Hi,
Jill! It's great to have you with us today. You've written across the genres
from Contemporary Romance (Tempting Adam)
to Paranormal shapeshifter romance (Dangerous
Shift). Do you have a preference?
I love the whole make-your-own-world fun of writing
paranormal. I’m a science fiction fan going back to Buck Rogers, Battlestar
Galatica (the original), and Star Wars. The idea that there could be something
else out there is enticing. There could be a veil between us and this Other
world, a world of vampires, werewolves, and shapeshifters.
My daughter was just the right age to watch Buffy the
Vampire Slayer with me. I loved telling her that the show might seem like it
was about demons and monsters, but it was more than that, deeper, just like
excellent science fiction.
That
must have been cool for your daughter, watching Buffy with her mom! You mention
reading being very important to you—can you name a book that's had an important
influence on you as a reader or writer?
The
Little House on the Prairie books by Laura Ingalls Wilder. The idea
that you could just write about your life and someone would like to read it was
eye-opening.
Save
The Cat by Blake Snyder. I was able to meet him in person at RWA
National before his death. I’ll never forget how he broke films (books) into manageable
pieces. The idea that books were a product was so surprising. I think I put
authors and books up on a pedestal and hadn’t understood that we need to think
of them as art when we create them and something to market once they are done.
I
love both those choices. Little House on
the Prairie is still so popular with children all these years since it's
first publication. And Save the Cat
is such a wonderful tool for writers.
You
have another book, Love in the Time of
Zombies coming soon—what made you decide to write about Zombies?
I’ve been on a zombie watching/reading kick for about 18
months now. The Walking Dead is my
favorite show right now. I have this theory or idea about apocalypse books and
movies. It comes down to finding someone to love, because if you don’t have
someone to care for, what is the purpose of surviving? If you can do that in
the middle of the world ending, renegades trying to seize what is left, and
zombies wanting to eat you, how hard does it have to be in the ‘normal’ world.
Don’t just sit around, go search for The One.
You
have a three book series available—The
Lake Willowbee Series. What is it about writing a series that appeals to
you?
LOL Actually, I didn’t start out with the idea of writing
a series. I had an idea of a divorced couple working their way back to each
other but my publisher didn’t do married couples working out their problems or
a divorced couple getting back together. But, I loved the idea of what would it
take to forgive and forget infidelity if the love was still there. Now, I
always get asked, would you forgive and forget? Ain’t no way and my husband
knows it. So once I had one story in Lake Willowbee I wanted to stay there and
put some other stories in my fictional town. I’m going to return to Lake
Willowbee with The Single Mommies Club
series this year.
Do
you have a recent or upcoming release you'd like to tell us about? Please give
us all the deets!
Lined up for this year is Love in the Time of Zombies, The
Single Mommies Club (again in Lake Willowbee and a series), a sequel to Dangerous Shift, and a sequel to Tempting Adam.
I’m most looking forward to the zombie book. The
characters are Emily Gray, a former neglected housewife who finds her strength
with the apocalypse, along with the truck-driving, poetry-writing Seth Ripley.
For zombie book lovers, be warned; there is sex and romance. For romance book
lovers, be warned; there is ooey-gooey gore and scary zombies and evil renegades.
Whoa,
sounds like an awesome story—sex and guts! LOL! Sounds like you've planned something
for everyone in your upcoming books.
Thanks
again for joining us today, Jill, and much success to you!
 |
| Jill refers to these little cuties as her "muses"! |
Dangerous Shift by Jill James:
HE
IS MR. BY-THE-BOOK, WITH A SECRET...
Shapeshifters live among us but remain unknown to most
people except for the highest echelons of law enforcement, the military,
science, and medical fields—until now.
SHE
IS A LOOSE CANNON WITH AN ATTITUDE PROBLEM...
When a fatal virus strikes Shapeshifters all over the West
coast, including members of the Shapeshifter Task Force in San Laura,
California, reinforcements are called in from around the United States.
TOGETHER,
THEY JUST MIGHT CATCH A KILLER.
Lt. Nikki Hill of Missouri comes to San Laura and is
partnered up with Lt. Sean Evans. They quickly butt heads on everything from
proper police procedures to the moral ethics of euthanasia. They can’t seem to
get a lead on the serial killer even as members of their own families are
stricken with the virus. In their grief they turn to each other and hope they
have time to discover if their relationship stands a chance or if they might
just be the next victims of the species extinction disease.
Dangerous Shift is available at: Available at Amazon, BN.com, Smashwords, All Romance eBooks, Kobo, iTunes
and available in print at Amazon and BN.com
About Jill:
Jill James didn't start out wanting to be an
author. Along the way she wanted to be an astronaut, President of the United
States, a lawyer, and a doctor. Once married with children she realized she
could be all those things in the pages of the stories she wrote.
She lives in Northern California with her husband, who is the inspiration for all her romance novel heroes.
She lives in Northern California with her husband, who is the inspiration for all her romance novel heroes.
Find Jill here:
Website: http://www.jilljameswrites.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jill_james
Group Blog: http://authorsofmainstreet.wordpress.com
Co-Blog:
http://twoindieladies.wordpress.com
Goodreads:
http://www.goodreads.com/jill_james
Have a wonderful weekend, all!
Cool interview ladies! Nice to meetcha Jill!
ReplyDeleteHi, Lisa. I think Nona did a wonderful job with the interview. Thanks, Nona. It was fun.
ReplyDeleteThe questions were great! Loved hearing about Dangerous Shift and the other stories Jill has in the works, especially the zombies. A heroine finding strength in a horrible situation and a poetic truck driver - looking forward to that!
ReplyDeleteThanks Melissa. I'm loving working on Love in the Time of Zombies. Emily and Seth are such a cute couple.
DeleteJill, it's great to have you here today. Thanks so much for stopping by, Lisa and Melissa!
ReplyDeleteNona, thank you for having me. Love the pretty red hearts.
ReplyDeleteJill, I'm looking forward to the sequel of Tempting Adam as I loved that book. The Single Mommies series sounds intriguing, too. Dangerous Shift, also, sounds very interesting. When I get caught up with all the books I have I'm going to start buying again. Smile!
ReplyDeleteI admire you for being able to write in more than one genre.