Ask the Author: Jean Brashear
Answered Questions (9)
Jean Brashear
Cintia, bless your heart! My immediate response would be: stop paying attention to the industry! Seriously. Not right now, not at the creative end of the process. There will always be discouraging news in publishing, but there will also always be readers who want good stories. The love of writing will have to sustain you at many points in the process, and you have to guard that joy and protect it from all the gloom and doom that's all around us. You have plenty of time to deal with the business end of things--for now, just write the stories that you have a burning need to tell! It's analogous to the way your editor brain has to be shoved aside until you finish creating; absolutely nothing can be allowed to get in the way of your story. Protecting that flame of creativity is everything, so go back to that place where story is all, write and write until it's done, and only THEN deal with the business end of things. I assure you that this survival technique will be necessary again and again--it is for all of us in publishing. Yes, there's competition and there always will be. It's just a fact of life, as are constant changes in the business and what works, but some of our favorite stories came from writers who didn't care what the accepted wisdom was about what would sell or what readers wanted. They just wrote the stories that spoke to them, and the power of that love of story resonated with readers. You can't let fear win. Guard your joy, get your fanny in the chair and get busy writing--and very best wishes to you!
Jean Brashear
Eve Dallas and Roarke have to hit the top of the list for me! The dynamic between them gets more tender all the time, and Eve is such a social misfit already, while he's so smooth and urbane--yet the dark past they each have makes them uniquely suited for each other.
Jean Brashear
Yes, Sara (and I'm so sorry I missed this question!) I have a new trilogy beginning August 25, Lone Star Lovers, and the first book, TEXAS HEARTTHROB, features Liam Sullivan, who appeared in TEXAS STRONG. I'll be getting back to Sweetgrass with a Christmas novella, COME HOME FOR CHRISTMAS, which I'm writing right now, but first I hope you'll enjoy the stories of Liam and his two brothers, their stories coming in Sept. and Oct. Thank you so much for asking!
Jean Brashear
Everyone hits rough spots, times when we question why we thought this story would ever work or why anyone would want to read it. The key is powering through. Sometimes you have to take a brief break and refill the well, but mostly you just have to a) knock that demon editor off your shoulder and b) show up for the work. The magic can't happen if you're not there. Do your best to get out of your own way, but in the end, you just have to write your way through it. Even if what you're writing feels like garbage, generally some nugget will come through that's worth saving. As I said above, you can revise anything...except what you haven't written. :)
Jean Brashear
Hearing from readers that my stories touched them. Knowing that you've brought pleasure (even when it comes in the form of some sniffles or tears) is such a blessing. And when readers write to tell me that my stories helped them through a rough time...I swear there's no better feeling on the planet. I am profoundly grateful, honored and humbled to be allowed to share my stories with others.
Jean Brashear
The Muse is fickle and cannot be counted on. If you only write when you're inspired, you'll never make it. Write, no matter what. You can revise anything...except what you haven't written. Just get words on the page, even on the days when it seems so pointless, because you never know what will come out once you do that. Discipline and showing up for the work is everything.
Jean Brashear
Readers have made it clear to me that they want more Sweetgrass stories and have spelled out particular characters whose stories they want to see. Right now I have a whole wall of corkboard on which I'm laying out ideas for a new spinoff series set there.
Jean Brashear
I have more ideas for stories than I will ever live long enough to write, so inspiration is not the problem! Ideas are easy, though--what makes a career author is planting one's fanny in the chair on a regular basis to do the work...and not giving up when the going is hard. Because that's reality--writing is hard work--but being able to do work you love is a blessing, even on those days when you're thinking that this idea will never, ever work.;)
Jean Brashear
I give one of my readers credit for Texas Christmas Bride. I had considered that this first holiday season in Sweetgrass Springs would be particularly poignant for all the lost souls who've either come to Sweetgrass for this first time this year or returned and found home there, but for whatever reason, the story wasn't jelling. Then one of my readers asked on Facebook if there was any chance of a Christmas book, and it made me go back and try for a third time. Once I let go of my worries that I couldn't get it out soon enough and focused on only writing it as a gift to both my lovely readers and myself, even if it took me until Christmas Eve to get it out, the pressure was off and the story FINALLY came together! I thanked the reader in the acknowledgments--I'm a very fortunate author to have such great fans.
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