Writer’s Desk with Jaime Jo Wright
We’re so excited to have Jaime Jo Wright featured on this week’s writer’s desk. Jaime Jo Wright is winner of the Christy, Carol, Daphne du Maurier, and INSPY
Awards. She’s also the Publishers Weekly and ECPA bestselling author of three novellas. Jaime works as a human resources director in Wisconsin, where she lives with her husband and two children. Be sure to stick around until the end of the post for more about her most recent release plus a chance to win a copy!
Do you have a writing routine? When/Where do you write?
My writing routine is less of a routine and more of “do-it-when-I-can”. Working full time and having two children keeps me running at full speed until about 8 pm at night. So, assuming I have any brain cells left, I will usually get a couple of hours in then. Otherwise, I grab fifteen-minute sprints here and there. Sometimes, I’ll write on my phone’s note app. Otherwise, I usually have my computer in my bag with me and slip it out to write when I’m waiting in the line for food pick up, or at the doc office for an appointment.
When are you most productive?
If I could write at my most productive time, it would be between 9 and Noon. The problem is, I also have a day job, so that’s usually NOT the time I’m able to write. When I take a vacation day though, it’s sheer heaven during that time period.
What do you snack on or drink while writing?
I always drink coffee. Rarely, do I ever write without a mug nearby. I’m not much of a snacker when writing. In fact, when I have days specifically dedicated to write, I usually tend to forget to eat.
How do you overcome writer’s block?
As silly as it sounds, I embrace it. It happens. Fighting a lack of words only results in frustration and sometimes our brains simply need a break.
What is your outlining process? Are you a pantser/plotter or something in between?
I don’t really outline. My books play like movies in my mind. So, I will legit watch them over and over and over again until they become so clear and vivid in my mind. There is some plotting involved, to be sure, but I’m not an organized writing where I bullet point or color code.
Best advice for someone who is just starting out.
Write! Just write. I think too often we get caught up in the perfection of it. Wanting to achieve that polished manuscript, versus just letting your imagination run wild. There’s a place for editing, obviously, but until you’re seriously preparing for submission, the important thing is to write.
Quick fire questions:
Favorite current watch – Criminal Minds
Favorite current read – Mexican Gothic
Favorite current song – The Devil is a Liar, by Colton Dixon
Favorite Starbucks order – Venti Sugar Free Caramel Macchiato with ristretto quad shot and almond milk
Enter to win a copy of The Haunting at Bonaventure Circus from Jaime*
Be sure to catch the video interview with Jaime HERE, and be sure to join Avid Readers of Christian Fiction group so you don’t miss any of our other fun author LIVE chats coming up!
More about The Haunting at Bonaventure Circus:
1928
The Bonaventure Circus is a refuge for many, but Pippa Ripley was rejected from its inner circle as a baby. When she receives mysterious messages from someone called the “Watchman,” she is determined to find him and the connection to her birth. As Pippa’s search leads her to a man seeking justice for his murdered sister and evidence that a serial killer has been haunting the circus train, she must decide if uncovering her roots is worth putting herself directly in the path of the killer.
Present Day
The old circus train depot will either be torn down or preserved for historical importance, and its future rests on real estate project manager Chandler Faulk’s shoulders. As she dives deep into the depot’s history, she’s also balancing a newly diagnosed autoimmune disease and the pressures of single motherhood. When she discovers clues to the unsolved murders of the past, Chandler is pulled into a story far darker and more haunting than even an abandoned train depot could portend.
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If you enjoyed this interview, be sure to catch all of our author interviews here!
Megan Jacobs always wished for a different heart. Her entire childhood was spent in and out of hospitals, sitting on the sidelines while her twin sister Crystal played all the sports, got all the guys, and had all the fun. But even a heart transplant three years ago wasn’t enough to propel Megan’s life forward. She’s still working as a library aide and living with her parents in her small Minnesota hometown, dreaming of the adventure she plans to take “once she’s well enough.” Meanwhile, her sister is a successful architect with a handsome husband and the perfect life—or so Megan thinks.
Lindsay Harrel is a lifelong book nerd with a B.A. in journalism and M.A. in English. She lives in Arizona with her young family and two golden retrievers in serious need of training. Lindsay has held a variety of jobs, including curriculum editor for two universities, medical and business writer, and copywriter for a digital marketing agency. Now she juggles stay-at-home mommyhood with working freelance jobs, teaching college English courses online, and—of course—writing novels.When she actually has time to do other things, she loves to sing, read, and sip passion iced teas from Starbucks. She loves to watch God work in ordinary lives to create something extraordinary, and she writes to bring hope to those who may have lost it along the way.
“If I Live is a grabber from page one, delivering an exhilarating mix of chase, mystery, and spiritual truth. Longtime Blackstock fans will be delighted, and new Blackstock fans will be made.” —James Scott Bell, bestselling author of the Mike Romeo thrillers
Terri Blackstock is a New York Times and USA Today best-seller, with over seven million books sold worldwide. She is the winner of two Carol Awards, a Christian Retailers Choice Award, and a Romantic Times Book Reviews Career Achievement Award, among others. She has had over thirty years of success as a novelist. Terri spent the first twelve years of her life traveling in an Air Force family. She lived in nine states and attended the first four years of school in The Netherlands. Because she was a perpetual “new kid,” her imagination became her closest friend. That, she believes, was the biggest factor in her becoming a novelist. She sold her first novel at the age of twenty-five and has had a successful career ever since.
