Connie J. Jasperson

This week we are going to be finding out more about Connie J. Jasperson.  I have read Connie's first book:  The Last Good Knight and it's a wonderfully timeless adventure with colorful characters and exotic settings.  Connie is currently hard at work on her next project:  The Rose Tower.  Keep your eyes open for that.

Connie writes an excellent blog in which she discusses some of the unique things authors need to keep in mind when writing fantasy:

Life in the Realm of Fantasy

You can buy The Last Good Knight at Amazon for Kindle and Barnes and Noble for NOOK.

Also, it is now available in Paperback.



 

TAS: Let's get the plug out of the way. Tell us a little bit about your book - who will be interested and why?


CJJ: The Last Good Knight It is an alternate reality renaissance fantasy adventure about the life of a knight, Sir Julian Lackland.  There are some adult themes, but it is basically a series of vignettes detailing watershed events in his life, and the people he loved.  There is humor, adventure and some sorrow; that is the way life is.  I hope both sexes are interested in him – I tried to make it an adventure.


TAS: What aspects of being an author do you most enjoy?

CJJ: The hours are great, and I don’t have to wear a suit and heels to work!

TAS: What aspects of being an author do you least enjoy?

CJJ: I spend 10-16 hours a day working at it, and obsessing over it even when I am not!

TAS: What are your thoughts on the current state of the publishing industry?


CJJ: I think the big publishers are in for a big landslide of a surprise.  There are a lot of great authors out there whose very fine works have gone rejected and unpublished for who knows what reason – they certainly don’t tell you why when they reject your work. We all want to be published by the big guys, but they don’t have time for us, and they certainly don’t feel like they need us.  As a result the Indie writers are beginning to band together and that can only be good for the publishing industry as a whole.  I was fortunate to have fallen in with J Darroll Hall and his indie publishing company Fantasy Island Book Publishing. He is my publisher and agent, and has been the driving force behind my getting The Last Good Knight published as an e-book and in paperback.


TAS: Do you have any specific procedures you follow when you write?


CJJ: I start with an idea, and I write it down. Then I outline the projected story from beginning to end.  I build the parameters for the magic and the society, i.e. what sort of religion, who is in charge etc. Then once I have my framework for the setting, I begin writing the story.  The detail that i put into the framework seldom makes it into the actual tale, but it helps me to remain consistent once I begin the ‘stream of consciousness’ stage of fleshing out the story.


TAS: What is your favorite book and why?


CJJ: The Mists Of Avalon  by the late Marion Zimmer Bradley.  I dropped everything and read that book for three days straight and then re-read it again!  There was not one boring moment and no place in it that did not enthrall and captivate me.  She was a master!


TAS: Have you ever written something that made you cringe to imagine your children/parents/significant other reading it? If so, tell us more.


CJJ: There is one scene in TLGK where an intended rape goes badly for the rapist.  I was glad my Father would not be reading it, and was worried about my sons’ reactions. My Husband cringes.


TAS: Do you have any pet peeves related to writing? Are there any things that other authors do that drive you crazy?


CJJ: Not really – some people have specific hates such as the use of adverbs, or semi-colons.  I try to use moderation in all things and take advice when it is offered AS LONG AS it doesn’t ruin the flow of my story.

TAS: Tell us about the most interesting place you’ve ever been.

CJJ: Snorkeling in Hawaii in Haunauma Bay.  That is something I could do again and again every day!

TAS: Tell us about the most interesting person you’ve ever met.

CJJ: The late Pastor Otto Tollefson – a great man, a missionary and the most witty and wonderful person you could ever wish to talk to.

TAS: Tell us about a guilty pleasure.

CJJ: Fresh, hot cinnamon rolls...mmm… the lovely scent of heaven… (And don’t tell any one… JR Wards ‘Black Dagger Brotherhood’ novels.)

TAS: If you were on a first date with someone you were really interested in and they audibly passed gas, how would you respond?

CJJ: I would marry him.  I wound up married to nearly everyone I ever dated!  (Married 4 times… divorced 3)