The Author Interviews: Jessica A Scott

My next author interview was with Jessica A Scott, the author of Chase and Charlie and Portrait of a Sunset who can be found online at: www.jessicascottauthor.com. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jessica.a.scott.author Twitter: https://twitter.com/JessicaAScott89Have you thought about joining with another author to write a book?I actually tried this a few times when I was in college. My best friend and I had some great ideas for a book, and we planned to write it together. Unfortunately, though, in my experience, writing with another author is a recipe for disaster! It is hard to decide who gets to write what, and then you both have different ideas about what the characters are like and where the story should go (not to mention one author is usually more dedicated to the project than the other, so they try to stay on schedule while the other author just jots something down at the last minute...). I know that a lot of authors find success by teaming up, but I personally think I do much better work on my own.If you could have been the author of any book ever written, which book would you choose?Definitely the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling (I know it’s more than one book, but I hope it still counts!) I don’t say that for the fame and fortune, though (although of course that would be nice too). To me, the Harry Potter books are some of the most imaginative things ever written, and I hope that one day I can write something with that much depth and creativity.Who is the most famous person you have ever met?I haven’t actually met anyone famous in person, but about ten years ago, I wrote a letter to the author of some of my favorite books, Dean Koontz, to ask him for some writing advice. Within two weeks he had responded with a real, genuine, personal letter – not just a form letter! It was one of the highlights of my life. And he had some great advice!Tell us a little about your plans for the future. Where do you see yourself as a writer in five years?In five years I hope to be writing novels full-time. Right now I have to keep juggling side jobs (writing articles, tutoring, editing, etc.) in order to make ends meet while I try to get my writing career off the ground. I would love to be able to just spend my entire day writing. That’s the dream!Are your characters based off real people or did they all come entirely from your imagination?My characters are never intentionally based off real people, but I think that sometimes my own personality and characteristics tend to seep into my main characters a bit. Sometimes when I re-read a completed draft I can see some of the other people in my life in some of the characters I write too, but I never intentionally write them that way! I think it is kind of inevitable that the things that inspire you or that you notice about other people make it into your books, even if you don’t mean for it to happen that way. That isn’t a bad thing though; I think it makes me feel even closer to my characters.Could you tell us a bit about your most recent book and why it is a must-read?My most recent book is Portrait of a Sunset. It is a romantic suspense novel about a young woman named Clara Halpert who is trying to cope with the traumatic loss of her older sister. She is not doing well at all, and she’s just about at the end of her rope when she meets Casey Linderman, who is struggling with a dark trauma himself. The two of them both seem to find hope in each other, but just as they start to try to move on together, their pasts come back to haunt them again.I think the book is a must-read because the characters are just so human. It speaks to that vulnerable part in all of us that sometimes wishes we could just give up, but deep down we know we have to keep trying. The book shows how difficult it can be to overcome something and accept the past and yourself, but ultimately I think it gives the reader hope and inspiration to keep holding on.What do you love most about the writing process?The thing I love most about the writing process is when I start off writing something, and I can tell I’m totally in control at first, but then, as I keep writing, I find that the story is completely taking off on its own path. All of the sudden I’m just like a conduit for the story to run through, and I’m mostly just writing so that I myself can know what happens next! That is why I love writing. Nothing else makes me feel that way. It’s quite a rush!Of all the characters you have created, which is your favorite and why?That’s a tough one. I think my favorite will probably change with every book I write, because I have a tendency to fall in love with the characters of each individual book while I am working on it. Right now, though, if I had to pick a favorite, I would say it is Annabelle, the main character from the book I am working on now. She is a combination of the best qualities of my two previous books’ protagonists: she has the vulnerability of Clara from Portrait of a Sunset, but she also has the plucky, “never say die” attitude of Charlie from my first book, Chase and Charlie. She is a huge believer in people, and she never gives up on them, or on the idea that she can improve the world somehow. I really admire that about her. I think that is a quality that too many of us lose as we get older and get more experience in the “real world.” We tend to get jaded and to give up on people, but Annabelle never does. I wish I was more like that!Do your characters seem to hijack the story or do you feel like you have the reigns of the story?Oh, my characters definitely hijack the story. I might have one idea for a plot when I start a book, but almost immediately the characters tend to take it in a completely different direction. I don’t mind though: it’s more interesting to see what story they want to tell!What made you want to become a writer? That is an interesting question. I never really thought about why I wanted to become a writer, I feel like I have always just been one. I started reading and writing when I was three years old, and by the time I was six I was writing stories all the time, and I have never stopped since then. So I don’t think it was ever really a matter of “wanting” to be a writer – I don’t think I could be anything else if I tried!Million dollar question, are you working on another book? Yes, I am. In late 2017 or early 2018, I will be publishing my third novel, Love and Squalor. I don’t like to give away too many details before everything is set in stone, but it is a contemporary romance that takes place in an impoverished, broken-down city where nothing good ever happens and the streets are run by violent gangs. The Annabelle character I mentioned earlier, though, wants to change all that, and with the help of a few of the city’s other lost souls, she just might.What do you think about the ebook revolution? Hmm... I have mixed feelings about it, to be honest. At first I was VERY reluctant to embrace ebooks, because I have always loved the solid, comforting feeling of a real, ink and paper book in my hands. But, since I started the Indie Eden Book Club on Facebook (where we read a new indie book every two weeks), I am definitely starting to see the value of ebooks. They are usually much cheaper and more convenient to buy than a paperback, and in today’s society, not only does it often happen that you can’t find an indie author’s book in a book store, but I have found that there are no longer really any physical book stores near me at all! With ebooks, though, authors can sell more books because more people have access to them. Plus, I can order the book and be reading it within minutes, as opposed to ordering a physical copy, which would take at least a few days or a week to arrive. That being said, though, I’ll always love “real” books the most.What is your advice to Indie Authors? On writing? Marketing? Probably everyone says this, but my advice to Indie Authors is to never give up. It is tough to do all this stuff by yourself! But never let it make you stop writing. Maybe you won’t sell that many books at first because no one knows your name yet, and maybe you’ll have to spend too much of your writing time on marketing, but that doesn’t matter. If you are a writer, be a writer. Don’t let anything stop you or make you think your work isn’t good enough. My advice on marketing would just be to keep in mind that it is a lot of work! Try to build a following on Facebook and Twitter, and have a good quality website. Then never stop seeking out new marketing strategies to reach a bigger audience. Once you establish a fan base, it will be fairly self-sustaining, and you won’t have to work quite so hard at it (I hope!). That being said, never let marketing take up all of your time. Writing should always come first!You can find me on Goodreads at https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14022075.Jessica_A_Scott and if you are a fellow indie author (or a reader who wants to support indie authors), you can join my Indie Eden Book Club on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/IndieEdenBookClub/?ref=group_coverIf you would like to download a copy of Jessica's books, you can use the link/s below: