Hello and welcome!
I am so happy you could join us today.
G.H – How are you today?
VLJ – I’m doing great,
thanks so much for having me on your blog.
G.H - When did you first start writing?
VLJ – I guess the first
time I ever put pen to paper was when I was too young to really take much note
of my actual age. I think it was probably slap bang in the middle of my Enid
Blyton days, when I used to love making notes, imagining that I was the one making
up all those magical stories. But then age and life got in the way. Apart from
keeping diaries and the odd spurt of brainstorming here and there, I didn’t do
anything too serious until the February of 2010. That’s when I started writing
in secret after being left completely bereft once I’d finished reading
Twilight. Darn Edward Cullen broke my heart.
G.H - Did you always want to be a writer?
If not what did you want to be?
VLJ – Yes, but I never
believed I was good enough to make it, so it was always more of a secret dream
than one I considered actually chasing. I went through many fads. I wanted to
be in the Olympics, I wanted to be a journalist, a primary school teacher and
even a wedding co-ordinator at one stage. But no matter what I did or tried,
nothing seemed to ‘fit’. Not until Feb 2010.
G.H - Are you a full-time or part-time
writer? How does that affect your writing?
VLJ – Full time at the
moment, but only because I’ve had the fortune of having to move around the
country this last few years, mainly for my husband’s work, so I’ve not been
tied down with a 9-5 as such.
G.H - How did you become involved with
the subject or theme of your book?
VLJ – With the RTW series, it’s actually a very long and
complicated story. We were a role play group on twitter. Just a bunch of
people, all with an insane love for storytelling and writing who went out
there, hiding behind made up characters, and somehow managed to gain an
audience that was interested in us. We started out as a two piece, just telling
every day, real life stories… and then we grew. Now we have six writers in our
group and we showcase the lives of a bunch of adults who all live in
Manchester, England, highlighting all sorts of issues in each book we put out
there. Drug abuse, neglect, heartbreak, love, attraction, just real life stuff.
The subject matter for Without Consequence, (Babylon Series) came about because me and L.J. Stock (who is also part of The Road to Wonderland Series) both had a mutual love of the MC lifestyle, but wanted to focus on an intense love story in that world. A love story where the bad boy isn’t who everyone believes him to be. It’s a story of growth and discovery. We believe it’s something a little different. J
The subject matter for Without Consequence, (Babylon Series) came about because me and L.J. Stock (who is also part of The Road to Wonderland Series) both had a mutual love of the MC lifestyle, but wanted to focus on an intense love story in that world. A love story where the bad boy isn’t who everyone believes him to be. It’s a story of growth and discovery. We believe it’s something a little different. J
G.H - Why did you choose to write in your
particular field or genre? If you write more than one, how do you balance
them?
VLJ – I actually write
in a lot of genres. I’ve only released in New Adult and Contemporary Romance so
far, though. My earlier work is very much paranormal romance. Whatever genre it
falls into, though, I just love to write about love. To me, it’s the one thing
that can make or break a person, and I enjoy digging deep to explore what
boundaries I can push with that.
G.H - Where does your inspiration for
these stories come from?
VLJ – It can be anything
really… from a dream to seeing a picture on the internet, a conversation with a
friend, or eavesdropping on strangers talking in a café. Haha. But no matter
what the subject matter, the emotions are always drawn from real life, whether
that’s from my own memories, feelings, etc, or someone close to me. I’ve always
paid attention to the people around me, both when they’re out of this world
happy or in pain… It’s about taking what you’ve learnt from experiences and
basically bleeding it all out on paper.
G.H - What was your favourite chapter to
write and why?
VLJ – That’s a tough
question. I’m not sure I can pick just one from the books I’ve written so far,
but I always love the first chapter of a new story. All those possibilities,
the not knowing where it’s going to go. It’s a bit like a first date. You never
know whether you’re going to want a second serving of Mr. Mysterious or whether
this one is straight for the reject pile. I love that about feeling of not
knowing what’s ahead.
G.H - Where is your favourite place to
write?
VLJ – Anywhere quiet.
G.H - Do you have a certain routine you
have for writing? i.e. You listen to music, sit in a certain chair?
VLJ – I would love to be
all fancy pants and say I have a beautiful office with loads of inspiring
quotes written upon the walls, etc, haha, but the reality is that I’m a mum of
two boys under six and my life is pretty mental. In between nursery runs, I usually
sit on the sofa with my earphones in and try to get lost from reality for a
while, but I just have to grab the free time where I can get it. If that’s in
the bathroom, sat on the edge of the bathtub, typing away on my phone in GDocs
for ten minutes, then that’s what happens. I’ve even sat in my car in the
supermarket car park before, just to steal five minutes of silence so my
characters can take centre stage.
G.H - Do you use a computer/laptop for
your first draft or are you a pen and paper writer?
VLJ – Pen and paper for
ideas and the occasional chapter here and there, but mainly laptop and
sometimes a little tinker on my iPhone.
G.H - How do you come up with characters
names and place names in your books?
VLJ – This is my biggest
failure as a writer. I absolutely hate picking names and locations. Lol. The
characters in my head are so clear, I see them. I can tell you the colour of
their eyes, the place of their birth marks, the scars on their bodies, even their
shoe sizes… but ask me what they’re called and I literally will stare at you
completely speechless. I’ve even asked my kids to pick names before. Google is
my friend, unless I meet someone I really like and their name sticks with me.
If it was left to me, everyone would end up being named after a My Little Pony character
or something stupid. “Hey, Applejack… come over here and show me what you got,
big boy.”
Yeah. Doesn’t quite
work. *laughs*
G.H - Did you learn anything from writing
your book? What was it?
VLJ – I learnt that I
have more patience than I initially thought I had. I learnt that I am my own
worst critic and I also learnt that it’s okay to cry for my characters. I cried
a lot with all my books. If they don’t get me emotional, I’ve not done my job
right.
G.H - How long does it usually take you
to write a book, from the original idea to finishing writing it?
VLJ – It varies. One has
taken twelve months before, one has taken eight months… another was wrapped up
in three weeks. I won’t tell you which was which though. *laughs*
G.H - Can you describe the feeling you
had when you saw your published book for the first time?
VLJ – I felt like I was
the biggest fraud out there and I had just handed the whole world their very
own microphone to boo me off stage with. It was exciting, daunting, terrifying,
nauseating… and incredibly, incredibly surreal. Still doesn’t feel real. I
don’t think it ever will.
G.H - Who are some of your favourite
authors?
VLJ – Sara Gruen, John
Green, David Nicholls, Stephanie Meyer, Dan Brown, Nicholas Sparks. I also love
people like Michael Faudet, Tyler Knott Gregson and Lang Leav who write poetry
and short stories. Just one line from them can blow my mind.
G.H - Have you ever suffered from a
"writer's block"? What did you do to get past the "block"?
VLJ – Absolutely and
it’s beyond frustrating. I usually go to my friend, whine a little bit, drive
her insane until she breaks, then drink the night away. *laughs* In all
seriousness, I do go to my friend the very second I’m struggling and she sends
me random pictures to inspire me. She forces me to go write a short story based
on that one image alone, so that’s what I do. It works. It works every single
time. She gets me and I’m grateful to her for that.
G.H - Time for a few crazy
questions!
G.H - Do you write naked?
VLJ – Only on Naked Word
Wednesdays.
G.H - What is your biggest
failure?
VLJ – This is tough. Hmm. I
guess that I’ve not quite made enough money in my life to give my kids
everything they’ve ever dreamed of and desired. I’m working on that, though.
I’ll make it happen, even if it kills me doing so.
G.H - What is the biggest lie
you've ever told?
VLJ – “I’m fine.”
G.H - Have you ever been in
trouble with the police?
VLJ – *laughs a lot* Yes. I’d
have to change the answer to my previous question if I lied and said no.
Nothing major, though – although my mother would probably disagree. *cringes*
G.H - Do you drink?
Smoke?
VLJ – I like a drink. I don’t
smoke. My husband would divorce me if I did.
G.H - What is your biggest
fear?
VLJ – Not seeing my children
grow old and happy.
G.H - What do you want your
tombstone to say?
VLJ – “Here lies the wife of
Taylor Kitsch”
G.H - If you had a superpower, what would it be?
VLJ – I’d have some kind of
inbuilt shield I could project outwards to protect all my loved ones from
heartache, illness and general douchebaggery. I’d be like Yorkshire’s version
of Bella Swan in Breaking Dawn Part Two. Only smilier.
G.H - What secret talents do you have?
VLJ – I don’t think I have any.
How bad is that? Writing was my secret, but that cat is kind of outta the bag
now. Oh. I can do a good headstand. Does that count?
G.H - What is something you want to accomplish before you die?
VLJ – I’d love to work in television or film, just once, even if it
was nothing more than watching on the sidelines.
G.H - Do you have any scars? What are they from?
VLJ – I have a scar at the side of my temple where my older sister,
Tracey, “accidentally” *coughs*bullcrap*coughs* dropped me on the edge of a
stereo when I was about four! I also have a scar on the top of my foot from
standing on a weaver fish, along with another scar on the underside of my other
foot which relates to the police question. *chuckles*
G.H - Do you dream? Do you have any recurring dreams/nightmares?
VLJ – Every night. I remember most of them, too. It’s actually where
a lot of my ideas for books come from. I have a few recurring ones, yeah. The
worst one is when you need the toilet and you can’t find one. Holding your pee
for eight hours in dream world is rough!
G.H – Back to normal questions!
VLJ – I’ll answer
whatever you put in front of me. ;)
G.H - What piece of advice would you give
to a new writer?
VLJ – Write because you
love to write. Not for any other reason. Never forget why you first started.
And even if everyone hates something you’ve done, but you know in your heart of
hearts that it’s the exact way you wanted to tell the story… pat yourself on
the back. Always be proud of finishing one and starting another. We’re not all
here to do the same thing. We’re all here to tell our story. Not all of them
will be bestsellers. Just be you and never stop.
As my hero, Sly Stallone
said, “Remember one thing: The day you try to lift your head above the crowd,
people are going to be lining up for a mile to cut it off. It’s just human
nature. So… get ready to be beheaded, but it’s worth it.”
G.H - Would you share a deep dark secret
about you with us?
VLJ – I put pickled red
cabbage in my tomato soup. That’s about as deep and dark as I get. I really
need to get out more… *tumbleweed*
Thank
you for letting us get to know you and your books. It was an absolute pleasure
to have you with us!
Links:
Everyone,
please remember any questions or suggestions please write them in the comments
section below.
Thanks G :)
