Ask the Author: Jewel Quinlan
Answered Questions (8)
Jewel Quinlan
So much is possible in the publishing world today for writers. It's an exciting time! The think I like best about being a writer is that I am self-employed. My success and failure is completely up to me as well as the goals that I set and achieve. I love that there are no limits to my creativity. The world is thriving on the variety of books that are out now and that is something that makes me feel free to write the stories I imagine and not feel as though I have to make them conform to anything. It's a wonderful feeling.
Jewel Quinlan
Never give up. Write. Keep writing. Just put it all down no matter how stupid or unbelievable you think it is. If there can be a movie about a hot tub time machine then there is room for your ideas too. Ignore what anyone says and just keep at it. Determination is everything.
Jewel Quinlan
I am currently editing the first book of a new series I am working on. It is titled Tasting Teacher and is a paranormal romance. I am also currently writing Holiday Hottie, book 3 of The Cougar Journals series. In addition to that I am outlining Dating the Drummer which will be the second book of my Rock Star Ex series. Whew! I've got my hands full.
Jewel Quinlan
I find that when I get stuck it's because of one or both these things:
1. I need more information about something or someone so I can fully envision what I am trying to create.
2. I need to make a decision about where I see this book going.
I find that sitting down and doing some research and writing out some plot points helps a lot. When you give your brain something to chew on the creativity comes on pretty strong. If you give it nothing then it wanders in the land of confusion.
1. I need more information about something or someone so I can fully envision what I am trying to create.
2. I need to make a decision about where I see this book going.
I find that sitting down and doing some research and writing out some plot points helps a lot. When you give your brain something to chew on the creativity comes on pretty strong. If you give it nothing then it wanders in the land of confusion.
Jewel Quinlan
Wow, that's a lot of questions :) I chose my pseudonym myself. It was tough to do considering there were a lot of names I liked. It's easy to keep my dreams alive because I do something to live them every day. I find a big contrast between doing something I love and something I don't and it helps me to continue taking steps so I can live my dream full-time. I think writing is all a state of mind. If you tell yourself it's hard then it's hard, if you tell yourself it's easy, then it's easy. I love writing and have many books already planned that will keep me busy for several years ahead.
Jewel Quinlan
Hi Bobby. Yes, my book are available in the Barnes and Noble online store and several other e-bookstores like Amazon, BookStrand, All Romance eBooks and iBooks. They are available as audiobooks as well on Audible, iTunes and Amazon.
It's so hard to pick on romance author who is my favorite. I grew up reading books by Jude Deveraux, Nora Roberts and Danielle Steele. These days I've been reading a lot of YA and I think the books by Richelle Mead are awesome.
It's so hard to pick on romance author who is my favorite. I grew up reading books by Jude Deveraux, Nora Roberts and Danielle Steele. These days I've been reading a lot of YA and I think the books by Richelle Mead are awesome.
Jewel Quinlan
Hi Bobby it was nice meeting you too. Thanks for stopping by the RWA booth at the LA Times Festival of Books. Hm, let's see. There's two ways I stay motivated in my writing. The first is more of a disciplinary tool. I keep a time sheet to track my progress. Every time I sit down to do something author-related I track what it was and what my start and finish time is. That way I stay balanced and make steady progress. The second is more of a creative thing. When ideas pop into my head I write them down somewhere. On my computer I have a little runway of word documents that are stories waiting to be written. Some have just a couple sentences with the basic idea and some have whole scenes written down that I just had to get out of my head. It helps me because then I won't forget about them and then the idea will stop bothering me, lol. They tend to pester me because they don't want to be forgotten so writing them down helps a lot.
Jewel Quinlan
I collect inspiration as it hits me. That can be at the movie theater, on the road, late at night, where ever. When they hit I jot notes down somewhere handy, like a post it note, the notepad of my iPhone, or I use the dictation app and speak the idea into it. From there I have what looks like a tiny runway of Word documents on my computer. Little fledgling stories that I'm not ready to work on yet but didn't want to forget. But they all eventually get their turn. It works for me. I haven't run out of ideas so far. I have tons of projects ahead of me to work on and I know more inspiration will come as I continue to progress. I love being a writer!
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