Welcome back to my Saturday Spotlight series! Thank you to not only the authors who have participated so far but those who are planning to in the future. Most importantly, thank you to all of my followers who read each post and follow some of these authors. As readers, our support means everything. They work so hard to put their novels into our hands, the least we can do is show support. Be sure to leave a review for each book you read, even if only a sentence long. It makes all the difference!
Today, I am happy to present Josie Jaffrey! All I really have to say is that she is amazing and I hope you all enjoy her work as much as I do.
About the Author
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Josie’s Novels
The Gilded King (Sovereign Book 1)
The Silver Queen (Sovereign Book 2)
A Bargain in Silver (Solis Invicti Book 1)
The Price of Silver (Solis Invicti Book 2)
Bound in Silver (Solis Invicti Book 3)
The Silver Bullet (Solis Invicti Book 4)
Living Underground
Interview
Hello and welcome Josie! Thank you for joining me today and talking a little about you. I know many of your readers are excited to read this. Let’s jump right in, shall we?
If you could spend a day with one of your characters from your novels, who would it be? What would you do during the day?
It would definitely be Cam. I think he’s everyone’s favorite character, isn’t he? He’s so much fun, and such a sweetie. He gets a bit dark in the Sovereign series, but in the Solis Invicti series, he’s just a big, bouncy puppy. I’d want to go on a night out with him, like the one he has with Emmy in A Bargain in Silver, and let him drink me under the table.
I am so excited to read the Solis Invicti series, I would love to see more of Cam.
If you had to pick one author to write your biography, who would it be? why?
Probably Gail Carriger. If you’re not familiar with Miss Carriger’s work, she writes wonderful Victorian paranormal romance that has a steampunk edge to it, filled with vampires and werewolves, but with the proper regard for Victorian sensibilities and confectionary. I have a feeling she’d narrate my life with a decent emphasis on the amount of tea and cake I consume, and accordingly she’s the only author I can think of who would treat that part of my life with the gravity it deserves. The book would start: ‘Miss Jaffrey awoke one morning with a yearning for dystopian literature. Dystopian literature and fondant fancies. Weighing the two in her mind, she abandoned her manuscript for yet another day, in favour of taking tea and cake on the patio.’
I would for sure read your biography if it started like that!
Do you have a daily/weekly word count goal or do you only write when inspiration strikes?
Inspiration usually only strikes when I’m in the shower, or at 2am in the morning, so I mainly write to word count goals. I write 10,000 words a week when I’m in the drafting phase of a particular manuscript, but once I’ve done my day’s allocation I let myself go off and work on other manuscripts and research ideas that I have rumbling around in the back of my mind. I’m always planning at least three books ahead, so by the time I’ve finished writing, editing and launching one book, I’m ready to start work in earnest on the next.
Wow, that is amazing. I hope I can write that quickly, I am participating in NaNoWriMo and so nervous. I really like that you have books planned way ahead! I am the same way, I have not written my first novel but already started planning the sequel.
Have you ever written a character with an actor/actress in mind? Which ones and who did you picture playing their role?
When I’m conjuring up characters, the process is very similar to when I’m reading other people’s characters: I can sort of see them in my head, and it’s then very difficult to find real people who fit the made-up person exactly. I usually do an image search before I start writing a manuscript to try to find approximate versions of my characters so I can refer back to them in the future, but they never match exactly. Sol has always been the hardest character for me to match to a real photo. I think that’s partly because I don’t want to pin him down – it sort of adds to his mystery! You can see some of my approximations on my Sovereign Pinterest board here: https://www.pinterest.
I had a very weird experience a couple of months ago when I was watching Pitch Perfect 3, and a character turned up who looked really familiar, so familiar that I felt as though I knew him personally. It took me most of the film to realize that he was the actor whose photo I had plucked from Google as the closest I could find to how Rufus looked in my head (Matt Lander). It was very disconcerting! I think I’ll try to avoid allocating actor photos to my characters in the future!
Oh my! I can see how awful that would be, it could change your entire opinion of your character.
Did you always know you were destined for literary greatness or did you, as they say, “stumble” upon it?
I’m not sure I would call it literary greatness! Writing took me by surprise, actually. I’d always written stories when I was a child, and I’d started writing novels and drawing graphic novels again when I was a teenager, and later in university, but I never finished a manuscript. Then in 2014, I finished A Bargain in Silver, because I finally had a story that felt like it would go the distance. After that, I just never stopped. I don’t think I’ll ever stop writing now, because it’s something that grabs you and then becomes addictive. I’ve learned that I have a highly addictive personality!
I too have an addictive personality! I always wanted to write a novel when I was young, just never imagined I could. I really love that you went back to what you enjoyed and many of your fans are as well.
What was your dream job when you were younger?
I didn’t have one. I know that’s boring of me, but I don’t think it was something I worried about as a child. I loved writing and drawing, but I was a very academic child and I don’t think anyone thought that those sorts of creative pursuits would end up being my profession. They should probably have guessed though because the one thing I was sure of when I was small was that I would never need to learn to drive because I was going to go everywhere on horseback.
What child would not want to go everywhere on horseback?! That is a wonderful dream to have.
Do you prefer the hustle and bustle of the city or the relaxation of the country? Why?
I love both. I grew up in the countryside, but I live in the city. Mind you, the city I live in is Oxford, and as cities go it’s pretty countryside-ish.
I love the smell of the air in the countryside, and the relaxed vibe that makes me want to bake bread and make jam, but villages can have a cloyingly judgemental atmosphere because everyone knows everyone else’s business. I love the anonymity of the city because no one really cares who you are or where you’re going, as long as you stay out of their way. The brutality of that is comfortingly permissive at times, particularly if you’re feeling anxious. Also, I’m not going to complain about the ridiculously easy access to the theatre, restaurants, shops, and pubs. In the city, I’m walking distance from everything I need. I don’t even need a horse if I want to avoid driving.
I agree! I grew up in the country and still reside here. I love the peacefulness. I used to despise nosey neighbors but where I live now I do not have a close neighbor. I do have to drive to get to everything though which is a downfall, but I love nature.
What are you reading now?
I’m currently reading Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett. I’d heard really great things about it, and the publicist for the book got in touch to ask whether I wanted to review it. I was meant to have read it some months ago… (I am so bad at managing my TBR!). I’m not very far through it, but so far the magic system is intriguing and the characters seem fun, so I’m looking forward to the rest!
I am terrible at managing mine as well! You are not alone.
Do you dress up for Halloween? What will you be wearing?
I always used to, but Halloween isn’t really a big thing in the UK unless you’re a kid or a student and you’re going to a party. I’m now 34, so I’m not really in the right demographic! In the past four years, I’ve only had one trick-or-treater where I am, and I live on a city street surrounded by schools and students. It’s just not something we celebrate here.
I had no idea! I love learning about other countries and their traditions. Thank you for sharing!
Could you pass some literary wisdom onto those who yet struggle at the beginning of their writing journey?
READ LOTS. There really is no better way to learn to write than by continuing to read widely. As you get better at what you do, you can start deconstructing stories and understanding the craft that goes into creating each scene and character. If you try to read perceptively, then you can learn without really trying.
Thank you so much for that! I agree completely. Besides, reading is a nice break when you are stressed out from trying to write your own novel.
I want to thank Josie Jaffrey again for being a stellar participant in today’s Saturday Spotlight! I had so much fun with her responses. I hope that you all enjoyed it as well. Have you read her novels? If not, go…do it now. Add her books to your already overwhelming TBR lists!
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Great
Thank you
Awesome interview! Her answers were great. Some even gave me a little smile and chuckle. Lol I look forward to reading her books. My TBR list keeps getting longer and longer ?
The struggle of a book lover!