Hello Lovelies, 
I am so honored to introduce you to an icon that I’ve been following for some time, MR. JD Estrada. JD is a fantastic author and poet, as well as an indomitable force for good in the indie community and a great entertainer over on his youtube channel. I’m honored to have him over to meet you all and talk about his newest books Given to Fly. So let’s get this party started! 
Hello, JD. Tell my readers a bit more about you.

Greetings and salutations to the amazing Angell with two Ls 🙂 Firstly thank you for having me on your blog. As for yours truly, I’m your friendly neighborhood JD Estrada: a Puerto Rico indie author whose path in life currently has him living in Atlanta, Georgia but whose heart shall always reside in the Caribbean.
People will most certainly know me as 00 Bananas, a sock fiend, a tea lover, a bodyboarder, a gamer, and of course a writer. I’m all of those things and much more, because why limit yourself? Does that mean I also dabble in music? Well of course I do, even though that was a very telegraphed question and response if only to cling on to that rockstar dream a bit longer. But at the end of the day, I’m a writer… and I prefer the title writer to author, because I truly love the act of writing and get as much joy from writing a long handwritten letter as I do in Estrada Crates, as I do from crafting a punchy poem, writing a review on Yelp or Google, or diving headfirst into my soul well to see what stories I can fish.

For those who aren’t familiar with 00 Bananas and need a good laugh, go google it. We’ll wait, and you won’t regret it one bit! Also, I was so excited the day I saw JD playing guitar on Youtube. I’d known him almost a year at this point and had no idea he was musically gifted! Alright, sorry, little distracted fangirling.  Back to the professional interview *Ahem*
What is your favorite genre?
ALL of them. I shall never want to limit myself and shall always adore a good challenge. The way I see it, tackling different genres lets me get to know myself even further and I’ve never wanted to be an ace at anything and would much rather be a Joker card in the deck, fitting myself into whatever context I may find myself in to get the perfect hand.
That is a great reference. I think I will definitely start calling myself a joker instead of a Jack of all genres, lol. But I agree, it’s all about exploring new opportunities. I’ve watched too many great authors get pigeonholed by an industry and their stories become so formulaic. Gag. What is your favorite ice cream?
Such a desperately difficult question to answer though I think it is most likely mint chocolate chip, but from my ice cream choices in my last outings, you might guess otherwise. Here’s the thing, I LOVE trying different flavors and am all about expanding and exploring my palate as much as possible. Sometimes I’m pleasantly surprised and sometimes I get some GREAT material for stories.
Ah, yes! Mint Chocolate chip is my go-to when I’m not sure what to try, but I rarely meet and ice cream I don’t like! Coffee, tea, or hot cocoa?
I have one coffee a day, only drink Cocoa made with Chocolate Cortés (look it up, trust me), and drink as much tea as my body can handle (anywhere from 2-6 cuppas in a day.)
Who inspires your writing?
SO many people. From authors, to musicians, films I’ve seen, and life. Everything inspires my writing and I love basing characters off people I know. In terms of authors, the list is long and includes familiar names like Rowling, Pratchett, Poe, Lee, Lovecraft, Gaiman, Barrie, Wells, Moore, Herbert, Bukowski, and Adams but it also includes fellow indie authors who have my love and respect like Christie Stratos, Anaïs Chartschenko, Joe Compton, Joshua Robertson, LF Oake, AL Mabry, Rebekah Jonesy, Robert Cano, Christina Striggas, Maricel Jiménez, Francisco Muñiz, Michael J. Elliot, Jason Greensides, and even an angel with two Ls. There are several others, don’t get me wrong, but the list would even be longer and the point is that I admire my author friends not just because they’re good humans, but because damn can they write a good book 😀
Aw, blushing to be included on such a great list! Do you listen to music while you write? If so, what music inspires you?
I ALWAYS listen to music when I write and every book has the soul of several albums in its pages. For my latest novel, Given to Fly, the music playing included Pearl Jam, Elbow, Eels, Blind Melon, Tori Amos, Days of the New, Jackie Wilson, Karen O, Fleet Foxes, and some other bands, but main influences the first two 😀
What is your greatest influence as a writer?
My desire to create something different. I ALWAYS have as a huge mission to write something that’ll have people wondering where the hell that came from.
Ha, ha, or thinking, “damn, that was… just… wow. Need a minute.” I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s thought that while reading your work! If you could choose who would direct the movie of your book, who would you choose?

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Given to Fly is the first novel I’ve actually written with that in mind. Hayao Miyazaki. I honestly did everything I could to write something worthy of being drawn in 2-d animation by the legend himself or anyone from the amazing Studio Ghibli. I own most Miyazaki films and have been floored by the attention to detail and love in making each movie. This novel is a love letter to many things I hold dear in my life, including his work and if the book ever got to be translated to Japanese, I would love for him to read it and know what his work means to my life.
Aw, that is amazing. We all need to go tell @Miyazaki that on Twitter. If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you choose and why?
I would want to go EVERYWHERE. Some people want fame and fortune for materialistic reasons. For me, I would love success to have money so my family is well taken care of and to visit and meet in person every wonderful person I’ve met through my writer journey.
I can’t wait for us to meet one day. Hopefully soon if I get to head back east next summer. *Fingers crossed* What is next in your career?
There are plenty of things on the plate as tends to be the case, but I’m most excited by two projects. One is the third and final installment of my Human Cycle series due out next year and the other is a collaboration with an amazing friend Cate Evans, an author from the UK whom I’m working with on a collab that’s the polar opposite of Given to Fly. For now though, I’m just happy to bring out book #13 into the world and hope people enjoy reading as much as I enjoyed writing 😀
I am sure we will. Thank you so much for joining us, JD! 

Want to learn more about JD Estrada? Don’t miss out on his website JDestradawriterWant to get to know him better and participate in the Sock Family Fun, 00 Bananas, and all his other awesomeness? then you have to follow him on Twitter, instagram or Facebook, just search for @JDEstradawriter. Want to see which one of those 13 books of his you should try? Find them at Libros 787 
Until next time, 

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