You can pop over to
Jessica's Blog and read about how she got her agent( it just happened last week). It is a touching story that will bring tears to your eyes. She also has a great post titled
Top Five Ways I Warped My Little Brother. It will bring tears to your eyes also, but in a different way.
LET'S GET TO KNOW JESSICA!
What made you decide to write? What did you do before becoming a writer?
First, let me say thank you, Dawn, for having me! I love reading your blog.
I’ve always had a love for making up stories, I would plot and act them out in my bedroom. Growing up, I thought I wanted to be an actress. Later, I realized it wasn’t the acting I loved, but the stories. I wrote several short stories in high school, but it never crossed my mind to be a writer, then. I began writing seriously in 2008.
I worked for a corporate childcare center for 10 years, most of them as the Director.
Tell us about your stories. You call them relevant, provocative stories of inspiration. How does that work?
Mostly those are fancy words to lure you into reading my books! But seriously, (not that I don’t seriously want you to read my books) that simply means they are all contemporary and relatable to today’s group of women who are 20-30& 40-somethings. Relevant.
They aren’t your grandma’s romance. They have just enough heat to keep you hooked and fanning yourself, but not enough to make you hide it in between the bed mattresses for fear your tween might get a hold of it. It’s kind of like a Tango. It’s sensual, fun, captivating, and you get to see it all except the “dip!” wink. wink. That takes place behind closed doors. Provocative.
I write inspirational fiction. My tagline is romantic suspense…overflowing hope. I believe in writing about characters that readers can identify with. Some are Christians, some aren’t. All are flawed.
I want readers who feel like they’re in a sticky situation, or hopeless all together, to be able to find themselves in the story and close the book knowing they don’t have to stay that way. Inspiration.
Do you have any special time management tricks for working in writing time and living a normal life?
I’m blessed to be able to stay at home most of the time. I write while my kids are at school, taking breaks for household stuff. That gives me time to spend with my family in the evenings and on weekends. Occasionally, I write on Saturdays.
What advice do you wish someone would have given you when you were starting out?
Study a few craft books first—there’s more to it than slapping words down on a page. And read blogs on writing/publishing.
What do you do to fight burnout? Do you ever worry about "running out of stories"? How do you combat that?
I don’t ever feel burned out, if anything I feel alive when writing. There are entirely too many things to write about. I’m constantly jotting down ideas. Stories are always there, we just have to let our creativity bring them out in new ways.
Do you ever write material based on your close relationships, such as a best friend?, and how do you balance that material with the need to tell an interesting story?
I wrote a saga and based the 2 main characters on the best qualities of my best friends. I asked permission first. I’m sure some of my conversations, or antics, come out in novels that are based off something I said or did with a friend.
I’ve never written anything personal, like a deep secret or scandal.
What sources do you use for inspiration? ( Music, movies, people watching)
I’m sure besides my own life experiences, I find fodder in many things. People amuse me, conversations I overhear intrigue me, and yes, music. I write with music in my ears. It helps set the mood for me.
My greatest inspiration comes in the quiet mornings when it’s just me and Jesus. Usually, something in scripture will jump off the page and stir a theme, a character, or a particular plot.
What do you do when you aren’t writing?
I’m usually doing something ridiculous with my best friend. She helps me research for writing, and there isn’t much I won’t try. I enjoy going to the movies with my hubby. We love all kinds of movies, so we never argue over what we’ll see. Before we had children, we would go into one movie, come out, and buy tickets for another one. We don’t have that kind of time, or money anymore!
I love playing board games with my kids. Apples to Apples is one of our favorites, or the Wii. Nothing makes me want to wet myself from laughing like watching my 7-year-old son get down on Just Dance 2! And I like to refurbish furniture. It’s soothing and fun.
Tell us a bit about your work in progress.
I’m working on a third book in a trilogy, spinning off a character from the previous one, but all of them are standalones.
I’d love to tell you what it’s about, but I’m not even sure at the moment. I’m in the early stages, working on fleshing her out and devising a plot.
How can we find out more about you? Blogs? Facebook? Twitter?
It was so much fun getting to know you, Jessica!
Thank you so much!
Want to know more about Jessica's writing journey? Or torturing her brother? Or you could just leave her some congratulations for signing with her dream agent.
