Hello everyone... Today we are interviewing Author Jamie Eubanks for her book "HIDDEN DOORS, SECRET ROOMS". It's a paranormal suspense with creative story and surprising twists. So, we asked Jamie a few question about the book and herself, below are the answers:
- When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?
Ans. => I was very young; perhaps eight or nine. Back then, I hadn’t
thought of it in terms of “wanting to be a writer.” It was more of a
realization that one of my favorite parts of school was when I had a writing
assignment – especially when it involved the kind of creativity found in
fiction.
- How long did it take you to write this book?
Ans. => It took about three to four months to come up with the first
draft for HIDDEN DOORS, SECRET ROOMS. That was the fun part. Then, it took
another four months or so to prepare it for publication. In addition to
writing, I run a private investigations company, which keeps me very busy. I’ve
never run into a shortage of ideas for my stories. Likewise, I’ve yet to come
up against the dreaded “writers’ block.” Once I decide to write a story, it can
go very quickly. But prepping a manuscript for publication is time consuming,
and it takes a lot of work.
- What is your work schedule like when you're writing?
Ans. => As I mentioned, I have a day job – one that sometimes runs
well into the evening hours and occasionally into the wee hours of the morning.
In order to get anything done for writing, I have to be flexible, yet strict.
Flexible, in the sense that I might be up until 1:00 am, or even 5:00 am to
finish an important segment of a manuscript, depending upon what hours my day
job allows me to write. Strict, in the sense that my writing has to be a
priority. So when I’m not working at my day job, but in “full writing mode,” I
have little time for anything else.
- What brought you to write this book?
Ans. => I’ve always enjoyed troubleshooting. I like to imagine
scenarios – some of them rather strange – and try to work my way out of them.
It was one of the ways I amused myself as a child, when the family would go on
those long, cross-country drives every summer. For this book, I was living in
Palm Springs at the time; it was summer and a very hot day. My mind wandered to
how welcoming a bit of “snow” would be at that moment. Before long, that “bit
of snow” had turned into an imaginary raging snowstorm. And that’s how I
happened upon my opening scene, where Jillian is trapped in a blinding blizzard
with her 5-year-old daughter. The rest of the story simply took off from there.- How you become a published author? Any inspiration?
Ans. => I had these nine manuscripts that I’d completed a few years
back. All first drafts, nowhere even near ready for publication. A few family
members and friends had read some of the stories over the years and seemed to
enjoy them. Then one day, my sister Rachel called me up and told me that she
and her husband were discussing their favorite books. My brother-in-law, Steve,
said he couldn’t recall the title or author of his favorite book, so instead
went into a description of the plot and characters. My sister immediately
recognized the story, and was so excited that she had to call me and let me
know; because, it was one of mine. She said that it was proof that it was an
unbiased opinion, even though it came from family. That’s when I decided to
publish. I figured if Steve enjoyed it so much, maybe other people would,
too.
- Where do you get your information or ideas for your books?
Ans. => As I mentioned earlier, I enjoy troubleshooting. It’s one of
the reason why computers and I get along so well. Sometimes, as it was with
HIDDEN DOORS, SECRET ROOMS, it’s just a matter of envisioning that opening
scene, one where the main protagonist is in immediate peril, then attempting to
work my way out of it. I also enjoy doing research for these projects, so
poring over books and the Internet – in order to glean background information
and gain knowledge for the more technical aspects of my stories – is actually
fun for me.
- When did you write your first book and how old were you?
Ans. => I wrote a lot of short stories when I was a child in school.
As for book-length novels, my first manuscript was handwritten in ink on a
lined, yellow notepad, many years ago when I lived in Louisiana. So I was
probably in my early- to mid-20s for my first novel-length fiction. I wrote it
simply for the challenge of writing novel-length fiction, as I’d never done so
before and wanted to know if I had the determination and enough drive to see it
through to the end. I wasn’t more than a few chapters into it when I realized
that it was exactly what my life had been missing.
- What do you like to do when you're not writing?
Ans. => I love Martial arts. I spend quite a bit of time at my dojo.
There’s something very calming about sweating profusely while pounding on a
heavy bag with that all I’m worth. I read quite a bit, too. (I am sure that I
have over 100 books waiting for me on my Kindle). Though I mainly write
paranormal suspense, I read anything from romance to crime, to fantasy stories
of swords and dragons. I also love playing guitar, and miss being in a band.
- How many books have you written? Which is your favourite?
Ans. => I have 9 manuscripts all together. I recently began the
editing process on one of them that is tentatively titled UPSHOT. To pick one
favorite from the list would be difficult. HIDDEN DOORS, SECRET ROOMS is
definitely on the shortlist. As is UPSHOT. I have one other that remains
without title that I hope to soon edit for publication. Like the others, it’s a
paranormal suspense, but this one took me only six weeks to write. It was one
of those times when the entire story was solidly in my mind from the very moment
that first scene entered my head, and it practically wrote itself.
- What's next for you? What are you working on now?
Ans. => I’m
currently working on UPSHOT, a paranormal suspense. I’m in the editing process,
and expect to have it ready for publication in the next few months. There’s
another paranormal suspense I started recently, as well, currently without
title and only the first few chapters are written. Due to the time constraints
of also running a business, I made the decision to put my new manuscript on the
back burner until UPSHOT is complete.
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