Sing Me Anything...: Spotlight Saturday: Jennifer R. Jensen

Welcome to Kira Adams' Spotlight Saturday! Every week I will be featuring a different author in the industry. Indie, trad, small press, etc. The point is to help get the word out about new-to-you authors and books they are releasing. Maybe you will find your next favorite author. Maybe you will find a story that will touch your soul. Whatever the case may be, thank you for being here.

This weeks featured author is Jennifer R. Jensen!

1. What inspired you to write “The Vice”?

“The Vice” Itself started as a very broad idea. I was driving home from working out of town and I had this dialog running through my head. It quickly evolved into an idea of a woman in therapy working through issues she was having. It took me about a month to write the first draft. Then it took a billion rewrites to get it to what it is today. Since this was my first novel I had written as an adult, my main character originally was a lot like me. But over time, she became her own person, with her own ways of coping with her circumstances. Which led to the inspiration for the series in general, which is about discussing topics that need to be addressed and that need to be shown in a very realistic manner.

2. Who is your favorite author(s)?

I don’t have a favorite author. I like to just look at a cover and if it grabs my attention then I will read it. I don’t care who it’s by or what it’s about. I like to go in blind to what I’m reading because I love to be surprised.

3. If you had to choose a fictional character from one of your books to have lunch with, who would it be and why?

I would probably say Lizzie, she doesn’t come into the story until the end of “The Vice” but I just really like her and think she is a great person.

4. What has been your biggest accomplishment since publishing?

The biggest accomplishment since publishing is just the act of doing any of it in general. There are a lot of milestones that one can hit in this industry but as we are all told it is a marathon not a sprint. I am just so incredibly proud of myself every time I release a book because it is a big and daunting process to see through until the end and not everyone makes it.

5. Do you have anything else in the works apart from your book/series?

I have a two part novella (part one has already been released) and I started a book that had nothing to do with my series but I don’t have any plans to work on that currently as my series is my main focus and there are at least five, possible more books that I plan on having in the series.

6. What advice do you have for aspiring authors?

My advice for aspiring authors is to not give up. You can take breaks, you can give yourself time, but don’t give up. Also, ask for advice. I follow many authors on social media, and also met my best friend there who I literally couldn’t have made it through this process without. Just ask, you never know what great connections you will make.

7. What advice do you have about marketing and promotion?

The advice I have about marketing and promotions is to do your homework. Marketing is by far the most important part of the publishing journey. I have done some marketing with my book, but not much because I know it will be easier to market my entire series than to go all in on marketing my first book. I have to build up my base and brand.

You can have the best book in the world written, and if you market it poorly, it will do poorly. Great content doesn’t just automatically get seen by people. You have to do the leg work.

8. What is a writing goal you have?

My main writing goal is to turn my book series into a tv series (and be a writer for it).

9. Are you a pantser or a plotter?

I actually fall right in between being a pantser and a plotter. If I try and outline my brain gets very confused and kind of shuts down, but I do like to have a jumping off point. So I tend to just jot down notes each time I finish a chapter for what should come next. That way when I get time to write, I kind of know where to make that chapter go.

10. Are you traditionally published or indie?

I am an Indie author, but have started a publishing company with my best friend, Kaithlin Shepherd, that we will be publishing our books under currently. Then next year will start looking to publish other indie authors as well.

The Victim, book two in the Versions of Me series released on August 24, 2021.

Harper had spent the better part of her adult life keeping everyone at arm’s length-fearing they would leave her like others before.

Six months after starting therapy and finally admitting how she really felt about Caleb, she had hoped the sinking feeling would disappear.

But while the reality of her future began to take hold, she found herself questioning just who exactly the real Harper Jones was. Or even more so, who the real Harper Jones could be.

Snag a copy of The Vice, book one here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08ZCS58HK