"QUEEN OF THE WEEK"
CELEBRITY AUTHOR
JENNIFER STEEN
Welcome! Let me pour you a cup of peppermint tea; I heard it was your favorite. By the way, I've included your recipe at the end of the interview. Please help yourself to a roast beef and brie sandwich. We also have a black raspberry torte for dessert.
Where do you live?
Tell us a little bit about yourself.
Hey there! I live in Leander, Texas with my family. I’m a
mother of three beautiful kiddies. I have two boys and a girl (7, 5, and 3). I
love to write (obviously) and I played the marimba and occasionally paint. I
also teach the children music at my church. My favorite things to do usually
involve do things outdoors in beautiful places, and spending time with my kids.
I’m also extremely addicted to writing. I basically write for work AND
pleasure. I’m also pursuing an English/Creative Writing degree from Southern
New Hampshire University. I’m a Navy veteran, and served for six years between
2000 and 2006. I’ve traveled to many different states, and have been overseas. I
decided to stay home with my kiddies while they were young (military life was
super hard for my oldest when he was a baby so I wanted to slow things down a
bit). Now, I’m gradually getting back into the real world since they are
getting closer to school age. I feel like I’ve lived two totally different
lives. I understand the working world and the stay at home mother world pretty
well. I enjoy writing for women, teens, and I also like to write stories for a
general audience. I do fiction as well as theater and I have a goal to add
screen plays to my list of accomplishments at some point. I’ll have the
opportunity to learn screen play format sometime during my degree program.
Are you a
traditionally published or Indie author?
Well, I’m published through Twenty or Less Press and Books
to Go Now. I do not represent myself, but those publishers are small, and they
are considered Indie Publishers simply because of their size. Each one seems to
be specializing in a certain chunk of the e-book market. I highly recommend
them for any author who doesn’t have a lot of capital to invest in their own
writing, but who would still like to get something out there. They do short
stories and novellas mainly, and will do editing, promotion, and cover art at
no extra cost—they just take a percentage of your royalties like any typical
publisher.
What are your
hobbies?
I play Marimba (it’s like a pretty sounding xylophone), I
sketch and paint, and I take pictures to put on my walls. I’ve always enjoyed
music, but the other hobbies I picked up in order to make my home look nice
while still living on a budget. We are poor college students, but I personally
like to feel like I have money, even if I don’t. J
Having my own paintings (water color/acrylic) and my own photography up makes
me feel a lot of things, mainly artsy, brave, and pampered. All good things.
Tell us about your
current book. What was your inspiration?
Well, the two books I have for sale currently are “Rain
Plays Barefoot” and “A Little Push”. “Rain Plays Barefoot” was inspired by life
as the only girl percussionist in my Middle School. It may seem sort of
backward, but in some schools there used to be some unspoken rules about which
instruments girls were supposed to play and which instruments boys were
supposed to play. I wanted to play the drums, and, I was pretty good. This sort
of meant that I was changing things for people, like their mindsets, but
really…I just wanted to do, what I wanted to do. There were quite a few awkward
moments, breaking into a world of boys that had hither to been closed, and so I
thought that some of those memories would be entertaining to people. And of
course…there’s a crush and all of that. I’ve jumbled things up rather nicely,
and I will never admit which of the parts of that escapade are true or untrue
;-).
“A Little Push” is based on an epiphany I had one afternoon
while riding a tandem bike with my oldest son. We always try to save money, and
it had been a particularly annoying day, and we were riding up hill, and I had
a backpack. I had a lot of worries on my mind, and then I realized that William
was helping me get up the hill. Without even realizing it he was there pulling
his weight. So, even though most of the events in the story are fictional, the
epiphany was true to life, and represents a very special life lesson to me. I
hope everyone can use it as inspiration in their own lives, no matter what sort
of struggle they are going through.
How did you become a
writer? When did you start?
I started writing when I was about 13 years old. My first
novel ended up being a copy of Star Wars…only with different names. Yes, it was
just bad! J
But, everyone has to start somewhere, and nearly everyone (especially children)
emulates stories they love when they first start to write. One of the reasons I
joined the Navy was because I knew, even at eighteen, that I wanted to be a
writer, but I also knew that I didn’t have enough life experience to write
compelling stories. I want to go out and explore and live life, and then I’d be
able to take those experiences and process them for years afterward. This is
very true, but now I understand that the best thing to do is write WHILE you’re
living your life. So, it is good to go out and experience things to get
inspiration, but you don’t need to wait for grand things to happen to you. You
can find inspiration everywhere you are. You just have to have the right sort
of eyes to see the stories there.
How long did it take
you to finish your first book?
Well, it was only a short story. I wrote it in its first
form in just a day or so. Then I let it sit on my Storywrite account for a few
years. One day, I randomly decided that “this is the day, this is when I WILL
get published!” So I searched through my files for something that I thought
might tempt a publisher. “Rain Plays Barefoot” was the first one. First, I
thought that Rain was a very compelling character. She just sort of jumps out
at you from the page. You grow empathy for her almost immediately, and she’s
very unique. Also, I liked that within the limited world of Middle School
drama, she was doing a very brave thing. She was like a hero in miniature—if
you look at Middle School as being a microcosm of the world at large—and that
really appealed to me. So, I sent it into Books to Go Now, and in two weeks
they sent me the acceptance letter. Actually, I had also sent in “A Little
Push” out to a different publisher just two days after I sent RPB and I got
both acceptances back on the same day. It was my birthday last year. Like
seriously, that day was the luckiest day ever. I’ll never forget it.
I also recently got “Black Friday” accepted by Books to Go
Now. It will most likely come out sometime near the Black Friday holiday. It’s
something different than what I’ve done before. It’s a little dark actually.
It’s a thriller, involves a serial killer, but it also has those little rays of
light which I love. It is extremely dark—for me—but it does comment about our
society as a whole. I sort of discovered something just as a person by writing
it, and I hope that the readers discover something too. I just wanted it to be
a little something more than just another gory slasher story. But admittedly,
it does delve into murder, why it happens, how that person’s mind works. If you
enjoy human psychology, then it certainly would be a good book for you.
Where do you like to
write?
I write everywhere. At my house, at the library, in the car,
and I’m actually building my own writing room in my garage. I also just love
using pen and paper, and I have favorite haunts out by the lake, or on certain
hiking trails. I also do people watching at the mall or I’ll even park at
random gas stations and write about people as they fill up their cars. Yeah I
know, I’m such a stalker! People probably think I’m weird, but I try not to be
too obvious when I do it. Like I give myself one or two glances, and then I
have to write whatever comes to my mind about them. That’s a brilliant way to
find stories, or find characters by the way.
Favorite author(s)?
I read in a lot of
different genres. Here we go:
Science
Fiction/Fantasy: Anne McCaffery, Andre Norton, Orson Scott Card, Tolkein,
JK Rowling, Frank Herbert
Classic Authors:
Jane Austin, Elizabeth Gaskell, Edgar Allan Poe, Charles Dickens, the Bronte
Sisters, John Steinbeck
Screen Writers:
Felicia Day, Andrew Davies, Tim Burton
Playwrights:
Christopher Durang, Marsha Norman, Arthur Miller, Neil Simon (some of his plays
are awesome, some are boring).
How many books have
you written, so far? Do you plan to write more?
I have two short stories published, and I have hundreds of
short stories written. I have one Novel written, and thousands of story ideas.
I am picky with what I will send out to publishers, but I hope to start a
system to get more of my stories out to the public.
Would you like to
share a link where we can purchase your books?
Sure. "RAIN PLAYS BAREFOOT" For Kindle:
What about a link to
your website?
One awesome review
I’ve received:
Five Stars from Kiki
and Jules Reviews: “As I have said before, Jennifer Steen is the short
story goddess!! She once again pulls you into the life of her main character.
You quickly become invested in the small twists and turns in the peek she gives
you. This time Steen takes us back to middle school and what it was like to
have that first crush. I was so taken back, and loved every minute of it.
Rain is not your typical tween. Not that she is weird, but she's not really on
the same page as her fellow classmates. As her best friend, Jacey, and the
other girls her age primp and poof themselves in hopes to catch some young
man's attention, Rain would rather skip it all and just hang with the boys. She
feels very comfortable in her own skin and feels no need to primp for
attention. Not that she doesn't care what others think, but feels she has to do
what she is most comfortable with. Most of the time that's on the basketball court
with James or in band on the drum line with the rest of the guys. But there is
a point where all Jacey's talk of boys and her current pubescent emotions get
the best of her and she develops her first crush. Rain ends up conflicted and
changing her ways to fit the ideals of a boy.
I refuse to tell any more of this delightful short story and encourage you to
read. I will say I love, love the ending. It is perfect and sends the message I
would want my child to see. Always stay true to yourself. If people don't love
you just the way you are, then they aren't the people for you!!”
Jenny, thank you so much for the interview today. It has been a pleasure. I wish you all the best in your writing endeavors, my friend. And for you readers, Jenny has shared her recipe for peppermint tea. Enjoy!
My favorite kind of tea is peppermint. I love love this, and
you can make it for a healthy Christmas substitute for hot chocolate.
Peppermint Tea
1
tbsp of peppermint leaves per cup of water. (Can get the fresh leaves
they sell with rosemary and oregano at the grocery store)
Boil on stove until tasty
Poor in mugs, and add non-dairy creamer and a candy cane (if desired).
Also you can chuck the candy and creamer and it aids an upset stomach.
<--herbal hobbyist
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Ever wonder what the word "fun" means to you? Going out on the weekends? Disneyland? A cruise? Okay, I'll admit, breaks are nice but come on, be honest. You're sitting there at dinner, or on a bench at Disneyland, or where ever, and you think, I'm bored. Well, maybe it's just us creative types who get bored. Anyway, what I've found is that when I'm doing something I love to do (writing murder mysteries, serving afternoon tea, or making dinner for my grandchildren) I'm having FUN! Because within those activities I feel I matter, and validation is what we all really need to feel good. What does "having fun" mean to you?
School's out! Hooray! Now 
