SOLOMON'S THRONE Author Interview with Author Jennings Wright

 

Hello gang, I am so excited to present to you here on Breath Of Life today a very awesome book and an amazing author!  I have author Jennings Wright with us for an interview!

I want to thank her for first being here today and for also allowing me to read and soon review her outstanding book, SOLOMON'S THRONE...  

So with no further wait, here is the interview:

First of all would like to say Thanks Kim for having me here.

Well you are Welcome Jennings, so let's just get right into the interview.

FUN STUFF:

• Coffee or tea?  BOTH!
• Paper book or ebook?  ebook
• Summer or winter?  Summer, definitely
• Werewolves or vampires?  Vampires
• Morning person or night owl?  mid-day! Morning if I have to choose
• Pantser or plotter? A plotting pantser
• Pepsi or Coke?  Coke (Zero) – although I had to give up caffeine recently
• Dogs or cats?  I have both, but probably cats if I had to choose

Favorites:

• Drink   Vitamin Water Rise
• Food   Arichokes
• Movie   Lord of the Rings (trilogy)
• TV show   NCIS
• Book    Lord of the Rings
• Late night snack    Ice Cream
• Writing tools    Pen and notebook for notes, MacBook Pro for writing
• Sport    Basketball to watch; boating to do
• Vacation destination   Anywhere tropical!
• Music   Eclectic but nothing “hard”
• Place to read   My sunroom, waiting in line, before bed
• Place to write   My sunroom or office
• Way to relax   Read, walk

1.   Can you tell us something interesting about your writing process?

Unlike most writers, I start with a location when planning a new novel. I like quirky historical locations and offbeat historical facts, so I start there. I always have my radar up for something that tweaks my interest, and often email myself links or ideas from my phone for later research. After the location idea is pretty well developed, plot comes next. The main characters are the last piece of the puzzle.

2.   What part of the writing process is the easiest/hardest for you?

Editing, definitely! Editing is like a funnel – you start with the big stuff, obvious typos, making sure that you’ve kept your secondary characters’ names the same throughout the book. But with each draft you’re looking for more minutia, drilling down to word choice, checking every comma, and really analyzing every word. And the frustrating things is that there are still mistakes, even after you and others go through it with a fine toothed comb!

3     Who is your favorite character (that you’ve written)?

Probably Rei Quinn, although I really like Mac McMillan, too. They are both in the Rei & Gideon Quinn treasure hunt adventures (Solomon’s Throne and The Hoard of the Doges). Rei is smart and a little quirky, she’s brave and strong, but she has a great relationship with her husband and is funny and personable.

4     Is there anything you’re working on now? Where did the idea for your book come from?

I’m currently working on a YA sc-fi/fantasy series (with a little dystopian thrown in). The first book is in the final editing phase, the second is almost done, and the third is next up. The idea came from two places: my discovery that there are over 200 miles of tunnels under Paris, and an experience my daughter and I had last summer while we were kayaking. We stopped on a barrier island and went exploring, and saw a flock of ducks in a small pond. We turned to check the boats and turned back, and the ducks were gone. Just gone! So we walked around trying to find them, and then for the next couple of weeks sent texts to each other about where the ducks went. Those two very different locations tied together into the Ixeos series.

5.     Do you follow a writing schedule, or just write whenever you get the chance? How long did it take you to write your book?

I write like I’m doing a NaNoWriMo challenge, even when there’s no NaNo going on. For those that don’t know, NaNoWriMo is National Novel Writing Month, the original held in November, and you’re supposed to write 50,000 words on an original novel in 30 days.  I discovered when I did the first one that this just works for me, so I write about 90,000 words in 30 days and get the first draft done. I’ve had a couple where I didn’t get finished with the novel, so I just keep going with my 3k a day word count goal until it’s done.

6.      How much research went into your book?

I do a LOT of research, both before I start writing and all during the process. Because my books have a lot of history in them, not to mention a lot of traveling around the world, research is critical to making the stories believable. I probably research for about 2 weeks for 4 hours a day or more in order to get my very loose outline done, and then have a dozen or so tabs open during the writing process so that I can refer to maps, photos, history, Google Earth, MapQuest, etc., as I’m writing.

 7.     If you could no longer write, what career would you choose instead?

Since being “a writer” is pretty new to me (from a being-published standpoint), and I’m 47, I would just continue what I’ve already started. In 2008 I founded a non-profit in Uganda, and if I wasn’t writing, I would spend even more time on that.

8.     Of all the little things and simple pleasures in life, which one do you enjoy most of all?

Hanging out with my family. I’ve homeschooled my kids for 13 years now – the last one is graduating in May – and the best times are those when we are all hanging out, watching tv or a movie, playing a game, being silly. I just went with my daughter to buy a wedding dress… That was priceless! 

9.     If you won the lottery tomorrow, what are the first three things you think you would do or buy?  

First, I’d make a HUGE donation to my non-profit so we could finish the primary school we’re (slowly!) building at an orphanage and buy a building for a program we support called Haven House (which has no house). Second, I’d buy a great boat. And third, I’d buy a house somewhere in the Caribbean on the ocean.

10.    If you could bring back any tradition that seems to have faded into the past, what tradition would you bring back?

Sunday as a day of rest. No matter your religion, it used to be that everything (except Chinese food restaurants and the movie theater!) was closed on Sundays, and families just hung out, ate Sunday dinner, and spent down time to enjoy each other and get physically and mentally ready for the next week. Now we just go all the time, and I think that’s really detrimental. We just came back from a vacation in the Bahamas and everything was closed on the Sunday we arrived… At first it was really annoying not to be able to get groceries, but then I realized I could sit on the beach and read and relax. Amazing!                       

11.    What is the best piece of advice you have ever received in your life?

“Success is a planned event.” I got that in a fortune cookie!      

12.    Who is your all time favorite fictional book character?

Samwise Gamgee from The Lord of the Rings. He is loyal, faithful, tenacious and has absolutely amazing perseverance.  And even after all their adventures and fame, hearth and home and family are what he values most.

Well that is the end of the interview here at Breath of Life with Jennings Wright, author of Solomon's Throne. Thanks again Jennings for being here with us and sharing somethings about you and the book. 

And make sure to check out my review coming soon here on Breath of Life.