What is something unique/quirky about you?
I don’t know if this is necessarily quirky, but I’m named after my dad. He really wanted a boy. When I came along, he already had 4 daughters and was convinced I was going to be his boy. I think he was planning to name me James Jesinghaus Jr… then I came out and his hopes were dashed. Since there’s really no way to turn Jim or James into a girl’s name, he went with Jessica. Before he married my mom he worked for the Lynwood CA police and there were already quite a few variants of Jim working there and folks took to calling him Jess. I became his namesake and his (tom)boy. When I published, I did so under my maiden name to honor my dad.
What are some of your pet peeves?
How long have you got? I’m what some folks would call a control freak. A “type A personality.” I do not deviate from the rules… for the most part. My writing style would probably be the only exception. Hey, a girl’s gotta cut loose somewhere! Truly, the top of my pet peeves list includes drinking & driving (hats off to all the DDs out there, I raise my glass of Sprite in your honor), disrespect toward elders, veterans and public servants, and those people who cannot keep their car confined to a single parking space.
What are your top 10 favorite books/authors?
I’m a sucker for a few classics. Bram Stoker’s Dracula is a staple reading experience, something I return to at least once every 2-3 years. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is another. But then things get crazy diverse. I love Terry Goodkind’s Sword of Truth series. I actually enjoyed the Twilight series, but personally found Stephenie Meyer’s The Host to be a much more thought-provoking and entertaining endeavor. I love anything with a hint of paranormal, romance, horror, or mystery. Oh, and anything I can read out loud with my husband and 2 kids (boy-13, girl-10). We just finished reading the Miss Peregrine School for Peculiar Children series and are now digging into the Mortal Instruments. More than ten, huh? And I haven’t mentioned any of the AMAZING indie-author finds I’ve encountered in the past year and a half. Wowza! I’ve read some great stuff. You can always hop over to my blog and check out some of my reviews. You’re sure to find something engaging.
What can we expect from you in the future?
I just finished drafting the first instalment of a planned YA Fantasy trilogy. The working title of the first book is “Shirryn Elda: Awakening” and it’s a total departure from the paranormal / romance / mystery / suspense genres I’m used to writing in. But I wanted to write something I could share with my kids now. Last week I finished reading the draft to them and got that great warm & fuzzy feeling when my daughter said “Too bad Shirryn Elda’s not in the AR program mom, I’d make all my friends read it.” I plan to start writing book two and would like to have it close to finished before I publish the first installment. Meanwhile, I’ve got a couple other WIPs going. One is a sequel to Mirror, Mirror (which could be read as a standalone) and another is a fallen angel / redemption love story which takes place in the Mirror, Mirror universe and in which several of Mirror’s characters make cameo appearances.
Do you have any “side stories” about the characters?
There’s a little story in my head tying Mirror, Mirror and Desolation Gulch together and, eventually, I may write it out for y’all. I make no secret that Desolation Gulch involves psychics. One of the minor characters from Gulch, Audrey, mentions that she sometimes consults with police agencies on ‘special’ cases. Well, Detective Dan Johnston (from Mirror, Mirror) has an as-yet unscripted case involving the services of the psychic consultant Audrey. Dan is a skeptic, but after events in Mirror he’s sure to be a little more open to the concept of ‘alternate investigative techniques.’ I think it would be an absolute joy to write a mystery featuring these two!
No comments