Interview with Jolie Mathis

Good morning everyone! I hope your weekend was great. This week is the start of antoher blog contest. Here are the rules:

- in order to be entered into the contest, you must post a message to the blog during the course of the week (Monday - Thursday).

- you can post as many times as you would like

- I'll draw a winner on Friday and post the winner's name in Friday's blog. You have seven days in which to contact me. If, after 7 days, you haven't contacted me, I'll pick another winner.

Now that the rules are out of the way, lets get to Jolie! :)
______________________________

DG: Did you always know you wanted to write; when did you begin?

JM: When I was younger, my little brother and I always wrote silly stories back and forth to each other. We hoarded books and loved our pens, paper and typewriters. But I never aspired to be a writer. I even got an English degree in college, but somehow it never occurred to me until I was in my twenties, that I could write something people outside my family would ever want to read.

DG: What do you enjoy most about writing? What is the most frustrating?

JM: I love the end result – the book! The actual writing is a tough process for me. I agonize over every word, and try out numerous scenarios before settling on my course.

DG: What do you consider to be the key elements of a great story?

JM: Compelling characters are foremost for me. When I look for a book, I don’t necessarily need something astoundingly different, plot-wise, from what I’ve read in the past. But I want the characters to drag me into the story, and not let me go, because of the way they react to, and maneuver through the circumstances before them. I want to experience a variety of complex emotions while “seeing” a story through the character’s eyes.

DG: What is your favorite genre to read?

JM: That’s a hard question, because I truly love to read all sorts of things. But if I had to choose a favorite (twist my arm, Donna!) any and all things historical get my vote. Fiction and non-fiction.

DG: Which author(s) is your favorite? And who has most influenced your work?

JM: I’ve been inspired by many authors, but in romance, I’d have to name Judith Ivory and Laura Kinsale as my greatest influences. Outside of romance, I really admire the work of Stephen King.

DG: Can you tell us about your journey to publication?

JM: I didn’t become a fan of romance until my twenties, when my mom gave me a copy of Shanna, by Kathleen Woodiwiss. Like so many others, I read the book, and was hooked! I was home from work on maternity leave at the time, so I packed up the new baby, and off we went to the UBS. I bought every book of hers I could find. When I had finished those, I sampled some other writers. There were so many, and I had a hard time finding the right ones for me, so I started playing around with a story of my own. Even after I went back to work full time, I kept writing, and reading, and learning about the romance industry for the next four years. I wrote a horrible romance entitled, DRAGON’S KISS. While it will never see the light of day, I really learned a lot writing that story. The next book I started was THE SEA KING. Contest wins helped me get the attention of agents and editors. All in all, it took me six years, and a lot of late night writing to get published.

DG: Where did you get the idea for your The Sea King?

JM: THE SEA KING was inspired, at least in part, by Gustav Klimt’s artwork, THE KISS. The man in the painting is much more powerful in strength and size than the woman, but clearly, she claims every fragment of his attention, and in some way, exerts a power just as strong as his. Between themselves, they are respected equals because of whatever experience they’ve shared.

There’s also something very bittersweet about the image, at least in my personal interpretation. As if they aren’t supposed to be together. As if this time together might be their last.

You’ll find all those themes in THE SEA KING.

DG: Your hero is a complex and intriguing character; could you tell us a little about his development?

JM: I’ve always liked complex, and multi-dimensional characters. Once I realized Kol, my hero, was a warrior-leader cursed, and doomed to die, I tried to understand what his state of mind might be. What sorts of things would he care about? What hopes and dreams would he have let go? What might he covet, in the deepest, most hidden corner of his heart?

DG: What made you choose to write in this genre?

JM: I’m not at all sure. I think the genre chose me. I started having ideas, and they wouldn’t leave me alone! I do credit the late Dr. Kostolnyk, my history professor at Texas A & M, for inspiring my interest in this very exciting time period.

DG: Please tell us about the projects you are currently working on.

JM: I’m currently working on a Victorian romance called THE DEVIL’S DISTRACTION. Sales trends will decide if there are more stories set in the earlier time periods.

DG: Where can readers find your novel, and how can they contact you?

JM: THE SEA KING can be bought where most paperbacks are sold. Barnes & Nobles, Borders, Amazon, Waldenbooks, and in the stores of many wonderful independent booksellers.
_____________________________

I highly recommend this book for lovers of historical romance. I hope we get to see many more of Jolie's books. If you would like to learn more about Jolie, you can visit her Website.