Jess, Thanks for agreeing to be a guest on my blog.
It’s a pleasure to be here. Thanks for having me.
Can you tell everyone a little bit about yourself?
There’s really not much to say about me. I’m a little bit goofy. I twist balloon animals. I have a vast well of completely useless knowledge that always seems to come back to haunt me. I smile way too much, and I like to create butterfly gardens.
How long have you been writing?
Let’s not count the attempts at writing when I was eight. It was pretty pathetic. I enjoyed writing as stress relief and as an outlet in high school, but ignored it until my last semester in college where I took a fiction writing class for fun. After I graduated in 2000, I decided I’d pursue a career. So officially, it’s been a lifetime, or nine years, depending on how you count.
What is your writing process like?
I start out by just thinking. I observe all sorts of things with a potential lead character in mind. I’m searching for anything that will spark a little inspiration. Once I’m interested in the story, I figure out the conflict and the main plot arc. After that, I interview my main characters to get to know them and what drives them a little.
After that, I start the plotting process. I write out the story as if I was telling it to myself in an old green notebook. I write out anything that comes to mind that I want to add in the story and try to work out the emotions, cause and effect, plot arcs, romantic arcs, subplots, and how everything comes together. After that, I use that messy jumble of handwritten junk to write the formal synopsis for my editor. Then I take it and I break it down into chapter chunks and look at the pacing of the novel. Once all that is done, I sit down and write, using the sloppy synopsis and the chapter break-down as a guide. I write straight through passing chapters back and forth with my critique partner as I finish them, and eventually I have a really clean book to turn in to my editor.
So I guess I’m a plotter.
Can you tell us about your newest release Beyond The Rain?
Beyond the Rain is a story of sacrifice. On the outside, it is a dark and exciting space opera. In it, a warrior nun gets caught behind enemy lines with an unlikely compatriot, a slave forced to endure terrible torture as his captors leeched his hormones to create illegal sexual narcotics. As they fight to find a way home, the forbidden ties between them grow, until the consequences of their love become deadly.
I loved the two main characters of this story, because I created each one to break the stereotypes of typical paranormal romance characters. The heroine is a kick-butt heroine, but she never wanted to be. It does not define her, and it is not the core of her being. She hasn’t been so corrupted by darkness that she can no longer be a pure and caring person, she’s just trapped in a position within her society that gives her no freedom and no choice. She is warm, caring, loving, and sensual, but expected to fit into a mold that is hard, cold, and completely free of personal connection to anyone or anything. She is a soldier by occupation only. It was fun to use the romantic arc to break her open and reconnect her to the true core of her soul.
As for Soren, the hero, well, you’ll have to read the book to discover what makes him so special, but I’ve never run across another hero like him.
This is your first published book correct? Excited, Nervous, Anxious, Relieved, or All The Above?
Wow, yes this is my first book. I’ve run the gamut of emotions. When I signed my first contract, I was relieved to move to a new stage in my writing career. Now most of the time I feel a little overwhelmed but excited. It is surreal to think people are out there reading my words, but I love that thought so much.
Do you have any other books coming out this year?
Beyond the Shadows, the sequel to Beyond the Rain should be out in May. It is hot and thrilling. It was such a fun book to write, and I can’t wait for it to hit the shelves.
What are you currently working on?
I’m currently writing the sloppy synopsis for a third book in the series, then turning my attention to an idea I have for a YA novel.
Where do you get your ideas for your books?
Oh man, that’s a fun question. I get them from everywhere. Parts of Beyond the Rain were inspired by the mating habits of African weaver birds I saw in an aviary at the zoo. The third book was inspired by the greenhouses in Epcot. Vicca and Tuz, my two scouts, were inspired by my cat Suki, and my aunt’s cat Jackhammer. I never know where the inspiration for things will come from. I’m a very curious soul, and that helps.
As an author, you must be an avid reader. What books do you enjoy reading? Who are your auto-buy authors?
I used to be an avid reader, and was a Comparative Literature major in college. I deeply love reading, but I sink so deeply into it, I don’t come up for air. Unfortunately, that doesn’t mix well with young children afoot. When they are both in school, I’m hoping I’ll be able to read more again. I enjoy lots of romance, especially historicals that really capture the honest tone of the time instead of a fantasy of what the time was like. I love reading YA novels, and middle grade novels. I can finish them quickly and they are always entertaining.
Right now, my only auto-buys are anything by J.K. Rowling, Nalini Singh, and Susan Grant. Since J.K. Rowling is rolling in her dough and not exactly writing, I’m down to Nalini and Susan.
What books are on your keeper shelf?
Julie Kenner’s old superhero novels, and The Cat’s Fancy, everything Susan Grant has ever written, Elizabeth Hoyt’s “Prince” trilogy, Christine Feehan’s first five Carpathian novels, autographed with the original covers, and a couple of books that really struck me as awesome.
What was the first romance book you read?
I don’t know if it was the first one I actually read, but it is certainly the first one I re-read over and over, and hid under my bed, and kept until it was in tatters.
Savage Thunder by Johanna Lindsey, with the Fabio cover. Oh yeah, baby! That was awesome. I’m not entirely sure some of the antics were physically possible, but they were certainly entertaining.
If one of your book was made into a movie which actors would like to see as the lead characters?
Shoot, I’m not good at this game. Hmmmm, probably Sean Bean (Boromir from Lord of the Rings) for Soren. I know he played a semi-bad guy in that, but he looks like Soren to me, and he had such a great tormented element to his acting I really enjoyed. He turned a character I never liked into one I understood and empathized with.
Cyani’s a little harder. There aren’t enough women cast as strong soldier heroines. I think she looks a little like Catherine Zeta-Jones. Perhaps she could pull it off.
If you could switch lives with one of your characters who would it be & why?
Tuz, the war cat. I’m terrible to my characters. I don’t think I have a single one who isn’t tortured in some way shape or form, except Tuz. No matter what sort of Hell is raining down around him, he manages to come out unscathed and ornery as anything. If turning into a war cat with attitude is a stretch, I’d like to be Lai, a Makkolen queen. She’s powerful, she’s sexy. She ages so beautifully and she uses her matronly elegance to enhance her power and allure. Yeah, it would be nice to be Lai.
When you are not writing or reading, what do you enjoying doing in your spare time?
I enjoy working in my butterfly garden. I just moved to a new house, so I’ve got a new challenge. The weeds in the flowerbed I’m going to turn into my new garden are almost as tall as I am, so cleaning out and replanting should be interesting. I also like going to amusement parks and zoos, making beer, and I’ve got an itch to do some cross-stitching.
If you could ask readers any one question, what would it be?
What makes you keep a book and read it again?
To find out more information about Jess Granger and her books please visit her website at: http://www.jessgranger.com/ or http://www.myspace.com/jessgranger
***Leave a comment answering Jess’s question for a chance to win a copy of Beyond The Rain. Good Luck 🙂
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