Ask the Author: Jessica Mandella
Answered Questions (7)
Jessica Mandella
I've gotten this question several times, so I figured I'd answer it here.
I have a heart for healing the rifts, wherever they may be. How many times do you hear of women trying out Sapphic relations in college, yet not so much the men? How many times do you see society accepting, not even blinking, when women hug and kiss, yet not so much the men? When's the last time you saw hetero Jack running off to the rest room with hetero Chuck? People are used to seeing butch, feminist women in places of business and academia, and that's perfectly fine with me. In fact I'm thrilled. I'm as fiercely feminist as they come, and I can be a real bad-ass bitch when I need to be. Strong women are generally accepted, yet highly sensitive individuals born with outies instead of innies are still thought most commonly to simply be gay. They've only just now added the T in LGBT, and sadly, many Cisters are still treating TransLesbians almost as untouchables. I've been building awareness of these issues, and by now the pendulum is finally swinging again in the opposite direction. I'm working on a book about a TransGender man living in apparently a hot woman's body, who's pissed off at the glass ceiling at work where they only see his big boobs and give him menial tasks like fetching coffee. He says he ought to wear his strap-on to work so they'd take him seriously. I tend to defend the oppressed, whoever they are. So yeah, I have a heart for them. And I definitely have a heart for you as an individual. Stay tuned for a new gender definition coming up in a new book called 'Church Work'. No spoilers.
I have a heart for healing the rifts, wherever they may be. How many times do you hear of women trying out Sapphic relations in college, yet not so much the men? How many times do you see society accepting, not even blinking, when women hug and kiss, yet not so much the men? When's the last time you saw hetero Jack running off to the rest room with hetero Chuck? People are used to seeing butch, feminist women in places of business and academia, and that's perfectly fine with me. In fact I'm thrilled. I'm as fiercely feminist as they come, and I can be a real bad-ass bitch when I need to be. Strong women are generally accepted, yet highly sensitive individuals born with outies instead of innies are still thought most commonly to simply be gay. They've only just now added the T in LGBT, and sadly, many Cisters are still treating TransLesbians almost as untouchables. I've been building awareness of these issues, and by now the pendulum is finally swinging again in the opposite direction. I'm working on a book about a TransGender man living in apparently a hot woman's body, who's pissed off at the glass ceiling at work where they only see his big boobs and give him menial tasks like fetching coffee. He says he ought to wear his strap-on to work so they'd take him seriously. I tend to defend the oppressed, whoever they are. So yeah, I have a heart for them. And I definitely have a heart for you as an individual. Stay tuned for a new gender definition coming up in a new book called 'Church Work'. No spoilers.
Jessica Mandella
What's that?
Seriously, it's like prayer. John Wimber once said, a bit tongue in cheek, that if you can't pray, talk to God about it. The same is true about writing. Prophecy is not talking for God. It's listening to God. Imagine a romantic date where the bride never shuts up, always yacking at the bridegroom, never listening to him. When it comes to writing, paying too much attention to the world is like always talking. Let the well-water come up within you, from deep within. The first step in knowing your heart is allowing your brain to recognize that it's due for an update from within, from your spirit. Relax. Breathe. Don't even try to clear your mind. Just shift into neutral. If you're afraid of hearing the wrong voices, pray about that, then trust Great Spirit that He heard you. You may find yourself weeping. Sometimes we run from our emotions. Let them out. Writing can be more personal than sex. That's why some write steamy stuff, to get more intimate. Let it happen. Let it out.
Seriously, it's like prayer. John Wimber once said, a bit tongue in cheek, that if you can't pray, talk to God about it. The same is true about writing. Prophecy is not talking for God. It's listening to God. Imagine a romantic date where the bride never shuts up, always yacking at the bridegroom, never listening to him. When it comes to writing, paying too much attention to the world is like always talking. Let the well-water come up within you, from deep within. The first step in knowing your heart is allowing your brain to recognize that it's due for an update from within, from your spirit. Relax. Breathe. Don't even try to clear your mind. Just shift into neutral. If you're afraid of hearing the wrong voices, pray about that, then trust Great Spirit that He heard you. You may find yourself weeping. Sometimes we run from our emotions. Let them out. Writing can be more personal than sex. That's why some write steamy stuff, to get more intimate. Let it happen. Let it out.
Jessica Mandella
Intimacy. Love me. Read me. Know my heart. Please.
Jessica Mandella
This is a multi-part answer:
Content:
Write from your own heart, even if others are on your heart. If you can't be you then what's the point anyway? I always say the best formula for writing is truth serum. There's truth in you waiting to get out. It's more real than this shared dream we call reality. As aspects of your dreams, your characters seem to have a life of their own. Let them breathe. Give them room. Assume you don't know what they'll do next as you write. Surprise yourself.
Format:
Use contractions whenever possible. Read your writing out loud to yourself. If it doesn't sound like someone would talk, consider revising it. Watch your 'crutch-words'. Those are the words you use so many times it becomes noticeable to everyone but you. Grab and use my Crutch Words Counter from Romance Is Not Sin dot com. Use shorter sentences, and less adverbs. Buy a program called Hemingway. I don't make it, but I use it. Have it running along side Word. When you make a change in Hemingway, make the same change in Word. That way you don't have to worry about formatting the results. Your document is always up to date.
WorldView/MultiVerse:
When you start a universe and describe it, be true to it. Be consistent. Let your readers fall into your dream world completely, with every book fitting into the same overall concept. There's an unspoken agreement with your readers to allow all your books to carry many of the same attributes. You know that's who you are anyway, so allow it. That doesn't mean you can't have various kinks/tropes. In fact, each book may have many.
Faith/Spirituality:
Let's face it, you're not a human brain with a spirit. You're a human spirit with a brain. Your characters are complete beings, including mind, emotions, body and spirit...just like you. You can say a lot by what you don't say, what they don't happen to do, what they don't happen to worry about. More is caught than taught. Let your liberty shine through.
Content:
Write from your own heart, even if others are on your heart. If you can't be you then what's the point anyway? I always say the best formula for writing is truth serum. There's truth in you waiting to get out. It's more real than this shared dream we call reality. As aspects of your dreams, your characters seem to have a life of their own. Let them breathe. Give them room. Assume you don't know what they'll do next as you write. Surprise yourself.
Format:
Use contractions whenever possible. Read your writing out loud to yourself. If it doesn't sound like someone would talk, consider revising it. Watch your 'crutch-words'. Those are the words you use so many times it becomes noticeable to everyone but you. Grab and use my Crutch Words Counter from Romance Is Not Sin dot com. Use shorter sentences, and less adverbs. Buy a program called Hemingway. I don't make it, but I use it. Have it running along side Word. When you make a change in Hemingway, make the same change in Word. That way you don't have to worry about formatting the results. Your document is always up to date.
WorldView/MultiVerse:
When you start a universe and describe it, be true to it. Be consistent. Let your readers fall into your dream world completely, with every book fitting into the same overall concept. There's an unspoken agreement with your readers to allow all your books to carry many of the same attributes. You know that's who you are anyway, so allow it. That doesn't mean you can't have various kinks/tropes. In fact, each book may have many.
Faith/Spirituality:
Let's face it, you're not a human brain with a spirit. You're a human spirit with a brain. Your characters are complete beings, including mind, emotions, body and spirit...just like you. You can say a lot by what you don't say, what they don't happen to do, what they don't happen to worry about. More is caught than taught. Let your liberty shine through.
Jessica Mandella
A sequel to DreamWalker entitled 'DreamBabes'. It picks up right where DreamWalker leaves off. If I told you any more, it would be a spoiler.
Jessica Mandella
That varies. Sometimes I fall into compassion for someone real, sometimes in dreams. DreamWalking is no joke. Sometimes the characters ask politely, sometimes they are more persistent, about being shared with this world in a book. Ultimately it becomes a question of: where does creativity come from? Isn't it the nature of life, the nature of the DreamWeaver who writes this steamy romance we call our lives?
Jessica Mandella
It came to me while writing others. My characters in other books would attribute their romantic liberty to reading a hot romance novel by an author character named Little Miss Muff. They mention a liberating sermon in the back of the book, which of course, is called Heaven's Brides. I finally pulled up my big girl panties and wrote the book, Heaven's Brides. I've even written to some in the Welcoming and Affirming faith community about the sermon, which you can find via 'Romance Is Not Sin. com'. To my surprise and delight, some faith leaders have already formed steamy romance book clubs in their churches. Their liberty is so encouraging!
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