Twisted Fairytales

A while ago on Twitter, I met really cool ‘bookie’, Jaidis Shaw, Book Tour Coordinator for Nurture Your Books™. As passionate about writing as she is about reading, Jaidis is one of the authors in the anthology, Twisted Fairy Tales, Volume II (not your average fairy tale, she warns. These are for grown ups). I had the pleasure of interviewing her to find out more about what she does for other authors, and to learn about her own work and how she fits it all in.

Here’s what she has to say:

Jen: Tell us about your genre, your books, and your current projects.

Jaidis: The first story I had accepted for publication, The Tower, is a twisted fairytale with darker elements. The anthology in which it appears is entitled Twisted Fairy Tales Volume II from Wicked East Press. 

I am always challenging myself by writing in various genres. I have another short story, Blind Justice, which is being published in the upcoming Wicked Bag of Suspense Tales anthology from Wicked East Press.

I am currently working on the first two books in a fantasy series. Each book in the series will be standalone but all take place in the small town of Juniper Grove. More details I hope to share with you soon.

Jen: Do ideas wake you up in the middle of the night and do you act on it, or roll over, go back to sleep and subsequently forget that brilliant idea?

Jaidis: Ideas constantly wake me up in the middle of the night, usually when I am so exhausted that I am bordering insanity and want nothing more than to roll over and go back to sleep. Somehow I manage to pull myself out of bed, stumble through the darkness to my office, and write down incoherent notes before going back to bed hoping that I’ll be able to make sense of the scribbles in the morning.

Jen: Are you a long-hand or a keyboard writer?

Jaidis: I started out as a long-hand writer but have evolved into using the computer. I found that no matter where I put my stories, somehow my daughter would find them and decorate them with her scribbles so I started using the computer to write my stories out of necessity.

Jen: How do you handle writers block or does it not exist for you?

Jaidis: I often have writers block but not in the sense that I’m stuck in a corner with my writing. I often doubt myself and that is the hardest for me to overcome; to take the leap and move on with my story while pushing my worries to the side.

Jen: What kind of books do you like to read?

Jaidis: I love reading books of all genres: heart-warming romances, suspenseful mysteries, horror that makes me sleep with one eye open, magical and enticing realms, the bizarre and unknown.

Jen: Have you embraced the eBook concept or do you still prefer paperbacks?

Jaidis: In my opinion, embracing the eBook concept is essential in this day in age. Not only are eBooks cheaper (most of the time) but they tend to be more convenient while on the go. I do enjoy having traditional print copies though as I am always trying to expand my signed book collection.

Jen: You are the Book Tour Coordinator for Nuture Your BOOKS™. How do you manage the balance of a full time job and your own writing schedule?

Jaidis: I love working with authors and helping to promote their work and consider myself lucky for being able to find a job that I love that allows me to stay at home with my daughter as well. Finding a balance is hard sometimes and has forced me to work on my multitasking skills. It all seems to work out well.

Jen: Are you a panster – do you write on the fly – or an outliner?

Jaidis: I am an outliner all the way. Each project I work on gets a special binder that holds all of my notes. I outline the basic storyline and how I want the story to go, character sketches, any scenes that I want to include, quirky remarks and comments, and any research that I do for the story. Once everything is laid out, then I take to my computer to make it all fit together.

Jen: What is your preferred time to write?

Jaidis: My preferred time to write, and really the only time available, is late at night and into the wee hours of the morning. I get much more writing done when the house is quiet, all the chores are finished and I can just sit down and let the story carry me away. This does leave little time for sleep however.

Jen: What has been the biggest challenge for you in your career as a writer?

Jaidis: I would have to say that the biggest challenge in my career as a writer so far is having the confidence to share my writing with others. I have always had self-doubt when it comes to my writing and I would never let anyone read it. Then I got to a point where I realized that if I really wanted to become published, I would have to stop standing in my own way and share my stories. I still suffer some self-doubt but I think I’m moving in the right direction.

Definitely. Thank you, Jaidis. Pleasure having you on my blog and finding out more about your won work and what you do for the rest of us authors.

If you’d like to find out more about Jaidis, check out her own blog at Juniper Grove, or her Facebook page and Twitter.

Advertisement