I have the pleasure and honor of getting to know authors, writers and poets. I get to share a bit about these lovely people I meet with you, my blog readers.
Interview with Author Jan Romes – author of Stay Close, Novac
Please share your background with us.
Thanks for having me on your blog today, Teresa!
Let’s see…background info…Born and raised in northwest Ohio, I’m a small town girl through and through. Love the excitement of a big city, but my heart (and body) resides in the comfort of two-lane roads and familiar faces. I was fortunate to be part of a big, zany family! They were (and still are) a laugh a minute.
My career background…I worked in the line department of an electric utility for more years than seems possible. It was a secure job that paid well. The desire to write nagged at me for a long time. Finally, I walked away from a sure thing to follow my dreams.
When did you begin your writing journey?
I had been writing stories in my head forever, but didn’t put them on paper (literally, typewriter & notebooks) until the early 90’s.
What inspired you to write your book?
I think the inspiration for my book was spawned by watching lots of reruns of NCIS (my fav TV show). While there’s plenty of suspense in those episodes, there’s also an underlying current of chemistry brewing between the characters. I wanted to write a romance with an edge of suspense. Voila! STAY CLOSE, NOVAC!
Please share about your book.
Jessi Novac leads the quiet life of a romance author until someone leaves a series of explicit notes under her windshield wipers and heavy breathing on her answering machine.
Until NYPD can track down the culprit who’s trying to scare her to death, Jessi hides out at her grandmother’s beach house in Myrtle Beach where she hopes to get her bearings. Instead, her life takes an even bigger tilt toward crazy when she meets her clumsy neighbor. She’s suspicious of Ian Alexander, and attracted to him at the same time. Their relationship becomes a calamity of errors until strange things start happening at the beach house. Jessi clings to Ian for protection, but soon discovers her heart may be in more danger than her life.
How did you decide to publish your book and why?
I have four books so far with traditional publishers. They have treated me well! Not one complaint. But I wanted to experience publishing from the ground up – from the kernel of an idea to the joy of picking out a cover to uploading it to the retail sites. It amounted to leaving a secure thing to try something different. (Can you see a pattern? Ha ha)
Most writers are readers. What are a few book on your nightstand now and on your “must read” list?
Reading and writing go hand in hand, for sure. At the moment, I am reading two books: COLD COMFORT by Ellis Vidler and BURNING EMBERS by Hannah Fielding! And I have lots of other great books lurking on my iPad.
What advice would you give to beginning writers?
Write every day if you can, even if it’s just a paragraph or two. Stay true to your writing voice. Enjoy the adventure, even the rejections because one day when you’ve achieved your dreams you will realize they made you the writer you are now!
Where can others find out more about you and your book? (website, blog, social media links, etc)
You can find me lurking at:
www.janromes.com
www.jantheromancewriter.blogspot.com
https://twitter.com/janromes
http://www.facebook.com/jan.romes.5
Question for fun sake—what is your favorite color and why?
My favorite is brown. Not sure why exactly, but maybe because it’s a strong, solid color! I branch out to other colors from time to time, but I always return to the ‘security’ of brown! *grins*
