#AtoZChallenge O is for Jolene Perry #giveaway

Established Author Name:  Jolene Perry

1-Tell us something interesting about yourself we may not know.

The first time I was out of sight of land while sailing.........was in the Bermuda Triangle. This was not on purpose.

2- In what category/genre do you write? Why?

I wrote young adult contemporary for years - I wrote the books I wish I'd had in high school. When I'd written those stories, I was ready to move on. As I was writing young adult, I also wrote some speculative fiction in that category. Had a blast.

I write romance - a little sexier when I write contemporary, a little cleaner when I write historical (this way I have books I can recommend to more cautious readers). Writing romance is like binge-watching a favorite series. It's fun, it's a lovely break from my passion projects, and I love the diversity.

As I move forward with my new agent, I'm writing upmarket fiction with a supernatural/speculative twist. 

3- What part of one of your stories was the most fun to write? The most challenging? (And which book/s are those in?)

I wrote a story with my good friend, Christa Desir, called Love Blind. The book revolves a lot around a fear list, and one of my character's fears was spiders. I had this idea for a scene with a tarantula in a pet store but we couldn't find a place for it. When our editor said we needed to add a few fun scenes that took place over the summer, I got my spider scene. That was a blast. The most challening in that book was the ending - it's a bit of an open end, and we had a lot of fun writing to that.

My ending from The Story of Us was also challenging - trying to navigate two people coming back together after a long time apart took a few drafts to get right.

4- Would you please, in 160 characters or less, give a #WriteTip ?

Set timers when you write. Do nothing but write during that time. #WriteTip

5- What interests do you have outside writing?
SO MANY THINGS. I joke that I suffer from being interested in everything. My parents retired on a boat, so I've been very fortunate to spend time with them in Southeast Alaska, the Seattle-Vancouver area, as well as in the Caribbean (where my answer to question 1 came from). I also work part time at the barn where I keep my horses doing a little bit of everything. My most recent obsession is learning more about saddle fit.

6- What do you love and hate most about being a published author?

I LOVE writing. Drafting is my very favorite. I love getting notes from readers thanking me for a particular story. I don't love the timelines in traditional publishing, and I'm exhausted just thinking about how fast things change for independent publishing (I do both).

7- Do you publish traditional, self, hybrid, other? Why?

I publish hybrid. My romances I write for fun and i want to keep them fun so I do them myself. My passion projects - I want the backing of a publishing house to help me make my story as strong as it can be.

8- What question are you dying to answer?

Question: So Jo, I'm on your Instagram a lot and it's seriously almost all about horses. Do you use them in your books?

Answer: Not as much as I should! They appear in my historicals, but I'm planning a contemporary series now based around neighboring horse farms - still not sure if it'll be a series of romances, or something else. 

9- Would you please ask our audience an intriguing question to answer in the comments?

What are the books, shows, or movies you find yourself recommending over and over? 

10- Which of your books would you suggest readers start with? 

Start with Stronger Than You Know - if you like that one, move on to Love Blind, and then The Story of Us.

If you're a fantasy reader, I'm very proud of Silver and Stone (wrote that as J.V. Perry) 

Jo also helps writers be better writers through Waypoint Authors, which you can find here: www.waypointauthors.com

You can find Jo, and all her titles on her website www.jowritesbooks.com.

Jolene has $20 to the bookseller of the reader's choice to giveaway.  Just answer her question (#9 above) in the comments below, and let us know who your favourite bookseller is to go in the draw.

Please check out the April Blogging from A to Z Challenge
#AtoZChallenge 2023
a-to-zchallenge.com