring love. . . or will it consume their dreams and turn them to ashes?
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17204860-jet
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