Ask the Author: Jennifer McQuiston
Answered Questions (12)
Jennifer McQuiston
Hi Krystal, it is nice to meet you. I get this question a lot, and the answer is that I am trying very hard to get Lydia her own novella, so she can have a happy ending too! With my crazy life, it's finding the time to do it that is the problem, so stay tuned!
Jennifer McQuiston
Clare and Daniel are not prominent in Lucy's book, but they DO feature in The Perks of Loving a Scoundrel, which I am currently writing. This is that rascal Geoffrey's story, so you know who the scoundrel will be. And yes, Clare and Daniel have a few lovely children to round out their happily ever after!
Jennifer McQuiston
Hi Cintia, I am sorry you are having a tough time getting the words on paper. I don't have specific advice --and everyone is different--but for me, the best way to write is to just get SOME words down on paper, and not worry about whether they are perfect. Editing later is always a possibility. If I am stuck on one story and it isn't working, it is fine to work on a different story, or poetry. And the best way I get myself "unstuck" is to read my favorite authors, which always gives me inspiration. Good luck!
Jennifer McQuiston
Hi Yankeecountess, yes, as it turns out, book #3 in this series will be Geoffrey's book, called The Perks of Loving a Scoundrel. I am sure you can guess who the scoundrel will be and yup... he's still mouthy and pulling pranks on unsuspecting souls. But he's about to meet his match... I am fresh into writing it right now, and it is a lot of fun to sort through who he has become as a young adult.
Geoffrey also makes a brief appearance in The Spinster's Guide to Scandalous Behavior (Lucy's story), so you can whet your appetite. :)
Geoffrey also makes a brief appearance in The Spinster's Guide to Scandalous Behavior (Lucy's story), so you can whet your appetite. :)
Jennifer McQuiston
I do have a few stories percolating in my head, mostly that draw on my experiences traveling in Africa and other places. I think I am going to need to wait until I retire to write those, though, and it would probably be more women's fiction with strong romantic elements. For the near future, staying with my first love, which is straight-up historical romance.
Jennifer McQuiston
The heroine in my book, Lucy, is the younger sister of the heroine in Diary of an Accidental Wallflower, so her character has to stay true to the person she was in that book. Lucy loves to adopt different charitable causes and is determined to right the wrongs of the world--as long as those wrongs are happening to others. But when a new injustice threatens her independence, and worse, the hero is to blame, I imagined that sparks (and maybe fists) were going to fly.
Jennifer McQuiston
My current book I am working on is currently (and tentatively) titled "A Spinster's Guide to Scandalous Behavior", and I am only about halfway through... but here is what it is *supposed* to be about!
When her eccentric aunt dies suddenly bequeaths her the key to a falling-down cottage in Cornwall, Lucy Westmore is surprised. After all, she scarcely knows her aunt, and her memories of Heathmore are murky, at best. But even more surprising is the part of Lucy’s inheritance that doesn’t come with a key: an old leather journal that provides the details of her mysterious aunt’s life and—for better or worse—gives Lucy all the instructions she needs to live the life of a scandalous spinster.
Lord Thomas Branston has spent the last five years in Cornwall, hiding from his painful past. Nothing has been tempting enough to lure him back to London…until now. He alone knows the real value of the property, and he’s determined to buy Heathmore before Miss Westmore ruins everything and sells it off to the highest bidder.
Emboldened by the guidance in her aunt’s diary, Lucy refuses to sell the property, not even when Lord Branston’s offers escalate, and not even when the house turns out to be truly uninhabitable. When the negotiations turn heated, Lucy suspects something more sinister is afoot. Branston is offering her far more than the property seems worth. Worse, he seems willing to stoop to less than gentlemanly means to scare her off the land.
But Lucy has no intention of giving up her one chance for independence.
And Thomas has no intention of abandoning his suit.
But is it the property or the spitfire of a spinster that’s got his heart all tied up? And what is he willing to offer for both?
When her eccentric aunt dies suddenly bequeaths her the key to a falling-down cottage in Cornwall, Lucy Westmore is surprised. After all, she scarcely knows her aunt, and her memories of Heathmore are murky, at best. But even more surprising is the part of Lucy’s inheritance that doesn’t come with a key: an old leather journal that provides the details of her mysterious aunt’s life and—for better or worse—gives Lucy all the instructions she needs to live the life of a scandalous spinster.
Lord Thomas Branston has spent the last five years in Cornwall, hiding from his painful past. Nothing has been tempting enough to lure him back to London…until now. He alone knows the real value of the property, and he’s determined to buy Heathmore before Miss Westmore ruins everything and sells it off to the highest bidder.
Emboldened by the guidance in her aunt’s diary, Lucy refuses to sell the property, not even when Lord Branston’s offers escalate, and not even when the house turns out to be truly uninhabitable. When the negotiations turn heated, Lucy suspects something more sinister is afoot. Branston is offering her far more than the property seems worth. Worse, he seems willing to stoop to less than gentlemanly means to scare her off the land.
But Lucy has no intention of giving up her one chance for independence.
And Thomas has no intention of abandoning his suit.
But is it the property or the spitfire of a spinster that’s got his heart all tied up? And what is he willing to offer for both?
Jennifer McQuiston
I have to admit, my writing schedule is pretty cringe-worthy: because I work during the day and am also mom to two girls, the only time I have free to write is in the morning, before they get up. I set my alarm for 4am and write for 2 hours most mornings. Let me tell you, it can be hard to find inspiration at 4am. So I usually search for it in a big pot of tea (my caffeine of choice), and during the winter I also sit for an hour in front of my simulate sunlight lamp. I also edit the pages I wrote the day before before diving into new material. Usually, these three things are enough to get me inspired and write.
Jennifer McQuiston
I face a good deal of writer's block, having a day job as a scientist at the CDC. It can kick my butt creatively and suck up every spare minute I have, at times. This means sometimes big blocks of time go by before I can sit back down to a work in progress, which is not good for continuity. I usually bust out of it by pulling out a favorite book or passage from writers I admire, and reading until I feel my own inspiration start to bubble back.
Jennifer McQuiston
Definitely to keep trying, be patient with the process (it took me several years and five completed novels to finally get published), and make sure you have a backup job to pay the bills. It doesn't mean you aren't serious about writing... it means you can eat while you write.
Jennifer McQuiston
The best thing about being a writer is when I am struck with a sudden inspiration and can't get the words down fast enough... there is nothing in the world like being stuck in a certain place in a manuscript, and then suddenly the answer to what has been holding you up falls magically into place.
Jennifer McQuiston
Hi Anne! It is nice to see you here! It has been a long, fun journey for sure. Somedays, I still don't know how I got here. Basically, I always loved writing, but I also loved science. My career path took me in one direction, but my love of writing reared its head and insisted on its own bit of fun. I started writing as a hobby and a creative outlet to my days as a scientist, and it eventually took on a life of its own. So now I do both... and try to conjure more hours in my day. Thanks for the great question!
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