Author Interview ~ Janelle Mowery

Janelle Mowery is an active member of ACFW. She was a top ten finalist in two Noble Theme contests and won first place in the San Gabriel Writers’ League ‘Writing Smarter’ Contest. Her first novel, Where the Truth Lies, coauthored with Elizabeth Ludwig, was released spring 2008 with Heartsong Presents: Mysteries. Books two and three of the mystery series will release in 2009. Janelle resides in Texas with her husband of almost twenty years and is the mother of two sons.

So tell the scoop: What new book do you have coming out?
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Where the Truth Lies, the first in the Massachusetts Mayhem series, released this past May in Barbour’s Heartsong Presents: Mysteries line. It’s sequel, Died in the Wool, will release spring of 2009, and the third book of the series, A Black Die Affair, will release fall of 2009.

How did you come up with this story? Was there a specific 'what if' moment?

Once my co-author, Elizabeth (Lisa) Ludwig, and I decided to write a mystery together, we tried coming up with several different ideas. But the story and plotting never really fell into place until Lisa called one day and told me about a conversation she had about Jacob and Esau, and suggested the possibility of turning the story of their relationship into a mystery. We took that idea and brainstormed our contemporary mystery.

You wrote this with Elizabeth Ludwig. How do you divvy up the work?
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We each picked a character and wrote from their point of view. But we knew both characters very well. I almost think we could have flip-flopped and no one would have known. Then we would critique each other’s scenes, so by the time the book was ready, our voices and writing styles blended enough that the story sounded like it’d been written by one author.

Every novelist has a journey. How long was your road to publication? How did you find out and what went through your mind?

Oh boy. Let’s see. I remember reading a book and thinking, ‘I can do this’. For a year, I started creating a story, just carried it around in my head, planning it out. Then January 10, 2001, I sat down at the computer and started writing…and never stopped. I didn’t start trying to contract those stories for a couple years. I joined ACFW, attended their conference in Houston, and so it began.

One day in 2006, I got a call from Susan Downs saying she wanted to contract the mystery I’d co-authored with Elizabeth Ludwig. I can now describe quite well how a heart swells and then nearly hammers its way out of a chest. I called Lisa to tell her the news and we squealed together for a while. Then our phones never returned to the cradle for at least the next hour as we told everyone we knew. That year, almost exactly five years after I wrote the first word in my first manuscript, I signed my first contract.

Do you ever bang your head against the wall from the dreaded writer's block? If so, how do you overcome it?

Bang my head? No. That’s pain, and pain hurts. LOL. But I do want to tear out my hair. I find what works best for me is to sit down and read a book in the same genre that I’m writing. Usually about midway through the book, if not before, the block starts to crumble.

Novelists sometimes dig themselves into a hole over implausible plots, flat characters or a host of other problems. What's the most difficult part of writing for you (or was when you first started on your novel journey)?
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The most difficult part of writing is taking the painstaking time to plot out the story before I begin. When I have a new and exciting story in my head, I’m ready to jump in with both feet and start writing. But if I do that, I end up in that dreaded plot hole. So, I force myself to take the time to plot the entire story. I won’t start until I know the holes have been filled.

Apart from cozy mysteries, what other things have you written?

I have three-book historical series I’m trying to get contracted. Mystery/suspense and historicals are my two loves. In fact, there’s a bit of mystery in each of my historicals.

Where do you write: In a cave, a coffeehouse, or a cozy attic nook?
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I spend part of my time in our office. Right next to the monitor is a big window that overlooks our backyard and pasture. In the fall, I’m very easily distracted as I watch the deer romp and graze. When that happens, I have to take my laptop into the living room so I can actually get some work done.

What does a typical day look like for you?

I get up at 6:30 looking like I just stepped out of a Glamour magazine, each hair in place, no puffy eyes, a smile on my face as I whistle a peppy tune. (Hey, I write fiction. I’m allowed.) You want reality? I get up, look in the mirror, and scare myself awake. Then I go make a pot of coffee to keep myself awake. Each day varies. I’m a stay at home mom so I don’t have much of a set schedule. Some days I drive the kids to and from school and take care of any shopping or errands. Those days, I don’t get a lot of writing done. The days I don’t drive, I walk my husband and sons out the door, sit down at the computer to read the news on the internet and check email, spend some quiet time with my Lord, then get some writing done.

Some authors report writing 5-10 thousand words a day. Do scenes flow freely from your veins or do you have to tweeze each word out?

I don’t have a set amount of words I write a day. I write when and how much I can on any given day. If I can ‘see’ the scene, the writing flows as though it’s happening right in front of me. If I can’t visualize the scene, I’m in trouble. I have to stop and think it through from start to finish, then start writing again.

Briefly take us through your process of writing a novel—from conception to revision.

The process has changed over the years. I used to sit down and start writing, thinking of scenes as I went along, then going back and adding to the story to flesh it out. A very time consuming process which left possibilities for holes and mistakes. Now, I make a detailed timeline of the story from start to finish to make sure there are no plot holes and that the story flows. I also do a timeline of the back story so I can better know my characters and the reasons they do things. Then I start writing the story.

What are a few of your favorite books (not written by you) and why are they favorites?

Oh goodness. Let’s see. I love Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers. I still study that book to learn how to engage a reader to the story and characters. I love reading anything by Susan May Warren. She is a master story teller. As is Brandilyn Collins.

What's the best writing advice you've heard?

Read, read, read. Write, write, write. Patience, patience, patience. Another is one my co-author often uses. Don’t get so focused on the goal that you forget to enjoy the journey. I look back at my journey and am amazed at the steps the Lord took me through. Awesome. There are other pieces of sage advice I’ve heard, but those are two good ones.

What do you wish you’d known early in your career that might have saved you some time and/or frustration in writing? In publishing?

When I started writing, I knew nothing about POV (point of view). I head-hopped all over the place. My writing buddies lovingly set me straight, then I had to go back to the manuscripts I’d finished and rewrite them with only two pov’s. Very time consuming. Study how-to books and the works of well-known authors. It’ll save you some time and trouble.

In publishing? I still laugh at myself when I think of the first conference I attended. I went with the belief that I could hand the editor my proposal without saying much of anything, they’d love it from the first line, and slide a contract across the table to me. LOL. Yeah, right. I had no idea how long the publishing process takes or the work involved to get your story to the point of publication. Over three years after that first pitiful attempt, I learned. Know your story as well as you know your children so you can talk about it with clarity. And what you don’t know about publishing, take the time to learn. Ask the editors some questions. They love to talk about their work as much as you like to talk about yours.

How much marketing do you do? What have you found that particularly works well for you?

I’m still learning how to market my books. I never spent much time thinking about this aspect of the business, though I’ve now found it to be very important. My coauthor is much better at this than I am so I try to place my feet in the footsteps she’s already made, though I hit a rabbit trail once in a while. I’ve done one book signing which was incredibly fun. I learned that avid fiction readers love to talk about books and writing as much as I do. Word of mouth is huge in this business. Any and all types of contact with readers is a giant step forward.

Do you have any parting words of advice?

NEVER give up. Writing is hard work. It’ll bring disappointment, maybe a little stress and frustration. But in the end, after fighting through the rough spots and persevering, you’ll find amazing satisfaction that will encourage you to keep moving forward. God will always give you the strength you need when you’re working for Him. “…lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.”