What literary pilgrimages have you gone on?
I think writing my first book, which was non-fiction, was a sort of pilgrimage. It took ten years to write—I had two tiny boys when I started it so even finding time to write was a challenge. The book is about my experiences as a pastor’s wife and how I never felt like I fit that role. It’s also about my struggle with anxiety and anger. It was very cathartic to write out my thoughts, feelings and experiences. Going from asking the question, can I write a book to actually writing it was a pilgrimage of sorts.

What is the first book that made you cry?
The Little Match Girl was one of the first stories I ever heard that made me at least feel very sad. I was never much of a crier. But even at that young age, I was aware how a story could affect your emotions.

What is your writing Kryptonite?
I never want to unleash negative events and consequences on my characters. I try to protect them at first. It takes a conscious effort on my part to throw the bad stuff at them.

Do you want each book to stand on its own, or are you trying to build a body of work with connections between each book?At the moment my fiction books are a body of work with connections but I’m working on other manuscripts that are totally unconnected and also different genres.

How did publishing your first book change your process of writing?
As I said, my first book was non-fiction. Publishing it gave me the courage to try writing fiction, along with some encouragement from my writing partners. With that courage in my back pocket, I signed up for NaNoWriMo and wrote my first novel, which I’ve since published. NaNoWriMo has changed how I write. I always use November as a time to start a new project and get words on a page.
As a writer, what would you choose as your mascot/avatar/spirit animal?
A rabbit. We have a pet dwarf rabbit named Whiskers.

What did you edit out of your books? (keep it family-friendly, please)
I had to really edit my main protagonist in Exit Stage Right. At first, she came off a little too rough around the edges.

What one thing would you give up to become a better writer?
That’s a hard question. I would give up coffee. I drink at least three cups a day so that’s saying something.

What is your favorite childhood book?
Anne of Green Gables

What is the most difficult part of your writing process?
Balancing the marketing with the actual writing. I could spend a forty-hour week just doing the marketing for my work. Plus, I work part-time at a library. I need more hours in a day, but don’t we all?

What is the easiest part of your writing process?
Is there an easy part? Hmm. I think starting a new project is easy because it’s exciting and there’s so much possibility in those first few chapters. No plot tangles to get yourself out of.

A common misconception entwined with authors is that they are socially inept, how true is that?
A little bit true. I’m really good at one on one but in a group, not so much. I don’t do small talk well.

When did it dawn on you that you wanted to be an author?
I’ve wanted to write since I was a kid. I told myself stories from a young age.

Who are your biggest literary influences?
Lucy Maud Montgomery, Louisa May Alcott, Sarah J. Maas. Any good writer influences me. I read their stories and ask myself, “How did they do that?”

What’s your favorite movie which was based on a book?  Why?
One True Thing by Anna Quindlen. The mother/daughter dynamic was so well portrayed by Meryl Streep and Renee Zellweger.

How did it feel when your first book got published? How did you celebrate?
It was surreal actually. I’d dreamed about it for so long. I kept asking myself, “How can this be happening?” We did a big book launch with family and friends to celebrate.

What is that one thing you think readers generally don’t know about authors?
I’m a huge reader and I’m always surprised how normal authors are when I meet them.  In my mind, they are rock stars but in reality, they could be your neighbour.

When it comes to research for your books, are you a hunter or a gatherer? Talk about your research process.
I’m a gatherer I think. Not a big fan of research so I’ll never write a historical book. Too many details. That being said, I do like interviewing people. In Exit Stage Right, I had to learn about injuries and physical therapy so I interviewed a friend’s daughter who is a PT. In my new book, I interviewed a hockey goalie to learn about training, etc. You have to be interested in what you research which is why you never want to write about something you’re not passionate about.

Could you be housemates with your characters? Why or why not?
No, I couldn’t be housemates with my characters. I’m introverted and way better on my own.

What’s your typical writing routine or schedule?
During NaNoWriMo, I get up at 5am and write for two hours. The rest of the year I try to write in the morning because that’s my best time but I’m still trying to figure it out. It’s hard to balance family, job, and writing. And I can’t figure out why I can do it during NaNoWriMo but not after it’s over.

Writing can be an emotionally draining and stressful pursuit.  How do you recharge?
I walk and do yoga. I need lots of alone time to recharge.

Do you prefer music or silence when you write?  Do you have a writing playlist?  What’s on it?
Silence. I can’t have any music playing. It interrupts the flow of thoughts. I will sometimes listen to music as I walk and it inspires me and gives me ideas but then when I sit at my desk I have to turn it off.

Which celebrity would you choose to narrate your audiobook?
I don’t want a celebrity but I would love Angela Dawe, who narrated Then There was You by Kara Isaac, to narrate my book. She was so expressive, I could see in my mind the character rolling her eyes, Angela’s voice was that expressive.

What well-known author, living or dead, do you wish could be your mentor? Why?
Stephen King. Obviously he’s figured it out.

What is your favorite of the six senses (touch, taste, smell, sound, sight, intuition) to write about, why?
Smell. Maybe because I have a sensitive nose. An aroma can be good or bad, subtle or strong, and it adds depth to the setting and scene.

What is a favorite location you’ve written about?  Have you visited that place?  How did you choose which details to include?
A summer camp. I went to camp as a kid and my own kids have too. I included some details from my kids’ camp experiences in the book such as an indoor climbing wall that was part of the longhouse. It fit with my sports theme in the book.

Travel back in time (without negative effects for you or the timeline) what year do you visit? Why?
I’d like to go back to the 60’s. It’s not that far back in time but there was so much happening in the world. I wanted to be a journalist and it would have been incredible to cover some of those stories.

What is something about your hero or villain that drove their character, but you didn’t specifically tell your reader?
I maybe didn’t come right out and tell the reader but I hinted at it in Exit Stage Right. Shelby, my antagonist felt unloved by her mother.

Have you ever resuscitated a project you'd shelved? What helped it work better the second time around?
Not yet. 

What do the words “literary success” mean to you? How do you picture it?
It’s changing. Literary success would be writing full-time and making a living off it. I would love to go the traditional route and have people do marketing and promotion. But there are some huge perks to Indie publishing. Literary success would also be speaking more at events, schools, bookstores—about books and writing.

Can you tell us about your current projects?
This spring I have a companion book to Exit Stage Right coming out titled Face Off. It’s Shelby’s story. It takes place at an elite sports camp for the first half of the book. She’s been sent there by her mother and she has to prove she’s deserves to be there. Ballet dancers are athletes too. Her nemesis Tristan, a NHL prospect, doesn’t agree. They face off with each other in a series of challenges, hoping to prove the other wrong.

Any advice you would like to give to aspiring authors?
Read, read, and read some more. Especially the genre you want to write. Then sit your butt in a chair and write. Don’t let anything stop you.

Please provide links and/or instructions about how readers can purchase signed copies of your books.
For signed copies, you can email me at jenwillcock9@gmail.com  or contact me through my websitewww.jenniferwillcock.com

Suspense, Humor, Mystery,  A Dashing Englishmen, A Flattering Younger Man, the Wonder of a Museum's Backstage, and Chocolate... what's not to love about this story! 

Luba Lesychyn is an extremely talented writer.  She understands how to dangle details in ways that have you looking forward to more excitement, without anxiety.  She's a comfort writer.  Pull up a cozy blanket and dive right in.  I immersed myself reading her pages at night, after a day of work... shunning the rest of the real world, and allowing myself to get lost in her imaginative Toronto.  I regret nothing.

Theft By Chocolate is an amusing and spirited read.  The story eavesdrops on the days of a chocolate addict, who is also sleuthing her way through an irresistible mystery.  At every new chapter, I was impressed by Luba's expressive writing style.  When her characters walk through hallways filled with anxiety, sit quietly in a cathedral, or collapse on the bed in sheer exhaustion, you experience every moment as if that character's reality was your own.  Luba entices you to step into her world and live it fully.

Through the intrigue of the story, she shares valuable reminders of some of life's most important lessons, in ways you'll never forget.  Yes, a spoonful of powered chocolate does affect us in exactly THAT way!  Secrets are often hidden in (nearly) plain sight, so you should be keenly observant.  Public humiliation doesn't always have to be the precursor to a doomed life.  And most importantly, Librarians can indeed be seductively charming, in their own bashful way.

Luba Lesychyn is an author who clearly understands how to bait her literary fish and then reel them in for the vigorous PLOP on the sandy shore.  But not to worry, she'll tuck you back into the water again, safely returning you to the comfort of characters you are sure you know, and environments that you wish you could visit, without ever revealing the entire mystery.  And that's exactly what we want from an author.

Thank you, Luba Lesychyn, you will continue to have a place in my TBR pile!

​What literary pilgrimages have you gone on? 
I majored in psychology 35 years ago, but discovered my passion for writing in the late 1980s when I became a communications writer for a Bloomfield Hills marketing company. In 1990 I sent an article to Marketing News, a publication of the American Marketing Association. The article, Teamwork Delivers a Clear Implementation Document,  was published in their Sept. 3, 1990 edition. Immediately thereafter in 1991 I had discovered in very small print that a magazine I had been reading since I was kid said they accepted freelance articles and offered payment for them. Later that year my first paid article, There Shouldn’t be a Maintenance Free Aquarium, But There Will Be was published in Freshwater & Marine Aquarium Magazine. The writing bug had bit me and I soon wrote freelance for other publications like Detroit Metropolitan Woman’s Magazine, Michigan Out-of-Doors, and Michigan History Magazine where I wrote a story on the Belle Isle Aquarium squashing notions it was the first U.S. aquarium when in fact it was the second. During this period I became a stringer for The Grand Rapids Press and a Caucasian Editor of the Afro-American Gazette. I soon became an editor of a weekly Lansing newspaper, The Holt Community News and continued my freelance writing until 1998 when I signed up for the first website ever tied to a writer’s lounge, FreelanceWorkshop.com. An accompanying book on Writing for Publication was published on Amazon in 1999. Since then I began to publish more academic writing books to help teachers through a variety of different publishers. Among the most popular are Social Media Writing Lesson Plans and Word Press for Student Writing Projects. https://www.amazon.com/Erik-Bean/e/B00DZ0C2CQ?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1&qid=1597068716&sr=8-1

What is the first book that made you cry?
As a child I cried many times while reading E.B. White’s Charlotte’s Web. I felt so sorry for Wilbur, the pig.

What is your writing Kryptonite?
I want to connect with people to help them either personally or professionally.

Do you want each book to stand on its own, or are you trying to build a body of work with connections between each book? 
So in this most recent collaborative effort, Ethan’s Healthy Mind Express: A Children’s First Mental Health Primer, I was so fortunate to work with a co-author of my social media writing books, Emily Lane Waszak as well as family friend Sherry Wexler (who served as editor) and Sherry found a most amazing illustrator, Gail Gorske who develop all 19 pictures using paper and lighting skills while photographing them. The book was inspired by the loss of my 17-year-old son in August 2018 after suffering from autism and other atypical diagnoses for years. We wanted to develop a book to help other children struggling with various mental challenges to show them they are not alone and to provide them ideas where to go for help as well as how to avoid problem areas of the internet that can lead to isolation and loneliness. So this book is the first of what we hope will be several published by our Michigan 501(c) nonprofit, Ethan Bean Mental Wellness Foundation. https://ethanbean.org/new-childrens-book-1

How did publishing your first book change your process of writing?
In 1999 Amazon did not yet have CreateSpace or KDP so I was forced to print my paperback book locally in the Ann Arbor, Michigan area. But as far as the writing goes, I believe every writer goes through a transformation process at some point or another.

As a writer, what would you choose as your mascot/avatar/spirit animal?
In my case I only need my son Ethan to help guide the way. I think about the things he would want people to know in order to try and help them with mental health, help them to keep their head up in a rapidly changing world.

What did you edit out of your books? (keep it family-friendly, please)
In a complementary adult book series, 20/20 Prudent Leadership, we are in the process of publishing our 4th of a nine-booklet series on better self-decision-making. As the coauthor of that series with Dr. LauraAnn Migliore, our 2nd book was censored by the Amazon.com KDP platform on April 25th this year with an explanation that they were not allowing any more books to be published about COVID-19. We had adopted our third installment in our series based on the leadership style of Theodore Roosevelt, 20/20 Prudent Leadership: Conversation, Conduct, and Character, with an additional “C” COVID-19. It took two weeks of additional communications to convince the book publishing behemoth we were not touting pandemic conspiracy theories and only offering practical advice based on Biblical examples, pop culture, and recent popular egregious examples of poor decision making. More information on that series can be found at https://prudentleadership.com/

What one thing would you give up to become a better writer?
Probably a job with a better salary. But I have worked in higher education for years and just recently switched to K-12.

What is your favorite childhood book?
As mentioned earlier it is none other than the amazing work of E.B. White, including Stuart Little.

What is the most difficult part of your writing process?
Finding a new angle and targeting that angle to the right audience.

What is the easiest part of your writing process?
Almost everyone has the potential to write, but not everyone can see that through to publication either as an indie author or through a proposal pitch to a publisher.

How long on average does it take you to write a book?
In my case it has fluctuated anywhere from 3 to 9 months. On average, at least 6 months. Most of my efforts have been collaborative, relying on others which can further delay time to publication.
 
A common misconception entwined with authors is that they are socially inept, how true is that? 
I have not heard that as an overarching stereotype, but I suppose it can be true in some cases. Certainly, most appear to be in touch with their feelings since most typically write about experiences that have affected them or one’s they seem keenly knowledgeable about or creative enough to resonate with their audiences. To that degree they must spend time by themselves writing, editing, and re-writing and less time socializing.

When did it dawn on you that you wanted to be an author?
Immediately after I got that first 1990 article accepted by the American Marketing Association.

Who are your biggest literary influences?
On August 17th, Publisher’s Weekly published its first critical review of our award-winning book, Ethan’s Healthy Mind Express. In the review, the writer mentioned two books for which he/she indicated the reader’s of our book would like, " Great for fans of Elizabeth Swados's My Depression, Shaun Tan's The Red Tree." Swados is a late Tony nominated composure and actress and Tan is an Academy Award wining animator. In examining their work, they have now become the epitome of influences for future mental health book efforts. Prior to this and my call to write books with a mental health theme, I was drawn to dystopian works, those like Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 about censorship. Prior to my son’s passing he bought me the 60th anniversary edition. The premise still holds up very well today.

What’s your favorite movie which was based on a book?  Why?
The original 1966 film, Fahrenheit 451 based on Bradbury’s 1953 book. It was done very well using the theme of censorship from start to finish, so much so that no opening credits are shown in words, only narrated.

How did it feel when your first book got published? How did you celebrate?
Self-publishing has a celebratory feeling, no question, particularly if your work has been edited and reviewed by others who can be impartial. But getting published via a more established publisher is exciting too, for you have connected with others who believe in your work enough to contract and help promote it.

What is that one thing you think readers generally don’t know about authors?
That most are passionate about telling a story or provide information that can either entertain or be most useful personally or professionally.

Can you tell us about your current projects?
We are open to examining other mental health book proposals for children or adults at https://ethanbean.org/mental-health-books. Our series on 20/20 Prudent Leadership also is currently receiving critical reviews and compliments our mental health book mission.

Are you attending any conventions/festivals where readers can meet you and/or buy your books?  Please provide all the “find it” information.
Prior to the pandemic we had plans to do book signings at local bookstores, but our books are stuck in the New York Offices of Baker and Taylor and Barnes and Noble with no end in sight whether they will be distributed.  Ethan's Healthy Mind Express was accepted for presentation at the July 2021 Literacy & Language Arts Summer Institute, National Council of Teachers of English, Normal, IL
We have presented at the 2020 Jewish Book Fair, the 2020 Rochester Writers Book Fair, and at the 2020 Fall Page Promotions Book Festival, all virtual. Our book has been featured on Detroit’s Fox 2 and WXYZ TV.
https://healthymindexpress.org/press

Please provide links and/or instructions about how readers can purchase signed copies of your books.
A beautiful 10 x 10 hardcover autographed with our nonprofit seal on the copyright page can be purchased at https://ethanbean.org/hardcover. All proceeds support the Ethan Bean Mental Wellness Foundation and our new Healthy Mind Express Zoom story telling and poetry writing school programs. https://ethanbean.org/zoom as well as research we plan to pursue to help our understanding of autism and socialization opportunities. https://ethanbean.org/research

Any advice you would like to give to aspiring authors? 
Follow your heart. Provide your unique way of entertaining and messaging that you know is important. But remember, you can write the best story ever, but unless you can find an audience for it, it serves little value. All authors need to hustle and be salespeople too.  

What literary pilgrimages have you gone on?
It has been a literary pilgrimage since I published my first children’s book. I did a lot of research before but now that is out there, I feel like there is still so much to learn. I am continuing to work on my writing skills, my short essay skills and marketing of my book. It is a continuous learning journey.

What is the first book that made you cry?
The Five People You Meet In Heaven by Mitch Alborn. Its actually one of my favorite books and I've read it twice.

What is your writing Kryptonite?
I write when I am inspired and if I try to push myself when I am not then I get really frustrated and it wont work. Also, if I am tired or writing for longer than an hour it gets really difficult. Breaks always help with this.

Do you want each book to stand on its own, or are you trying to build a body of work with connections between each book?
I am trying to build a series with my first book. Each book is going to be a different adventure with the two main characters, and introduce new characters. Also, each one will have a theme of a social issue little ones with Autism face.

How did publishing your first book change your process of writing?
It really gave me an itch to write more and publish more. I don’t think it really changed my process but it definitely inspire me to write more.

As a writer, what would you choose as your mascot/avatar/spirit animal?
A cat =) they are my favorite animals and I would say a white Bengal tiger specifically would be my spirit animal.

What did you edit out of your books? (keep it family-friendly, please)
I think the only thing edited out was the name of Harper’s mom. The way it read it just did not work or make sense to have a name for her.

What one thing would you give up to become a better writer?
I would give up watching television. If it meant I could focus better and write better then definitely would.

What is your favorite childhood book?
There’s a lot lol. I would say the Eric Carle books are my favorite. I love reading those to clients. I love how simple they are but provide a lesson and their illustrations are different and beautiful. I am building a large collection of all of his books.

What is the most difficult part of your writing process?
Just being inspired. If I sit down to write but I don’t have inspiration and the start of an idea in my head then forget it the words wont come out.

What is the easiest part of your writing process?
Long as I have the idea in my head writing is very easy and just flows. I tend to black out anything else around me and just write. Then when I come out of that sort of trance I read what I wrote and see how much I wrote.

A common misconception entwined with authors is that they are socially inept, how true is that?
I would not say that authors are socially inept. I would say that inspiration can hit at any time and if there are deadlines then it can be difficult to find that inspiration. It may seem weird to want to go right at a moments notice because that’s when you got the inspiration but that is really how it can be for authors. Then anything not considered ‘normal’ is seen as weird by others not in the writing world.

When did it dawn on you that you wanted to be an author?
I have wanted to write a book since I was seven years old. I used to write short stories and it kind of took a back seat because of college. Then seeing the same pattern over and over in my career just pushed me into realizing I need to do something to help change this. It really hit at work I can use my writing as a platform to make a change.

Who are your biggest literary influences?
I would say Neil Gaiman. He has this way with words and taking you into a different world that is just mesmerizing.

What’s your favorite movie which was based on a book?  Why?
The Notebook. It captures you from the minute it starts. The actors just make it seem so real and you can feel the emotion throughout the book and the movie. It really was moving and is something that will always stick with me. Being able to feel like you are there and this is really happening is so rare especially when it is a book adaptation.

How did it feel when your first book got published? How did you celebrate?
It felt amazing!! I felt like I was on cloud 9. =) Celebrating in the traditional sense did not happen because of Covid-19. But I was literally jumping up and down and walked around holding my book, lol. I also called and texted everyone I know and put it all over my social media. Just having everyone’s support meant so much it was an amazing way to celebrate.

What is that one thing you think readers generally don’t know about authors?
How normal we really can be. I follow Dean Koontz on Facebook and when he answers questions it is funny. It is not what you would expect from him and I think that is something people forget. I think people associate authors with their books and characters so much they forget we are actually just people too and can have a life and personality outside of our books.

When it comes to research for your books, are you a hunter or a gatherer? Talk about your research process.
I am a researcher or hunter as you would say. I love to do research and will investigate as much as I can before I write something into my book. For me, research is easy. I use my school search engine, Google Scholar and I have also researched other books. Now I have all this social media I have been researching other authors with books that are similar topics to see what they believe in. I want to be as authentic as possible with my writing. I also use a lot of my experience from my career. I will go through my old notes or Pinterest ideas I have saved and used for work as inspiration too.

Could you be housemates with your characters? Why or why not?
Absolutely!! My one character, Emma, is inspired by a client I had and this was a client I absolutely adored. I think it would be amazing to live with both my clients and see the world through their eyes.

What’s your typical writing routine or schedule?
My writing routine is I turn on the music on my Spotify, typically the Daddy Yankee channel. It is one of my favorite and really helps me focus. I have tried writing without music and get distracted by other noises. For some reason when I put music on the words just flow.

Writing can be an emotionally draining and stressful pursuit.  How do you recharge?
Recharging for me would be spending time with my cats or getting a good hard workout in. I always feel energized after I workout and it really helps clear my head.

Do you prefer music or silence when you write?  Do you have a writing playlist?  What’s on it?
Definitely music. My favorite channel to listen to when I am writing is Daddy Yankee. I also have a channel called faves on Spotify. It has all late 90s and early 2000’s music on it that I love. Having either one really helps me focus and for some reason I basically block the music out and go to town writing. Then I'll realize I do not know what song is on and kind of snap out of it. It is always interesting to me when this happens to see how many songs went by and see what and how much I have written. I can honestly write four or five pages of a paper for school or finish one of the next books in the series in an hour with music on.

Which celebrity would you choose to narrate your audiobook?
Someone with an accent! I love a good accent and I think that would be fun for my book. I think anyone would be amazing to narrate it.

What well-known author, living or dead, do you wish could be your mentor? Why?
Neil Gaiman. He is my favorite author of all time; I have read majority of his books twice and honestly, by accident, lol; though I have not minded reading them a second time. He just takes you to such a magical place with his writing, I would love to learn his process and how he does that. I would love to learn how he becomes inspired and thinks of such different ideas for his books.

What is your favorite of the six senses (touch, taste, smell, sound, sight, intuition) to write about, why?
I would say sight. So far in my book one of the main characters cannot talk and really must rely on her sense of sight. If she did not have that it would be difficult for her to communicate the way I wrote it in the book. I think our sight is such an important sense. Even if one other sense is diminished, we can still use our sense of sight to communicate through different things like communication devices.

What is a favorite location you’ve written about?  Have you visited that place?  How did you choose which details to include?
In my second book that will go into publication later this month, I write about the girls going on an adventure to the zoo for the first time. Anyone that knows me knows how much I adore animals and watching all the shows on Animal Planet. There is a change in the way zoos are being portrayed now and it is to take down the bars and make the habitats more natural. I absolutely love this and going to the zoo has always been one of my favorite activities. When I wrote the second book, I would always think of the Bronx Zoo. I have been there, and they have a show about them on Animal Planet that is amazing. I chose what details to put in based on some of my favorite animals and some different zoos I have visited. My illustrations will most likely be a mix of the different zoos I have visited and seen on the shows on the Animal Planet too.  

Travel back in time (without negative effects for you or the timeline) what year do you visit? Why?
Probably 2013 and my last trip to Florida before my grandfather became sick and passed. It was the last time I got to see and spend time with him and it is how I remember him.

What is something about your hero or villain that drove their character, but you didn’t specifically tell your reader?
Something that drives my main character, Harper, is determination. It is something that I hoped readers would be able to see. I really wanted her to be strong and open and determined to face any obstacle. That her strength would be inspiring to other children and families.

Have you ever resuscitated a project you'd shelved? What helped it work better the second time around?
Yes, my second book. I started it and then it sat for some months, maybe three or four. Then when COVID hit, I had the time to really sit down and work on it. To finish writing it and ensure it was exactly how I wanted it to be.

What do the words “literary success” mean to you? How do you picture it?
To me literary success means that my book is not just selling well, but that it is inspiring families. It would mean that families encourage their children to befriend that little one at school that is different, whatever different may look like. I picture it as my book being read in my old elementary school library to a class. I also see that families are buying every book in the series and messaging me for details on the next one to come out.

Can you tell us about your current projects?
My current project is going to be getting my second book in the series into publication. That is my goal for 2021. Besides that, I have the fourth book written, and I want to finish that manuscript as well and move onto beginning to write the fifth book.

Any advice you would like to give to aspiring authors?
I have had people reach out to me for advice. The best advice I give is to do your research. Research the format of a book and research your ideas. The more research and background you have the more real your story line can come off. I would also research other authors who have written similar books. One thing I did that was recommended to me is research books with a similar theme to see where there is a need. That was huge for me so that I did not write something that had been done a ton of times before.

I just had someone reach out to me about what to do now they are writing. The advice I gave them is investigate publications that publish short stories and essays like vocal and medium. I really wish I had known about them when I first started writing. They have really helped me figure out what I want to do with my writing. I had written two other stories, but I was not sure If I wanted them to be books or short stories and having those platforms helped me realize my decision to make them short stories was the right one. I also feel like they are good grounds to test out ideas and see what other people are writing.

Do not ever get discouraged. Writing a book is half the battle. Next is writing a query letter and finding publishers and agents to send your book to. No matter how many rejection letters I get I still send out queries. I love that I am self-published and would recommend it to anyone too that is trying to become a serious author. Just because you received a rejection letter doesn’t mean your book isn’t good, it just means self-publishing may be the better option. Just don’t ever give up, any dream can be achieved.

Please provide links and/or instructions about how readers can purchase signed copies of your books.
Facebook: @booksbylisajacovsky
Twitter: Lisajaybooks
Instagram: booksbylisajacovsky
My website: www.lisajayauthor.com
My email: lisajayauthor@gmail.com
People can follow my series and journey on any or all my social media. I am very interactive and do sales all the time. I can be sent a DM for a signed and discounted book any time or people can send me a direct email. I love hearing from people and am happy to provide a discount with a signed book for anyone. 

What literary pilgrimages have you gone on?
Well, I’ve been to a lot of lighthouse and have an idea for a book where the character is a lighthouse keeper, so maybe someday that “research” will pay off.

What is the first book that made you cry?
Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson

Do you want each book to stand on its own, or are you trying to build a body of work with connections between each book?
Both. Each book (except my series) can stand alone, but there is an underlying theme to them all. They all tend to have “tender-hearts” as the main characters.

How did publishing your first book change your process of writing?
It gave me motivation to write more.

As a writer, what would you choose as your mascot/avatar/spirit animal?
A tree

What did you edit out of your books? (keep it family-friendly, please)
I avoided mentioning modern technology (like cell phones) to keep the stories timeless.

What is your favorite childhood book?
Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery

What is the most difficult part of your writing process?
Coming up with the idea.

What is the easiest part of your writing process?
The actual writing, once I am in the flow.

A common misconception entwined with authors is that they are socially inept, how true is that?
I think it depends on the person.

When did it dawn on you that you wanted to be an author?
When I was in 4th grade, I won second place in a writing contest. I knew then that that was what I wanted to do with my life.

Who are your biggest literary influences?
Katherine Paterson, L.M. Montgomery, Richard Bach.

What’s your favorite movie which was based on a book?  Why?
The Lord of the Rings trilogy. The visuals are incredible.

How did it feel when your first book got published? How did you celebrate?
Like I’d stepped into a new world.

What is that one thing you think readers generally don’t know about authors?
Writers love (and need) reviews!

When it comes to research for your books, are you a hunter or a gatherer? Talk about your research process.
I guess I am a bit of both. It depends on the situation.

Could you be housemates with your characters? Why or why not?
I think so. They tend to be a lot like me.

What’s your typical writing routine or schedule?
When I am working on a book, I get up at 5 am to write before the rest of the world is awake.

Writing can be an emotionally draining and stressful pursuit.  How do you recharge?
Walks in nature.

Do you prefer music or silence when you write?  Do you have a writing playlist?  What’s on it?
Silence, so I can hear my “muse”.

Which celebrity would you choose to narrate your audiobook?
Honestly, I would like to narrate my own audiobooks.

What is your favorite of the six senses (touch, taste, smell, sound, sight, intuition) to write about, why?
Intuition. I like writing about the “something more” of life.

What is a favorite location you’ve written about?  Have you visited that place?  How did you choose which details to include?
The fantasy world of Mystekos. I’m not saying if I’ve been there or not. ;)

Travel back in time (without negative effects for you or the timeline) what year do you visit? Why?
Oh, I’d go all over the place, soaking up ideas for new books!

What is something about your hero or villain that drove their character, but you didn’t specifically tell your reader?
The villain, Beldama, seemed to act out of anger, but beneath that, she was really feel lonely and abandoned.

Have you ever resuscitated a project you'd shelved? What helped it work better the second time around?
Yes, recently I finished a short story that I started in collage. I was able to finally finish it.

Any advice you would like to give to aspiring authors?
Believe in your dream and just keep working at it no matter what.

Please provide links and/or instructions about how readers can purchase signed copies of your books.
www.enchantmentpress.com

What literary pilgrimages have you gone on?
I have specifically gone out of my way to find and visit bookstores and libraries in other towns because I'm drawn to them.

What is the first book that made you cry?
I've read a lot of mysteries and science fiction. Nothing comes to mind, except in my own writing. The end of Lightyears II: Intragalactic Terrorism gets me every time. There are scenes in the book I just finished writing, Feathers of Shardaa, that also are very emotional.

What is your writing Kryptonite?
Responsibilities in life always seem to get in the way of my book stuff. And I complain to my wife about it way too often.

Do you want each book to stand on its own, or are you trying to build a body of work with connections between each book?
The only connections crossing over to other books would be if they are in the same universe. To date, I have three separate universes in my writing. The Lightyears universe (trilogy), the Treasures From Afar universe (stand-alone), and the Xeno Tryst universe (duology). For now, they are complete, but I would never dismiss the idea of going back and adding supplemental stories to any of those universes. There is always room for more stories.

How did publishing your first book change your process of writing?
Seeing the effects of publishing a book with global distribution has motivated me to continue. Searching the internet for Troy D. Wymer pulls up tons of my book stuff and that feels powerful.

As a writer, what would you choose as your mascot/avatar/spirit animal?
A Wolf, of course!

What did you edit out of your books? (keep it family-friendly, please)
In Lightyears, I edited out thoughts of suicide for the main character Roedie Cantin. I also did a major edit with regards to time travel in the same book. I changed the word 'droid to robot in Lightyears as well because LucasFilm has a registered trademark on the word.

What one thing would you give up to become a better writer?
My day job. I would love to be a full-time novelist.

What is your favorite childhood book?
The Green Turtle Mystery

What is the most difficult part of your writing process?
Editing. When I write, I try to be as grammatically accurate as possible and still get the story to flow out smoothly.

What is the easiest part of your writing process?
World building.

How long on average does it take you to write a book?
Six months.

A common misconception entwined with authors is that they are socially inept, how true is that?
For me, I can do both fairly well. So, I would say it depends on the author. Would that be an introvert with extrovert tendencies?

When did it dawn on you that you wanted to be an author?
I was fifteen when I started writing Lightyears. I was influenced by science fiction movies, TV shows, and books, and I wanted to create my own universe.

Who are your biggest literary influences?
Frank Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson.

What's your favorite movie which was based on a book? Why?
Star Wars, based on Alan Dean Fosters' ghost written book for George Lucas, because it's just awesome.

How did it feel when your first book got published? How did you celebrate?
I was ecstatic, although I tend to be nonchalant about things that most people get very excited about. I celebrate each book release with a book launch party.

What is that one thing you think readers generally don't know about authors?
I don't believe some readers really know how emotionally connected authors can be to their stories.

Can you tell us about your current projects?
I just finished writing book two of the Xeno Tryst Duology. It is called Feathers of Shardaa. I am in the editing phase and it should be available in early 2021. Here is the book overview:
Feathers of Shardaa is the epic conclusion of the Xeno Tryst Duology... A much darker theme, the backstory of the Shardaa Sector is revealed. Sierra Shalinsky is persuaded to advocate for the Humolfans and their repatriation back into galactic society. Through a series of dramatic events, Sierra falls in love.

Are you attending any conventions/festivals where readers can meet you and/or buy your books? Please provide all the "find it" information.
I hope to attend more events in 2021. I am currently scheduled to attend the Tulip City Comic Con on May 2, 2021 with Jean Davis. Here is a link: https://www.facebook.com/tulipcitycomic

Please provide links and/or instructions about how readers can purchase signed copies of your books.
There are a few ways. The best way would be physically at an event. There are currently a couple signed copies at Barnes & Noble - Woodland Mall in Grand Rapids, MI, or I can be contacted via my website contact form for a signed copy request. It would require payment up front, including the shipping cost. Alternatively, I also offer book plates that can be adhered to the half-title page. I can be contacted via my website and then give instructions on how that can be done and where to send a self-addressed stamped envelope to receive a book plate.

Any advice you would like to give to aspiring authors?
If you put an effort into it, you can get published...especially these days. It was not as easy thirty years ago. The one and only thing that motivated me to publish my books was Steve Harvey's Motivational Jump speech. It is so profound, I would like to share it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8uPDyzeA1_w

What literary pilgrimages have you gone on?
We enjoyed a side trip to Mark Twain’s home in Hannibal, Missouri. The museum displayed the little desk used to write his books.  I love Mark Twain’s storytelling. He influenced my writing by adding humor to my stories.

What is the first book that made you cry?
Charlotte’s Web. My 8th-grade teacher read it to our class. Yes, you never get too old to listen to a story. She asked me to finish reading the story because she was so emotional. Somehow, I got through it. I don’t think there was a dry eye in the room.

What is your writing Kryptonite?
Netflix
Do you want each book to stand on its own, or are you trying to build a body of work with connections between each book?
My books are stand-alone and in different genres. Deadly Undertaking (paranormal mystery) and Dangerous Sanctuary (romantic suspense) are cozy mysteries. Terror on Sunshine Boulevard could be considered a horror novel because you should not read it before bedtime. My latest release is my memoir, Arranging a Dream: A Memoir. Quite different from writing fiction!

How did publishing your first book change your process of writing?
I became more serious about my writing. I learned to set a time every day to write. Like keeping a doctor’s appointment. I kept that time block after lunch for working on my writing projects and made no other appointments or plans when possible.

As a writer, what would you choose as your mascot/avatar/spirit animal?
My red Mustang convertible. My author photo is one of me sitting in my beloved ‘stang—a gift from my husband 25 years ago.

What did you edit out of your books? (keep it family-friendly, please)
I saved deleted lines or paragraphs from my memoir on a separate sheet of paper in case I decided to add them back to the pages. As I look back through those lines and scenes, I think I deleted them because they were useless information having nothing to do with the storyline.

What one thing would you give up to become a better writer?
My Kindle. I love it for reading books, using the highlighter to note information or lines I want to refer to later. I really appreciate the dictionary I can use as I am reading a story to click on a word for a definition.

What is your favorite childhood book?
Black Beauty. The plot of my first novel, written in seventh grade, was suspiciously similar to Black Beauty.

What is the most difficult part of your writing process?
Editing. It is a long process having to go through the story many times. But it can be satisfying because I love slashing those long, awkward sentences out of the manuscript and replacing them with something better. I am thankful for Grammarly and the editor in Word that help writers to catch crazy typos and punctuation.

What is the easiest part of your writing process?
Dreaming up ideas.

A common misconception entwined with authors is that they are socially inept, how true is that?
That is stereotyping a group. We are all individuals and that’s what makes for different points of view in books we offer readers.

When did it dawn on you that you wanted to be an author?
Second grade. I had my mother for a teacher in a split classroom with second and third graders. I usually finished my assignments early so I would get up from my desk and visit with classmates. My mother did not like me doing that because it disrupted her teaching the third graders. So, I started writing stories and sharing them to keep out of trouble. I loved making my friends smile and laugh. I was hooked on storytelling.

Who are your biggest literary influences?
Mark Twain, Janet Evanovich and Jan Karon.

What’s your favorite movie which was based on a book?  Why?
One for the Money is not my favorite movie, but it is a favorite book. I love Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series, but the actors chosen did not fit the picture in my mind of the characters in the book. Grandma Mazur was played by Debbie Reynolds whose wardrobe and make-up and stylish hairdo were not in line for the lady in the book.

How did it feel when your first book got published?
Ecstatic!

How did you celebrate?
I didn’t celebrate as at a party, balloons, cake, etc. It was just an ordinary day, except that inside of me, I was dancing.

What is that one thing you think readers generally don’t know about authors? 
Most authors have full-time jobs so they have to fit in their writing projects as they can. If you are Stephen King or Debbie Macomber, writing is your full-time job.

When it comes to research for your books, are you a hunter or a gatherer? Talk about your research process.
I write the story first, then research the topic. For instance, Fremont, Michigan, is the international headquarters of the Gerber Baby Food Company. They had plant tours for many years, but I needed to know when they started and when they stopped, so I did the research much later after writing the paragraph.

Could you be housemates with your characters? Why or why not?
No, not with a murderer!!

What’s your typical writing routine or schedule?
I write every day after lunch for as long as the words flow when I am creating a book, fiction or non-fiction. But I do email and marketing throughout the day between laundry and meals, etc.

Writing can be an emotionally draining and stressful pursuit.  How do you recharge?
I watch Netflix!

Do you prefer music or silence when you write? 
Silence.

Which celebrity would you choose to narrate your audiobook?
I would have to have a woman narrator. Diane Sawyer?

What well-known author, living or dead, do you wish could be your mentor?
Mark Twain

Why?
He makes good points about society with a quick wit and catchy language.

What is your favorite of the six senses (touch, taste, smell, sound, sight, intuition) to write about, why?
Sight because I like to paint pictures of a scene so clearly that the reader can see it in her mind.

What is a favorite location you’ve written about?
Small towns.

Have you visited that place? 
Yes, the places I’ve lived.

How did you choose which details to include?
All the quirks that make it a small town like one traffic signal, no street signs.

Travel back in time (without negative effects for you or the timeline) what year do you visit?
The 1850s

Why?
I love the clothes. (But probably not during the summer!)

What is something about your hero or villain that drove their character, but you didn’t specifically tell your reader?  
I can’t recall not telling the reader anything.

Have you ever resuscitated a project you'd shelved?
No. 

What do the words “literary success” mean to you?  
Being a guest on GMA.

How do you picture it?
Me, self-assured wearing a lovely outfit and make-up that shows no wrinkles, just fresh, smooth skin, conversing easily with the hosts as I wow the viewers with my insightful thoughts.

Can you tell us about your current projects?
I am presently on the Arranging a Dream Winter Virtual Book Tour. I love visiting bloggers and talking with readers. I will be planning another face-to-face tour once COVID is gone and we can get together again. Next, I will publish my inspiring non-fiction interactive eBook for middle-grade girls, Girls Succeed! Stories Behind the Careers of Successful Women. I have updated the women’s interviews and added new material.

Any advice you would like to give to aspiring authors?
Sit down and write! Set a time every day to spend an uninterrupted 15 minutes to two hours or more and do it.

Please provide links and/or instructions about how readers can purchase signed copies of your books.
My author website has links to purchase my books. All my books are available at favorite online booksellers. Click http://jqrose.com to go to my site to find both the fiction novels and non-fiction books in print or eBook formats. Thank you.

One of my favorite quotes is from Albert Einstein...
"A ship in a harbor is safe, but that's not what ships are built for."

I've always interpreted this to mean, "be courageous".  Take risks, and give yourself credit for the successes in your life, no matter how small or insignificant they may seem to the onlookers.

As an author, I think that courage is a pre-requisite to the endeavor.  I don't see a lot of timid authors out in the world.  Writers, I think, by nature - whether introvert or extrovert - are people who take risks.  We write stories and characters that sometimes make us uncomfortable and challenge our belief systems.  We ask questions of ourselves like, "Would they really do or say that?  Does that make sense?"  We craft story lines that risk losing a reader in complexity or diversion.  We birth books like children, taking the risk that the dialogue we speak may not ring true in a reader's ears.  We ask people to think.

We send books, like ships, out into the world in search of a safe harbor... while what we really strive for is the adventure.  We want to rock the boat on a sea of undulating perspectives.  We want to hunt the great white whale of success while charting new courses for our craft.  We want to discover how we can make our own voice heard over the crashing surf, while remaining constant to our own True North.  It's a perilous journey, fraught with danger and uncertainty.  And yet, we continue on, mustering the courage to reef the mainsail and head into the wind, knowing the harbor is safe, but that's not what our ship was built for.

Trends and tides in the publishing world are vigorous with change.  Occasionally, we land upon the soft, sandy beaches of bookshops and festivals, taking reprieve and respite from the tumult of crashing waves.  But after a few days, we grow restless and bored.  It is in our nature to seek out new island nations of readers at libraries, festivals, and fairs.  We crave the adventure of the open air, the sting of constructive criticism that makes us better writers, and the bounty of opportunity to chart a new course, discovering new genres, characters, and plot twists with every connection of pen and keyboard.

This year has been frustrating for us all.  Our ships have been beached for far too long.  Moored outside of the harbor's safety, yet trapped just inside the coral reefs, preventing us from reaching the wide open sea.  We've tried to seek out alternative adventures, diving deep below decks, stretching fathoms beneath in search of hibernating mermen and merwomen who might also be avid readers.  We've sent out literary seagulls, Zooming into the air, screeching our stories in hopes that passersby might hear, and be intrigued to follow and read.  We've stayed safe, heeding the harbormaster's suggestion that the adventure is never worth sails being torn to shreds by gale force winds, people thrown overboard, and not enough life rings to save everyone.  But it hasn't been easy.

The new sailing season will soon be upon us, however, and it'll hold more adventure than we can imagine.  New writers will join the regatta.  They've been waiting all year to angle their tillers and raise their spinnakers in search of the reading rainbow just off the horizon, their publishing tridents held high with a confidence all greenhorns should possess.  The seasoned veterans of our craft will once again set their course and watch for the tell-tale signs that a favorable current is drawing near.  They'll ready their nets and cast a carefully crafted first line synopsis, hoping for a bountiful catch.  Everywhere, we will hear the gentle songs of loyal literary sirens, singing our praises with reviews and five-star recommendations.

Until then, my dear friends, winterize your hulls, install bubblers to avoid the crushing effects of ice, stock provisions of ink, paper, and chocolate to last the long winter days, and remember... all is not lost.  Take courage.  Our storied ships will indeed sail again, after all, that's what they were built for.

What literary pilgrimages have you gone on?
I can't really say I've gone on any. I have traveled to places I considered writing about in my twenties, like New Orleans and Salem, Massachusetts. 

What is the first book that made you cry?
Charlotte's Web at the age of five, six at the latest.

What is your writing Kryptonite?
I am not sure if I am answering this one correctly, but I will tell you something I indulgently hate: trendy writing rules. You know the ones. One year they say, "mix up your dialogue tags!" and the next they're all, "No! You can only use he/she/it said/asked!" I think people should find their own style. Words are music. They need to flow. Unleash them.

Do you want each book to stand on its own, or are you trying to build a body of work with connections between each book?
I have my own version of the MCU. All of my book worlds are interconnected and ripple into one another. I also write long epics. 

How did publishing your first book change your process of writing?
I definitely aim to make my books a little shorter now. I also had to streamline my editing process to make the best economy on my time. 

As a writer, what would you choose as your mascot/avatar/spirit animal?
The Fox. Kind of obvious for me. It has been my spirit animal since I was five years old.

What did you edit out of your books? (keep it family-friendly, please).
I had to drop a lot of world building out of Origin of the White Wind. My original manuscript was 142K. I culled over 27K out of that to make the 115K novel that is available on Amazon today. While I sacrificed some of the texture of my futuristic dystopia, I do roll some of it into the later books where it is organically appropriate.

What one thing would you give up to become a better writer?
Getting old - that way I can improve my writing skills and make stories into eternity.

What is your favorite childhood book?
It was Charlotte's Web, because it was the first book that made me cry. Watership Down ran a close second. 

What is the most difficult part of your writing process?
I have a tie. One is that I have trouble sometimes getting the first draft written. One of my tricks is to write wherever I can dig in to get my daily quota, which is easy since so much of it is plotted out. The other is getting feedback from the editor. Not the important critical stuff - I'm paying for that and I want it. But inevitably, when an editor doesn't like something you do, they can make their frustration with your style known, and sometimes the rebuke can sting, whether or not you end up agreeing with it. 
Also — the Library of Congress website is the MVA of the internet. Just saying.

What is the easiest part of your writing process?
Fixing my second draft. I love editing for myself. It's like reading and tweaking the book I want to read, which is the reason I wrote it.

How long on average does it take you to write a book?
That wildly depends. It took me fifteen years to write my trunked magnum opus, which is epically huge and required eight years of research before I began. (It sits at a whopping 1,302,208 words for three books.) With my current series, it only takes me a couple of months to produce a first draft. But The Atlas Dystopia Apocalyptica is meant to be a quick, thrilling joyride, whereas my Tuatha de Danaan Bard series is a high fantasy epic.

A common misconception entwined with authors is that they are socially inept, how true is that?
I used to be quite inept, and I still carry that with me. I was so inept, I made the MC of my trunked trilogy the same way. But to write competently for Hayate, who has mad levels of charisma, I had to research how to be charming. I read books and watched videos, and some of it got into my thick skull. So I'm hopefully not as inept as I used to be at the social game. 

When did it dawn on you that you wanted to be an author?
Always. I fell in love with stories and books since they were read to me. I remember wanting to read for myself so bad and being frustrated by my illiteracy until I was four. On the first day of kindergarten, I learned how the alphabet I was taught by sight finally sounded, and how the letters all went together to form words. I could instantly read. By six, tragedy gave me the miraculous ability to hide in my own characters and stories. I began stapling notebook paper together to make little books about cheetahs and foxes (my two favorite animals of the time). I read books way above my reading level, including grown up fiction and non-fiction science books by the time I was eight. And thanks to the "Reading is FUNdamental" program, I took three free books home with me once a month in elementary school.   Books are my life, then, now, and forever.

Who are your biggest literary influences?
George R.R. Martin. I listened to hours of his first three books on audio repeatedly while painting my house in the summer of 2006. He taught me how to craft a story with many characters, and his influence is felt in my trunked trilogy. The hard realism of every day life and how to show that through character dialogue, even when devoted to one POV, is what I took from him.

Jim Butcher taught me how to put together a fast-paced action thriller series in first person, and give the reader a glimpse of other characters' emotions while the MC remains clueless. I am in love with The Dresden Files, and I have read and listened to the audio (read by James Marsters!).  

What's your favorite movie which was based on a book?  Why?
The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Because for its time, it was beautifully done. Like them or hate them, every Tolkien fan had to gasp at the first sight of Minas Tirith. I mean, come on!

How did it feel when your first book got published? How did you celebrate?
It felt fantastic for twelve hours... then I looked inside my proof copy and saw the first mistake. After, it seemed every page I flipped had a mistake. I proceeded to grieve for the next two weeks, heartbroken and forlorn. But the snide remarks about my lack of perfection (mortifying) were rare. I am in the process of getting a second edition made, now that I have read my debut into a microphone, which is way more effective than reading aloud on its own. I have fixed as many mistakes as I could find. 
So, sadly, I didn't celebrate the occasion.

What is that one thing you think readers generally don't know about authors?
How truly difficult it is to get the mistakes out. When you read and you see them, they jump out. But they hide like weasels when it's your own work, I think because our brains are wired to filter the errors, not correct them. It's harder for indies because we don't have four or five professional editors. We're lucky to have one and a group of beta readers to point out our errors as we read our copies sometimes up to twenty times in a year trying to get it prepped for publication. 

Can you tell us about your current projects?
Yes! I am in the middle of the most wondrous chaos. I have just released TADA Book Two: The Dragon Game. I finished the third and final installment of my Wattpad/Instagram series Come by Night last month. Now I am writing my first draft of TADA Book Three, and I am excited to begin working on getting my trunked series out into the light of day. 

Are you attending any conventions/festivals where readers can meet you and/or buy your books?  Please provide all the "find it" information.
I am attending The Pages Promotions Winter Festival this February, and it looks like that will be a lot of fun. 

Please provide links and/or instructions about how readers can purchase signed copies of your books.
For signed copies, please contact me over DM or Messenger on: 
Facebook https://facebook.com/ayakashi.fox.9/
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/ayakashi_fox/
Twitter https://twitter.com/ayakashifox1
The ebook version of The Origin of the White Wind can be found on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B081GJN5ZN/ref=cm_cr_arp_mb_bdcrb_top?ie=UTF8
And The Dragon Game: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08K39K7KN?ref_=pe_3052080_276849420

Any advice you would like to give to aspiring authors?
I would say, don't try to get it perfect on the first draft. You're going to have to edit it anyway, so be prepared to read your manuscript quite a lot. If you want to be a writer, write, even if it is three sentences a day. It adds up, and over time the word count will increase. Your endurance will improve. Never give up and keep at it — but take it seriously. Set aside time each day and make yourself do it. You are the only one who can tell your story your way. ​