Spotlight Saturday: Exclusive Interview with A.L. Jackson!!!
♥ Interview with A.L. Jackson ♥
It’s no secret that A.L. Jackson is one of my favorite authors! Her books evoke such strong emotions, completely and totally gripping me with her complex characters and her tragic and honest storylines. Her poetic writing style is unique and captivating and I certainly CANNOT wait to hear more about Christian and Elizabeth and of course, get to know and love Jared and Aleena. She was wonderful enough to answer some of my questions recently, so check it out!
| Q | You are well-known for your writing style—words that bleed emotion, heartache and want. Your style evokes deep connection with your characters. Tell us about your process, you approach to writing. |
| A | My writing process is very… slow. Like, really slow I spend a lot of time thinking about the way I want to word something and how to portray how each character would feel or look or react in every moment. I typically will get the basics down and go back and layer in thoughts and emotions. |
| Q | Your books have been epic, heart-felt romances. Do you have anything planned diverging from that style? |
| A | I hope not. I did try to lighten Lost to You a little bit because I’d always imagined that period in Christian and Elizabeth’s life was really carefree… but still I ended up with quite a bit of angst. It’s just what naturally comes out when I write, so I can’t imagine being able to or wanting to write anything different. |
| Q | You share these great, quick writing tips on Twitter. Based on your experience, what advice would you give to aspiring writers? |
| A | Hmmm… it seems like the most important ones seem the most cliché, but I really believe in them. The first is if this is your passion and truly what you want to do, don’t give up. This business is hard. I’ve shed a lot of tears because it hurts when someone publically tears you down. It’s hard when you miss a goal. It’s hard to be overlooked and rejected. But I love it and I wouldn’t want to do anything else, so I have to remind myself of this each day.The second and probably just as important is to find a critique partner you trust… it’s miserable writing a book by yourself, without support. Constructive critique and just the all-around support of a fellow author is vital. |
| Q | Tell us a little more about Come To Me Quietly. |
| A | I’m actually really, really excited about this book. The characters, Jared and Aleena, have been with me for a long time. They’re an adaption from another series I was doing that I’ve shelved for the time being, and it’s been such a great experience bringing them to life. Come To Me Quietly should be just as emotional as the other books I’ve written, but it’s a little different in the fact that we’re able to be with the characters throughout the story and watch them grow together. In all of my other stand-alones, there was always a separation and the couple working out a way to get back together. In CTMQ, we get to watch them fall in love and experience all the hardships they have to face while they’re together. It’s made the book a lot more active, which I’m very excited about and I hope everyone will really enjoy. And man… Jared Holt just completely taken my mind hostage. I’m not sure I’ve ever loved a character as much as him. |
| Q | What inspired you to write this book? |
| A | The original series I was writing was paranormal (oh yeah, I hope to get back to this one day), and I felt like I wanted to do a contemporary/new adult romance with these characters. The two of them were just too intense for the paranormal. I sat down and thought about the transition from one book to the other… what would their situations be to keep their personalities the same? It pretty much just fell all together because the characters were already so clear in my mind. |
| Q | I know that you typically write standalones. Will CTMQ be a standalone as well or will the story continue? |
| A | CTMQ is planned out as a series. Originally it was going to focus on some of the supporting characters, but now that I’ve gotten so far into it, I’m not sure I’m going to be finished telling Aly and Jared’s story. Don’t worry… no cliffhangers here! |
| Q | What’s next? What can we look forward to? |
| A | Once I finish Come To Me Quietly, I’m hoping to start on the sequel to Take This Regret, and also work on some special outtakes during the period between Lost to You and Take This Regret that will be posted on my blog… all in Christian’s point of view. Those should be fun 🙂 I’ll also be starting on the next in the Closer Series, the sequel to CTMQ. |
♥ Getting to Know A.L. Jackson ♥
| Favorite classic book | Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell |
| Favorite poem | If You Forget Me by Pablo Neruda |
| Favorite recent book | Hopeless by Colleen Hoover and From Ashes by Molly McAdams |
| Next book to read | If You Stay by Courtney Cole |
| Hobbies | Reading (shocking, right?), running, and hanging out with my girls over a couple of drinks and laughs. Oh, and towel origami. |
| Tell us something that would surprise us | This one is kind of funny…or maybe it’s not funny at all, but I laugh in emergency situations. Someone could be choking to death, and I would be laughing. It must be some kind of survival mechanism! |
If you didn’t catch it, make sure to read the latest announcement by A.L. Jackson here!
And don’t forget to enter the AWESOME giveaway!!!!
- Lost To You: My review / Kindle download / NOOK Book / Add to Goodreads
- Take This Regret: My review / Kindle download / NOOK Book / Add to Goodreads
- When We Collide: My review / Kindle download / NOOK Book / Add to Goodreads
- Pulled: Kindle download / NOOK Book / Add to Goodreads
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