Reading by Deb: INTERVIEW with ANN JENSEN

I want to thank Ann Jensen for taking the time for my interview!

I hope you enjoy it as much as I have!

Make sure to give Ann a shout-out and FOLLOW her on all her social media!

Bio:

I'm a snarky Jersey Woman who dreamed of one day becoming an Author. I write Romance with bigger-than-life characters who have to dodge every obstacle I gleefully throw in their paths. Somehow my characters also find time for steamy fun on their way to their HEAs.

I'm an avid reader, engineer, photographer, and a proud Bi woman. My life is a journey that I hope never stops in one place too long. I fill it with love and laughter whenever possible and when I can't, I pull out my clue by four and use it with deadly precision.

When and how did you know you wanted to be a writer?

I’ve always been a storyteller and a vivid dreamer. My writing started as a way to get my dreams out of my head so that I could move on and get to the next interesting dream.

I didn’t consider becoming a published writer until I discovered NANOWRIMO in 2014. It wasn’t the actually event itself, because the getting words onto the page had never been a problem, but the resources they had in the months after for authors to ‘finish’ what they had started.

That is where I discovered my love of editing. How I could take the rough words and stories that I had come up with and transform them into something I would enjoy reading.

Did you have any influencing writers growing up?

I loved Jane Auel for her vivid descriptions of the strong female leads struggles and how she took on the journey to overcoming adversity.

Anne McCaffery was my go to Fantasy writer.

But it was Mercedes Lackey and Robert Heinlein with books who had LGBT characters as a normalized part of their stories that really caught my imagination.

Are any of your characters based on people in real life?

I think every character I write has bits and pieces of people I’ve known throughout my life. But no individual character is based on a single person.

Where do you draw your book inspirations from?

Every book I write starts with the characters and a ‘wouldn’t it be cool if’ or ‘wouldn’t it be awful if’ thought.

For me every story is about the journey of the characters and the experiences they have getting from point A to point B.

Creating events that change a person from who they were into who they could be is what makes the book worth writing.

Do you use have a basic outline when starting a new story or do you let the characters lead the way?

I am the ultimate Plotter. I start with an outline that I expand and expand until it is so set in my mind that all I have to do is write down the words and then edit them to be readable.

When you are picturing the characters in your book, do you have a cheater photo for inspiration?

Physical descriptions are the hardest part for me and often don’t come until the last stages of editing.

Their personalities and backgrounds are solid but not what they look like.

I often find myself using ***insert description here** then during final edits searching photos online for pictures to use and filling in the blanks.

Many people read as a form of escape and relaxation. What is your favorite way to sit back and relax?

Most of the time I read for relaxation but I also love photography or going out to a nice restaurant.

Who are your favorite current authors to read?

The list is so long but if I had to pick Ilona Andrews, Evangiline Anderson, Shaw Montgomery and Jeanine Frost.

What are your favorite books by others?

I have re-read the Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews so many times I’ve lost count.

Do the locations in the stories have any meaning to you?

Not particularly. I search for locations where the story I want to tell could take place.

Right now my books are in Colorado because when I was writing the first story I was obsessed with photos of the landscape there.

Do you write in single or multiple POV?

My current published books are in dual POV but I enjoy writing in single POV as well.

What do you find to be your best research tool?

Life experiences are what I prefer but if I have to look something up Google and YouTube have never let me down.

Do you write under a pen name? Also, do you write under more than one name?

Ann Jensen is currently my only Pen Name.

What genre do you write and why is this your preference?

Romantic Suspense. I enjoy romance in all its forms but for me when writing I love over the top action movie style conflict that I can use in romantic suspense.

While there will always be some internal conflict the characters have to overcome I enjoy having a tangible ‘enemy’ to set them against.

Tell me something about yourself outside of writing. Jobs, accomplishments, family, quirky trait...what led to you being you?

I love to sing. Karaoke is my not so secret obsession and at one point in my life I dreamed of becoming a Broadway star.

What advice would you give to an aspiring writer?

First drafts all suck just finish it. Editing turns trash into treasure don’t worry about word choice or if your descriptions are too long/short just finish. Then go through and make it better.

Every time you edit you learn something new about yourself and the next first draft will be better.

How do you deal with and process negative book reviews?

If what they say is true then I take note of what they said for my next book.

If it is not I ignore it unless it is viscous or overly aggressive. Then I spend time making up stories in my head about what must have happened in that person’s life to make them respond that way to a book they didn’t have to read.

I imagine what they are like in life and what part of my story might have triggered the negative response. Then I add the fictional version of that person into my neverending storage bank of characters for future use.

What is the most difficult part of your writing process?

Beginnings. I re-write the first two chapters of every single one of my books at least 4x.

I never know where to start or how much to share in the beginning.

What do you need in your writer’s space to keep you focused?

I need to feel isolated.

I often write in my car or in a small back room at my house.

If there are people around I get lost in studying them and coming up with new stories rather than working on the one I should be writing.

What is your naughty indulgence as you are writing?

Chai Tea. I could drink gallons of it while writing but rarely indulge any other time.

If you could spend a day with another popular author, whom would you choose? And why?

Honestly I would love to spend the day with any other author popular or not.

One of my favorite things to do is discover other people’s writing process and see if there is anything I can add to my own.

What is your schedule like when you are writing? Do you have a favorite writing snack or drink?

I write every weekend and for an hour or two at least three times a week.

My schedule fluctuates because I’m a single mom of two teenagers so I have to work around their schedules.

I’m a Coke Zero addict and should really seek help.

Do you listen to music when you write – what kind of music is your favorite?

Only if I need to change my mood for the scenes I’m writing.

On my own I’ll listen to broadway or what I like to refer to as Angry women music.

I prefer a female voice singing with passion.

Have pets ever gotten in the way of your writing?

No. I have an dog who looks like Dobby the House Elf but I don’t let him around when I’m writing.

What is your kryptonite as a writer? What totally puts you off your game?

Watching TV or YouTube will put me off writing for days.

I have a slight addiction to “finishing” things so will get wrapped up in a TV series or YouTuber and until I watch and research all I can on whatever.

Have you ever killed off a character that your readers loved?