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Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Author Interview - Jena Leigh

Today I'd like to welcome author, Jena Leigh, to the blog!!

 
Author bio:
Born and raised in Tampa, Florida, Jena Leigh spent ten years in the mountains of North Carolina before returning home to the lightning capital of North America.

A shameless geek, she loves bad sci-fi movies, Skittles, writing cracktastic e-mails to friends and taking shenanigan-filled road trips to faraway concerts. She has a degree in English from Appalachian State University.

Revival is her first novel.
 

Yesterday, I posted my review for Revival, so I'm very excited to welcome the author herself to answer a few quick, fun questions... here goes!

1. How long did it take you, from first spark of idea to final proofs, to write Revival?
From start to finish, the book took a little over two years to complete. Many afternoons in between my graduate school classes and late nights after work were spent writing the first half of Revival. Not long after that, my health took a nosedive and I found myself with plenty of free time to write. I guess it’s true what they say… For me at least, everything really did happen for a reason. Eventually, my health improved and I had a finished novel to show for my unexpected downtime.
 
 
2. How did you originally decide to self-publish? What was the process like for you?
My journey in self-publishing started out like most do—I had a book nobody wanted to publish. After the pile of rejection letters rolled in from the sea of agents politely declining my book, I was pretty heartbroken. Okay, more than that… Devastated might be a better word.
 
So I went back to the manuscript. Put it through yet another round of edits. Polished it to the point that I was certain that—although it still wasn’t perfect—it was as good as I could possibly make it... And during that time, I did my homework. I researched the process. I tried to absorb every pointer and every helpful recommendation that I could. I designed a cover. I planned. I created every social media account I could think of, to help promote the series and myself as an author.
 
And then I published.
 
And then the work began. Honestly, that’s one thing nobody tells you…Self-publishing is more than just a hard road. If you want to succeed, it’s a full-time job! But I’ll tell you a secret… This gig might just be the best job around. I’m living my dreams and loving every minute of it!
 
3. If you could write a book under a pseudonym that no one would ever connect to you, are there any genres you would love to secretly explore?
I’ve always wanted to try my hand at writing something in the humor genre. It would definitely need a fake name attached to it, though. I’m ninety-nine percent certain that I’m not nearly as funny as I think I am…
 

4. If you could cross one thing off your bucket list tomorrow, what would it be?
Go on a cruise! I’ve been lucky enough to fly (and drive) to all sorts of fantastic and interesting places, but I’ve yet to take a cruise. And I’m sure the Bahamas are nice this time of year…
 
5. Quick Picks List:
Favorite vacation destination?
London, England
 
Favorite childhood book?
One of the first books that I read and absolutely fell in love with was And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street by Dr. Seuss. A few years later, it was replaced by Francine Pascal’s young adult novel, Sweet Valley Twins and Friends, Super Chiller: The Ghost in the Bell Tower. Although it’s safe to say I read both of them many times over in my younger years!
 
Favorite writing snack food?
Skittles! Any time I’m stuck on a scene, I break open one of those mini-candy bags and chow down… They help me think! *Oooh! I love skittles, too. They're actually my favorite candy. :)
 
Favorite clothing item?
My black, worn-out Chuck Taylor’s, probably. Do those count as an article of “clothing”? If not, I’d have to say my lucky pair of jeans that are made up more of holes than they are of cloth at this point. I loved them—quite literally—to pieces, and now I just can’t bring myself to toss them.
 
 
Jena, thank you so much for stopping by my blog today! It was great having you and I really can't wait to read the next book in the Variants series...
 
To check out more info on Jena and Revival, you can go to her blog/website HERE!

1 comment:

  1. Thank you so much for having me, Jessica! It was a pleasure! :)

    ReplyDelete