Hello, lovely readers,
Welcome to another Friday Chat & Drinks With... this month I have am joined my the super fabulous, multiple Amazon bestselling contemporary romance author, Jessica Redland. I am so happy you're here, Jessica!
I literally can't wait to kick things off and find out more about you and your work - do you have you favourite drink in hand? Me too - let's get started...
R: What genre do you typically read? Why?
J: I mainly read romantic fiction although the remit is very wide and sometimes I’ll choose a
romcom and, other times, I’ll go for a more emotional story. It’s the genre in which I write so I
have a love for it and nothing beats that warm and fuzzy moment when you get to the end of a
great romantic story and release an ‘awww,’ knowing that the main characters have found their
happy ever after. I also love the escapism that romantic fiction provides; immersing yourself in
a world where, although there will be challenges for the characters, you know it’ll all work out
in the end. The exciting part is the journey.
R: Share a favourite childhood memory.
J: As I’m an author, it makes sense for me to choose a bookish memory. At primary school, we’d
have story time where the teacher read chapters of a book to us at the end of the school day. I
remember being completely captivated by two Roald Dahl stories – Fantastic Mr Fox and
James and the Giant Peach – and begging my parents to buy me my own copy so that I could
read ahead.
I have fond memories of trips to the library. I’d spend ages picking out books to read although
– confession time – I rarely read them. I had a lot of Enid Blyton books of my own and I loved
them so I’d tend to choose books from the library by authors I didn’t know and then go home
and re-read my own Enid Blyton stories. But that didn’t stop me choosing a new haul of books
the following month… which I also didn’t read!
R: Haha! Why didn't you read the new ones? Were you just entirely committed to Enid Blyton? She was my favourite childhood author too. It was her Secret Seven series that made me decide I would be an author one day.
Do you have any shameless addictions? ie. Tea, Books, Shoes, Clothes?
J: Several, although I’m definitely not ashamed of any of them! I’m an arctophile – a
collector/lover of teddy bears. This started when I was about fourteen and even led me to
opening and running my own specialist teddy bear shop for a couple of years and learning how
to make mohair jointed teddy bears. I used to have an enormous collection of plush bears but
I’ve gifted a lot of those over the years and my collection is now mainly jointed collectible
bears. Looking at them makes me so happy.
R: Oh, they sound amazing! I love that...
J: Along similar lines, a more recent addiction is Jellycats. My first publisher sent me a
Bartholemew bear – Jellycat’s signature teddy – as an apology gift eleven years ago after a
mistake meant I had a publication day party of my debut book without any books! After that, I
started building a collection of Jellycats that had relevance to my books. Putting that restriction
on my purchases is the only way I can stop myself going too overboard!
My final major addiction is pretty notebooks. I use one when developing the characters for
each of my books but I have a cupboard containing way more notebooks than any author could
use in a lifetime. But they’re soooo pretty!
R: What do you think is the biggest challenge of writing a new book?
J: I don’t plan my books. I know who the main characters are and what the rough direction of the
plot, but I just put my fingers to the keyboard and let my characters guide me through their
story. At about 16,000 words, I usually lose my way and need to go back to the start to get
back on track. I typically do this another twice during the book but I always hit a point where I
think, ‘This book is terrible – worst thing I’ve ever written. I can’t do it anymore. My readers
are going to hate it!’ That point is really tough but, because it happens now with most books, I
know that I can get through it and, if I’m doubting that, my husband reminds me that I go
through this stage every time and always come out the other side pleased with the final
product.
When I’m going through the ‘I hate it’ phase, I have to make sure I don’t read any reviews as a
cruel one- or two-star review of any of my books will make the voices of doubt shout a little
louder.
R: I am exactly the same with EVERY book, but mine hits at around the 30-40,000 word stage - that's the point when there is a lot of crying going on in the house. My husband is exactly the same as yours, constantly reminding me how many times I've been here before. Sometimes it helps, other times it's the last thing I need to hear!
Do you aim for a set amount of words/pages a day?
J: No. I write most days and, if I’m not at my desk, I’m usually thinking of dialogue or
unravelling sticky plot points which sets me up for a quick start to my writing when I’m back
in the office. I don’t set a daily word count because I find it vastly differs at different stages of
the book, although I do feel like I’ve had a good day if I’ve written 2,000 or more. At the start
of the book, I might only write 500 words a day but this will be more like 5,000 when I’m
nearing the end. I think the most I ever wrote in one day was 12,000. That was a long day but
necessary to meet my deadline.
R: 12,000? Wow - I think my is 8,000, but I was away on a retreat then so it was entirely possible!
What are your thoughts on writing a book series?
J: Blue Skies Ahead is my thirtieth book and all of them have been either in a series or are closely
connected. I have tried to write standalone books but, every time I do that, my mind takes me
down a series route with a secondary character stepping forward with their own interesting tale
to tell and/or I mention a setting and suddenly I know who works or lives there.
I’m a huge fan of writing series. Blue Skies Ahead is the start of a new series set in
Northumberland and, as it’s been several years since I created a new setting, I’d forgotten how
much I love the world-building – creating the place and developing the characters who live and
work there. It was such a joy being able to do that again.
I’m a huge fan of cameo appearances and love it when a character from a previous book makes
a logical appearance in my current one. Sometimes it’s a main character but occasionally I
make a connection to a minor character and wonder if readers will notice. I have one reader in
particular who always tries to find the cameos and messages me to see if she’s spotted them all.
I love that so much!
R: I'm the same with series, I can't seem to write stand alone because there is always a secondary character who pushes themselves forward and then I want to write their story, too! It sounds as though we are very similar writers, albeit writing totally different genres.
It's been wonderful having you here and I wish you all the best with your latest release!
J: Thank you so much for inviting me as a guest on your blog, Rachel.
Jessica's latest book is Blue Skies Ahead and available right now!
BLURB:
‘This is an exciting new start for you all. Blue skies are ahead.’
Leaving behind everything she thought she knew, Grace arrives at Hazelwick Farm with her teenage daughter, Maddie, and her mother, Frances, ready to build a new life together.
Grace has dreamt of fresh air, open skies and days filled with taking care of the animals while building a family business together. But starting over isn’t as simple as she hoped.
Maddie has barely spoken to her since the divorce from her father and Grace doesn’t know how to fix what she doesn’t fully understand. Between strained silences at home, and the demands of getting the farm ready to open for business, Grace begins to wonder if she’s made a mistake.
Yet life at Hazelwick Farm has its surprises. Grace keeps crossing paths with handsome tenant, Caleb, whether she means to or not. Could this unexpected connection be the start of something she never saw coming?
Escape to the countryside with a heartwarming, uplifting multigenerational story of family, fresh starts and finding love when you least expect it from multi-million copy bestseller Jessica Redland.
Website: https://www.jessicaredlandauthor.com/
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