Fridays off the Wall with J. F. Jenkins

Today for Fridays off the Wall, I'm interviewing fellow Astraea Press author, J. F. Jenkins. She is a fellow Minnesotan.  Well, I'm not a Minnesotan, but my husband is and my three year olds can almost spell it. And she's not far from the Mall of America. 

So, what’s one hobby readers would be surprised to know you have? Or what is the most adventurous thing you’ve done?

 I don't have a whole lot of hobbies. I play video games and I mall walk. Both are kind of boring in theory, but my mall walking has lead me to a lot of cool adventures. My local mall is the Mall of America, and there seems to always be something going on. For example, next weekend Molly Ringwald will be in town signing her latest book. I've had a few fun adventures there on random because I'll see advertisements for cool things like that.

The first being when I got to see Zac Efron and we held eye contact for five whole seconds. I got a wave with a smile too, which was precious. It was an amazing eye opener to teen pop culture though.  The girl standing behind me was hyperventilating like those videos you see of Beatles fans, or the girls who go nuts over Justin Beiber. He'd hug teenage girls and they'd stumble away, weak in the knees. There were around 7000 people there.

My other adventure was when I met Big Time Rush. They were having a sale on their CD and anyone who bought a copy got an autograph. I thought: gee $6 and I get to meet four celebrities and free concert?  I'm game! This CD has become my son's favorite album, so it ended up being a good purchase. I got autographs, handshakes, pictures, and music. All in all, a good time! There were about 9000 people at that one. Though the girls didn't freak out as badly.

So I suppose my third secret hobby is celebrity stalking? Or adventure seeker in general.  I'm not sure if I'm going to see Molly Ringwald or not. I also was super close to meeting Bobby Flay once too!

Sounds exciting.  I get all geeked when I see our local TV weather people. Okay, that's probably not the same thing. What is the most unexpected thing that has happened in one of your books?  As in you didn’t expect it to happen until you wrote it?

It's going to happen in my dragon's sequel.  Usually what happens is I'll write a character, start weaving them into the plot, and then they say: “Hi!  I'm a bad guy!  Sorry!” And they usually surprise me a lot. Sometimes they do some super crazy things too. I don't want to give away any spoilers, but in my direct sequel to my book, a certain character returns and does some traitorous things. I almost didn't want to write it because it was too disgusting and sad, but sometimes you have to do bad things.

I've had characters do that too.  I start writing and they are very nice, then all of a sudden they do things that aren't so nice. Do you have any characters who keep bugging you for their own book? Will you give them one?

All the time!  All of my characters have their own story and could have their own book if I had the time to write that much. Sadly I don't. Sometimes I write random short stories, or “hidden” chapters, so I might put some of those up on my blog soon for fans to enjoy.  :D

That's a great idea. I heard someone say that each character should have their own life.  They shouldn't just be there to do whatever the main character needs. What one thing would make your writing space perfect?

Having a private writing space in general.  I'd love a desk, a place I can decorate to make the most of my creative mojo, and privacy.  Currently I write in the laz-e-boy in my living room while my son plays on the floor.

My desk is in middle of our living room too.  I completely understand.  We writers depends on our computers and laptops.  When the power goes out, what do you do? (Cell phone service is out too.)

Sleep. I'll get grumpy and then go to sleep, or play with the kiddo or actually have my husband's attention. If I absolutely can't sleep or do anything else, I'll grab a notebook and write in or read a book.

Thanks for coming by, J.F.  Here's more about her latest book, Legend of the Oceina Dragon, from Astraea Press:

Darien Oceina is the youngest son of the Great Dragon Lord of the Water. For years he¹s loved and cherished Tai Dawson from afar. Tai is a simple, ordinary girl who doesn¹t even know Darien exists. On his eighteenth birthday, he chooses her as his wife. But there’s one problem: She thinks his choice means she¹s going to be offered as a sacrifice to the Dragon Lord, but instead, she’s forced to move to his home, far away, to give up her life and be his bride.

When she first sees Darien after the ceremony, she doesn’t expect to feel anything but hatred toward him. The two are struggling with the complications of a new marriage when their nation is attacked by a rival dragon species. Together they learn to love one another while they struggle to stay one step ahead in a game where the prize is their survival.

You can purchase it at Astraea Press and Amazon. 

To learn more about J. F. Jenkins, check out her website http://jfjenkinswrites.wordpress.com/ and follow her on Twitter: jfjenkinstweets