Interview With Author Jennifer Withers
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’ve now written two books to date.
I like to write about things which matter to me – things which are personal. My first novel, The War Between, was my take on how people are always threatened by others when they’re something, or someone, they don’t understand. Not racism, exactly, but all kinds of bigotry.
I started writing Gloam about a year or so after my father passed, which was a kind of catharsis for me.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Gloam. It was inspired by a PC game actually, called Cyberpunk 2077. I was so taken in by the main character, V, and how the aspects of who she or he is, changes to outcome of the game. A little like life.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I’ve just started trying my hand and dictating and then transcribing as another way of writing. Not sure if that counts as unusual?
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I’m a huge fan of both Stephen King and Jodi Picoult. I love how, in their different ways, they’re fearless writers. My favourite book of all time though, wasn’t written by either of them, funnily enough. That was Watchers, by Dean Koontz. It was the book that ultimately got me writing.
What are you working on now?
A small-town murder mystery. It takes place in a fictional town in South Africa, one which is closed patriarchal-run place, with little to no outside interference. It’s loosely based on a town called Orania, a real town located in the Orange Free State province.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m still new at that particular game, so I’ll withhold a comment on that for now.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Be consistent – whatever that means for you.
Grow a thick skin – not everyone will like what you write.
Be true to the stories you tell. Always put a bit of yourself in every story.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
5% talent, and 95% hard work. That’s what it takes to be a writer.
What are you reading now?
I read multiple books at once, in different genres or categories. So right now I’m reading The Shards, by Bret Easton Ellis; I’m reading Newsletter Ninja 2: If You Give a Reader a Cookie – by Tammi Labrecque; a collection of short stories called Sticky Fingers, by J.T Lawrence, and lastly I’m listening to the Audible audio of Copperhead, by Alexi Zentner.
What’s next for you as a writer?
More books, of course! I’m aiming to finish the first draft of my third novel by the end of November 2024, and have it ready for publishing within the first quarter of 2025.
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?
Impossible to say. It would depend on so much – what kind of mood I’m in, where I am in my life personally, and if there was ice cream. Is there ice cream? Probably not.
Author Websites and Profiles
Jennifer Withers Amazon Profile
Jennifer Withers’s Social Media Links
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