Q: Jenny...what
made you become a writer?
A: I’m an Air
Force brat which meant moving at least every four years. It was tough growing
up, constantly trying to make new friends. I didn’t always have someone to talk
to and things only got worse in high school when my best friend took his own
life because of bullying. After that life-altering moment in my sophomore year,
I began dumping all my feelings, thoughts and frustrations onto paper. It
started as poetry mostly, which I’ve always described as an overflow of
emotions too intense to be contained. Short stories began to slowly develop and
then I wrote my first novel at age 22, 436 handwritten pages set in the world
of Vampire LARP [live action role-playing]. Due to copyright complications, it was never published, but it
inspired me to create my own world instead of just writing White Wolf fan
fiction. Twelve years later, Blood
Lily emerged. In a way, I
feel that writing chose me, picking me up during the dark times in my life to
turn tragedy into something powerfully beautiful.
Q: What is your
typical writing day like?
A: I’m currently a
full time student in RN clinicals, so writing is usually constrained to winter
and summer breaks. Once my son is asleep, I turn off the TV, the music, and
take my laptop into the dining room. I find that sitting at a table puts me in
the right mode to do some serious writing. Then the personalities come out and
my fingers fly across the keys and I don’t stop until I start falling asleep at
the keyboard or I get to a point where the well runs dry. If inspiration
doesn’t immediately strike, I quickly read back over the previous chapter to
get back in the groove.
Q: Do you
outline? If so, how extensive are your outlines?
A: I do outline
large plot ideas and timelines. I actually keep a little database of
characters, research, timelines, and locations, anything I may need to revisit
in later books. Beyond that, I may write out a quick chapter outline if
inspiration strikes and I can’t sit down and actually write it out. However,
when I’m sitting in front of my laptop, the outline doesn’t necessarily matter.
Most of my best ideas come to me as I’m writing, just popping into brain
connecting dots I didn’t know I even had. It’s like organized chaos in my
brain.
Q: How many
revisions will you typically do on a novel?
A: I have to limit
myself. I’m a bit of a perfectionist and if left to my own devices I would do
edits and revisions until the end of time. I utilize beta readers (what I refer
to as test bunnies) to help guide my revisions and keep me from going overboard
on edits. Still, I will typically edit the first half of the book at least a
dozen times, the last half only two or three times.
Q: What is your best tip for editing a manuscript?
A: Read it out
loud. Your mind already knows what you wanted to write and when you’re speed
reading through edits, your mind will fill in blanks and change words without
you realizing there was a typo. So take your time. Always be vigilant for
repeating words and use [an online thesaurus] to vary your vocabulary, but
be sure the words fit the tone of your writing style. Don’t throw in long,
sophisticated words into a casual conversation. It hurts the suspension of
disbelief.
Q: Which
writing habits and/or tricks of the trade have made you a better writer?
A: Research, hands
down. I've learned to map out the locations in my book, research history for
intriguing stories that I can utilize with my own tweaks. When I'm writing, I
always leave Google open for quick searches, but I do a lot of digging up
front, before I really start writing. A great tool for writing about a house or
a hotel is to look it up online, take an online tour or use the photographs.
This allows you to pull the important details into your writing that truly make
it spring to life. Also, it's important to engage all the senses of the reader.
Too many times I've seen descriptions based only on sight or maybe sound. Smell
is often neglected, but it is the most powerful sense for retrieving memories.
Use it.
Q: Do you ever
suffer through writer’s block? If so, how do you fight it?
A: I believe every
writer does, especially a new writer. I have three methods of overcoming it and
they have yet to fail me. The first thing I do when the well really runs dry
and I have no idea how to get back into it or where I want the story to go, is
to go back to the beginning of the project. I will read and edit all the way up
to the point I’m stuck at and by then inspiration typically strikes. If I still
struggling and I haven’t nailed down a cover for the book yet, I get with my
awesome cover artist, Chris Howard. Sometimes the final book cover will inspire
a whole rush of things or give me the push I need. If neither helps, it’s
typically not an inspiration problem, but a confidence problem. At that point I
send what I have to my beta readers (test bunnies) and their suggestions and/or
praise will drag me out of my self-defeating funk and get me back on track.
Q: What drew
you to write your preferred genre(s)?
A: I have always
been fascinated by the supernatural, forensics, and mysteries. I love new takes
on old traditions and that is very much embodied in my books. There is
something thrilling about taking the normal world and turning it on its ear in
a very believable and plausible way. I wanted to take vampires and strip them
of almost all their supernatural qualities. I wanted the reader to completely
forget the characters weren’t human, at least for a while.
Q: Do you
utilize beta readers?
A: Absolutely! I
have a few of them for different reasons. Emily Kirk is my voice of reason.
She’s brutally honest with me and will tell me when something is cliché or
doesn’t fit the story/character. Robin Sullivan and Amanda Clark are my
cheerleaders. They may be light on the constructive criticism, but we all need
enthusiasm and support. May Sage is my newest test bunny and a fellow author.
Like Emily, she provides the honest opinions that I need to make things even
better. I feel that beta readers are absolutely crucial because we, as authors,
know our story and it’s hard for us to picture the mind of reader who doesn’t.
Maybe your foreshadowing is too subtle and the punch comes completely out of
the blue. Maybe your character’s behavior is too erratic for what the reader
knows about them. Perception is absolutely everything.
Q: In your most
recently published novel, what’s one scene you really enjoyed writing—and why?
A: In Rose
of Jericho, the second novel in my series, there is a scene near the end of
the book where I really get to explore typing a heavy accent. It was
frustrating and complicated to do to get the right aesthetic while still making
it readable. However, it was completely worth it. It was also a lot of fun to
really flesh out that character and lead to the big twist reveal. Writing that
chapter I had goosebumps most of the time. It was really difficult to pick a
favorite though, because every single scene has lines or dialog that I
absolutely love.
Q: What makes
the main character(s) of your most recent novel so special?
A: Heroines can be
tough to write well. In a lot of novels they come off as weak and whiney or
badass and closed off. I just wanted one that was real. She is based a lot on
my own personality with some of my own quirks, but more than that I wanted to
show her journey. There are times when she is stubborn and naïve, there are
times when she freezes completely and then there are times when she really
shines in her element. As the books progress you start to see a change. She
learns to compromise, learns to fight for what she believes in, learns those
hard lessons of loss and grief. You see her evolve and the other sub-characters
are the same way. It’s important to me, to build that connection with readers,
to reflect the same soul-searching journeys we all go through even if we aren’t
typically surrounded by a sea of deadly chaos.
Q: What is your
best advice for author self-promotion?
A: Do not count on
your friends to be as passionate about your work as you are. I have a handful
of truly wonderful and amazing friends that pimp my books at every single
opportunity and are so thoroughly supportive that I’m not sure I could have
done any of this without them. Still, if you have a thousand Facebook friends,
maybe ten of them will buy your book and 5 of them may write you a review. I
know this sounds harsh, but if you want real movement, you have to pound social
media’s metaphorical streets and put yourself out there.
Q: How do you
deal with negative reviews?
A: It depends on
the type of review. While a one star rating with no accompanying review is
extremely hard not to take personally, constructive criticism is crucial. I
want honesty that I can use to improve my craft, but I also know that people
don’t always supply that honesty in a pretty package. I always try to take a
step back and see what they are really trying to say and recognize that I am
not a completely innocent victim. I do poke fun at some pop culture
phenomenons, like Twilight,
because it makes sense for my characters, but it does open me up for rejection
and attacks. Just know what you are willing to compromise and what you are not.
Stay true to your overall vision, but try and see things from the reader’s
point of view.
Q: What is your
favorite aspect of being an indie author?
A: I’m sure most
indie authors will have the same answer. Freedom. I have a fairly hectic life
at the moment, and if I was under the gun of a looming deadline, I know my
stories would suffer.
Q: What is
your least favorite aspect of being an indie author?
A: Feeling lost in
the masses. Even if you have the best novel ever written, if you can’t scream
over the crowd, no one will hear you. It’s a frustrating nightmare of
merchandising and promotion that sometimes makes me feel like some sleazy used
car salesman. I constantly have to manage my own expectations, pop my own
balloon before the slow sales do it for me. I just keep at it and eventually,
hopefully, even if it’s decades later, it will take off. For now I just relish
in the simple fact that I did it, I published two novels and strangers with no
motivation to lie have read them and loved them. That alone is an amazing thing
that will forever make me feel like a success.
Q: What is your
current writing project?
A: Currently I am
plotting out notes for the third installment in my series, Ghost Orchid. It’s
in the very early stages and I’m not projecting a publish date until possibly
Fall of 2017. With RN clinicals I don’t get any chance to write except during
winter and summer breaks so progress is slow and my books are traditionally
lengthy.
Q: What are
three of your favorite novels?
A: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Bitten by Kelley Armstrong, and Obsidian Butterfly by Laurell Hamilton. Each one of those
made a big impact on my life at some point and influenced my writing style.
Q: If you could
have lunch with any novelist, living or dead, who would it be? What would you
talk to them about?
A: Piers Anthony.
This was the first author I ever read and his many books were so imaginative and
varied. From light-hearted pun-filled books to dark twisted thrillers. With his
Xanth series, I imagine having lunch with him would be a hilarious,
side-splitting good time.
Q: What is your
best piece of advice for budding authors?
A: You hear it a
million times over. Write what you know. This is so incredibly true. Too many
people try to write whatever genre is topping the charts at the time, grabbing
onto the coattails of success for a glimpse at greatness. Don’t. If what you
know happens to be the current trend, then fantastic, but don’t force it. The
reader can tell. Just like a singer who is technically perfect but doesn’t
connect to the message in the song emotionally, the book will ring hollow. Be
passionate, be brave, be bold and most importantly, be you.
Q: What is your
favorite inspirational quote?
A: This may not have much to do with writing, but it is the
one quote that has always stuck with me and guided much of my life. “There are
too many mediocre things in life and love should never be one of them.”- Dream for an Insomniac
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