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| J.L. Campbell |
Ready to learn more about Joy? I'm delighted she's here at Bird's-eye View today, answering your questions. She'll also be giving away a copy of her latest book, DON'T GET MAD...GET EVEN, to two lucky commenters today (Oct. 11) only.
Speaking of lucky commenters, at the end of the post are the winners of Jeanne Bannon's INVISIBLE and Kate Walker's backlist book. And now, here's Joy!
Have you always written romances, or did you get your start in another genre?
I've been reading romances from as far back as I can remember; however, the first novel I wrote was a coming-of-age story about a super-intelligent 11-year-old girl.
People seem to find the island and the ways of its people interesting. Of course, I have to dilute the amount of patois I use so that it's not gibberish to a non-Jamaican. I've been fortunate to find excellent critique partners who have knocked it into my head to always include Jamaica as a character. That has helped to create a unique experience for readers.
What messages in your book do you hope will most resonate with your readers?
After reading one of my stories, I hope people will think about how they make the choices they do, nurturing the relationships they're in and appreciating the things they have and the people in their lives.
What do you like about having been traditionally published?
It's said that writers have fragile egos. I know this from experience. The affirmation that came from having a publisher say yes meant a lot to me. Much as indie writers may hate this, those contracts gave me legitimacy as a writer. It's awful that we need external approval for what we do, but that's how the writing world is structured and how writers are programmed to feel. I wouldn't have self-published before taking the regular route. Nowadays, I'm thinking differently.
What are you looking forward to with self-publishing?
The most important goal was to see whether I had the discipline to get my first project edited and published on schedule. I should be doing much more in terms of marketing and expanding my reach. I want to put my stories into more readers' hands and do whatever is necessary to reach as wide an audience as possible. I look forward to trying different methods to selling books—something I can't do with a traditional publisher.
I've been lucky and haven't been raked over the coals as yet. However, I've been told I can be wordy and that smart writers use five-dollar words rather than ten-dollar ones. In my defense, I'd say that the Spanish and British have left Jamaica a legacy of Latinate rather than Anglo-Saxon words. I've had to unlearn the way I construct sentences and simplify my writing. As to the best compliment, it's when people ask what's happening with my unpublished characters, as if they're real people.
Can you share a little about your current work with us?
I'm editing DISTRACTION, my 2008 NaNo project, which is a story about three female friends. Two are in extra-marital relationships, and the third is a magnet for unsuitable men. As a result of their choices, they face disastrous consequences. DISTRACTION will be released late this year. I'm also working on the stand-alone sequel.
What do you do when you aren't writing?
Church activities, along with my son's social exploits, prevent me from becoming a hermit. Otherwise I go from home to work, back home and then I spend hours in front of my monitor. That cycle repeats itself each day. Editing and reading time has to be on the bus to and from work. I have a book blog too, and I'm always reading something for review. The rest of my time I spend watching Law & Order, NCIS, The Closer and documentaries based on strange subjects. I really need to get a life.
What is something about you or your writing that might surprise your readers?
Would you believe me if I told you I can't remember the last time I added a chapter to any of the books I'm supposed to be writing?
J.L. Campbell lives in sunny Jamaica and is the author of CONTRABAND, DISSOLUTION and DON'T GET MAD...GET EVEN. When she isn't plotting and researching new projects, she enjoys lollygagging on her blog, The Character Depot, and on Twitter.
Thank you very much, Joy, for stopping by today. For a review of her latest book, DON'T GET MAD...GET EVEN, visit Amazon or Smashwords.
BOOK GIVEAWAY WINNERS
The winner of an eBook version of Jeanne Bannon's debut novel, INVISIBLE, is Denise Z. Congratulations, Denise!
The winner of romance author Kate Walker's backlist book is Joanne DeMaio of Whole Latte Life. Joanne, Kate has a surprise for you; she'd like you to visit her Web site to see which of these nine backlist titles you'd like to choose:
Thanks again to everyone who participated!
39 comments:
What a wopnderful talented writer.
Enjoyed the post very much.
Yvonne.
I admire Joy and her writing very much. Thank you for this interview, and it will come as absolutely no surprise to Joy if I say thank you for posting a picture of the cover for Contraband. I swear, it's my favourite cover of the year ;-)
Thanks for the great interview, Joy and Michelle! Joy, your books sound wonderful. I can totally relate to that need for validation from a traditional publisher - why is that?! We should have enough faith in ourselves not to need that, but it's hard! I'm interested in how many people are starting to choose self-publishing for other reasons, though. Good luck with all your projects!
Thanks for commenting guys. I'll be around to return the favour.
Welcome to my world, thanks for your kind words. Glad you enjoyed the interview. Michelle asked some interesting questions.
Sarah, your comment made me chuckle. Oh yeah, I'm a big fan too.
Susanna, I appreciate your good wishes. I think we're programmed to believe we need to be published traditionally to be successful, but look at the early authors, who used to hawk, their writing to the public a chapter a week. If the cobwebs in my brain aren't too bad, Charles Dickens and Mark Twain used to do exactly that.
Many of us have bought into the fact that 'lesser writers' self publish, but I've had a turnaround in recent times. The time lag with publishers can be frustrating as well as the lack of control writers have in terms of the approach that's taken to marketing their work.
I know many complain about badly edited (and plotted) self-pubbed books, but I've been lucky in making my reading choices. I haven't come across that particular problem yet.
My take is that if you have a good book and you've had tons of feedback and it's ready to be published, then it's a matter of learning all you can about the business before taking the leap. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Michelle, thanks so for having me. I've now written another post in addition to the questions. :D
Hi Michelle and Joy, I always love to read about Joy and learn more about her. She's a wonderful writer and an amazing person. Thanks, Michelle for another fabulous interview! :D
What an awesome interview and what great questions Michelle. I really enjoyed them and the answers. I just finished Don't Get Mad,....Get Even early hours of this morning and I am totally disturbed. I don't know how she does it but is there anything the girl cannot write? She's phenomenal.
Good interview. Sounds like a lady who's got it together.
@Yvonne, the great thing about Joy is she is every bit as nice as she is talented. :)
@Sarah, even before I "met" Joy I remember how I felt when I first saw the cover for Contraband; all I could say was "wow!"
@Susanna, I also find it fascinating seeing how many traditionally published authors are exploring self-publishing. If anyone can successfully make the switch, it will be Joy.
@Joy, I love your extra "post," because I selfishly was hoping to hear more of your views about your decision to self-publish. :) Thank you again for being here today.
@Jeanne, I loved it when I first learned that Joy is one of the people who critiqued your debut novel, Invisible, which, for those how haven't had a chance to read it yet, is a beautifully written book about a teen who wishes she could disappear to stop being bullied--and gets her wish.
@Wendy, I'm glad to learn I'm not the only one that days later am still feeling shivers over Don't Get Mad ... Get Even. Joy is incredible.
@Richard, Joy truly is an inspiration!
Is there something wrong with being a hermit? I'd almost love that. :)
You are always so prolific.
I feel like I'm stuck in gear.
It must be nice to be able to stay on track and get so much done.
T
As you know, Joy, I love all your books. I think you keep it real. I think you talk about subjects that many of us go through. Great interview.
Thanks, Jeanne. You’re a wonderful friend too.
Wendy, don’t take this the way it sounds, but I’m glad the book disturbed you. It means I did what I set out to do. Oh, yeah, I don’t think I can write Fantasy or Sci-Fi. Too much work. I lift my hat to those who write those novels.
Thanks, Richard. I try.
Tirz, as usual, you can make me laugh with one sentence. I think I’m stuck in gear too, but I tell myself that I’ll only accomplish what I should on each given day. So much to do, definitely not enough time.
You know I have to ask the obligatory question of you. Have you written any more Plum?
Clarissa, I appreciate your support. Thanks so much.
@Tirzah, my mom used to want her own planet where she could garden and work on crafts, as long as craft supplies could be sent intergalactically of course. :)
@Clarissa, that is so vital what you said about keeping our books real so readers can relate to them.
Great interview. I assume the word you used to describe what you can't do in your novels means some kind of Jamaican dialect, right? Is it really that thick and so foreign from English that we couldn't puzzle out the meaning? hmmm. I would guess it would be. I hadn't given it that much thought.
joy---Oh, I'm still ignoring Plum at the moment, stuck on Chapter 34. I'll get back to her, I always do eventually. I'm just not writing at all at the moment. I get lulls in my writing where I work on art or research or just read. I'm doing a bit of all three at the moment. Do you do that? If I force it, it really is awful.
Michelle---I've always said I enjoy people until I don't. :) I need the occasional hermit weekend where I speak to no one. Of course, the next Monday, I'm going to be like an ADD squirrel sugared up on pixie sticks. I still think your mother and I would have gotten along fine. She could garden and I could sit quietly in the house reading or putting new fabric on the dining room chairs. :)
T
@Michael - Patois varies and can be deep, based on where people live and how they speak. It's really just broken English, but I try to stick close enough to proper English so that it isn't too hard on the reader.
Tirz, since I really haven't written anything new for ages, I can say that I do venture off into other things for months on end.
Great interview, ladies!
I completely understand what Ms. Campbell means by feeling legitimized by her book contract. I felt the same way when I signed with my agent. Wish I didn't need it to feel like a real writer, but I will admit, it made me feel amazing.
@Michael, like you I'm crazy about slang and dialect.
@Tirzah, the more I hear about Plum, the more I want to hear. And, seriously, I think you and my mom have the same kind of cool souls. As we used to joke in my family, I'm so adopted. :) But it's said the older you get the more you turn into your mother, which for me would be an awesome thing in many ways.
@Jennifer, you should feel amazing; CREEP rocks hard!
Jennifer, thanks for sharing your thoughts. It does feel good to have someone other than myself thinking I can write. :)
I had a little detour getting here, J.L. Great interview. Hi, Michelle!
@Carol, **waves**
It was interesting reading about the Latinate, Anglo-Saxon, and patois words.
I've read and will continue to read J.L.'s writing. I'm also wondering about some of her characters and what happened to them.
Great interview.
Thank you for featuring Joy! Her books set in Jamaica sound like a very exotic and refreshing change from the norm.
J.C.
Join me in the Trick or Treat Spooktacular! Could you help make the Grand Prize a brand new Kindle Touch?
No problem, Carol. Glad you came over.
Medeia, It's been interesting unlearning what I learned in school. I did a workshop a couple of years ago and it's one of the first things the facilitator told me to do so I could write clearer sentences. I still struggle with that, but my critique partners help keep me in line.
J.C. thanks for dropping in! I'm hoping the setting will pique readers' interest enough so they'll take a gander on my work.
Fantastic interview! I recently read 'Don't Get Mad' and I really enjoyed it.
Great interview. I'm looking forward to hearing all about your Indie journey, Joy.
Talli and Debbie, thanks for popping over.
Hehehe Joy I'm so curious to read your books. I love new experiences when I'm sitting down with a book.
Is the competition open to non-US citizens?
@Medeia, I also found it fascinating reading about the Latinate, Anglo-Saxon and patois words.
@J.C., "exotic" and "refreshing" are excellent words to describe Joy's writing.
@Talli, Don't Get Mad ... Get Even was especially haunting for me, as my husband and I were working at a military installation when Hurricane Katrina hit. I could so imagine the terror of being trapped inside for days with an abusive man.
@Deborah, I too am looking forward to learning more about Joy's indie journey.
@Misha, the great news is Joy's giveaway is for an eBook version, so all countries are eligible.
Great interview. I really enjoyed reading about all the Jamaican influences in your writing, Joy. I knew they were there, of course, but it's interesting to read your comments about them.
Hey, Misha. I'd assume that since these are ebooks that would be a yes, but I'll wait for Michelle to confirm that.
Thanks, Cynthia. I too like reading about difference places. Maybe that's why I enjoy novels based in China and Japan so much.
Michelle, thanks for confirming that!
A great interview! It's nice to hear more about traditional vs indie publishing, since I'm still waffling about which way to go...
Deniz, thanks! Weighing pros and cons usually works for me.
@Cynthia, thanks for stopping by. I can see we share a love of patios.
@Deniz, I hope to lure Joy back to my blog early next year, so now I know that one of the questions I should definitely ask is her latest vibes about traditional vs. indie publishing.
Michelle, thanks ever so much for hosting me. You're a super-cool friend! Dashing out now to catch the bus. Will pop in a little later.
Can someone explain what patios are? Besides decks, I mean.
Hi Michelle, Hello Joy,
A great interview! It's nice to hear more about traditional vs indie publishing, thanks for sharing.
Congratulations to the winner of Kate Walker giveaway!
@Brooke, got to love those homonyms, LOL.
@Nas, is it a wonderfully thematic coincidence or some beautiful serendipity that two great romance authors known for the incredible way they connect with readers are mentioned in the same post?
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