AUTHOR INTERVIEW & GIVEAWAY [CLOSED]: Jesi Lea Ryan

I am excited to have Jesi Lea Ryan here on the blog today as part of her book tour. Her debut novel, Four Thousand Miles, released on November 7th. Please welcome Jesi!

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Could you tell us a little about yourself and your path to becoming a published author?

I was born and raised in the Mississippi River town of Dubuque, Iowa.  I started writing as a little girl.  In fact, when I was eight years old, I had a book published called Grump: The Skump Who Ate Liver.  Never heard of it?  It was a masterpiece that ended up in dentist waiting rooms all over the Dubuque area.  Actually, I don’t even have a copy of it any more.

Well, Grump led to a love of writing, but I never envisioned it as a career.  I kept journals and wrote some short stories for fun, but to be honest, I grew up poor and that made me practical.  I didn’t have the luxury to pull off the starving artist thing.  Even though I majored in Creative Writing and Literature in college, I followed the security of a paycheck into the insurance industry.

When the economy tanked in early 2009, my insurance position was eliminated.  Luckily for me, I have a husband who makes enough money to meet our bills and he encouraged me to give writing an honest go of it.  It was the best decision I’ve ever made.

That is so awesome that you were published at such a young age! How long did it take to write Four Thousand Miles, from pen & paper to being published?

A month before my insurance job was cut, my husband and I took my mother to the UK.  I am a big day dreamer—I think of it as writing in my head—and England inspired me.  One of the places we stayed was a medieval farm which had been turned into a bed & breakfast in rural Kent.  I love history and as someone who worked with home insurance, the construction and modernization of the old farm buildings fascinated me.  There were wild flowers and sheep filling the pastures, hedgerows lining the roads and an aura of history that we just don’t have in the US.  I don’t think I have ever been to a more romantic place.  I knew I had to write about it.

The actual writing of Four Thousand Miles took me about four months to complete.  (Four thousand miles is the exact distance from Milwaukee, WI, where my main character is from to Pluckley, Kent where the she flees after her career and marriage fall apart.)  I had a couple of people read the book, and I spent a couple of months polishing and tweaking before I began querying agents.  I queried for a couple of months, with no luck.  Last May, I attended the Romantic Times Convention with the goal of finding an agent.  I didn’t land an agent, but I did find an editor who requested my full manuscript.  Within a couple of weeks, I signed on with DCL Publications.

What was the most challenging aspect of writing your debut novel and how did you overcome the challenge?

For me, the writing was the easiest part—although it didn’t feel that way at the time.  My inspirations were so strong that the story poured out of me.  When I set out to write it, I didn’t know where the story would go or how it would end.  Instead, I let the characters lead the way.

The hardest part about the process was trying to sell my book.  The query process is long and takes a lot of work to yield results.  In my case, I sent about forty queries and never did get an agent.  The challenge is to not take the rejection personally.  I have a very tough skin, so I didn’t have as much of a problem with the rejection as some other people I know.  Agents are very busy people and the number of clients they can take on is limited.  One agent I spoke to recently told me that she has received about a thousand queries this year and has only signed one client.  I got lucky in that I was able to find a publisher myself without an agent.

What can readers expect to see from you in the future? Is there another book in the works?

While I have done a few short stories, I really am more of a novel writer.  I need to have room to move around and let my characters grow.  I am currently working on a YA paranormal romance that has to do with a love spell gone wrong.  I also have another women’s fiction piece that I’ve begun working on.  There has also been some interest in a possible sequel to Four Thousand Miles which would revolve around Gavin’s brother Elliot.  I suppose I will wait to see what the reader response is before I consider that further.

What are 5 things most people don't know about you?

Wow, that’s hard.  I am pretty open with myself in general.  Okay, here goes:

1. President Jimmy Carter kissed me.  I was only three at the time, but I remember it.  I used to call him the Peanut Man.
2. I am very sensitive when it comes to animals.  I support animal charities whenever possible, I detest hunting for sport and I never kill a spider in my house.  My cat and I have a codependent relationship
3. The character of Gavin was inspired by a photo of Robert Pattinson.  I didn’t even know who Pattinson was at the time.  I had an entirely different picture in my head for Gavin, but when I stumbled on this one, I knew he was my male lead.  Yes, I am a genuine Pattinson fan now, but I think some of that has to do with the four months I spent turning him into a fictional character.
4. I collect Buddha statues.  They are hiding all over my house.  I keep coins underneath them, because someone told me that doing so would bring me wealth.
5. I’m addicted to pop culture.  PerezHilton.com is the homepage on my computer.  I call it “getting my news.”  Yet, for as interested as I am in celebrity, I don’t really want to meet any of them in person.  I’m interested in them as people, not as celebs.  I’m sympathetic to what it must be like living life under a microscope.  I’ve been thinking of writing a novel about fame for a while.

What are you currently reading?

I am the most prolific reader I know.  I average about three books a week.  I will read just about any genre as long as it is well written.  I’m not one of those snobs who thinks commercial fiction and literature are separate entities.  Literary value can come in many forms.  Lately, I have been on an Urban Fantasy kick.  I am in literary love with Richelle Mead.  I have read everything she has written and can’t get enough.  Some of my other favorite authors are Jaye Wells, Lauren Dane, Jane Austen, TC Boyle, Louise Erdrich, Sherman Alexie, JR Ward, Edward Rutherford, DH Lawrence, Gail Carriger, Oscar Wilde and Kurt Vonnegut.  See what I mean when I say I read everything?

Last spring I started a blog where I review the books that I read.  It started mostly as a way for me to track the books I read and my thoughts about them.  If anyone would like to see what I am currently reading, check my blog.

You definitely have eclectic taste! Thanks for including The Book Vixen to be a part of your book tour!

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jesi Lea Ryan was born and raised in the Mississippi River town of Dubuque, Iowa.  After graduating from Loras College with degrees in Creative Writing and Literature, she relocated to Madison, Wisconsin.  In addition to writing, she teaches creative writing workshops to teens through the University of Wisconsin Outreach Program, and has served as a creative writing mentor for the Young Scholars Program through the Wisconsin Center for Academically Talented Youth.  Her short story “Death of a Woman” has been published in the Detroit based literary magazine The Furnace.  This is her first novel.

Find the author online: blog | twitter | goodreads | facebook

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GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED.

Thanks to Jesi Lea Ryan, I have an eBook copy of Four Thousand Miles to giveaway!! Giveaway is open Internationally. Comments are appreciated, however, you must fill out the form below in order to enter the giveaway. Please read the Contest/Giveaway Policy for complete list of rules. Giveaway ends Friday, November 19th, 2010. Good luck to all who enter!