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To: karenfindoutaboutnewbooks@yahoogroups.com From: "karen simpson" Date:
Sat, 03 Jan 2004 23:29:33 -0000 Subject: [karennewbooks] This month we are talking with Janet Elaine Smith!
This
month we are talking with Janet Elaine Smith!
Hi Janet, Welcome to Karen Find Out About New Books, I'd like to thank
you for taking the time out of your schedule to answer a few questions.
How Long did it take you to get your
first book published?
25 years. I got the best darn rejection letters you ever saw. I even "made it" into a Berkley
series, got the contract and everything. Then they canceled the whole imprint! Just my luck. In the meantime, I kept
writing--more books, and lots of magazine work. I still make more money on my magazine writing than I do on my books,
but at least that way when my books came out people knew who I was!
How did you feel the day your book was
released?
My first book out was DUNNOTTAR, a Scottish historical romance. When I got the phone call I thought
I had arrived. Then when I got the contract, I was sure I had arrived. Then I got the proofs, and I thought "This
is it!" It was, until I got the first copy of the book. I knew that was success. But the REAL proof came the day I was
in a local bookstore and somebody that I didn't know at all came in, asked for my book and bought it! The clerk motioned
for me to come over to autograph it. That's the day I KNEW I WAS AN AUTHOR!
Do you have a writing schedule?
Yeah,
I make sure I write on my books or magazines at least an hour in the morning and an hour at night. On the weekends I do
quite a bit more than that. I also have to spend a lot of time on marketing, something I had never done before and
didn't know you had to do, but it is paying off.
What are some of your hobbies?
Not as many as I used to
have. I guess my primary one any more is "talking" with all of you on the internet and e-groups. I spend way more
time on that than I should. I also play the piano, organ, and the accordion. I played the accordion for weddings and funerals
during the 9 years we were missionaries in Venezuela. I used to carry it on top of my head.
Have you ever
had writer's block? If so, what have you done to get through it?
Fortunately, no. My brain keeps writing at
night when I should be sleeping. I have about 50 books in my head, just waiting to be written. It doesn't allow for
writers block. I think if I ever did have trouble with it, I would probably find it helpful to go back and read some
of my previous books to see what had worked.
Are you working on any projects right now?
Oh, man! That
makes me tired just thinking about it. I write regularly for 9 magazine and/or newspaper columns--for every issue. The
trouble with magazine writing is that as soon as you finish with one issue, it's time to start over for the next issue.
Fortunately, most of them are bi-monthlies. That helps a lot.
As far as my books, I am working on TUESDAY NOLAN,
the second book in my Women of the Week Series. MONDAY KNIGHT was the first one, and it has done very well. Each of
the 7 women will be named for the day of the week on which they were born, and their entire life will revolve around
that line from the old poem, "Monday's child is fair of face..." So, Tuesday Nolan is a real Southern Belle who runs a
finishing school for young girls in Charleston, SC. "Tuesday's child is full of grace..." At least she is until a
very unexpected "bum" shows up--and he has more than just a little mystery to him.
What stories do you have
out now?
I have 11 books out. DUNNOTTAR, MARYLEBONE, PAR FOR THE COURSE, IN ST. PATRICK'S CUSTODY, RECIPE FOR
MURDER, HOUSE CALL TO THE PAST, MY DEAR PHEBE, AND THEY CALLED HER GENERAL LEIGH, MONDAY KNIGHT, A CHRISTMAS DREAM
and A LUMBERJACK CHRISTMAS. I hope to have 4 more out this year.
How can your readers contact you?
janetelainesmith@yahoo.com
. I love to hear from readers. It is almost as good as a royalty check--sometimes even better!
What is your
web site addy?
www.janetelainesmith.com
Who are your favorite authors?
That's impossible to answer,
there are so many. Of course there are the long-time favorites like Mary Higgins Clark, Bertrice Small, Deb Stover,
Millie Criswell, oh, so many. What is amazing is that I have gotten to "know" all of them through this wonderful machine.
Bertrice even sends me marital advice! LOL
But there are so many new ones out, too. Kristie Leigh Maguire is fantastic,
as is Melissa James, and I am reading Denise Fleischer's first book--and it's great. It seems like there somebody new
and good popping up almost every day.
How long have you been writing?
I started writing in 1971,
when we came back from Venezuela. I wanted to write all the things that had happened to us so I wouldn't forget them.
By the time I finished that, I was "hooked."
Do you have any thing to add?
I guess the question I get
asked the most is why I write in so many different genres. I do historical, contemporary and time travel romances,
"cozy" mystery, and I have one historical young adult book out. I love to read all different types of books, so it just
seems natural to me to write them, too.
If anybody asked me what is the best--and the worst part of being an author,
the best part is hearing from people whose lives you have touched with your words. The worst is the marketing, but I am
learning to have fun with that even.
Basically, if you want to write, don't do it to get rich and famous; do
it because you love to do it. I never imagined it was possible to have as much fun as I'm having. If life keeps getting
better, hey, count me in for the ride!
Janet thank you so much! Karen Karen Find Out About New Books! http://groups.yahoo.com/group/karenfindoutaboutnewbooks
![open-bible.jpeg](sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/open-bible.jpeg)
A great book is like a great mind; it keeps on giving
over and over and over again!
Check Janet's books out here.
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