Interview with author J.L. Imhoff
Happy Friday (or whatever day you may be reading this interview) to all you wonderful TWPeeps reading this week’s #fridayguestinterview. Today we have with us, the illustrious author J.L. Imhoff! I’ll let her kick things off by introducing herself to all of you.
Jen:
My name is Jen, I write under the name J.L. Imhoff. I’m from the Cincinnati area, but did live in San Francisco for five years. I’ve been writing books for three years now, although when I was younger I wrote a lot of poetry.
The Writing Piazza:
Poetry full of young girl angst perhaps? That’s the kind I know I wrote a lot of when I was younger. I’d like to say that my poetry has evolved since then, though now it’s probably just old-lady angst. Haha. But let’s talk more about your books. You are the author of the book Poseidia can you tell us a little about it?
Jen:
Poseidia is my debut novel—it’s a fantasy adventure/romance, about 73k words. Poseidia crosses a range of genres. The core of the story is an interesting fantasy blend of mystery and mythology as we discover a previously unknown civilization through Anna’s eyes. Her stubborn determination and sense of humor carry her (and the reader) seamlessly into a completely foreign world.
Emotional themes of resiliency in the face of domestic abuse, and learning to love yourself, play strongly throughout both books. Social organization is explored; we learn in book two all is not as idyllic as it seems. And finally, you’ll explore the strength of a mother’s love.
A smaller part of the telling, the technology this new race has developed is part paranormal, part sci-fi, without the space ships, though there is a [redacted] in Atlia. (I don’t want to spoil the giggle for you.)
The Writing Piazza:
So then Atlia is the sequel to Poseidia, and who is your audience for these books? Young adults, adults?
Jen:
There is a strong romance theme, especially in book two, but not an abundance of detailed bedroom action, for those who prefer the fade-to-black approach. Moderate language, there are a few adult expletives, but certainly not overdone, other than the first chapter of Poseidia, which is rough but necessary reading to understand Anna’s mindset.
The Writing Piazza:
So more for adult readers, or mature older teens then. Good to know. I have some younger readers so I always like to give that heads up. Thanks. 🙂
I know Poseidia is currently published, is the sequel out yet?
Jen:
My second book Atlia, the next in The Poseidia Series, will be out by the end of the month.
The Writing Piazza:
So exciting! And that cover is gorgeous! Let’s go behind the scenes if we can for a bit. That’s what this site is about, giving anyone who’s interested a behind the scenes look at what it takes to write and publish books (along with helping authors do just that). Can you tell us about your journey to become a published author?
Jen:
Oh gosh, I had this story burning inside of me and one day I opened up Word and started writing. The story took on its own life and Poseidia was born.
The Writing Piazza:
You really have to want it don’t you? To write a whole book. It really has to be a burning passion to get it finished. The motivation to do it is (usually) all internal. If you aren’t highly self-motivated, writing a whole novel probably won’t be in the cards for you unless you have some other reasons for getting it done.
Let’s talk briefly about book marketing. Nowadays authors are encouraged to get involved in the Social Media scene. Have you found this advice to be helpful to your career as a writer?
Jen:
Absolutely. Build a platform.
The Writing Piazza:
Short, sweet, concise, excellent. Can you write my synopsis for me? LOL
As a follow up to that question, do you have any advice for new authors who are trying to build up their social media presence?
Jen:
Never give up. Find other successful authors who write in a similar genre and do what they do. Keep at it every day and after a year (or two) you will have built the foundation for your platform.
The Writing Piazza:
I think that may be a misconception for a lot of new writers. They think success will happen overnight. That they’ll be discovered by some hotshot literary agent or publisher and their book will skyrocket to the top of the bestseller lists. But it takes a lot of work and even if you do have a hotshot agent or publisher, you will still need to build an author platform and that takes time. Usually a lot of time. And it has to be organic growth. Those “buy Twitter followers here” schemes don’t work because your conversion rates will be crazy low and your follower engagement will be abysmally low as well.
But if you take the time to grow your audience properly, by targeting your ideal audience and taking the time to interact with them. That will breed real results with higher conversion rates (book sales) and better word-of-mouth for your work. Ok, I’ll get off my soapbox now! 🙂
Writers face a number of hardships when writing their manuscripts. What would you say, has been the greatest challenge you’ve faced just in plotting your book?
Jen:
The characters kept changing the plot.
The Writing Piazza:
It’s crazy right!?! I didn’t believe it until I really started writing books seriously but the characters take on this life of their own as you write and it really does affect your plot line. It’s the darndest thing!
What other surprises caught you off guard in writing your book?
Jen:
The simple fact that I could write at all—and finish a book—I had no idea.
The Writing Piazza:
It’s such a great realization isn’t it? The feeling of accomplishment I felt after finishing my first book was very similar to the feeling I would get when I finished a cross-country race in High School. The satisfaction of knowing I had done something that not everyone could/would do was just such a rush!
Well now that you are a published author, what’s something you know now that you wish you knew before you started?
Jen:
Not to be scared to put your work out there. It’s like putting your heart out for the world to see, and sometimes kick, but you learn not to sweat it because not everyone will “get” your story, and that’s okay. Also, building a platform is essential—start now—before the first chapter is done because it takes time to build.
The Writing Piazza:
Here, here! I feel like a broken record when I give advice to other authors about building their platform but I always tell them it’s the number one thing published authors have told me they wished they had done sooner.
Speaking of good advice, what advice would you give to writers who are writing and/or attempting to publish their work?
Jen:
Hire professionals. Editors, artists. It’s an investment not only in yourself, but your work. Think of how much money it would cost to take a college course on creative writing—it is much less to have one on one editing advising/mentoring on your writing by a professional. And by no means does that mean stay with the first one you come across—find someone who gets you and your writing and that may mean “dating” a few editors. And then listen and learn from them.
The Writing Piazza:
Fantastic advice! I hope all my writer-readers will take that to heart! Before we wrap up this interview, I have to ask, are you currently working on another book?
Jen:
Yes, book 2, Atlia, of The Poseidia Series is getting the finishing touches and I have started on book 3, Tridia.
The Writing Piazza:
Looking forward to reading those. We are working on a review of Poseidia and will have that up soon and we will be happy to do a review of Atlia once you send it along as well so all you readers keep an eye out for that review and if you’re interested in purchasing Poseidia you can do that here:
Jen, thank you so much for your time and for being a guest on my blog! And thanks to all you marvelous TWPeeps who joined us. Jen, I’m sure many of my readers would love to connect with you, how may they do so?
Jen:
I’m most active on twitter @JLImhoff
The Writing Piazza:
Just a heads up, Poseidia will be FREE from September 11th till September 15th! And it is always free for Kindle Unlimited subscribers! If you miss the September promotion be sure to like her on Facebook to keep you up-to-date on all her news https://www.facebook.com/JLIMHOFF{I’ll clean this link up and make it look neater once I upload this to WordPress}, Jen will be running more discounted rates to celebrate the release of her sequel Atlia.
Have a great rest of your day!
Until we meet again.