Wednesday, January 25, 2012

13 Questions with...Adrienne Jones


1. You’re hosting a dinner party. What is the menu, and do you cook it yourself, or do you call a caterer?
I’m primarily a vegetarian but if hosting a dinner party I’d cheat and go with seafood(cooked myself!) Probably shrimp.

2. What is your beverage of choice?
Wine, wine, and sometimes wine.

3. Physical book Vs an E-Reader. Your preference and why?
My opinion wavers on this – I usually prefer curling up with a paperback rather than ebook, but E-readers appeal to my impatience when I want to read a certain book NOW. Plus holding an E-reader makes me feel all Starfleet.

4. What kinds of books make up your personal library?
Oh man, it’s a totally chaotic, overflowing mix with no rhyme or reason! There is a lot of science fiction and paranormal but also plenty of classics and nonfiction. I read everything.

5. How and when did you catch the writing bug?
I’ve been writing since first grade when I won a district poetry festival contest in my town, and I’ve done varied forms of freelance journalism over the years. But I didn’t get serious about fiction/novel writing until much later. There was no transition or Eureka moment, I just started waking up with these stories in my head, and the characters wouldn’t leave me alone until I gave them some attention.

6. What is your writing routine?
Ah…um, ROUTINE, yeah, I’ve been meaning to get me one of those.

7. If you ever encounter writer’s block, what steps do you take to get past it?
Cursing, drama, self-flagellation. But usually it just means I’m not thrilled with what I’m working on at the moment, so I either have to change it up or switch to another project for a while. I’ve found working on multiple projects at once is a godsend when it comes to stalling out, because you can always take a breather and focus on something different for a while.

8. Do you have a hidden talent?
I don’t think so! Though I’ve always wanted to be telekinetic and toss people across the room with my mind.

9. What was your best subject in school?
Definitely the Literature classes, loved them. Math still makes me want to cry and curl into fetal position.

10. As in any entertainment, there are current trends. How much do these “current trends” influence what you write?
I’m aware of trends and pay attention to what’s selling etc., but I write my best work when I just do my own thing, regardless of genre or categorization. If people want to call it paranormal mystery, science fiction, fantasy, it makes no difference to me as long as they enjoy the ride. People always say my work is diverse or without genre (or cross-genre), but I think there’s an upside in that it can fit snugly into a lot of categories.

11. Mac or PC?
PC

12. Where do your ideas come from?
A small purple alien from the Omega Centauri galaxy delivers them to me in an orb every six months or so.

13 What advice would you pass on to an aspiring author?
Learn to edit your own work. I don’t mean just spelling and grammar, though that’s obviously crucial. But when you first start, you’re going to say in five sentences what you could say more eloquently in one, and professional editors will notice. Read as many reputable books on editing your fiction as you can find, practice, be willing to sacrifice words, sentences, entire chapters if it’s for the good of the story.



1 comment:

  1. Great interview, AJ! Especially fond of the answer to question 6.

    Cheers

    gb

    ReplyDelete