I’d like to welcome author Jeanne Moore back to my website. It’s so good to chat with you again, Jeanne. Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions.
Thank you for having me back again for another interview.
I’m excited to learn that since our last conversation, you’ve finished editing your historical fiction collection and it will soon be available on Amazon. Congratulations!
Q. Could you tell my readers about the collection titled, “Sweet Victory”?
A. Each of the six works of historical fiction in this collection deals with people who are successfully overcoming challenges and setbacks. Each person experiences a victory, that sweet feeling of success. Each story ends after entailing the person’s “sweet victory.” The stories range from about 7,000 words to about 20,000 words and most involve more than one person who has a sweet victory by the end.
You also recently released a short story titled, “The Accidental Hero.” That title is intriguing.
Q. What is the story about?
A. This short story was really fun to write. It’s about a clumsy man who in 1908 finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time. He gets surrounded by a group of “bad guys” on the road outside of Carson City, Nevada. They take his horse because the horse belonging to one of the gang members stepped in a gopher hole, broke it’s leg and had to be shot. They need a replacement for that horse. They leave him tied up in a deserted shack with what he thought was his satchel. He manages to get free and discovers that the satchel the gang, which is identical to his own, isn’t his. It’s theirs and has a large amount of cash in it; the man guesses this must be from a bank robbery. He manages to get to a small hotel in a small town in Central California just across the Nevada-California border where he hides out for several days lest he be discovered with the money and thought to be part of the robbery. He finally decides to turn himself and the money in to the sheriff and is given the reward for the information that led to the robbers’ arrest. And he’s treated as a hero – which he doesn’t think he is. He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. The story has a surprise ending.
Wow! You are not only a talented writer, but you are an artist. You have created some nice book covers. They are available at:
http://selfpubbookcovers.com/Jeanne
Q. How long does it take to produce a cover?
A. Well, I don’t know how talented or not I am. I just use stock photos and put images together to make the cover photos. I use Pixabay because their stock photos are free.
The length of time it takes to produce a cover depends on how many images I use in creating that cover. The more images (called layers in GIMP), the longer it takes. Also, searching Pixabay for just the right images to create a cover that will reflect the story the cover’s being used for adds to the length of time it takes. In addition to the images, I also test different fonts for the text on the cover (book title, subtitle, author name) and that takes time. I want use just the right font that will stand out on the cover but not over power it. Each step takes time.
Q. Do you accept custom orders?
A. No, I don’t do custom orders. Creating a cover can be time consuming; I’m so busy with my own writing, I just don’t have the time to do this for others at this time. Perhaps sometime in the future I will consider doing custom covers.
Hawaii
Q. How long have you lived in Hawaii?
A. I’ve lived in Hawaii for 43 years – moved to Honolulu in April 1979.
Q. Do you mind sharing some of your favorite locations?
A. When I get back into action after COVID, I’ll probably spend time at the Waikiki Community Center taking classes and joining in their activities. The Hon0lulu Zoo and the Waikiki Aquarium are two favorite places of mine to visit. Kahana Bay on the windward site of O’ahu (the island where Honolulu is located) is a beautiful little bay with beautiful mountains in back of the bay. It’s a very restful spot and the beach there is not crowded at all.
Q. Could you share information about your emergency guide?
A. This guide lists walk-in clinics in Waikiki and hospitals and emergency rooms that are easy to get to from Waikiki. It also lists pharmacies.
Miscellaneous
I’m impressed with what you’ve accomplished with your writing in six years.
Q. Do you mind sharing the story about your writing journey and how you feel about persistence?
A. I have a routine. I write for at least two hours a day and do my writing in the morning before I get involved in anything else. This includes the actual writing, and also editing, creating the book cover, registering the copyright with the U.S. Copyright office, formatting and uploading to Amazon through Kindle Direct Publishing. I do the write-related activities in “chunks” to avoid burn out. I usually write 20 to 40 minutes at a time, do something else for a little while and then come back to the writing in another chunk. I am a “pantser” so I don’t work with an outline. I know who my main characters are and what the story will be and after that, I just write and let the story dictate itself to me. I get ideas as to specific things that will happen as I go along.
After I’ve finished the rough draft, then I edit numerous times. The first edit is a general edit in which I make comments that I will address later. Some of the edits are for specific things, such as overly used words (such as that, nodded, smiled, gulped, gagged and whatever other words I tend to use a lot. I also check for time frame and the passage of time to make sure the incidents follow a logical progression and to give myself an idea of how much time the story covers. For example, The Accidental Hero takes a week from start to finish. I make sure to let the reader know how much time passes in the story.
Persistence really pays off. I make a point of writing every day. If you just keep at it –even if you only write and hour or two – or less – each day, you eventually get your project done. I write whether I “feel like it” or not. Even if I don’t feel like it, once I start writing, then the words come and the writing starts flowing.
Q. Do you have a specific place you go to and write or a routine you follow?
A. Pre COVID, I used to spend time with my retired friends at Ala Moana Center, the big shopping center in Honolulu. I’d take my Samsun tablet and write there in Google Docs, then transfer what I’d written into a Word Doc after I got home. Since COVID, though, I’ve just been writing at my computer at home. Writing’s really seen me through the restrictions as it’s given me something to focus on.
Thanks again, Jeanne. It has been a pleasure to interview you again and feel free to visit anytime.To view my last interview with Jeanne you can go here: https://theresavanmeter.com/an-interview-with-author-jeanne-moore/
Thank you for interviewing me again. The pleasure is all mine.
To learn more about Jeanne check out her author page on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/Jeanne-Moore/e/B08HFYN16C?ref_=dbs_p_pbk_r00_abau_000000
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