The Author Interviews: #5: Jenna WHITTAKER

In this series, I'll be interviewing self-published authors and writers about their books and their lives as writers. For my fifth interview, I had the privilege of interviewing Jenna WHITTAKER on 17/06/2016. WHITTAKER writes science-fiction and fantasy and is the author of 'Watership'.Let's get started!What made you want to become a writer?I’ve been writing all of my life. I think the fact that a love for reading was cultivated in me as a child helped, as I read all of these awesome fantasy and science fiction books, and then thought, why not create a world of my own, like these books? It went from there!Why did you choose to write in this genre? Have you ever considered trying other genres?I write primarily fantasy and science fiction, though I have also touched upon aspects of steampunk, post-apocalyptic/ dystopian, and horror. I write what I enjoy reading, so those would be the major genres I would explore. For instance, other than a side plot in a different genre novel, I have no interest in comedy or romance.What do you love most about writing and why?I love being able to write down the fantastical ideas I have for places that don’t exist, or bring to life worlds in my dreams or imagination. It’s the same reason I love to do artwork--to create!What do you dislike about writing and why?The tedium. The fact that it’s not all fun and games, but also requires a huge amount of hard work, dedication, editing, and learning.If you could trade places with any of your characters, which would you choose and why?I’m not sure I’d want to! I do write some pretty bad things happening to my characters--none have a perfect life, so I’d be a bit scared to be one of them! If any, though, I’d probably choose Khalos, the main character of my first published novel, Dreamscape. He has had a hard life, but he finds happiness in a lot of his daily living, despite the difficulties surrounding him.If you could live in any of the worlds you have created, which would you choose and why?Probably the world of Dreamscape, for as a whole, it is the safest and most verdant land, despite the enemies in it.What's your writing routine or schedule like? Do you struggle to find time to write? How do you stay organised and keep to your deadlines?I used to struggle a lot, but as of the last few years, I’ve found a system that seems to work for me. I set a daily goal of 500-800 words per day (completely reachable, a little over what I can easily write out in a matter of moments, but not too much that it is something I dread), and as with all of my daily goals, I complete it early in the morning to get it out of the way. Listening to music (soundtracks, usually), and committing to getting the document open and typing, no matter how little inspiration I feel, has also helped!Who or what inspires you? Where do you get your inspiration?I tend to find my inspiration in my dreams, which is why I keep my phone by the bed to write a note of whatever inspired me while I’m still half-asleep, but it also comes from overheard conversations, or a random thought (like, ‘what if’ something or other happened).Do you have a favourite author and if so, why do you enjoy their work?Honestly I have a lot of authors I love to read. My current favourite would be Robin Hobb, as her fantasy novels and their world is absolutely fascinating!What do you find most challenging about being an indie/ self-published author and why?There are a lot of challenging aspects. The fact that you are the only one keeping yourself accountable, the lacking marketing and promotional tools that big publishers have (that you have to learn how to use yourself, and spend a lot of time doing both the learning and then the near-constant promoting), are the main ones for me.Thanks to Jenna Whittaker for this interview. I wish you all the best with your books! If you would like more information about this author,please click here.