Yet another boring, longwinded Author’s Bio FAQ…maybe...or maybe you might find this interesting:

Q.  What is the difference between trade paperback and mass market paperback versions?

Q.  Why do you have a Fanfiction / Fanart Policy?

A. First, I actually got interested in being a writer because I didn't like the ending to a story, and sat down and wrote what I thought should have happened back when I was a young girl.  This was long before "fanfic" became a word, let alone one that I knew.  I've practiced writing in other author's universes in order to develop my abilities in different styles of writing, setting description, characterization and so forth, so to me, fanfics are an important source of practice material.  By writing in different authors' styles, I was able to develop my own style. 

Second, I also got noticed for publication because of my current fanfics...so it would be doubly hypocritical of me to say, "No, you can't write fanfics in my universe!"  I'd rather encourage it than discourage it.  If someone else plays around in my universe, developing their own writing talents and polishing their skills, maybe they'll get noticed for publication, too.  This isn't a competetive business, after all.  Even if they don't get noticed through fanfics, at least they'll have practiced and hopefully polished their writing skills, so that if and when they submit a manuscript, it'll be in a better shape than it would have been before. 

Third...it's going to happen, regardless.  If I put out a list of reasonable rules for people to follow, most of them will respect that.  They'll follow them, and they'll censure those that don't.  I think the rules I came up with are reasonable enough, since they're mostly about legal matters--no descriptions of sex with underage characters, no trying to make money off fanfics set in my universe, common sense stuff like that.  At least, if I were the one looking at these rules before writing a fanfic in these universes, I think I'd be able to follow them easily enough.  (Alas, I cannot write fanfic in my own universes.  If word got out, people would take what I'd written for canon, and if I were trying to spoof myself at the time--eek!  Nope, big headachy mess, so I'll just stick to writing official canon stuff.  *sigh*)

Click here to view my policy on Fanfiction and Fanart.

Coming soon - http://jeanjohnsonfanfiction.com - Hosted by the gracious NotSoSaintly.

Q.  Have you received negative reviews, or been flamed for your writing?

A. Of course!  The Sword has already received some rather interesting, and in some cases mixed, reviews.  I'm not afraid to speak the words of my detractors; I've had some people complain to me that no single female could possibly know about proper, safe gun use, AND know about bobbin-lace construction.  I kindly refer them to my friend Arnora:  she used to be a member of the Bothell, WA, City Police, and is currently practicing the fine art of lace-making in her spare time.  (I like to tease her by calling it lace-bobbing, too, which is where that comes from.)

Q.  No, seriously; what have been some actual complaints, and what were your responses?

A.  Here are a few samples, and some of my responses to them—please note that some of these responses are JUST my internal thoughts on the matter (the stuff in parentheses, much of which I just bit my tongue and didn’t actually write a response to), while others were actual replies:

Comment:  “U SUK!  STOP RITING IMMEDIATELY U HAK”  --   (Um…if you promise to learn how to write, I promise I’ll take your criticisms more seriously once you do.)

Comment:  “I hate your female character in The Sword.  She yells all the time and bosses everyone around!” – Answer:  Since the story had plenty of drama in it, there were opportunities for the heroine to be scared or angry…but she didn’t yell all of the time.  As for bossing others around, some people are just like that.  But this was only one character in one story; if you would care to read further, you’ll find I use all manner of personality types for my characters.  The heroine in The Wolf, the second book of the Sons of Destiny series, is definitely different from the heroine in the first book; she’s not very bossy at all, and very rarely yells.

Comment:  “There’s too much sex in this story—take out the sex, and the plot will be better!”   -- (This is one that never ceases to amuse me, as the plot for that particular story WAS about the sex.  Take out the sex, and there would be no plot.  Pardon me while I scratch my head over your request, and find a tasteful way to reply…nope, couldn’t find it!)

Comment:  “You shouldn’t have your heroes calling your villain by childish names; you’ve established that he IS a powerful, scary villain, and having them call him by stupid nicknames diminishes this.”  --  Answer:  Actually, this is a valid technique for a number of people, who use belittling nicknames to detoxify their fear of a thing. Arachnophobia, for example--calling 'em "spidey-widies" instead of "spiders" or "eight-legged freaks of nature that freak me out and make me scream like a girl--pardon me while I shriek at the mere sight of a very tiny one".

Comment:  “You have a terrible habit of abusing commas.  You use too many of them!”  --  Answer:  …Okay, I have no snappy, neat riposte for refuting this one.  It is true.  I do have a terrible habit of abusing commas.  They’re like little orphans, neglected and disdained by other writers, turned into street-urchins grubbing in the gutters and looking for a place, maybe, to call their own…so I adopt them and put them to work in ways that would only be legal in the German language, not the English one.  At least, according to one of my beta-editors…  (For the record, I took French and American Sign Language…and it was many years ago.  The only two languages I speak with any fluency these days are English and Music.)

Comment:  “I can’t believe you wrote that!!  What kind of a person are you?!”  --  Answer:  Kindly do not make the mistake of thinking that what an author writes is the same as what that author believes.  (After all, if what Stephen King wrote was what he actually believed in doing, then by rights he should be locked up in an insane asylum for the good of humanity…or sent to the chair!)

…Actually, I think it would be rather creepy if everyone loved my writing and no one hated it.  So feel free to dislike my writing, if you wish.  I accept constructive commentary with good grace and careful consideration…but please be polite.  Vulgarity will only get you a raspberry and a time-out in the “Let’s ignore that person” penalty box.

Q.  Do you have plans to write anything other than romance novels?

A.  Absolutely.  Though in my defense, while The Sword (released February 2007) is a romance novel in and of itself, it is only 50% romance novel.  The other 50% is fantasy novel...and while each book in the series is a self-contained romance, it is the fantasy half that binds the series together.  Things happen in book one that set up the plots for book 2 (The Wolf, released April 2007) and book 3 (The Master, available September 2007).

Book 2 resolves some of those plot-questions, but sets up more for book 3 and book 4 (The Song, available February 2008).  Book 3 answers many of the remaining questions, but there are some waiting for book 4, and book 4 resolves...well, all of the previous questions, yes, but a new problem will be raised at the end of it, carrying on into books 5-8.  (This is how I explained it to Cindy when I said, maybe we should aim for a 4 book contract; it's tidier, that way...)  So in a way, I’m also in the middle of writing a fantasy series.  One that’s heavy on the romance, but definitely a fantasy series nonetheless.

I also have other fantasy stories (much lighter on the romance) being planned, and several science-fiction tales in the works, though they’ll need a bit of polishing before I’ll consider submitting them.  The science-fiction ones, I’ll consider passing to Ace Books first.  Like the Berkley Group, they’re a division of The Penguin Group, the parent publishing company.  Not sure who to send the fantasy ones to, just yet, but I’ll consider a Penguin subsidiary first.

After asking around, I’ve learned I’ve received a better deal though Berkley than the industry average, and I like rewarding those who have faith in me by returning the favor with some loyalty.  They took a leap of faith in not only signing me for a 4 book deal, but in treating me well for a first-time author, after all.  Lol, that doesn’t mean I won’t be reading each and every contract carefully, though!  I certainly went over the contract for books 5 & 6 carefully, when I received it, the same as the contracts for the two short stories in upcoming anthologies (An Enchanted Season, October 2007; and Elemental Magic, November 2007)

Q.  Have any men read your romance novels?

A.Yes, and they have enjoyed them immensely!  In fact, before I settled on The Sword as the manuscript to submit to Cindy, the editor handling my works at The Berkley Group, I ran it past two overseas gentlemen I knew.  Both gave me high praise for the overall storyline and strongly encouraged me continue the overall tale.  Their enthusiasm was what I really needed to hear, coming from mostly impartial readers, to give me the courage to submit the story in the end.  Since then, I’ve heard from fifteen men who’ve read the book—once they braved their way past the cover—and they’ve one and all loved the story.  I don’t write just for women; I try to write for everyone, and I’m tickled to no end that men are indeed enjoying my tales. 

Q.  Who are some of your favorite authors?

A.  Some of my favorite authors include:  Mercedes Lackey, Dara Joy, Alan Dean Foster, Randall Garrett & Vicki Ann Heydron (I totally recommend their 7-book series, The Gandalara Cycle), Deborah Simmons, Jayne Ann Krentz/Amanda Quick (whose books I have on my shelves, and you could've knocked me over with a proverbial feather when I saw the review quote from her!), Anne McCaffrey, Anne Logston, Andre Norton, Tad Williams, C.J.Cherryh...I literally own hundreds of novels, if not thousands—I haven’t bothered to stop and count, lately—and read voraciously in my spare time.

I also subscribe to Science News Weekly, which keeps me abreast of the latest scientific findings in virtually every field of study available.  While I'm more of a story-teller than a hard-science type, I try to make the science in my science-fiction at least somewhat believable...which lends itself equally well to the historical sciences I try to include in my fantasy novels.

Q.  Where do you come up with your story ideas?

A.  I’m always tempted to respond with,  “Why, I extract them quite readily and frequently from the terminus-point of my alimentary canal, of course,” because this is such an impossibly difficult and complex question to answer.  But that would be impolite, incomplete, and a bit of a cheat.  I get my ideas from dreams, from daydreams, from posing “what if…” questions, from revamping old faerie tales, and from chance little plot-threads that I notice in my other stories.  Basically, from a synthesis of hundreds of ideas, big and little, which are intriguing enough to be turned into their own tales.

I also think big.  I am a huge Babylon 5 fan, I loved The Gandalara Cycle, and I was reading The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy before the age of 15.  I love big, complex plots that interweave in a gloriously brocaded tapestry full of hidden depth waiting to be discerned upon multiple readings, with lots of little plot-thread tassles to bat at as I go along, so that’s naturally the kind of story I want to write.  Either that, or I’m just that twisted.

Whatever the source, I have so many plot-bunnies hopping around and plot-threads to bat at with my little kitty-paws, I will never run out of ideas.  Seriously.  I don’t have a plot-bunny hutch.  I don’t have a plot-bunny queue.  I had a plot-bunny refugee camp for a little while, but they’ve since achieved permanent city-status, and are busy turning themselves into productive citizens.  (I think their chief export are dust bunnies, which they scatter all around my workspace.  Either that, or my dust bunnies are plot-bunny-wannabes.)

Q.  What does your family think of you, the writer, and how does your writing affect your life?

A.  My family, thankfully, puts up with my many eccentricities.  They've bought me subscriptions to science journals for years, they have put up with my being a member of the SCA (the medieval society) for nearly two decades, and they are usually willing guinea pigs whenever I want to experiment with a new dish for dinner…which, if I’m distracted and want to get back to my writing in a hurry, can be occasionally adventuresome.

The worst of my flaws as a housemate is that I am a confirmed, dedicated night-owl.  There is a debate ranging as to whether I'm awake in the smallest hours of the morning by personal and occasionally just plain anti-social choice, by an inborn, natural inclination (it was scientifically proven in a study that, in tribal societies, someone is always awake at any given hour, usually to either tend the hearthfire or watch for predators), or because it's the only time when I'm left alone and can have huge blocks of uninterrupted time in which to compose my stories.  Either way, I'm grateful they put up with it.

As for readership among my family members...while my sister is eagerly anticipating my next book, my father is into non-fiction for his leisure reading, and my mother, who isn’t into science-fiction or fantasy, pretty much won't read anything racier than a kiss in her romances.  But that's alright; I don't expect everyone to love my writing.

Q.  Are you going to finish the Sons of Destiny series?

A.  Most definitely yes.  Each of the eight brothers will be given their due time in the romantic spotlight, never fear, and the whole double-arc of the fantasy story will be resolved by the end of book 8.  Right now, I am writing books 5 & 6, and working on the plots for 7 & 8 in my spare time…but as they’ll depend partly on what happens in 5 & 6, I can’t start the last two until those two are complete.

I’ve always known the general action of what will happen in each book.  It’s the little details that often don’t come to me until I’m elbow deep in constructing each story.  Sometimes they do show up early, and I put them onto a sticky-note for later contemplation and possible inclusion, and I look them over again when I get closer to the book they’re to be tucked into.  Some things I keep, other things I toss out, and a few things I’ve saved for even later in the overall story arc, where it would make even better sense for it to show up then.

Q.  Do you have a contract for all eight books in the Sons of Destiny series?

A.  I’ve signed contracts for the first 6, and I am quite confident Berkley will offer me a contract for the last two novels.  (If they don’t, I’ll sic the Mob of Irate Torch-Wielding Fans upon ‘em.  Heck, I won’t even have to tell ‘em to attack, just tell ‘em Berkley isn’t signing, and then stand back, watching and wincing over the ensuing melee/carnage.  Hmm…better hope they offer of their own accord; I like my editor too much, otherwise!)

Q.  Do you have any other books that will be published soon?

A.  I don’t have full-length novels being published outside of the Sons of Destiny series at this time, but I was invited to write two short stories for fantasy-romance anthologies.  In the Christmas anthology, An Enchanted Season (which comes out at the start of October, 2007), I have written "Gifts of the Magi", a tale about the potential trials and troubles of what-happens-next in one's romantic life. 

In the anthology Elemental Magic (to be released the very next month in November, 2007), which covers the four Greek elements of Fire, Air, Water, and Earth, I was assigned the element of Earth, and have written a short story, "Birthright".

As for other works...well, you don't write for decades without coming up with at least one or two good plotlines a year, so we'll see how many I can polish up and present for potential publication.  But first, I must finish the Sons of Destiny series; it wouldn't do to leave my readers dangling for too long.  Some of them belong to the Mob of Irate Torch-Wielding Fans, after all...and some of those know where I live…eep!

Q.  What is the Mob of Irate Torch-Wielding Fans, anyway?

A.  Originally, it was my email list of readers who wanted to know the moment I updated one of my fanfics online.  But Yahoomort dislikes anything that tastes even vaguely of SPAM, and kindly suggested I get a YahooGroup…and then locked up my email account when I sent out two messages in one day to over 100 people each time, to ensure that I got the message.  (Since the group is located in an age-restricted section of Yahoo!Groups, please adhere to the 18+ age limit, or Yahoomort will kill it.  I’ve already had one YahooGroup shut down and an email account destroyed because someone didn’t want to play by the rules.  Not fun, and not funny.)

The name, Mob of Irate Torch-Wielding Fans, came about because my readers were, well, camping themselves outside my fictional castle home (where I’d love to live ideally, if it had decent insulation, indoor plumbing, central heating, electricity, and internet access) like some group of torch-and-pitchfork-owning villagers ready to storm the place and make their demands known to the crazy person living all alone in the spooky mansion on the hilltop.  Sort of The Monster of Dr. Frankenstein-ish.  They demanded I update faster, and in doing so, threatened to light a fire under my seat to get me to move faster with said updates.

I, of course, thought this was an amusing piece of mental imagery, one with a lot of potential.  So I turned it around and used it on some of my own favorite fanfic authors, and threatened said authors with a mob of my fellow readers, torches, pitchforks, and all, if they didn’t update soon, and so on and so forth.  Thus, the Mob was born.  (Not to be confused with the Mafia, please; we’re crazier, yes, but nicer.)

Q.  What does the Mob of Irate Torch-Wielding Fans do?

A.  We talk about nearly anything and everything, hence the adult-only restriction.  I firmly encourage the discussion of other authors’ works, not just my own, and the only topics that are truly restricted are the active promotion of real-world illegalities.  (For example:  you can talk all you want about how to kill off one of your characters, but don’t ever talk about trying to murder a real person.)  We also get rather silly at times, making up little stories about what goes on at the Mob Tourism Centre (located just to the right of my castle gates, in the apple and hazelnut orchard), and “borrow” characters from various genres (predominantly the ones in the fanfic genres we like best) to “play” with as we exercise our imaginations.  These are acts of parody only, of course…

We also discuss serious subjects, such as various illnesses and how to cope with them, seek advice for troubles with our spouses or significant others (those that have them)—and yes, there ARE active male Mob-members—we kvetch about everything in general and sometimes in specific at life’s oddities, inanities, and injustices, and in general, we just relax in the company of our fellow, supportive, slightly nutty, online friends.

Q.  How do I find the Mob of Irate-Torch Wielding Fans, so I can chat with you?

A.  This website, www.jeanjohnson.net, is open to those of all ages.  Regardless of your age, there is a forum board waiting and ready.  You can also click on the “Contact” link to email me directly with a comment or a question.  Either way, I’ll do my best to respond.  So, if you just want to chat, or make a comment, or ask me some questions, feel free to post a message or send an email!

The Mobsite, however is restricted to those 18+ in age.  There might or might not be a link hidden on this website, somewhere…but seriously, no one under 18.  I don’t want to have yet another email and groupsite be obliterated because someone thought it would be “cute” to disregard the rules.  I don’t make those particular rules, but I do get penalized if someone else rudely breaks them.  *sigh*

…Thank you for being polite and kind!

Q.  Have you had many rejection slips in the past?

A.  I haven't bothered to keep my rejection form-letters.  There weren't many over the last two decades, as I submitted no more than half a dozen or so times, but when the last three were all along the lines of,  "You're not published, so we don't know who you are or how good your writing is; why don't you go get published, and then we'll think about publishing you?"...well, there are only so many times you can beat your head against a Catch-22 brick wall before you just stop doing it and look for some other way. That's when I had the brilliant idea of posting some of my writing on the internet, to try and get a readership base. 

I was told by a long-time professional editor that the Catch-22 I received was “unprofessional”, to quote her directly, so if anyone out there receives a rejection slip along those lines, don’t get discouraged!  DON’T write them a flaming letter or email in return, however—if you do, you’ll be creating a very negative impression, and these editors DO talk to each other on a fairly regular basis, even across different publishing houses.  I’ve always tried to present myself in a professional, polite manner, and it’s definitely spared me from suffering extra hassle along the way.

Q.  How did you get your break in publishing?

A.  Once I got the idea to post my writing online, I thought I would collect what I hoped would be positive reviews, and then print 'em out, MAIL them in bulk to the next publisher I'd consider approaching, and prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that my work was good enough to garner an interested fan-base, and thus a purchaser-base, making me worth the risk of publishing. 

It worked fairly well, to an extent; my writing did get noticed by the online community.  I received first-runner-up at one website (including a small cash prize for an original story of mine, yay!), several nominations and a couple of awards at another, nominations at yet other sites...and somewhere in there, I got sucked into the world of fanfic.  [I would like to state at this point in time that I have never received money for my fanfics, nor would I ever.  They're works of parody, not of profit.  *thbbbpts*  Of course, I expect the same courtesy from those who wish to play around in my own universes...and while we’re on that subject, please read my Policy on Fanfic & Fanart]

It was through one of these fanfic endeavors that I was noticed by one of the editors at The Berkley Group, Cindy; she had read my writings, really liked my style, and contacted me to make an offer:  if I had any original works in the realm of women's fiction that I was thinking of submitting, would I be interested in submitting to her for her perusal?

…After getting over the initial skepticism of who-the-heck-is-this-person-anyway, I dusted off the manuscript for The Sword and submitted it, along with a synopsis of the second book, The Wolf (half-completed at the time), and a comment that this was part of a whole series of books I had planned.  Cindy loved it, and offered me a three-book contract on the spot in our phone conversation a short while later.  At that point, I had the awkward task of telling her,  "But, um, the first four books are plot-integrated; if you only ask for the first three, there will be major plot-threads left dangling all over the place at the end of book 3.  So if it's at all possible to make it a four book contract, it might a better idea..."  The editor paused for about a second and a half (I could almost hear her popping the clutch and shifting it back into gear), and then Cindy said,  "Well, I don't actually have the numbers worked up for a four book deal, but if you'll give me a moment, I can fix that..."

This was me:  Totally Gobsmacked. 

I mean, I was expecting to hear an explanation that, as a newbie author, I shouldn't expect to get away with such hubris, and that I should actually be flattered that I was being offered a 3 book contract at all, nevermind the lowly one book contract most of us unpublished peons should be squeeing with joy to receive.  And she only hesitated because she didn't have the numbers worked up for an extra book's worth?  *blinkblink*

Much squeeing, rejoicing, and hyperventilating later, I had the contracts signed and the remaining two and a half books underway.  The fourth manuscript has now been delivered to my editor, after having been lovingly polished by my beta-editors, Stormi, NotSoSaintly, AlexandraLynch, and Alienor (accidentally mistyped in the acknowledgment page of The Sword as "Alienator", which thankfully amuses her).  Of these four ladies, I have met both Stormi and Alexandra in person, and am looking forward to one day meeting NotSoSaintly and Alienor as well  They are jewels, each with different strengths as beta-editors; without their assistance in polishing my prose, it would definitely be a lot duller.

Q. Where were you born, what was your childhood like, how much education have you had, and how did you get into writing?

A.  Born and bred in the Pacific Northwest to a modestly normal family of two parents and two daughters, I had the typical nerdy-smart-kid habit of retreating into books. I did this because, for most of my school-aged childhood, we lived in a little patch of rurality in the midst of suburbia, there weren't any neighbor kids my age that I could play with, and my big sister didn't want to play with me.

One day, while reading a story at the age of about 10 or so, I didn't like the ending, so I sat down and wrote my own version of What Should Have Happened.  Of course, as an attempted work of grand literature, it stunk...but I was hooked on the whole writing-thing from that moment onward.  (It should be noted that this was long before the days when "fanfic" was a word, and I certainly never showed anyone my alternate story-ending.)

It wasn't until I was 15 that I decided I wanted to be a writer as a career, however.  So, when I went on to college, I majored in English for the most part since writing is my first and foremost love in life, with a minor in Music, which is my second love in life....and somehow wound up with a couple of degrees in Religion while I wasn't looking.  (But that's a story for another day.) 

After college, I spent my time as housekeeper for my family, cooking and cleaning and such, while trying to improve my skills as a writer and looking for various jobs here and there.  One of the things I did during this time was work as a freelance editor.  When my father fell ill, I was able to give more support to my family because I didn't have a traditional job, but thankfully I still had time for my writing.  So, I'm still a dutiful housedaughter--one who is really looking forward to moving out soon, now that I can afford to do so; as much as I love my family, it's been too many years--and I'm getting paid to do what I love most of all in the world.

Q.  What sort of stories do you like to write, and how did you get into writing romance?

A.  There are three categories I love to both read and write in the most:  science-fiction, fantasy, and romance.  Preferably in some sort of combination with the lattermost, as I am a terminal romantic at heart, though I have written stand-alones in each category.  I started reading fantasy and science-fiction among many other genres at an early age, then romance novels while I was a young teenager, about 14 or so.  At first, those romances were the mild contemporary ones wherein the hero and heroine might share a kiss, then slowly moved into racier ones, such as the historicals, then...well, let's just say that by the time I was old enough to be, I was happily corrupted.  (And yes, I had my mother's permission.  Nyah.)

If you have questions you would like answered from Jean, please click on the link below to post your question.

Click here to go to the forum.

Updated: November 24, 2007

Home

Sons of Destiny

Reviews

Fun Stuff

Site Map

@ 2008 G. Jean Johnson