Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Several years ago, I rediscovered my first love, writing. So far I have two published works. My debut work is an award-winning detective mystery which will become a series. The latest release, is a contemporary women’s fiction which explores life and marriage.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
ICY ROADS is my latest release. The title is a play on the icy road which causes the accident that drives the story and the fact we all walk icy roads in life.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I mull things over with my dogs who are my muses before I commit them to paper.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
P.D. James and Anne Perry inspires my mystery writing. Elie Hildebrand and Kristin Hannah gives me direction in my general fiction work,
What are you working on now?
I have the second manuscript for my mystery series ready to shopped to agents and publishers. Next I’ll begin to work on the plot for book three in the series and I’ll start work on a non-fiction inspirational regarding the muddy waters we swim in life.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Any website that has reviews for books is the best advertising a writer can get. All reviews get an author’s name and their works known to other readers.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Listen to seasoned authors. Attend workshops focused on your genre. Take your friends and families opinions with a grain of salt unless they are published. First drafts will always be the worst ones. Read as much as you can by various authors in the genre you wish to write.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Start your work with action, not backstory.
What are you reading now?
Bernhard Cornwell’s Saxon Series and The Death of Mrs. Westaway by Ruth Ware.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I’ll be pitching some article ideas to my favorite History magazine and hopefully will be getting an offer to write one. Then I’ll start plotting out the next mystery and begin working on the non-fiction, The research for it has been don
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Definitely not Jaws. That’s tough to answer. I love so many different writers and have enough books for a library. I guess I would choose to carry with me some of the Sharon Kay Penman books starring Eleanor of Aquitaine and Henry the IV. Eleanor is one of the most fascinating women in history and so much change was happening during the medieval times.
Author Websites and Profiles
J.L. Canfield Website
J.L. Canfield Amazon Profile
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