Featured Author
Jenna
McKnight
Long before Jenna McKnight's first novel was published in 1992, she started accumulating material. Not an armchair researcher, she's sheltered through a hailstorm with a skunk, been caught on the river in a flash flood, petted big cats (tiger, cougar) and small whales, and found herself targeted as a landing spot by a black squirrel and a PO'd monkey.
Jenna's owned a racetrack (auto), competed in Combined Training events (equine), boated through alligator-filled waterways, camped from Missouri to California (her only "never again"), poked around castles in England, palaces and ruins in Spain, and the Casbah in Northern Africa.
You won't catch Jenna on top of fire towers and bridges, but she's ventured into caves, lead mines, coal mines, and a missile silo. She's hiked down into a steaming volcano, the Grand Canyon, and the lowest point in the western hemisphere: Badwater, Death Valley. When offered a submarine trip—you guessed it, she took it.
And yet...she has time to write!
Jenna has received a whole slew of awards and outstanding reviews for her novels, including A Greek God at the Ladies' Club, which will be released around Thanksgiving from Avon Books.
Jenna agreed to answer a few questions for Writers Unlimited and give us a little insight into her world.
WU: Why did you decide to become a romance author?
JM: : I started writing in elementary school, little stories and whatnot, with no idea where I was going. After college, I started reading romance. Then one day, between jobs, I figured why not combine my two loves? I could write, I knew the genre and so I was off and running.
WU: Do you write full time or do you have another career?
JM: I gave up my other career awhile back, but I don't do this 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, either. I might do that one week, then take a few days off the next to check out some movies, catch up on the homefront and the things I like to think I can let slide, but if I do, all of a sudden I have a layer of dust you wouldn't believe.
WU: Can you give us an example of a typical day in the life of Jenna McKnight?
JM: I'm an early riser. Really, I can barely wait to get to my computer and get to work because when I go to bed at night, these people we call "characters" are waking up and interacting and reminding me of lines they want to say in the book. People ask how I keep coming up with ideas. I ask how can I turn them off once in awhile.
Somedays I write all day, reminding myself to step away from the computer once in awhile to stretch—physically and mentally. Stepping away takes me out of tunnel vision and gives me a broader focus on the work in progress. Then I have dinner with my husband, usually with a movie for entertainment (and research). Evenings are more relaxed, either going for a walk, getting together with friends, vegging out with another movie or maybe playing some Snood. That said, there are plenty of days when I play hooky—maybe checking out some antique malls or wineries in the countryside.
WU: Readers today demand accuracy in the books they read. How much research about life styles, setting, dialect, etc. goes into one of your stories?
JM: In a word, TONS. Recently, I threw myself into 3 days of disaster training with the fire and police departments in St. Louis County. I don't have a story picked out yet to go with it, but research like that sometimes presents an idea when I get into it.
I love research; if I'm not careful, it becomes a matter of knowing when to quit. I write contemporary and both my Avon romantic comedies are set locally, as is the suspense I'm working on, so the settings on these three have been a breeze. Everything else, I read, read, read. And talk to people. I have an ear for dialect and conversation; that comes naturally. If I want to use a dialect I'm not familiar with, though, I get a personal contact and/or travel to the area in question and tape it.
That said, let's remember that this "is" fiction and some things are made up on purpose.
WU: Tell us about any upcoming releases and works in progress.
JM: A Greek God at the Ladies' Club is a December Avon romantic comedy; it'll be on the shelves November 25th. The following book is also a romantic comedy, but isn't titled as yet, nor does it have a release date set. The best way to keep up with new releases is via my website. The work in progress is a straight suspense, with a working title of Eighth House Afflicted.
WU: How do you come up with the ideas for your books? Do you have a
brainstorming session with someone or do they just kind of "pop" into your head?
JM: Ideas come from anywhere and everywhere. A news story, for instance, can catch my interest. Something I see or hear in a TV show or movie might make a good idea—not rewriting the show or movie, but a whole different plot. I save up ideas. Then, when I'm finished with the work in progress and ready to let another one have a life, I usually combine two or more ideas for a richer story. My Harlequin American, Two Weddings & A Feud, is a good example of this—the combined ideas were a flood and Romeo & Juliet. Wedding Knight—running a Bed & Breakfast in a castle and a time-traveling knight who used to own the castle.
I've brainstormed with other people in the past. Kathie DeNosky's a great brainstorming partner, mostly because of her sense of humor and mine—well, let's just say some of the things we come up with probably should be outlawed! I find brainstorming with non-writers doesn't work well for getting the basic plot together because they don't understand the guidelines, but they can be a big help on the overview.
WU: A lot of aspiring writers suffer the agony of rejection after rejection. How hard or easy was it for you to "break in" to the published ranks?
JM: About middle of the road, I'd say. Sooner than some, longer than others and too darned slow for me.
WU: Any words of wisdom for those that would like to follow in your footsteps?
JM: I've found that, in the beginning, always keeping more than one project "out there" helped. When I'd get a rejection, it was nice to be able to fall back on the hope that there was still another project out there that might fly. This goes for contests as well as manuscript submissions.
Also, so many writers let agents reject project after project without ever sending them to an editor. Sometimes this is necessary. On the other hand, some projects also get delayed because agents can be wrong. If you've received a lot of noteworthy attention in contests, like win after win, or if published authors read your work and tell you it's saleable and ready to go and you have an agent who rejects your projects, don't settle for that. Meet an editor who buys your kind of writing at a conference and get permission to send directly to that editor. Or meet an agent who sells your kind of writing and get him or her to look at your work.
WU: Where can readers contact you?
JM: First let me say: I love to hear from readers. I read every piece of mail. If it's email, I answer it. If it's snail mail and comes with a self-addressed stamped envelope, I answer it.
There'll always be a current email address on my website, www.jennamcknight.com. I change it periodically (spammers get it), so that's the best way to go. Or there's always snail mail: PO Box 283, Grover, MO 63040-0283. I have a newsletter, too, for people who want to keep up to date with new releases; there's a form for that on my website.
WU, thanks for featuring me this month. I've spent a lot of years in this business and it's nice to be able to share some of what I've learned with people who're interested. I've even learned a little about promotion.  So let me say to everyone...when you pick up a copy of A Greek God at the Ladies' Club, do yourself a favor. The timing's right. Get some of your Christmas shopping out of the way at the same time—buy a second copy for your mother, sister, girl friend or maybe even your Secret Santa at work. Thanks!
Visit http://www.JennaMcKnight.com for information on Jenna's upcoming releases, contests and more.
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