Author interview with Jewel Leonard

Today I welcome Jewel Leonard to my blog to talk about her writing and to celebrate the release of her latest book!

1.     1.What inspires you as a fiction writer? Looking at your website you have a few different passions that you blend into your stories and romances. Can you lift the curtain a little? 

I think it might be easier to say what doesn’t inspire me. 😉 

My other interests don’t appear all that much in my writing—although that’s changing with the second Witches’ Rede series book—and when they do, it’s mostly in passing reference.

I’m heavily influenced by my pop-culture loves and (I’m hesitant to admit) that I derive great pleasure from weaving references from recent shows and music into my 1880s world. Don’t be fooled into thinking Ed Mercer (of The Orville TV show) is going to go traipsing by in the background of 1883 Redington.

Thus far, I don’t think anybody has caught any of the references … and one, I thought, was pretty blatant. I’m sorely tempted someday to release an “editor’s edition” version of these books with all these things highlighted. I guess it’s a less twisted version of when serial killers want to be caught so that the world can see their “genius.” LOL!

Some of my characters are influenced by my favorite actors or TV show/movie characters. I feel like having flesh-and-blood inspiration helps me craft a much more well-rounded, realistic character that readers are going to love … or love to hate.

2. Your latest book is about to come out. What do you really want readers to know about it?

I suppose I’d address my answer specifically to those who’ve been following my journey on social media for a while and saw all the times I complained about Alight:

The harder I am on myself, the better the final product. Complacency leads to laziness, errors, and subpar end-products. Don’t mistake me being hard on myself for me not liking my work, and don’t mistake any of that for my work not being any good. I’m no Stephen King, but I’m happy being me. 😉

I love my characters dearly, and I’m wickedly passionate about what I do.

I’m very proud of Alight and I think it’s easily one of the most beautiful books I’ve had the pleasure of holding. I hope others feel the same way. 

3. What has your journey to publication been like and why did you choose self-publishing, as so many are doing these days?  

The journey to publication has not been an easy one. I initially sought traditional publication for The Witches’ Rede series/Alight but when I got to a point where agents who promised responses weren’t even bothering to send form rejections, I started wondering what I was really doing beyond wasting everybody’s time.

I did receive a couple very kind (mostly) form rejections. One agent in particular (someone I still can’t believe I had the guts to query—she’s the agent of an international bestselling author in my genre) was kind enough to read my submission … she told me that although my writing was excellent, the story was not what she was looking for. In dating lingo, I’m pretty sure this would be the “it’s not you, it’s me” gambit.

But it was me, and I’m not foolish enough to believe otherwise—my beloved genre is dead, so they claim. I received the same kind of response from agents whose MSWLs were a perfect match to Alight (that is, if I received responses at all).

Knowing how books in my genre are being received (regardless of the undying devotion of genre fans), I stopped and did some soul-searching.

I was looking for validation by being chosen by an agent or publisher … and I’m fairly certain that’s the wrong reason to choose that path.

I asked myself some questions and didn’t answer them immediately. It made me really stop and think.

What would traditional publishing require of me, and what would I get out of it?

Was I willing to change this book to be a closer match to what agents were looking for in the hope that one might request a partial or full MS?

No. My creative vision is so clear in my mind’s eye that I can’t see changing it to fit the constraints of mainstream marketability.

What if someone took a shine to it and it got picked up? Would I be willing to change it (possibly making huge changes) according to editors’ suggestions—knowing that if I pushed back, I’d be known as difficult to work with?
No. Second verse, same as the first.

The more thought I gave what being traditionally published would mean to me, the more I realized it’s not the path I’m meant for. This actually fits well with other things in my life (my daughter’s microcephaly, for instance, is caused by a genetic abnormality previously undocumented in any other person—living or dead; we are forging our own path with her). I walk to my own beat, and have for as long as I can remember.

I know some people consider indie publishing a consolation prize … (“Oh, you couldn’t hack it traditionally, huh? Your writing must suck. So you’re just gonna take that loser MS  nobody wanted and slop it up on Amazon with a cover you did in ten minutes using MS Paint, right?”)

In my case, indie-publishing wasn’t second place. It was a better fit for my passion and my personality (I’m a teensy bit of a control freak and the thought of a character on my front cover who doesn’t match my description could make my fine hair curl!), and this is something I wish had occurred to me much sooner. 

I’m actually currently drafting a blog post to go into more detail about this decision. I hope to have it done sometime around Alight’s release date ... inspiration willing. 😉

4. eBook vs Traditional?

As someone who has moved a half-dozen times in the last 6 years, I think eBooks are far superior. All you have to do to pack them is slip your eReader into your purse and go. I’ve had to donate or sell so many books over the last 6 years to cut down on moving costs, and I hate that so much.

Having said that, nothing replaces the feel of paper, the smell of older books, or the satisfaction of looking over a full bookshelf full of tomes that are mine, all mine!

When it comes to my own work? Nothing beats holding my words in paperback. It makes them feel more real, you know? It makes me feel legitimate, even if I’m still “just” self-publishing. Plus, my paperbacks are far sexier than their e-versions.


5. Pen & Paper or a computer?

What’s this pen and paper/computer business? I’m so old-school, I write on stone tablet. 😉

All kidding aside, I am pretty old-school—I prefer pen and paper for writing my first drafts. I consider typing the words into the Word doc to be my first round of editing. Often, I’m perfecting some crazy phrasing, augmenting some off-dialogue, or expanding sections I left skimpy just to get the general idea written. I also leave all sorts of snarky comments for myself in the margins … about my characters and my own writing, equally. “Eloquent writing is eloquent,” with a frowny-face and an arrow pointing to the passage.

The method works well for me. Plus, I find the physical act of writing by hand to be incredibly therapeutic.

6. What do you think is the most important thing a writer can do, aside from write well, to increase their odds of a successful career?

I hate myself for saying this on account of my considerable lack of patience, but I think success as an indie author requires keeping at it. From what I understand (I’m going off hearsay as I’m still new to the publishing business), the successful indie authors all have a long backlist and crank out multiple books each year. They have a lot of content, their older writing acts as advertisement for their new works, and they have credibility (particularly those putting out a series) that more books are to come in a timely manner.

I may just be starting out but I’m going to keep at it. This is my dream. This is my future.

7. What secret talent do you have, which everyone reading this blog will keep secret? Or, what’s the craziest thing you’ve done in the name of research?

Secret talent … I can curl my tongue? Does that count as a talent? LOL! Probably not. That being the case, I’ll answer the other question: I regularly check etymology online to be sure the words I’m using (especially the ones my 1883 characters use in speech) were in use when they were alive. With very few exceptions (and there are a few because there was just no way around them), I’m a stickler for not using anachronistic words in conversation. I try to avoid them in narration, too, though I give myself a little more leeway there.

One night for research, I deliberately fell asleep in my husband’s lap while I wore my Victorian corset. I won’t go into details, but I needed to know just how much a woman’s body could go limp in such rigid shapewear. As the scene I was researching is written from my male protagonist’s POV, having my husband’s input as the conscious party was invaluable.

My ridiculously talented husband, who made my corset, also made me what we call a “stunt bustle.”
I’ll leave why I needed that for research up to your imagination ... but yes, it’s probably exactly what you’re thinking.

8. And as a fellow knitter … I’m curious what’s on your needles right now?
    Nothing. Not a bloody thing. :sobsobsob: I'm aiming to change that, though, and soon. I have a Log Cabin Blanket I’m thinking of picking up again just to get back into the rhythm of knitting. I also want to start a pair of elbow-length gloves; I picked out a few patterns on Ravelry, so now I need to go through my still-packed boxes of yarn (sigh, moving is so hard) to see if any of my stash will be a good match. If I can make the gloves that I envision, I will be a very happy camper when I’m done and there will be an onslaught of photos on my social media accounts. 😊

Thank you so much for having me! It was so much fun to answer your questions—and I apologize for rambling.

Thanks, Jewel, that was awesome. Here's hoping for lots and lots of sales of your latest book!

You can find Jewel on …

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JewelELeonard

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Jewel.E.Leonard/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jewel.e.leonard/

Goodreads (I always forget this one!): https://www.goodreads.com/Duckfiend

and for you Yarnistas, Ravelry: https://www.ravelry.com/people/duckfiend

Bio:

Jewel calls herself a writer of romantic biographies for fictional people. She lives with her husband, 9-year-old son, 3-year-old daughter, and minion of darkness in Arizona.