Make Believe Blog Tour: An Interview with Contributing Author, Jennifer M. Eaton

Through the end of December I will be featuring interviews with the contributing authors of the Make Believe anthology published by J. Taylor Publishing as well as a full review of the anthology on December 11th.

Our first guest as part of the Blog Tour is Jennifer M. Eaton and her story, Last Winter Red. Since I am posting a full review of the anthology next week, I will refrain from offering any tidbits about the story at this point, but I will say that Ms. Eaton’s tale was one of my favorites in the book. For more, you will just have to stop in on the 11th and see the full review.

For now, you will have to content yourself with getting to know the author a bit better through my little interview with her.

First off, thanks so much for coming by the blog and letting me pick your brain a bit. It’s great having you here.

Rebecca: Let’s start with the writing process. Do you have any writing rituals or special processes you complete before sitting down to write?

Jennifer: Nope.  I just sit down and write the dern thing.  Well, that might not be completely true.  I usually read the last three or four pages that I wrote the day before, just to get myself back into the story, and then I just let it rock!  It seems to work pretty well for me.

Rebecca: If you could only write in one genre for the rest of your career, what genre would you choose? Why?

Jennifer: Fantasy.  No, Let’s call it “Speculative Fiction”  That is my baby.  I love speculative fiction.  I write new worlds for the sheer joy of it.  I love creating new things.  To me, the everyday is mundane.  I can get “the everyday” by going to work.  Writing is escapism for me, and where better to escape than a world of your own making?

Rebecca: What music was on your playlist while writing your novel?

Jennifer: I usually listen to soundtrack music.  It helps get me into a vibe of writing something good enough for the big screen!  Ha!  Actually, my favorite thing to listen to is the soundtrack from the first Transformers movie.  There’s some really exciting stuff in there that paces me well for my typing… and no words, which helps me from being distracted.

Rebecca: Morning person or grumpy bear?

Jennifer: Oh!  I am definitely a grumpy bear in the morning.  Which is a pain, because Hubby is a morning person.  In my view, if God wanted me up at 6 AM, he would have made it light out year round… Ya know what I’m saying?  I’m a night owl.  I will work late into the evening – sometimes past 2 AM and sleep late when I can.

Rebecca: What is next for you?

Jennifer: Oh!  I’m having such a  great time right now!  As you know, this is part of the blog tour for the Make Believe Anthology, which features my story Last Winter Red.  Today is also the release day for another anthology I am in called “For the Love of Christmas”  which contains my story Connect the Dots.  The Sequel to Connect the Dots, “A Test of Faith” will be Available in early January 2013 from Still Moments Publishing. I also have a poetic short in the “Tall Tales and Short Stories from South Jersey” Anthology. I’ve been a busy bee!  Next year, I’m hoping to publish two works in progress.  “Une Variante” which is a paranormal novella, and part one of a series.  I’m also finishing up a Young Adult Sci-Fi Urban Fantasy called Fire in the Woods.

Rebecca: Coke or Pepsi?

Jennifer: Ummm I really don’t drink the stuff.  I’m a Gatorade girl myself.  My daily drinks are decaf tea in the morning, Gatorade for lunch, Milk for dinner, more Gatorade while I’m writing, and water before I go to bed.  I will, though, drink some Ginger Ale or caffeine free Pepsi if I’m sick to my stomach. Otherwise I just steer away from the bubbly stuff.

Rebecca: If I were to look in your closet right now, would I find frills and lace or demin and tees?

Jennifer: Actually a little bit of both.  Well, you won’t find my tee shirts in my closet – they are in a drawer.  I’m a bit of a rough and tough girl.  I’m jeans and tees as a rule, but I love really heavy crochet-like lace.  You’ll find a plethora of styles  in my wardrobe, from the downright lame, to outrageous.  I dress to my mood… or to match what I’m doing that day. –Lace does not go well when you’re grooming your dog. 🙂

Rebecca: If you were only allowed to eat one dessert for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Jennifer: Chocolate, or Chocolate covered chocolate. Does that constitute as a dessert?  Or maybe a chocolate volcano cake with mint chocolate chip ice cream and hot fudge slathered all over it.  **SIGH** I’m hungry now.  Any more questions?

Rebecca:  Zombies or Vampires? Why?  Those are my only two choices?  Can I pick neither? I really don’t get the whole zombie thing.  Maybe I should actually read a zombie book, but I really have no desire.  I kind of get the vampire thing… it’s sort of classic, you know?  But in the end, I think a good dragon would be able to take them both out.  That’s what we need!  A book about a zombie and vampire eating dragon! Oh!  How about me riding the dragon, and taking out a vampire/zombie army.  Yay!  I get to ride a dragon! Wahoo!

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Now that you know a bit about the author, let’s take a peek at her story, Last Winter Red.

BLURB: Emily is a Red, a woman whose sole purpose in life is to produce offspring. When her husband dies and leaves her childless, she risks her life and forsakes the safety of Terra—a disease-free city born after the nuclear holocaust. Beyond its boundaries, she knows, survives a man with whom she can be properly paired.

The Outside, though, holds secrets the government struggles to keep, and what Emily discovers on her quest for a mate will change her life forever.

Author Bio: Jennifer Eaton lives on the East Coast USA with her husband, three boys, and a pepped up poodle.  She hosts an interactive website www.jennifermeaton.com aimed at making all writers the best they can be.

Her Dystopian novelette “Last Winter Red” is available as part of the “Make Believe” Anthology from J.Taylor Publishing.  Her Christmas Romance “Connect the Dots” is available as part of Still Moments publishing’s “For the Love of Christmas” Anthology.  Both are available in ebook format from Amazon.com and Barnesandnoble.com and Smashwords

Stalking Links: 

Twitter:  @jennifermeaton

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5832197.Jennifer_M_Eaton

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/jennifer.m.eaton.3

Web:  www.jennifereaton.com

Blog: http://www.jennifermeaton.com/