Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m a writer, knitter, amateur astrologer, Capricorn, and Japanophile. I love foxes, owls, sushi, yoga pants, Evernote, and black tea. When I’m not writing, I’m thinking about writing or spending time outside, unless it’s winter. I hate winter. Someday I’ll own a house in both hemispheres so I can avoid the season entirely. I’m a mom to two great kids and live with my husband and family outside NYC. I’ve written and published 9 books and I’m currently working on my 10th.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The Daydreamer Detective is a cozy mystery set in Japan. Mei Yamagawa is out of luck, money, and a job and must return to her hometown a failure when she’s evicted from her apartment. Upon arrival at home, her best friend’s father is murdered and her best friend is named the main suspect. Mei gathers clues, with her mom, to solve the case and exonerate her best friend. I’ve always loved mysteries and wanted to write one, so writing a cozy mystery set in Japan was high up on my list of must-dos for 2016!
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Not really. I can write pretty much anywhere, under any conditions, unless I just don’t feel like writing. Sometimes, though, I force myself even when I don’t want to!
What authors, or books have influenced you?
The majority of my favorite authors are science-fiction authors. I read and listen to a lot of audiobooks that are sci-fi. My favorite authors include John Scalzi, James S. A. Corey and many of the great classic science fiction authors like Arthur C. Clarke, Frank Herbert, and Isaac Asimov. I also read a lot of romance and YA fiction, basically picking up whatever is popular and sounds interesting. Right now I’m finishing Marissa Meyer’s Lunar Chronicle series, which I’ve really enjoyed. But my favorite author of all time is Haruki Murakami. I’ve read almost all of his books and his interesting and surreal sense of magical realism really inspires me.
What are you working on now?
The third book in my cozy mystery series! It’s called the Miso Cozy Mysteries Series and will be after The Daydreamer Detective Braves The Winter.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I believe in always having a permafree book to give away and I try to cycle through most of the promotion services at least once per month.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t give up your day job. Or get a day job and don’t rely on writing. LOL. Writing and publishing is a volatile business. One month you can be killing it, making $10,000 or more, and the next month you make nothing. Have a steady job that gives you a paycheck, and some health insurance too. Write in the mornings, at night, and on the weekends. I’m a stay-at-home mom first and an author second. Once the kids are in school, I have the time to write. Before I came a stay-at-home mom, I was a web developer (and still am), and I wrote down my ideas on lunch breaks and in notebooks. Aspiring writers should work on their craft, study story structure and character development, and read a lot. Write when they can, and go to work. It’s the best way to get started.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Don’t look at your reviews! It was hard advice to follow in my first three years of being an author and only now am I really listening.
What are you reading now?
Morning Star by Pierce Brown. It’s the third book in the Red Rising trilogy and all of these books have been AMAZING.
What’s next for you as a writer?
More books, more writing, more keeping-on!
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?
Can I just bring all the Harry Potter books? 🙂
Author Websites and Profiles
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S. J. Pajonas Amazon Profile
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