SPOTLIGHT AUTHOR INTERVIEW WITH JEAN HART STEWART!

The Interview:

GRACIE: I’m excited to have you here at The G-Spot, Jean! Please tell us a little about yourself (or a lot J) and how and when you got into writing?

JEAN:  I had a successful career in real estate but when the business turned snarky just walked into my manager’s office and quit. His response was a shocked ‘you can’t’ and  I smiled,  waved, and walked out.

GRACIE: Is there any one thing or person in your life that inspired your writing? Any one thing or person that influenced the genre you write in?

JEAN: Mary Balogh’s advice to me once still guides me out of the dreaded void of dangling middle. I asked her once what she did when she hit that and she said “Make it worse”.

GRACIE: As a prolific author with an extensive backlist and current titles, can you still remember when you got The Call and what was your first published book?

JEAN: Druid’s Daughter was my first published book. I was doubly excited when my new editor asked me if I had anything else ready and I sent her the next book in the series, My Darling Druid.  Two books at once after three years of rejections! I think I’ll always remember that.

GRACIE: What do you know now about writing and the publishing industry that you wish you’d known before you started?

JEAN: That publicity and promo are endless and I mostly dislike this part of the business.

GRACIE: Please, give us a little story behind the story and what inspired your Passionate Pursuits series.

JEAN: Elves seems a natural sequel to Druids and Mages. There are so many elf types and I want the strong blonds found in Scandinavian literature. Some elves are tiny, as in the leprechauns and of course I wanted elves that were sexy.

GRACIE:  What brought about your interest in Elves, Druids and Mages?           

JEAN: I grew up reading a lot about King Arthur and those tales are really about magical super heroes.  And I’m a dreamer.  Seems a natural progression to me

GRACIE: In Forbidden Pursuit, besides destiny, what is it you believe makes Arden and Brielle a perfect match?

JEAN: Arden is destined to fall in love only once and that love will last forever. That’s part of an elves’ destiny. Brielle needs plenty of help, including growing into her feelings.  They need each other.

                               

GRACIE: What do you believe is Gareth’s Achilles’ heel and how do you go about stomping it in Gareth’s Gambit?

JEAN: That’s interesting phrasing for this book!  Gareth has one leg a little shorter than the other and he’s conflicted by his feelings of power as a Mage, and his feelings of inferiority over what he regards as a defect. Our heroine has a big job on her hands to get him to declare his love when he doesn’t feel worthy. In spite of the fact his strengths are quite evident. He’s unsecure.

GRACIE: Of all the stories you’ve written, which is your favorite and why?

JEAN: My first one published, Druid’s Daughter. It  brought me so much joy and was the start of my career. In fact my license plate is Druids  1.

GRACIE: I know this is like asking a mother which is her favorite child, but which of your characters is your favorite and why?

JEAN: Now that one I really can’t answer. Maybe Gareth in Gareth’s Gambit. Wounded heroes always grab at my heart.

GRACIE: What about your characters makes them unique?

 JEAN: Not an easy question to answer. I don’t really know, except for the fact  that I love them all and maybe that comes through.

GRACIE: What is your favorite aspect of the writing process? Your least favorite?

JEAN: The best part is the days when the words just flow. The worst part is the publicity.

GRACIE: Are you a pantser or do you outline?

JEAN: I’m a pantser who outlines as she goes.  Does that make sense to anyone but me?

GRACIE: Makes sense to me! You mentioned a previous career in real estate, but if you weren’t a writer, what other profession would you have chosen to pursue?

JEAN: Something artistic, but I don’t know what.

GRACIE: Who are some of your favorite authors and why? Name some of your favorite books and why they’re your favorites.

JEAN: Mary Balogh, Sabrina York, Judith McNaught, Tina Donahue. As you can see I have pretty eclectic tastes. And I love history.

GRACIE: What are you working on now and what should readers be looking forward to from you in the future?

JEAN: A loooong historical titled The Lame Lord.  Also a shortie for a boxed set of Romance4Us writer. Not titled yet, but it will be a short, sensual historical, set right after the Peninsular War.

GRACIE: Do you have a website and/or how can readers contact you?

JEAN: www;jeanhartstewart.com   jswriter@earthlink.net  I would love, love, love to hear from a reader.

GRACIE: Where and how can readers purchase and/or read samples of your work?

JEAN: I’m at Ellora’s Cave, I blog regularly at Romancebooks4us and

Seven Sexy Scribes, Facebook, Twitter, my own e-mail at jswriter.earthlink.net, and just about any place they have internet.  I’ve soon have eight books at MuseitUp.  I find I no longer enjoy writing erotica and Ellora’s Cave wants only that, so I’m shifting a lot of my stuff.

GRACIE: What advice do you have for beginning writers?

JEAN: Keep writing.  Don’t let anything stop you. Don’t listen to the negative voices.

GRACIE: Anything else about yourself or your writing you’d like to share with your readers?

JEAN: Nope, think this excellent interview covers everything.  Thank you so much for having me.

GRACIE: Jean, thanks so much for taking time from your busy schedule to share yourself and your work with us at The G-Spot and giving us a little insight into your writing and the writing process! We’ll let you get back to writing those wonderful books you write! All the best!