Awe-Thors Blog Tour - Interview with Jennifer Cloud

Welcome to our awesome Awe-Thors blog tour! For the next few weeks I'll be hosting fellow Awe-Struck Publishing authors and guesting on their blogs as well. On October 23, after the tour is over, I'll be giving away two CD copies of my Awe-Struck release "Till September" to two people who have commented on my guest blogs over the seven weeks. For a schedule of where I'll be check out my blog post of September 1 or go to my website at http://www.janarichards.net/ I hope to see you on the tour!

My first guest on the tour is Jennifer Cloud.  Jennifer  was born in Asheville, North Carolina. There she met her husband who encouraged her to write after finding a partial manuscript. She now resides in Missouri with her husband and two daughters.

She is the author of many novels in both print and electronic versions. She's also had two dozen short stories published and many novellas. She writes dark fiction, horror or paranormal, but usually there's a love story in it. For her first Awestruck Publishing novel, soon to be released, she teamed up with Regan Taylor to write Her Eyes. Here's a blurb:

When you look in her eyes, what do you see?

What happens when you are tired of the life you have been living and instead of just changing what isn't working for you, you try to commit suicide? What happens if you don't succeed, but instead there is another person who is ready to walk-in and finish out your life for you. Can you really give up the life you were living? Or will jealousy stop you from letting go? Can two souls, one good, one evil, share the same body?

Welcome to Frank White's world.


Jana:  What do you do to market your books?

Jennifer:  Internet.  99% of my marketing is done on the web. 

Jana:  What is your favorite method of promotion?  Your least favorite?

Jennifer:  I like blogs and forums.  They’re a great way to reach out to readers.  I love hearing their input on favorites and critiques.  My least favorite? Chat rooms.  It seems the same people are in there and it’s hard to keep track of twenty people having a conversation.  By the time I respond to one question, someone else has posted something entirely different.  It’s too chaotic for me.

Jana:  Where do you get ideas for your stories?

Jennifer:  Everywhere.  I enjoy watching people.  One person or situation will inspire a chapter and from there a book grows.  I’ve written entire novels from a single inspired paragraph.

Jana:  Where did the idea for your latest Awestruck release come from?

Jennifer:  It’s all Regan Taylor’s fault.  She’d read an article about transplants and thought it sounded like a Jennifer Cloud horror.  I thought it sounded like a Regan Taylor romance, one where souls could be reunited.  Emails and insanity later, a novel was born.

Jana:  How do you research? Internet, interviews, books, etc.? Do you like to research?

Jennifer:  I do a lot of research.  I’ve emailed people for their input, read, the internet is fabulous for research.  You name it I’ve tried it in order to make a more complete story. 
Most of the time I like doing research.  It helps me know that I’m moving in the right direction.  It can be something as minor as a bullet caliber to psychiatric disorders.  All of it adds to the realism of the story.  There are times when I get frustrated though.  The worst is when I get conflicting information.  It’s hard to judge what is right considering different experiences and local laws.

Jana:  What’s next for you? Tell me about your next or newest release?

Jennifer:  I have CALL OF CROWS coming out with Otherworld Publications and BLOOD BOND coming out with Charles River Press.

Jana:  Why do you write?

Jennifer:  I have to.  It sounds silly but I have sworn a hundred times to quit.  It doesn’t pay well, I don’t even want to think about what I make an hour writing.  I spend hours on work a fraction of the population will read.  It is a completely illogical hobby/profession.  I just can’t stop.  I love it too much.  There’s something magical about seeing my characters come to life on the screen. 

Jana:  How do you deal with rejection?

Jennifer:  Eat chocolate and drink wine.  Then I bang my head against the desk for doing something stupid in the query and or sample.  When I’m finished, I revise and start the entire process again.

Jana:  Tell me about first receiving “The Call” (or “The Email”).

Jennifer:  The first call I received was from an agent, Elizabeth Pomada. She’d had an exclusive and signed me. Things didn’t work out well but it was nice having an agent for a little while.  It was also a thrill to get that call everyone talks about. 

The first time I was published, the news came by letter.  Yes, boring old letter.  It was for a three book contract by a publisher that has now folded.
Most of my professional career has been spent getting good news by email.

Jana:  Any words of wisdom you’d like to pass along to fellow authors?

Jennifer:  Read.  I hate it when I hear an author that doesn’t read.  It’s like learning of a cook that has no sense of taste.  It makes no sense.  You can’t be a writer and not study your craft.

Jana:  How can readers connect with you online?

Jennifer:  I’m at http://www.jennifercloud.com/ and jlmccale.com .  I blog at http://www.myspace.com/cloudjennifer/blog and I can be found on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/cloudjennifer

Next week my guest is Ann Tracy Marr. For a schedule of upcoming guests, please go to my website at http://www.janarichards.net/ I also have a listing there of my stops on the Awe-Thors Blog Tour. Cheers!