Giveaway & Interview with Jessica Subject

Today I’m interviewing author Jessica Subject. I met her through her great blog Mark of the Stars and really enjoyed her short story Celestial Seduction (see my review HERE.) The story reminded me a little of the Jeff Bridges movie Starman.

Simply leave a comment on this blog to enter the giveaway for your own copy of Celestial Seduction! The giveaway ends Friday 9/9/11.

Jennifer Lane (JL): Welcome to the blog, Jessica! I'm intrigued by your journey to publication. How did you become a writer?

Jessica Subject (JS): Thank you for having me, Jennifer! :) I was on maternity leave with my second child with my first child in school. My oldest was learning how to read, but struggling and fighting with us every day. I thought if I could write a book about something she was interested in, it might give her more encouragement to read. The story I started for her turned into something more geared for adults, so I ended up writing a different book for her about her stuffed unicorn. I also continued with the other story and haven't stopped writing since then. Through twitter, facebook and following author and agent blogs, I've learned so much, including the importance of a critique group. And now that I'm published, I continue to learn, but my group of teachers has expanded to include more authors, my editor and publisher.

JL: What a great story about starting your writing career. I read in your bio that aliens formerly scared you but writing about them has endeared you to all things extraterrestrial. Tell us more!

JS: I wasn't always afraid of aliens, but a couple movies (The Arrival and Signs) had me paranoid that aliens were hiding in the dark recesses of the farmhouse I used to live at. But I realized not all alien movies included alien out to abduct humans, including my favorite superhero, Superman. I got over it and made the aliens in my fiction fun. I mean, no matter how hard we speculate what life on other planets is like and why they would visit Earth, we truly don't know.

JL: Oo, Signs was indeed creepy. What's your favorite book about aliens? Favorite movie?

JS: My favorite alien series would have to be that by Gini Koch. Of the three published so far, I think they're all great and can't say I like one over the other. Even in alien movies, I have so many favorites, including Star Trek (2009), Avatar, Men In Black and Independence Day.

JL: Celestial Seduction features a "one-night-stand" dating service. I know you're married with kids--what's been your experience with internet dating? (Perhaps laughing at your single friends' experiences?)

JS: Honestly, I've never used the internet for anything more than flirting with people I already knew when I was still single. The internet and dating services have come a long was since then. I don't plan on being in the position to date again, but I'd still be reluctant to arrange a date over the internet. I've heard good and bad stories. I have made some great friends though and hope to meet them in the future.

JL: How would friends describe your personality?

JS: Busy. Most people ask me how I do everything that I do, including find time to write, but it has to be this way for me or else I'll go crazy or maybe I'm already there. After all, I do have voices in my head. I call them characters. :)

JL: Celestial Seduction is a short story. How did you choose the length of the story? What do you like about short stories?

JS: I wrote this story with the intentions of submitting it to Decadent Publishing for their 1 Night Stand series. According to their detail sheet, submissions must be 7-12K words. It was a challenge for me to write a short story though as everything I'd written before had been at least 50K. I learned a lot along the way and continue to write short novellas.

JL: What's next for you on the writing horizon?

JS: I have another 1 Night Stand story coming soon from Decadent Publishing called Beneath the Starry Sky. There is a common character in both stories, but they are separate stories. I also have several other projects on the go.

JL: Thanks for visiting, Jessica.

JS: Thanks for having me, Jennifer! I appreciate your support.

Readers, go out and get your copy of this fantastic story! Jessica is helping you by giving away an e-book of Celestial Seduction for commenting on this post through 9/9/11.