Avalon Books - Author! Author!


	Read some interviews from past editions:
		S.J. Stewart June, 2008
		Zelda Benjamin April, 2008
		Shirley Marks December, 2007
		Donna Wright December, 2007
		Carolyn Brown August, 2007
		Roni Denholtz June, 2007
		Tara Randel April, 2007
		Sydell Voeller February, 2007
		Sheila Robins December, 2006
		Ann Holt October, 2006
		Cynthia Danielewski July, 2006
		Jane McBride Choate March, 2006
		Kathryn Meyer Griffith January, 2006
		Mel Taylor November, 2005
		Kathleen Fuller September, 2005
		Tracey J. Lyons July, 2005
		Ludima Gus Burton May, 2005
		Sandra D. Bricker January, 2005
		Kathryn Quick November, 2004
		Cheri Jetton September, 2004
		Heather S. Webber July, 2004
		Karl Fieldhouse May, 2004
		Shelley Galloway March, 2004
		Ilsa Mayr January, 2004
		Kathy Carmichael November, 2003
		Dorothy P. O'Neill July, 2003
		Joani Ascher May, 2003
		Patricia DeGroot March, 2003
		Nancy J. Parra January, 2003
		Barbara Meyers November, 2002
		Christine Bush September, 2002
		Debby Mayne July, 2002
		Jean C. Gordon May, 2002
		Charles E. Friend March, 2002
		Norma Seely January, 2002
		Glen Ebisch November, 2001
		Gina Cresse September, 2001
		John Paxson July, 2001
		Terri Alcock May, 2001
		Clifford Blair March, 2001
		Amanda Harte January, 2001
		Kent Conwell November, 2000
		Carolyn Brown September, 2000
		Annette Mahon July, 2000
		Marjorie McGinley May, 2000
		Jack Lewis March, 2000
		Amanda Harte January, 2000
		Joyce and Jim Lavene November, 1999
	Return to the current Author! Author! interview:
		Sherry Lynn Ferguson August, 2008


Author! Author!: March, 2005
Click image above to learn more about this book. An Interview with Holly Jacobs


Where do you get ideas for plots?
	Ideas for stories, for plots, the settings, the characters, come from...well, just about anywhere and anything. A song on the radio, a snippet of a conversation, an article I read. The biggest tool for developing the idea is the question, What if? What if I had a radio station sponsoring a contest that involved a man versus a woman. What if they had to live in a truck and whoever stayed the longest won? What would prompt someone to do something so...well, odd? And what if, as the contest progressed, they fell in love? (The answer to all the above what-ifs is you’d have my first book for Avalon...Pickup Lines!)
How did you start writing?
	I’ve always been a reader. I was reading about Middle Earth, the Black Stallion and Trixie Belden in gradeschool, and can’t remember a time I didn’t have a book on hand. That love of reading was a natural stepping-stone to writing. Being able to create my own stories, and not rely on someone else’s vision, is a thrill that hasn’t dimmed, despite the fact I’ve written over twenty books.
What inspires you to write?
	Well, there’s the small fact that if I wasn’t a writer, then hearing voices in my head would probably make me a prime candidate for medication! Okay, that was a flippant answer. The real one probably goes something more like this... I truly have always had stories and characters floating around in my head, probably an offshoot of all the characters and stories I read about. Writing is a natural progression of that love of reading...and a good way to account for those people in my head (and not get medicated ).
What’s the hardest part of writing?
	The hardest part is ending a book. By the time I’ve written 200 or more pages of a story, I’m in love with those characters and I hate letting them go. Typing The-End just seems so...well, over. It’s one of the reasons I like doing series, such as my WLVH series for Avalon. I get to bring characters back for a quick hello and see what’s happening with them!
How do you develop your characters?
	Sometimes I have to work on it. Really discover who a particular character is. But most of the time, they’re just there...fully formed. I can see them and hear them—they’re real and three-dimensional to me from the get-go. Each day that I work on them, I know them even better...I don’t so much write them as much as they write themselves. (Yes, we’re back to that whole medication thing again! )
What can you tell us about your latest book for Avalon?
	In Pickup Lines there’s a girl, a guy...and a truck. Sparks fly when Mary and Ethan are competing for the truck WLVH is giving away. Maybe there’s more going on than just a bit of competition? Maybe there’s love? And in August, my second Avalon book, Lovehandles, will be released. It’s a sequel to Pickup Lines and features DJ’s Punch and Judy from WLVH. Maybe all the tension on-the-air is more than just an act...maybe it’s love? You can visit me at www.HollyJacobs.com for more information about either book.
When do you find time to write?
	Find time. That’s the operative phrase. As the mother of four, writing time doesn’t just appear, I have to find it, carve it out. Especially when I started writing and the kids were small. When I started, I wrote at night after everyone was in bed—wrote until I couldn’t keep my eyes open any longer. As they’ve grown, during the school year I can work school-hours. But during the summer I’m still “finding” time. I tend to get up very early and work a few hours before the rest of the house stirs. My mantra is, family first, writing second...dustbunnies are dead last on my priority list.
What do you do for fun – other than writing?
	Read. LOL I bet you guessed that would be on my answer list. I’m still a reader, though I don’t have as much time as I used to. I’m also frequently at various kids events. Sports, science fairs... for me that’s fun. Sunsets on the beach. Ah...now those are total joy for me. I write about Erie’s proximity to the lake and Presque Isle, our peninsula, in a lot of my books. You’ll find that Mary, in Pickup Lines, mentions it. It’s because it’s near and dear to my heart...definitely fun!