Hello and good summers evening to all of the readers out there.
This week we have been very lucky to grab an interview with Lesley Jones, author of Saviour.
Hi Lesley, thank you for agreeing to this interview. Would you like to start by telling us a little about yourself and your background?
Hi Nikki and readers... Well, I was born and raised in Essex and lived there with my husband and three sons until December 2006, which is when we made the move to Australia; we have settled in a beautiful spot called Mount Martha, about 60k's outside of Melbourne. It's about as far removed as Essex as you can get, we are 5 minutes from the beach and surrounded by vineyards, wineries, golf courses and more beautiful beaches.
So, what have you written?
Saviour is actually my first book, nothing else, just this, I am currently working hard on the follow up and have the idea for a third, totally separate book, going around in my head right now as well.
Where can we readers buy it or see it?
The book is available from Amazon.com or co.uk in all formats or the paperback is available from my website... links below...
http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_8?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=saviour+lesley+jones&sprefix=Saviour+%2Cstripbooks%2C922
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_7?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=saviour+lesley+jones&sprefix=saviour%2Cstripbooks%2C677
Give us an insight into your main character. What does he/she do that is so special?
Lauren is a woman that I hope readers will relate to, she is not a skinny, twenty something virginal type, she is in her forties, a mother of two grown up boys and has been married for over twenty years. When we meet her she has decided that she can no longer put up with the abusive behaviour of her husband, she finally confesses to her friends the secret that she has kept hidden from them and with their help and support decides to leave him and start a new life as a single woman.
What are you working on at the minute?
I am currently working on the follow up to Saviour and writing lots of notes for a third book, which is something different all together
When did you decide to become a writer?
I didn't really decide, I had this story going around in my head for a few years and suddenly had some time on my hands and so decided to start writing it down
What made you decide to sit down and actually start something?
Well, our lives were turned upside down when one of my children was diagnosed with leukemia; I sat with my son one, two and sometimes three days a week, while he had chemo and blood transfusions, so while he sat in a chair being filled with the drugs he needed to save his life, I wrote the story that had been going around in my head for the past couple of years, about 98000 words in total, onto notes on my IPhone, as I finished each chapter I would email it to myself and then copy and paste it into a word doc and work on it from there. Writing the book was my escape from what was going on in my life, it was my therapy in a way and got me through a very difficult time.
Do you write every day, 5 days a week or as and when?
I generally write between 5 and 7 days a week but life gets in the way and sometimes don't get to write for 2 or 3 days and it drives me mad, all that I want to get down will be going around in my head. I don't know if it's because this is all new to me but at the moment, I feel like I need to write, it's what I am meant to do. my brain is constantly thinking of different plot lines, my friends will tell me a story and I go off into the zone, my brain is constantly, thinking....Hmmm, how could I use that as part of the story... My friends now know that look and don't freak out as much when I do it... My husband got used to it a long time ago, bless him.
Do you have a favourite place to write?
Yes I do, my writing room is at the front of the house, no TV, just me, the fire and my favourite picture hanging on the wall... A copy of Fredic Leightons Flaming June.
Do you work to an outline or plot or do you prefer just see where an idea takes you?
A brief outline of how the story will start, no plot, no idea of characters apart from the main ones... I just write, let the characters develop their own personalities and let them tell me their story.
When writing Saviour, could you envisage it as a movie and if so who would you choose to play the main roles?
I have been asked this question a lot lately, Gabe is an Aussie so obviously I would like him to be played by an Aussie... Chris Hemsworth maybe? He doesn't actually fit his description completely but he would work... Lauren is a curvy red head so my first thought would be Christina Hendricks... but it would depend on how well she could master an Essex/East London accent
How did you find writing the raunchy scenes?
Yeah.... Surprisingly easy actually, I read books of the same genre so I knew basically how to write a sex scene, the difficulty is in trying to make it a little bit different, not the same ol' same ol'… I have tried to do that with whole book, just make it a little bit different to everything else that’s out there, I didn't want to write another college romance.
Do you write everything out first then type it up?
No, I go straight in with the typing and then change it twenty times, then leave it alone for a while then change it again.
Tell us about the cover and how it came about.
I had a very set idea of what I wanted for the cover and it was actually my 14 year old son who came up with the end design, it's made up of lots of different images from the internet and then we adjusted all the colours.
What would you say are the main advantages and disadvantages of self-publishing against being published or the other way around?
Self-publishing meant that I didn't spend weeks sending off my manuscript and waiting for knock backs from traditional publishing houses... I finished the book and published it, the hard part is the marketing... keeping the momentum going
How do you market your books?
For self-published authors like me, we rely on word of mouth mainly through social media, Facebook, Twitter and Goodreads but by far the best kind of marketing is done for us by bloggers like yourself, the self-publishing market would not be doing so well if it wasn't for bloggers, you really are what keeps us going.
What part of your writing time do you devote to marketing your book?
I quite literally have my IPhone with me as I write and will FB and Tweet every half hour or so to promote or to reply to tweets... So basically, all day everyday, along with writing.
What are your thoughts on Negative reviews?
As long as they are constructive, they are to be expected, not everyone is going to like what I've written... But so far, most people have enjoyed the book.
Do you think that giving books away free works and why?
Having tried it yet... Why, would you like some to give away??
How can readers discover more about you and your work?
https://www.facebook.com/saviour
http://twitter.com/WildesOne
http://www.goodreads.com/author/dashboard
http://indiepromotor.com/saviour-lesley-jones/
http://m.pinterest.com/wineoclock/saviour-by-lesley-jones/
Thank you very much for taking the time out of your busy schedule to take part in this interview.
Thanks for asking me to take part
This week we have been very lucky to grab an interview with Lesley Jones, author of Saviour.
Hi Lesley, thank you for agreeing to this interview. Would you like to start by telling us a little about yourself and your background?
Hi Nikki and readers... Well, I was born and raised in Essex and lived there with my husband and three sons until December 2006, which is when we made the move to Australia; we have settled in a beautiful spot called Mount Martha, about 60k's outside of Melbourne. It's about as far removed as Essex as you can get, we are 5 minutes from the beach and surrounded by vineyards, wineries, golf courses and more beautiful beaches.
So, what have you written?
Saviour is actually my first book, nothing else, just this, I am currently working hard on the follow up and have the idea for a third, totally separate book, going around in my head right now as well.
Where can we readers buy it or see it?
The book is available from Amazon.com or co.uk in all formats or the paperback is available from my website... links below...
http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_8?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=saviour+lesley+jones&sprefix=Saviour+%2Cstripbooks%2C922
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_7?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=saviour+lesley+jones&sprefix=saviour%2Cstripbooks%2C677
Give us an insight into your main character. What does he/she do that is so special?
Lauren is a woman that I hope readers will relate to, she is not a skinny, twenty something virginal type, she is in her forties, a mother of two grown up boys and has been married for over twenty years. When we meet her she has decided that she can no longer put up with the abusive behaviour of her husband, she finally confesses to her friends the secret that she has kept hidden from them and with their help and support decides to leave him and start a new life as a single woman.
What are you working on at the minute?
I am currently working on the follow up to Saviour and writing lots of notes for a third book, which is something different all together
When did you decide to become a writer?
I didn't really decide, I had this story going around in my head for a few years and suddenly had some time on my hands and so decided to start writing it down
What made you decide to sit down and actually start something?
Well, our lives were turned upside down when one of my children was diagnosed with leukemia; I sat with my son one, two and sometimes three days a week, while he had chemo and blood transfusions, so while he sat in a chair being filled with the drugs he needed to save his life, I wrote the story that had been going around in my head for the past couple of years, about 98000 words in total, onto notes on my IPhone, as I finished each chapter I would email it to myself and then copy and paste it into a word doc and work on it from there. Writing the book was my escape from what was going on in my life, it was my therapy in a way and got me through a very difficult time.
Do you write every day, 5 days a week or as and when?
I generally write between 5 and 7 days a week but life gets in the way and sometimes don't get to write for 2 or 3 days and it drives me mad, all that I want to get down will be going around in my head. I don't know if it's because this is all new to me but at the moment, I feel like I need to write, it's what I am meant to do. my brain is constantly thinking of different plot lines, my friends will tell me a story and I go off into the zone, my brain is constantly, thinking....Hmmm, how could I use that as part of the story... My friends now know that look and don't freak out as much when I do it... My husband got used to it a long time ago, bless him.
Do you have a favourite place to write?
Yes I do, my writing room is at the front of the house, no TV, just me, the fire and my favourite picture hanging on the wall... A copy of Fredic Leightons Flaming June.
Do you work to an outline or plot or do you prefer just see where an idea takes you?
A brief outline of how the story will start, no plot, no idea of characters apart from the main ones... I just write, let the characters develop their own personalities and let them tell me their story.
When writing Saviour, could you envisage it as a movie and if so who would you choose to play the main roles?
I have been asked this question a lot lately, Gabe is an Aussie so obviously I would like him to be played by an Aussie... Chris Hemsworth maybe? He doesn't actually fit his description completely but he would work... Lauren is a curvy red head so my first thought would be Christina Hendricks... but it would depend on how well she could master an Essex/East London accent
How did you find writing the raunchy scenes?
Yeah.... Surprisingly easy actually, I read books of the same genre so I knew basically how to write a sex scene, the difficulty is in trying to make it a little bit different, not the same ol' same ol'… I have tried to do that with whole book, just make it a little bit different to everything else that’s out there, I didn't want to write another college romance.
Do you write everything out first then type it up?
No, I go straight in with the typing and then change it twenty times, then leave it alone for a while then change it again.
Tell us about the cover and how it came about.
I had a very set idea of what I wanted for the cover and it was actually my 14 year old son who came up with the end design, it's made up of lots of different images from the internet and then we adjusted all the colours.
What would you say are the main advantages and disadvantages of self-publishing against being published or the other way around?
Self-publishing meant that I didn't spend weeks sending off my manuscript and waiting for knock backs from traditional publishing houses... I finished the book and published it, the hard part is the marketing... keeping the momentum going
How do you market your books?
For self-published authors like me, we rely on word of mouth mainly through social media, Facebook, Twitter and Goodreads but by far the best kind of marketing is done for us by bloggers like yourself, the self-publishing market would not be doing so well if it wasn't for bloggers, you really are what keeps us going.
What part of your writing time do you devote to marketing your book?
I quite literally have my IPhone with me as I write and will FB and Tweet every half hour or so to promote or to reply to tweets... So basically, all day everyday, along with writing.
What are your thoughts on Negative reviews?
As long as they are constructive, they are to be expected, not everyone is going to like what I've written... But so far, most people have enjoyed the book.
Do you think that giving books away free works and why?
Having tried it yet... Why, would you like some to give away??
How can readers discover more about you and your work?
https://www.facebook.com/saviour
http://twitter.com/WildesOne
http://www.goodreads.com/author/dashboard
http://indiepromotor.com/saviour-lesley-jones/
http://m.pinterest.com/wineoclock/saviour-by-lesley-jones/
Thank you very much for taking the time out of your busy schedule to take part in this interview.
Thanks for asking me to take part