Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
My name is Jennifer Julander and I’m a lover of fantasy, mythology, and music. My debut novel, Green Lady, just released last April, and the sequel, Curse of Brys, is scheduled for publication this fall.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Green Lady was inspired by my childhood. I grew up in Georgia and I was a tree-hugger by nature. But when my parents moved me to the West, I remember being appalled that we were living in a desert (heaven forbid). The earliest version of this story was a short story I wrote at the age of 12, or at least an attempt at a short story. That’s when I realized I was a novelist. I couldn’t write anything short, and the story kept growing.
Green Lady was also influenced by a lot of what I read growing up. Some people say it has the same kind of adventure vibe as other epic fantasy novels. I was always entranced by stories with magic, and I love mythical creatures, which obiously had a heavy influence on this story. My love for mythology also inspired the development of this world’s legends, which are more important in the sequel, Curse of Brys.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I used to write everything by hand, but now I use the Write or Die App on my desktop. Many writers are surprised to learn that I can write 2,000 words/hour, but it’s thanks to the App’s clever design–it has different settings to motivate you to keep writing.
I also tend to use music to turn on my creative brain. Some people can’t listen to music and write, but as long as it’s instrumental, music definitely helps me dive into the story.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Oh, gosh. I read everything, so that’s a difficult question. The first book I can tie to Green Lady is A Walk in Wolf Woods, by Mary Stewart. The story of a king under a wolf curse stuck with me, and you can definitely see its influence in the behaviors of King Friedrich.
What are you working on now?
I’m currently writing the last half of Curse of Brys, which is both a sequel and a prequel to Green Lady (less commonly known as a Circumquel). If you’ve read Green Lady, you’ll be happy to know that Curse of Brys goes into detail about Amnar’s past, and the events leading up to everything that happens to Cleandra.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
The ebook is available on Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/Green-Lady-Part-Storm-Book-ebook/dp/B01NCZIOPG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1503774514&sr=8-1&keywords=green+lady+jennifer+julander
Print books are available on my website: www.jenniferjulander.com
Do you have any advice for new authors?
The cure to writer’s block is to write. There are various tactics for this, and my recent favorites are 1) Doing a brainstorm map of the current events in your book so you can see how everything ties together, and 2) Getting your book cover designed as early as possible. I find it very inspirational to look at the cover when I feel stuck.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Write every day. My first novel took me 5 years to complete. It’s normal for first-time novelists to take this long (or even longer) to complete a manuscript, but it wouldn’t have taken quite as long if I’d written for 1 hour every day.
What are you reading now?
I’m currently reading Autumn in the City of Lights by Kirby Howell. It’s a post-apocalyptic romance novel co-written by two best friends. I was amazed by how seamless their writing is; if I didn’t know better, I’d think it was written by one author, not two.
What’s next for you as a writer?
Book promotion, scheduling signings, marketing until the sky falls… haha.
As far as writing, I have a dark fantasy novel (series?) in mind about an ugly goblin and a beautiful faerie who find themselves stuck in Victorian England… and they’ve switched bodies.
And I also have a comedy crime series in mind about a smart-ass lawyer who can get away with saying anything in court (kind of like how Dr. House gets away with bad bedside manner).
I have no intention of sticking with one genre, and I even have a few ideas for Sci-Fi novels down the road. But fantasy is by far my favorite, so you can expect to see a lot more of that.
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?
:O
I can’t… you’re killing me.
It’s not a “classic,” but I’d have to take Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor. My second choice would be The Witching Hour by Anne Rice, and Howl’s Moving Castle by Dianna Wynne Jones would be third.
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