Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Authorsday: Jennifer Wylie

Book Blurb: Jump (short story)




If you were told to jump off of a bridge would you? Perhaps it would depend on who was doing the asking. Our heroine has spunk and a sense of humor, however suffers from an extreme case of inappropriate clothing. When things take a turn from dangerous to worse what will she do when fantasy becomes reality? Warning: May include hot leather clad men, singing and demons.



1. When did you know you wanted to be a writer?

In my head, I've always been a writer. I started writing back in public school and have wrote on and off since then. Now a published author, that was an occasional dream. It wasn't until a few years ago I actually decided to give it a try and see what happened. I'm glad I did (and slightly irritated with myself I waited so long!)





2. How did you pick the genre you write in?

I grew up reading fantasy and science fiction from a very early age. I had barely reached my teens before my mother had me reading Pern books. So far I don't think I have the technical savvy to write sci-fi, so all of my stories are some type of fantasy.



3. Do you plot or do you write by the seat of your pants?

Plot? That word sounds familiar... :) I don't write things out, or do story boards. I will imagine scenes in my head, like a movie, until they are perfect, and then write them down. Occasionally near the end of a book I will jot down a sentence or two of notes, mostly to make sure I don't forget to tie up lose ends.





4. What was the name of the first novel you wrote? Did you try to publish it?

I had written a few books back in high school. I don't remember their names, if they even had any. They all died in horrible computer crashes. (I'd cry again, but they were probably very bad anyways) My first book I finished and didn't die a terrible death is called Sweet Light. It is being published by Echelon Press and due out in 2011.



5. What do you know now that you are published that you didn’t know pre-published that you wish you knew?

So many things! How to write a proper query letter, that you don't have to have an agent to find a publisher. A big one is how much I have learned in regards to editing. Also do your research! The Internet can tell you pretty much anything if you look. Don't just jump in, learn everything you can first!



6. How many rejections have you received?

Before I signed on with Echelon and had been querying agents I lost count of my rejections over the year and half I was sending them out. Certainly over 50, perhaps even 100. I didn't let it get me down. Obviously I query wasn't good enough (so I kept rewriting). The problem is getting someone interested enough to want to read more, hard to do in so few words!



7. Why did you pick the publisher that ultimately published your work?

I had read about Echelon Press online and found them interesting. I started following them on Twitter and had some nice tweets with Karen there and also in a comments section on another's blog. I checked out the publishers website, and also the books they'd published so far and thought they would be a great publisher for me. I have been very pleased with everything!





8. What do you consider your strengths in terms of your writing?

I am a very emotional person, and that really comes out in my writing. You will feel for my characters, which I think is the way it should be. :) Oh, and I also like to add in twists. Everyone loves a good twist! (or five)



9. What do you consider your weakness and what strategies do you use to overcome it?

I have had a number of technical issues with my writing. The last number of months I have been working really hard on learning all my proper punctuation and grammar use. I guess I should have paid more attention in English class in school. :)



10. What are you working on now?

I have a second short story, The Forgotten Echo, coming out March 1st, and my novel Sweet Light later in 2011 so will be doing edits for them. I also just finished a YA book, Broken Aro, I'll be submitting soon. I've also finished the sequel to Sweet Light and am editing it prior to submission and I'm working on the sequel to Broken Aro.





You are welcome to make up your own questions if you like also. Anything you think will illuminate what you want your readers to know.



Author Bio:



Jennifer Wylie was born and raised in Ontario, Canada. In a cosmic twist of fate she dislikes the snow and cold.

Thanks to her mother she acquired a love of books at an early age and began writing in public school. She constantly has stories floating around in her head, and finds it amazing most people don’t. Jennifer writes various forms of fantasy, both novels and short stories. Sweet light is her debut novel to be published in 2011.

Jennifer resides in rural Ontario, Canada with her husband, two boys, Australian shepherd a flock of birds and a disagreeable amount of wildlife.







In case you need:

My website: www.jenniferwylie.ca

My blog: http://jlwylie.wordpress.com/



Book available for sale link:

OmniLit: http://www.omnilit.com/product-jump-493574-234.html

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Jump-ebook/dp/B004FPYT4O

B&N: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/books/product.aspx?ean=9781590807354

2 comments:

Jen Wylie said...

Thanks so much for having me Chris! :)

Chris Redding said...

Thanks for stopping by Jen.