Mayra Calvani's Blog - Posts Tagged "reading"

Jane Tesh is a retired media specialist and pianist for the Andy Griffith Playhouse in Mt. Airy, NC, the real Mayberry. She is the author of the Madeline Maclin Series, A Case of Imagination, A Hard Bargain, A Little Learning, and A Bad Reputation, featuring former beauty queen, Madeline “Mac” Maclin and her con man husband, Jerry Fairweather.  Stolen Hearts is the first in the Grace Street Mystery Series, featuring  PI David Randall, his psychic friend, Camden, Randall’s love interest, Kary Ingram, and Cam’s career-driven girlfriend, Ellin Belton, as well as an ever-changing assortment of Cam’s tenants.  Mixed Signals is the second in the series, followed by Now You See It and Just You Wait. Jane’s mysteries are all published by Poisoned Pen Press, located in Scottsdale, Arizona. Butterfly Waltz is her first published fantasy novel from Silver Leaf Books. All of Jane’s books are on the light side with humor and romance.

Connect on the web:

https://www.facebook.com/GraceStreetMysterySeries

https://twitter.com/janetesh

http://www.janetesh.com/fantasy.html

What’s inside the mind of a fantasy author?

An amazing amount of “What if?”  What if flowers could talk?  What if an evil creature wants to be good?  I explore these in Butterfly Waltz, but there are many more what ifs out there. 

What is so great about being an author?

You can’t control your real life, what will happen, what people do or say, but you are in complete control of your fantasy world.

When do you hate it?

I can’t think of a single time when I hate it.

What is a regular writing day like for you? Be honest!

I get up at 6:30 and go for a walk in my neighborhood.  Around 8, I get to work in my office and work until 11:30 or 12.  Then I have lunch and spend some time with my Chihuahua, Pearl, until  1.  From 1 until 3 I work some more and then I stop.  If a story is going really well, I might work on it after supper.  I look forward to being in my office.  I don’t have a phone down there, and I disconnected the door bell, so it’s nice and quiet.  Occasionally, Pearl will sit in my lap while I type.

Do you think authors have big egos? Do you? How do you know?

Hmm, well, I think authors have to believe in themselves and their work or they’d never get anywhere.  I’d say I have a reasonable ego, especially now that I’ve been published.  It’s given me the confidence to continue my writing career.

How do you handle negative reviews?

I try not to read any reviews.  Everyone has an opinion, and I can’t make people like my work, so it’s better just to chug ahead and not read good or bad reviews.

What is the usual response when you tell a new acquaintance that you’re an author?

People never fail to say one of two things, either, “Oh, I’ve always wanted to write a book,” or “My cousin/nephew/uncle/whatever has written a book about our family history/his experiences as a button collector/her life as a mountain midwife.”  Stuff like that.  Every time.

What do you do on those days you don’t feel like writing? Do you force it or take a break?

I’m usually working on several stories, so if one isn’t working, I switch to another.  If the well is dry that day, I don’t force it.  I do something different like mow the lawn or play the piano.

Any writing quirks?

As my editor loves to remind me, I use too many “just,” “some,” “well,” and “I knew.”  I’m always rooting those out.

Have you worked on your novel intoxicated? What was the result?

Nope, not a drinker.

What would you do if people around you didn’t take your writing seriously or see it as a hobby?

I’m going to write no matter what, so people can think whatever they like.  I’m okay with that.

Some authors seem to have a love-hate relationship to writing. Can you relate? 

I’ve always loved it.

Do you think success as an author must be linked to money?

The thrill of opening a box of my latest books, seeing my work in a form I can hold and put on a shelf is worth more to me than any amount of money.  I get paid royalties, but even if I didn’t, I would still write because it’s so much a part of me.

What had writing taught you?

No one takes your work as seriously as you do, so lighten up a little.

Leave us with some words of wisdom.

My favorite author, Terry Pratchett, says, “The first draft is just you telling yourself the story.”

Don’t worry about making it perfect.  No matter how rough it is, it can be fixed.  And a writer must have persistence.  It took me a very long time to get published, but I never gave up.