I was so excited this week when I had the opportunity to be interviewed by WeLoveReaders.com! (Read the original interview here.)
WLR: What is your book’s genre or category?
CaribbeanJewel
is a Historical Romance about pirates.
WLR: Can you describe the story in one or two
sentences for our readers?
A young Englishwoman (Jolie) is caught
committing a crime, flees for her life from her guardian’s bloodhounds, and
manages to escape Crab Island on a brigantine commanded by a tall, handsome
Spaniard named Marcano. He’s a former pirate-turned-privateer working for the
Spanish crown, in Crab Island to dig up Spain’s national treasure, a huge gold
nugget that was stolen from the cathedral at Seville. Saving Jolie’s life
messes up his plans a little, not to mention the problems that arise when her
guardian doesn’t give up so easily.
WLR: Tell us the story behind story. What
influenced you to write it and how long did it take you?
I am a seat-of-the-pants writer, meaning I
don’t plot out a story in advance, but just write and see where it goes. So for
Caribbean Jewel, it all started with a dream I had that I was in big trouble
for doing something wrong, and a huge, furious man was about to punish me in
some way, so while he was distracted I jumped out of a second-story window to
escape his wrath. In the dream I landed in some bushes, got up, and ran for my
life. That’s how Caribbean Jewel starts on page 1—the heroine jumps out of a
window and runs through a sugar cane field to escape. It’s set on the island of
Vieques, Puerto Rico (called “Crab Island” in the 1700’s.) I was very familiar with
the island because I had spent time there with a Puerto Rican man I was dating
in the 90’s, and the whole area has a long history of plantations, pirates, and
plundering. I wrote the book in about six months, but spent a lot longer than that editing and re-editing it.
WLR: Is there a part of you in any of the
characters?
Definitely. My heroines are always me. Jolie
is me in my 20s. Naïve, soft-hearted for the underdog, a little insecure, huge
longing for true love. Back then, Latin men were my Kryptonite.
WLR: Do you have more books planned?
Kiss of the Assassin comes out April 2016. It’s a
medieval fantasy-romance, about a farm girl who goes on a mission to find the
assassin who attempted to kill her country’s 14-year-old queen. But he finds
her first, and she’s a little too distracted by his sexiness to notice he’s
been tracking her with dangerous intentions.
WLR: Do you have a favorite book or art that
inspires you and your writing?
Everything inspires my writing. It can come
from all directions—places I’ve traveled, dreams (as in Caribbean Jewel,) video
games I’ve played (Assassin’s Creed, Skyrim, Dragon Age,) my own life
experiences. I find stories everywhere I look. I’m a people-observer, and I’m
always analyzing conversations, experiences, motivations, and intentions. I can
go to the grocery store and come back with a story, and when I tell stories,
even about mundane events, for whatever reason people listen to me as if it’s
most fascinating thing they’ve ever heard. I think I’ve always been a
storyteller, from the time I was little. I was the kid in the group making up
our imaginary scenarios for play.
WLR: When did you decide to start writing?
My 9th grade English teacher
noticed I was a good writer in class and recruited me to represent my high
school in writing competitions state-wide. I took to that like a fish to water,
and my sophomore year I started winning those competitions. That year I also
started writing a novel, by hand on sheets of notebook paper. That novel started
out with one or two friends reading it and eventually got passed around to most
of my classmates, who started begging for the next segment. By my senior year,
that was my main “claim to fame” at my high school, was writing. (I definitely
had no other claims to fame, trust me. I was a big dork, dateless and awkward.
I was pimply and every day was a bad hair day.)
WLR: How do you find the time to write?
When I’m writing a new story, I can’t stop
writing it. I’ll write in the morning before going to my day job and write some
more in the evening before bed, staying up way too late because I’m so
engrossed in it and can’t stop.
WLR: How can readers find you online? social
accounts, website, etc..
My website is jaylajasso.com, you can find me on Facebook at facebook.com/jassojayla, and
tweet with me @jaylajasso. I love to connect with readers!
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