Okay, I’ve gone a little crazy with interviews and have thus determined to post an interview every Monday morning – pace myself, so to speak. Today I’d like to share the interview I did with top-selling LDS author, Jennie Hansen. The author of such books as The Bracelet, Code Red and many, many more, she is a prolific writer who has risen to the top of her craft. From her website, we learn a little bit about her background:
“Jennie Hansen graduated from Ricks College in Idaho, then continued her education at Westminster College in Utah after her oldest child was married and her youngest was in high school. She has been a freelance magazine writer, newspaper reporter, editor, librarian, Mother and Grandmother. . .She has received numerous first and second place writing awards from the Utah and National Federation of Press Women and was the 1997 third place winner of the URWA Heart of the West Writers Contest.
“Jennie has been active in community affairs. In addition to numerous responsibilities in the LDS church, she served a term on the Kearns Town Council, and two terms on the Salt Palace Advisory Board, and was a delegate to the White House Conference on Libraries and Information Services.”
So join me as we delve into the mind of Jennie Hansen.
1. What prompted you to become a writer?
I’ve loved books all of my life, was first published when I was only seven in a farm magazine, and discovered early that I liked expressing myself on paper.
2. What is your routine, on a daily basis, as far as being a parent and a writer?
My children are grown so I don’t have day-to-day responsibility for caring for them, but I always take time to talk to them on the phone, tend grandchildren when needed, and help them with the minor emergencies that constantly come up. I usually try to write from about nine to noon, then for a couple more hours in the afternoon. When deadlines are looming or I’m deeply involved in a section of a book, I may work as many as fourteen hours on some days. Occasionally my husband will want me to spend a day going somewhere or doing something with him and I usually agree–unless I have a difficult deadline.
3. What is your genre and why did you choose it?
I write in several different genres. Most of my books are romantic suspense, a couple are romances, but my last three have been historicals. Two of those are actually westerns. I like a lot of action, mystery, or suspense and just a small amount of romance usually. I also write a review column for Meridian Magazine in which I review new LDS fiction written by others. And I guess I write a lot of different types of things because I have a broad spectrum of interests, I have a newspaper background which covers many different types of stories, and I like trying new things.
4. Tell me a little about the books you’ve written.
My seventeenth book will be released in August. It will be a sequel to The Bracelet which came out last Fall and is generally listed as an Historical Romance though it also follows early Church history. My books are, first of all, stories that are meant to entertain and are strong on action. They’re also written incorporating my own LDS background, standards, and view of life. I don’t write with the idea of converting anyone, but I am thrilled when someone tells me my books have strengthened her/his testimony. I have a farm and ranch background so many of my books have outdoors scenes or a rural connection of some kind. High Stakes and Wild Card are Historical Westerns. Many of my books are Romantic Suspense because I like adding a touch of romance angle.
5. What do you have on your website and why did you choose those particular topics?
My web site isn’t fancy. It mostly tells a little about me and gives a synopsis and sometimes a first chapter of the books I’ve written. I add new photographs and update my signing schedule on it.
6. What advice do you give to those struggling to become published writers?
Write! Write! Write! A class or writers group, how to books, critique groups, conventions can be helpful, especially at first, if they don’t become an end in themselves and keep you from really writing. Learn grammar and punctuation rules, then use them. Finish what you start, then actually submit it to a publisher–or two -or three–or. . .
7. Who are your favorite authors and why?
I have a lot of favorite LDS authors, but I’d rather not list them since I write a review column and would prefer to be on good terms with all LDS fiction writers.
8. Is it difficult to maintain your standards as a writer in today’s market? Why or why not?
Not really since I write for an LDS audience.
9. How does your faith play into your writing or creation?
My faith is part of who I am and I was taught a long time ago to write about what I know something about.
10. What is your funniest memory in recent years?
Little funny things happen every day, but it’s hard to think of some big specific thing. Last Fall’s Mystery Dinner was filled with laughs. My grandchildren make me laugh a lot. Kerry Blair’s Mummy’s the Word and Matthew Buckley’s Chickens in the Headlights are both delightful, funny memories.
Learn more about Jennie at her website www.jennielhansen.com.