2013 Resolutions: Jessa Slade and the Literary Life

 Resolve 2013: Chaos and Creation

Jessa Slade

The Darkest Night (A Marked Souls Christmas novella) 

Whenever I have friends and family visit me in Portland Oregon, I frequently haul them up to Mount St. Helens in Washington to admire the devastation a volcano leaves behind. The visitor center shows a short film called “Chaos and Creation.” The narrator says “chaos and creation” repeatedly (with very dramatic intonation) and inevitably, for every group I escort up there, the phrase becomes the running joke of the day.

I think living a creative life is having a small thing -- a dream -- writ large. Basically you are making a mole hill into a mountain, and that means fomenting a certain amount of chaos in what other people might consider a “normal” life. To pursue a creative dream, sometimes you have to destroy the peace and quiet and sacrifice chunks of everyday life.

I’ve accepted some chaos and sacrifice to make room for my creative life:

1. Drastically reduced TV: I’m a storyteller at heart, so of course I love television. But committing to my own stories means sacrificing someone else’s. I still have a couple favorite shows, but most often I have to flip through a copy of Entertainment Weekly at the grocery store to keep up with popular culture.

2. Less-than-perfect housekeeping: Okay, admitted this isn’t much of a sacrifice, but it can definitely lead to chaos. In the end, though, I’d rather have my words written than my socks folded and put away in the drawer. I’m just going to wear them again anyway!

3. Tight finances: This is an ugly reality for most creative folk who don’t have a reliable source of income (trust fund, understanding spouse, blackmail scheme). Making a creative life takes an investment of time and resources that can wreak chaos on AND demand sacrifice from your checkbook. But who needs fancy shoes when you’re at your computer in fuzzy socks anyway?

Are you willing to let in a little chaos for your creation? Please share in comments.

Goodreads, My website, My newsletter, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest
And follow my A LITTLE NIGHT MUSE blog tour for a chance to win goodies!

Continue the blog party!

Maggie Jaimeson - Take a Vacation

Jessa Slade - Get Organized

Paty Jager - Volunteerism

Linda Mercury - Creating a Literary (or Creative) Life

Jenna Bayley-Burke - Eat Healthier

Cassiel Knight - No More Procrastination

Cathryn Cade - Take Time for those OTHER Creative Passions

Su Lute - Reduce Stress: Find and Follow Your Bliss

Jamie Brazil - Shrink My Closet

Working for a Living: Women in the Arts IV

Ladies and gentlemen, meet the multi-talented Jessa Slade, author of the Marked Souls series.

1.      What is the name of your business and what do you tell other people you do? (such as author, teacher, designer)

Hello, I’m Jessa Slade, and I’m an author. (This sounds like a 12-step program intro, except I use my last name because I’m dying for people to know how word-addicted I am.) When people ask what I do, I say I am a writer. I say writer instead of author because I like to emphasize the verb part. I’m a writer when I write. That’s the part I control. Technically, I suppose you could say I control the author part too, now that I am self published, but personally, I consider the author part of myself subject to the whims of being read. And that part I can’t control. Sadly!

2.      When did you know it was time to stop treating your art as a hobby and start it as a career?

When I got paid! That sounds a little mercenary, doesn’t it? I guess I’m going by the IRS’s definition :) I’ve always written with the intent of being read, and until that happened, I wasn’t ready to call myself an author, which is the career part. But to be honest, I didn’t make that many changes moving from writer to author. The deadlines are more deadly :) but the work is pretty much the same: words on the page, one after the other.

3.      What are some of the aspects of your job that people don’t see? For example, most people don’t understand how much marketing is done by the authors themselves instead of a publisher, and most audience members don’t see how costumes and props are designed/chosen.

I did a booksigning at the Powell’s Books at the Portland International Airport with a couple other authors, and I was surprised how many people were surprised we were authors! I mean, we were sitting at tables surrounded by our books next to a sign that said Meet The Authors, and yet when we said we were the authors, people invariably said, “You’re the authors?” in simultaneous tones of surprise, pleasure and suspicion. Apparently we did not look like authors! I wonder what would have convinced people.

Most people don’t see the hours that go into writing a book. Nathaniel Hawthorne said “Easy reading is damn hard writing.” I suspect most people think writing is easy because all of us learn our alphabet from our very earliest years, so how hard could it be, stringing those same 26 letters together over a blank page? (Insert maniacal laughter here.)

4.      Who inspired/inspires you on those inevitable rough days?

I belong to a great romance writers’ organization, Romance Writers of America. The women and men in my local chapter are a fabulous source of inspiration and energy. There is always someone querying or getting published, just starting or just finishing a book, touring blogs or going off-line to concentrate. Seeing that constantly ebb and flow of mindful effort, excitement, determination, and passion helps keep me going when the works aren’t going.

5.      Name a few of your current projects. For example, conferences, publicity, design process, what you have for sale.

 

For the holiday season, I published a Christmas novella in my Marked Souls demonic possession series. (What? Christmas and demons go together like children and lots of sugar.) THE DARKEST NIGHT is about two lost souls finding each other at the darkest time of the year. Also, the second book in my Steel Born dark fairy series, A LITTLE NIGHT MUSE, is out in January. I’m currently working on the second book in my science fiction romance anthology series and the third book of the Steel Born. I gotta write faster!

6. (OPTIONAL)   This question is a chance to meander or talk in greater depth if you’d like. Here you can talk about what hobbies you pursue, how you refresh your well of ideas, what you would recommend to other women interested in a career in the arts, or just anything you'd like other people to know.

I truly believe in the power of a creative outlet to change for the better the way we live, think and love. I don’t doubt that entropy is out to get us, and our only way to battle the inevitable chaos is to create. Whether that’s writing, music, painting, sewing, cooking, gardening, or compiling supercuts of cute baby animal videos, find the thing you love and share it with the universe. The universe is waiting for your art!

You can find me online at:

My website, My newsletter, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Goodreads 

The Next Big Thing! (Week Twenty-six)

This is Lori. Isn't she cool?

Last week, I was asked by my fellow eKensington author, Lori Sjoberg, (visit her here), to participate in the Next Big Thing blog game.

Rule 1: Answer these ten questions about your current work in progress on your blog.
 So here we go!

1- What is the working title of your book?

Dracula Unleashed

    2- Where did the idea come from for the book?

In Dracula’s Secret and Dracula’s Desires (the two previous novels),  I know that I had to have my heroine face  her past one last time before she could truly relax and be happy with her two male partners and her new baby.

    3- What genre does your book fall under?

Paranormal romance

    4- Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

Daniel Craig for Lance Soleil, a non-sexist Dean Martin for John Janté,  a dark haired Lucy Lawless for Valerie

         

Hello, Mr. Good Guy!

    5- What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

There are no parenting books for vampires.

    6- Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

This book will be published by eKensington and released in March of 2013.

    7- How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

I had five months to write the entire story.

    8- What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

Emma Holly’s vympr series combined with Laurell K. Hamilton’s Merry Gentry

    9- Who or What inspired you to write this book?

My characters,  John, Lance, and Valerie, were all very clear that they had more to say.

    10- What else about your book might pique the reader's interest?

Hot, uninhibited sex, heroes who want to save the world, redemption, and quite possibly the most confused mother on the planet.

Now, there was a Rule 2: Tag five other authors to play and link.

Well, due to life constraints, I wasn't able to tag five other authors.  (Sorry Lori! I suck). However, I was so inspired by this blog game, that I emailed my female friends who make a living in the arts (not just writing), and we will be playing a variation of this game next week.

Entrants include:

Saqra, Master Belly Dancer
Kim Sakkara, Clothing Designer
Jessa Slade, Author of the amazing Marked Souls series.
Grace Constantine, Belly Dance Instructor