I'm delighted to have Jessica Scott here today. I've read two of her stories and they were wonderful. She's out and about this month touring on behalf of her new short story, "
Anything for You". It's a beautiful, gut-wrenching love story that shows why she is such a good writer. She's also written two full length novels; all three stories are part of her Coming Home series. She also recently published "To Iraq and Back", a non-fiction collection of posts from her blog concerning her 2009 service in Iraq.
Jessica is a career army officer, mother of two daughters, three cats and three dogs, wife to a career NCO and wrangler of all things stuffed and fluffy. She is a terrible cook and even worse housekeeper, but she's a pretty good shot with her assigned weapon and someone liked some of the stuff she wrote. Somehow, her children are pretty well adjusted and her husband still loves her, despite burned water and a messy house.
She's written for the New York Times At War Blog, PBS Point of View Regarding War, and IAVA. She deployed to Iraq in 2009 as part of OIF/New Dawn and recently stepped down as company commander at Fort Hood.
Oprah has called her.
True story.
Her debut novel "Because Of You" launched Loveswept, the first Random House digital imprint.
More recently, she's been featured as one of Esquire Magazine's Americans of the Year for 2012.
Find Jessica online:
Goodreads
Okay, grab a drink, use the facilities, and get cozy; Jess and I had lots to chat about. :)
Bea: Please tell us a little about your
new release, "Anything For You".
Jessica: Anything
For You is a short story about Shane & Jen from Because of You. They
got together when both of them were vulnerable: Shane healing from
injuries sustained in combat, Jen healing from breast cancer. Fast forward
a year and we get a little glimpse into their HEA.
Bea: Why writing? Would you continue to write if you were no longer
published?
Jessica: Yes, I would keep writing because the voice in my head would make
me. I love writing. It’s something I do for me and I get to explore big
questions.
Bea: What’s coming up next for you with
your writing? Are you working on your next book? Can you tell us a little
about it?
Jessica: I’m
finishing up Laura & Trent’s story in "Back To You" and Reza’s story in
"Come Home To Me". After that, I’m taking a different route and writing
something completely not romance. It’s really dark and I’m kind of loving
it! (Oooo, I wanna know more! ~ Bea)
Bea: Any plans to write a romance that
isn’t military? What about other genres? You’ve done romance and memoir,
what’s next?
Jessica: Next up is
a dark fiction. That’s all I can really say about it b/c it’s a sekret,
lol!
Bea: Why romance? What do you like
about it?
Jessica: I love
that romance is about relationships on all levels. After all, everything
we do is about relationships. If more people remembered that, maybe the
world would be a little bit nicer to live.
Bea: Like many authors, you juggle
writing and all that entails, and a day job. How do you manage that? Do
they ever conflict?
Jessica: They don’t
conflict but they do take a lot of time. This weekend, I allowed myself to
just sit on the couch and watch the super bowl and surf twitter. It was
the first time I’d allowed myself to just sit and chill out in a long,
long time.
Bea: You mentioned once that your
co-workers don’t know about your writing. How have you kept them separate?
Do you anticipate ever sharing with them?
Jessica: No, I
don’t anticipate sharing them. I write under a pen name because when I’m
at work, the military is the focus. I don’t have time for someone asking
me about getting published or to read their manuscript. We’ve got a job to
do, you know?
Bea: Does your family read your books?
What do they think?
Jessica: Mom, yes,
everyone else, no. Mom is a big supporter!
Bea: What is your favorite part of
writing?
Jessica: Honestly?
I love revising. I absolutely love seeing the raw material transition to
something readable.
Bea: When you write, do you outline or
just wing it?
Jessica: I’ve
started outlining and writing synopsis. I find it helps tremendously to know
where a story needs to head. It keeps my good idea fairy under control,
lol!
Bea: You recently published "To Iraq and Back", a collection of blog posts about your deployment to Iraq in 2009.
What prompted you to publish this book? Have you gotten any flack for it?
Jessica: I’ve been
really surprised by the support for To Iraq and Back! It spent almost 5
weeks on the Amazon top 100 for military biographies - paid! I was so
flattered and surprised.
I’d
decided to publish it because there were lots of folks who weren’t along
for the ride when it first started out. And because my time in Iraq has
influenced my writing so heavily, I figured I’d package it for people who
were interested to see.
Bea: Do you see yourself leaving the
military to write full-time? What are your dreams for both careers?
Jessica: I’d love
to command a battalion in the army but that’s a long way down the road.
And honestly, I’d like to just keep writing. Eventually, my dream is for
my husband and I to be retired and to travel around the country with him
fishing bass tournaments and me writing, living out of an RV. I think that
sounds awesome.
Bea: Do you prefer ebooks or print, or do
you enjoy both?
Jessica: I enjoy
both but I’m forced to admit that most of my reading is done on my ipad
these days. It’s just so much easier to read on that while I’m working
out. But I still buy print books for my keeper shelf so it makes me sad
when books are only digital.
Bea: If you could be a character in any
book – lead, villain, sidekick, etc – who would you be and why?
Jessica: I’m the
lead, except that I have to say, I make a really good sidekick, lol!
Bea: You’ve been published traditionally
and you’ve self-published. Do you have a preference? Will you do more
self-publishing?
Jessica: Honestly, there are strengths and
weaknesses to both self publishing and traditional publishing. I don’t think my
self publishing would be as strong had it not been for being traditionally
published. It all depends on where an author is and what their goals are,
honestly. Yes, I do see me doing more self publishing.
Bea: Does your family read your books?
What do they think?
Jessica: Mom, yes,
everyone else, no. Mom is a big supporter!
Bea: I know you’ve been busy applying to
graduate school; what will you be studying?
Jessica: I’m going
for sociology - hopefully - if I get accepted!
Now for some fill in the blank questions:
- The first book you ever loved was:
Dragonflight by Anne McCaffrey
- My perfect day is: a day on the
lake fishing with my husband
- My guilty pleasure is: lounging
around a bookstore
- My favorite meal is: Mellow
Mushroom Pizza (I'm not sure what this is but I'm intrigued! ~ Bea)
- Books are important because: they
are the transmission of our culture, they allow us to escape and the offer
us hope
- My favorite book is: oh wow, there
are too many to name
- The book or author that inspired
me to write is: I honestly cannot remember, I’ve been doing this for so
long,lol!
- The best advice I’ve ever
received was: life is all about relationships. Remember that.
- The authors, dead or living, that
I’d most like to have dinner with are: Anne McCaffrey or Chuck Wendig.
Because Anne is someone I look up to and Chuck just seems like a really
funny guy
- My dream man is: don’t roll your eyes but my
husband: he’s funny, he makes me laugh when I want to cry, he’s sexy as
hell and he’s a good dad. (Awwww, that's sweet; he's a lucky man. ~ Bea)
Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions and best of luck with
“Anything for You”.
Thanks so much for having me Bea!
*****************************************************************************
Jessica is giving away a digital copy of "
ANYTHING FOR YOU" as well as Shane & Jen’s first story "
BECAUSE OF YOU" to one lucky commenter! Just leave a comment below; giveaway ends 11:59PM EST on Feb. 28th. I'll use Random.org to choose a winning comment. Please read my
Giveaway Policy.
