|  If
nothing else, the title of this month's Jen's
Jewels author's latest release
obviously hooked you and that's why you
are here. The Sex on the Beach Book
Club is not your ordinary, run
of the mill title for a book. Heck, imagine if
there really was a book club named that? Then
again, if you are looking to form a group, you
may want to consider it. Seriously though, if
nothing else, this month's author certainly
knows how to reel in her readers. Find this book in our catalog.
 I first met Jennifer Apodaca when she called in to my book club for an author
phone chat. We immediately hit it off and became e-mail friends. When Jen's
Jewels became a reality, one of the first people I asked to interview
was Jennifer. She enthusiastically agreed, but the column never made it to the
web site due to circumstances beyond my control. Jennifer never complained and
graciously waited until it was the right time. Finally, I am able to introduce
you to her.
What I like best about her books are her down-to-earth and believable characters.
They're not jet-setting to Paris or dining in England with the queen; however,
the mishaps and mayhem that they get embroiled in keep the reader coming back
for more. Quite simply, we all can relate to her stories, although I have to
say my book club doesn't have such a catchy name! Initially, I was hooked
on her Samantha Shaw series, but this new one is just
as exciting with a tough P.I. lead character named Holly who gives as well as
she takes. I guarantee you'll love her.
As part of the interview, Jennifer is giving away five autographed copies
of The Sex on the Beach Book Club! (Thank you so much,
Jen!) After reading my column, send me an e-mail with the correct answer to the
trivia question and you will win! It's that simple. Good luck!
It may be early in the day, but as Alan Jackson always says, it's five
o'clock somewhere. Go grab a cocktail, maybe even a Sex on the Beach, and
get to know Jennifer Apodaca.
Jen V: Please tell us a little bit about your
professional background.
JENNIFER A:
There's not a lot to tell unless
you want to know about when I worked at the dog
pound, or did health accounting for the county
Tuberculosis clinic or a few other assorted jobs!
I did go to college for a while when my kids
were small, but ultimately I chose to stay home
and write. I did take a lot of different classes
and workshops on writing. I think they helped,
but what ultimate prepares us for being an author,
is writing. Writing and rewriting to learn the
craft. And then learning to write through all
of life's joys and trials to make deadlines.
Jen V: At what
juncture in your life did you decide to become
an author? What finally made you take the plunge
and do it?
JENNIFER A.:
When my kids were small and my husband
was finishing up his masters degree. I was restless
and started night classes in college (my husband
took care of the kids, he's always been supportive).
I had always loved reading and had a secret desire
to write. I don't think I ever told anyone, not
even my husband. It somehow seemed silly to me.
But eventually college showed me that one of
my strengths was writing. When my sister gave
me her old computer, I gave it a try. I don't
think anyone expected that I would become so
determined!
Jen V.: How long did
it take for you to write your first book? After
completion, please tell us how you went about
getting it published.
JENNIFER A.:
I don't actually remember how long
it took me to write my first book but I'd guess
around nine months or a year. I had no idea what
I was doing. The first version of that book was
bad. I rewrote it many times and in the process
learned a great deal. It took me eight years,
five complete manuscripts and a few partials
to sell. What's interesting is that the first
four manuscripts were historical romances. I
loved them, but my writing voice is much stronger
in contemporary books. Also I was trying to write
straight romances, but somehow dead bodies kept
turning up. That was a major reason I kept getting
rejected. My husband, sister and mom pointed
these things out to me and eventually the light
went on. I wrote a mystery with a little romance
and sold. I was shocked.
These days, I'm writing
romantic mysteries. I just finished writing a
novella for an anthology titled SUN
SAND SEX that
is more romance than mystery, but it still has
mystery. I seem to need the added plot and action
in order to tell the story!
Jen V.: Please take us through your typical
writing day.
JENNIFER A.:
5:40 – Get up and stumble into the shower before I realize
what the heck I'm doing. Think of coffee. Sometimes I think of the gym
too. On a really good morning the gym wins out.
7:00 – Get youngest son off to school, have coffee and
maybe hit the gym.
9:00 – Read and answer email then pull up the file and
get started writing. Sometimes the writing just flows. Other days, I spend
more time checking email and blogs.
9:30—Shut down email and write.
9:45—Just a quick check of email.
10:15—How long have I been online? YIKES! I have to
write!
11:00 – Probably wondering why I've only written one
page on my book and twelve pages of various emails whining about writing.
Noon – Lunch, which means scrounging through the kitchen
wondering what to eat. Maybe unload the dishwasher and do a few chores. Try
to ignore cookies, but trust me, in a staring contest, the cookies ALWAYS win.
Coffee and chocolate are my two weaknesses.
1:15 – Back to work. Going to write pages so fast I'll
break records!
2:00 – Feeling desperate. Desperate enough to shut everything
out and just write. I start typing, and…
5:00 – Husband comes home and I'm surprised. Where did
the time go? And how did I get ten or fifteen pages done?
Seriously, my days vary. That's the beauty of
working at home—I get to set my own schedule.
I might do errands in the morning and work all
afternoon. I try to make evenings family time,
but I do occasionally work. Some days, I can
produce twenty pages and other days five pages
are a major chore.
The thing about choosing a career like writing
is that it's always going to require compromise.
I work around whatever is going on in my life.
I'm serious about my career, and I've
been known to snarl at the family when they forget
that I need to have time to work. Fortunately,
my family is very cooperative, and they also
remind me not to take myself too seriously. My
husband and each of my three sons have the ability
to make me laugh and remember why I always try
to put them first.
Jen V.: What is the most challenging part of
writing a romantic suspense and why?
JENNIFER A.:
Weaving the romance and suspense
(or mystery) so tightly that one cannot exist
without the other. The mystery is usually what
brings the characters together while it's the
emotional risks of the characters that keep the
readers turning pages. When the balance is right,
the reader doesn't even notice. When the balance
is off, the book feel clunky and slow paced.
Readers notice! And yet, hard as it is, it's
what I love doing!
Jen V.: To date, how many books have you had
published and which one is your favorite and
why?
JENNIFER A.: I have six books and one anthology
published. I'll have another anthology and book
out later this year. My favorite is a really
hard question! Each book represents something
different to me. Dating Can Be Murder was
my first and how do you ever top that? But the
second book, Dying to Meet You,
I started writing when my mom was really ill
and dying. Finishing that book was a personal
accomplishment, and it's also the time my husband
saw my struggling a little bit without my mom
to read the manuscript and give me feedback.
He gently offered to do it for me (in place of
my mom). I can't tell you how much that meant.
And after 20 years of marriage, I found out just
how creative my husband can be, he had fantastic
suggestions to help me with that book. I could
go on and on about each book. So I don't have
a favorite, but each book holds special memories.
Jen V.: Your latest release, The
Sex on the Beach Book Club, is
fantastic! How did you come up with the premise?
And how did you arrive at the title? Is it
your favorite drink?
JENNIFER A.:
Thank you so much, Jen! The premise
took a little time to come up with. I had Holly,
a tough PI, but a hero for her and a good plot
eluded me. Then I came up with a bookstore, a
murder and a bookstore owner with secrets of
his own. The sex on the beach drink (and not
the drink) just sort of arrived as I was writing
the story idea (synopsis) for my editor. The
title was my editor's idea. She is fantastic
at titles! As to the drink, I never even tasted
it until the book was finished! I tried it one
evening when my husband and I went to dinner.
Jen V.: In the Samantha
Shaw series as well as in this new one, your
female lead characters are very strong woman.
I just have to ask….are
they modeled after yourself or someone you know?
JENNIFER A.:
My characters are much braver than
I am! They really aren't modeled after anyone
I know. In the beginning, I have an idea of who
the characters are, but they really tend to take
on a life of their own as I write the book. I
think they are more the women I hope I could
be if I were in their circumstances. But the
truth is that they get out there and live, taking
risks and making mistakes, while I sit home and
write about it!
Jen V.: In The
Sex
on the Beach Book Club, your
lead male character encompasses all of the
right qualities…strong,
sexy, and vulnerable at times. How did you
come up with this character?
JENNIFER A.:
Ah, great question! It's never
easy for me. I start off with ideas, and
write several chapters. That's when I begin
to see what is and isn't working. There comes
a point where I feel like the characters
are talking to me—it's
a different point in every book. That's
when I go back and start layering in scenes to
reveal more about the characters. For Wes, I
wrote about a hundred pages and knew I was missing
something. Wes was too flat. I had to back track
and change his back story, give him someone he
loved that he was protecting, and make him lonely,
but strong enough to fight for what he wanted.
What he wanted was Holly. She had exactly what
he needed; loyalty, courage and she needed him
too. It's a really fine line to make a man strong
and sexy, but not an overbearing jerk.
Another
trick is to carefully match the hero with the
heroine. Because Holly was so strong and aggressive
in some ways, the reader wasn't worried about
her handling Wes. If the heroine had been shy
and timid, some of Wes's actions might have looked
more like bullying. But since he's essentially
meeting Holly's strength with his own, the reader
is comfortable with it (I hope!).
Jen V.: What do you like best about this book
and why?
JENNIFER A.:
There are a few things. I love Holly's
brothers. They are on her side no matter what,
but they tease her endlessly. Much like my brothers,
I suppose. Holly loves her brothers, even though
she's a bit wounded and covers it up with a chip
on her shoulder, she adores her brothers and
will do anything for them. That's the reason
readers know she's capable of love, just leery.
I really like the way Wes and Holly bring out
each other's strengths, and they learn to trust
each other in a very poignant way. Both these
characters touched me. They are heartbreakingly
vulnerable but still strong.
As the author, I have way too much fun tormenting
the characters too. I get to put then in humorous,
or dangerous, or emotionally charged situations
and force them to find their way out.
Jen V.: Of all the
books you have written, which one is your absolute
favorite and why? And who is your favorite
character and why?
JENNIFER A.:
I've already mentioned that I don't
have an absolute favorite book. Character? Hmm,
one character that will always have a special
place in my heart is Grandpa from the Samantha
Shaw series. My father died when
I was thirteen and I never really had a grandfather.
So when I developed that series, I decided to
put just a little bit of my dad (whom I still
miss to this day) in there, and I mixed that
with the grandfather I always wished for. It
was pure fantasy to create Grandpa! He's a retired
magician who always has something up his sleeve,
he's crafty, and he adores Samantha and her boys.
Otherwise it's always the book and the characters
I'm working on that's my favorite.
Jen V.: Now that you have many books published,
in what area of your writing have you experienced
the most growth and why?
JENNIFER A.:
This is a tough question,
but I think the answer is that experience has
honed my instincts. That allows me to spot looming
problems quicker and have a better grasp of what
will work. Otherwise, I'd say I have a better
grasp on constructing a mystery and that I trust
my writing voice more. I let my voice tell the
story, not a thesaurus!
Jen V.: What has surprised you most about the
publishing business? And if you knew then what
you know now, would you have done anything differently
in your career?
JENNIFER A.:
Surprised me, hmm. Because I worked
for so long to publish I had a pretty good idea
of what it would be like. I think the fact that
editors and agents are really very nice human
beings is one thing. They have to reject people,
but they don't like doing it any more than authors
like being rejected. It's just business.
There are probably dozens of things that I'd
do differently had I known then what I know now.
But one thing that sticks in my head was when
I turned down a contract for an anthology with
a New York Times Bestseller. Simple fear got
in my way. I had a book due soon and was afraid
I couldn't manage writing both by their due dates.
But it was such a great opportunity I probably
should have made the time. I'm very lucky that
I was offered the chance again with another New
York Times Best Seller and this time I said YES.
Live and learn!
Jen V.: What advice would you give to someone
contemplating becoming an author?
JENNIFER A.:
You really need to love writing
and have a deep drive to do it. It's the thing
that really surprised me about myself. No matter
how many rejections I got, and how many times
I swore I was done beating my head against a
wall, I kept writing. I just couldn't stop.
That's the drive you need to make it in publishing.
My second piece of advice is to just write.
The writing is the ONLY thing you truly have
control over in this business. Rejection and
judgment (reviews) are part of the business.
You have to learn to tune that out and write.
Jen V.: Of all of the famous authors you have
met, who has impressed you the most and why?
JENNIFER A.:
Dean Koontz springs to mind because
he was such a nice, genuine and generous man.
I'd read his books for years, then when my brother-in-law
broke his neck and was in bed traction (he's
fine now) we traded Dean Koontz books and passed
time discussing them. Years later, I was the
co-president of my local RWA chapter and Dean
Koontz came to speak. I was so thrilled. That
day we had over 200 people attending our meeting.
So I'm standing with my co-president talking
about some business or other, and I looked up.
There's Dean Koontz, walking in by himself, looking
like any other man. He did a fabulous talk. Our
chapter had used his talk to raise money for
the Women's Transitional Center. Just by agreeing
to come to the meeting, Dean allowed us to raise
quite a bit of money. When we presented the check
to the Women's Transitional Center, Dean immediately
stepped up and said, "My wife and I would
like to match the donation." We were surprised
and the center was delighted and touched by the
gesture. Dean stayed until every single book
was signed and every picture was taken, being
gracious until the end. He really impressed me.
I've met so many authors who are wonderful people
and have become friends! I can't possibly name
them all, and of course, I would be mortified
if I forgot someone!
Jen V.: What are reading now? What is your all-time
favorite book and why?
JENNIFER A.:
I just finished Laura Lippman's
BY A SPIDER'S THREAD. I don't have an all time
favorite book. I love so many books! How could
I possibly pick?
Jen V.: What is the best perk about being an
author?
JENNIFER A.:
Getting to do what I love
to do. I feel blessed that way. I'm surprised
everyday that I get to write stories and call
it a job. There are a lot of headaches and stresses
in the work, but I still get to tell stories
for a living and that makes it all worthwhile
And my readers! I wouldn't have a job without
them!
Jen V.: Any new projects in the works?
JENNIFER A.:
I have the SUN SAND SEX anthology
with Linda Lael Miller coming out in June 2007.
I was so honored to be asked to be in that
anthology with her! I read her before I really
imagined becoming an author myself! And in
November 2007 I'll have another full length
romantic mystery out called EXTREMELY HOT.
I'm still working on that book so I'm afraid
to say too much about it.
Jen V.: Do you have a web site? A blog? A mailing
list? A fan club?
JENNIFER A.:
My website is www.jenniferapodaca.com
Jen V.: Thank you so much for your time, your
continued support of my column, and most importantly
your friendship. I wish you only the best for
your future.
JENNIFER A.:
Thank you, Jen! It's always a pleasure
to chat with you!
I hope you have enjoyed my interview with Jennifer.
The first five people to e-mail me at jensjewels@gmail.com with
the correct answer to the following trivia question
will win an autographed copy of her book! Good
luck!
What is the name of the lead character
in The Sex on the Beach Book Club?
The books are gone! This month's winners are Angie
H., Carrie S., Jenny C., Chris F., and Toni G.
Next month, I will be interviewing Elaine Viets,
author of High Heels are Murder and
contributor to the highly popular blog, The
Lipstick Chronicles. You won't want to miss it.
Happy St. Patrick's Day……Jen |
Meet
the Author: featuring Jen's Jewels