Jennifer Word is an award-winning poet and editor inSouthern California. She holds a B.A. inPsychology from Pepperdine University. Her short fiction and poetry has been featured in The Storyteller Magazine, The Klondike Sun, Dark Moon Digest, Dark Eclipse e-Magazine, and the Frightmares and Slices of Flesh anthologies. She is also the author of The Poe Toaster, All Because of the Cat, and Higher Love.
Jennifer lives with her two beautiful children. When she's not busy writing, she enjoys Yoga, and taking care of her two cats, two guinea pigs and a plecostamus in a homemade aquarium.
The Same Six Questions
1. Have you published a book yet?
2. When did you know you wanted to be a writer?
I knew I wanted to be a writer from about age nine or ten. I had a fourth grade teacher tell me I was a writer, and it inspired me to dream big. It was a teacher that started all my dreams of wanting to be a writer.
3. What was your first lengthy piece of fiction (say, >1000 words)? What was it about? When did you write it? Do you still have it?
My first story, I wrote in the fourth grade. It was a horror story about a black cat and a curse. I'm not certain how many words long it was, but it won first place in the Make-A-Book contest in my elementary school. Later, I just jumped in and began writing, at age 34, and I wrote five novels in four months!
4. When was your first indication, "I can do this (write)"?
When I received a publishing contract through Stony Meadow Publishing for my trilogy, I said, "Wow, I can really do this!" It was so unexpected, but I was floored! My debut novel is so meaningful to me, and the series means a lot to me. I hope it will inspire many readers to realize that there are no insignificant people in this world. Everyone is here for a reason, and everyone plays an important role in the lives of others, simply by existing.
5. If you could meet one of your characters in real life, which would it be?
I would like to meet my main character from my trilogy, Jessica Wembly. She is so lost, yet so important in the role of humanity. I wouldn't mind meeting all the characters from The Society. They are all amazing people, and I have wished so many times that they were real. My children think I am crazy, because I talk about my characters as if they are real people, but to me, they are. They are a conglomeration of people I have met in real life, friends, family. They are everyday people that anyone can relate to.
6. It's a dark and stormy night...you're alone in the house...there's a knock at the door...you open it, look out, and proceed to scream like a little girl. What's on the doorstep?
Vampires, werewolves, all the B-movie monsters. I would say, "Bring it on," and I would have the Monster Squad to back me up, including Rudy with his bow and arrow!! And Stephen King would be right there to chronicle and write about the War that would ensue.
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Thanks so much for sharing with us today, Jennifer! For more of Jennifer and her work, be sure to check out her Web site.
Stop back in on Thursday when my guest will be Aliya Anjum! See you then!
Enjoyed the interview, Jennifer. I, too, had an elementary school teacher who had us write stories. Isn't it wonderful to get a chance to corral your imaginings into a plot so early in life? So glad you found your way to novel-writing. Best of luck with The Society.
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