Book Stop Corner

Good Afternoon, Good Morning and Good Evening to my fellow readers,

Hope you are having a wonderful day. The day before yesterday, I went to vote for my favorable candidate for the state elections and it was the last phase of it, hence the air was bit tensed. Although I was quite surprised by the silence near the polling booths unlike in general, the polling booths are surrounded by ruling party followers/workers.

So it's time for an Author Q&A session and today we have an amazing contemporary author, Jan Stites, whose latest book, Reading the Sweet Oak is a compelling story about the lives of five women and their struggles.

So let's welcome her with a big hug and then talk with her about her new book, and also about her life as an author and beyond it.

Let's not waste anymore time and ask this talented author our first question.

Read the review of Reading the Sweet Oak




Me: Hello and welcome to my blog, Jan. Congratulations on your new book, Reading the Sweet Oak. How will you express your feelings about this  book that has already won the hearts of so many readers?

Jan: I'm just very grateful that so many people have expressed how much they enjoyed Sweet Oak. It makes me want to make my next novel even better.

 
Me: How did you research for your book? Can you tell us briefly about it?

Jan: In part my research involved spending many summers camping and canoeing on Ozarks rivers growing up. That made the nature descriptions easy. For the other research, I interviewed maybe two dozen Ozarkian women, many of whom love romance novels. Some of their stories inspired elements of my various characters.


Me: Did you travel extensively for the purpose of research, as you have diligently captured the Sweet Oak river with your words?

Jan: No. See previous answer.


Me: Tell us one trait about your characters, Ruby, Tulsa, BJ, Pearl, Jen, that intrigues you the most.

Jan: Tulsa's independence but her fears around romantic love. Ruby's big heart. BJ's struggle to forgive herself. Pearl's struggle to reconcile her religious beliefs and her love for her grandson. And Jen's efforts to stand up for herself with both her lover and her mother.

 
Me: How will you describe your journey so far as an author?

Jan: I've written several novels, tho only this book and Edgewise seemed worth publishing. I've been helped on this writing journey by many people, especially those in my writing groups, as well as friends who critiqued early drafts.  I don't know how anyone goes on this kind of a "trip" alone. If I tried that, I doubt I'd even come close to achieving the book I'm trying to write. One of my biggest struggles, a reflection of a personal struggle, is having to put my characters in conflict. I so avoid conflict in my personal life, and unfortunately I sometimes end scenes just when things heat up. Fortunately my various fellow writers point this out to me, so my actual published versions include conflict.


Me: Was it always your one true dream to be an author?

Jan:  Not really. I've been many things. Teacher in the U.S., Mexico and Kenya. Secretary. Travel writer. Medical transcriptionist. Waitress. Much more. I've been writing seriously since about 1975. I do it because I love it. So if it wasn't my one true dream, it's certainly been my driving passion for a long while.


Me: What other passions do you have apart from writing?

Jan:  Swimming. Hiking. Sailing. Reading. Playing.


Me: What's next up on your writing sleeves? Please tell us briefly about it.

Jan: I can't come up with a quick summary because I'm still in the first draft stage, but the book involves a kennel owner in a small California mountain town, several dogs, an author, a mayor, and a dream.


Me: Thanks Jan for joining me today on this interview session. I wish you luck for all your future endeavors.

Jan: Thank you for the invitation. I very much appreciate the opportunity to "speak" to readers so far away!
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Jan's Bio:


Jan Stites is the author of the novel, Edgewise, which Wally Lamb called "courageous, heartfelt and unforgettable," numerous screenplays, and Reading the Sweet Oak, a novel her agent sold to Lake Union, Amazon's full-service publishing, mainstream novel imprint. RtSO will be published Sept. 29, 2015. Susan Mallery says, "A charming new voice in women's fiction, Stites writes from the heart about friendship, love, and what it means to find where you belong." Jan has worked at a multitude of jobs, including teaching screenwriting at San Francisco State University and U.C. Berkeley, teaching numerous subjects in villages in Mexico and Kenya, and teaching middle school in various locales. Jan has also worked as secretary, waitress, translator in Mexico for American doctors, and scuba diving travel writer. The affirmative action plan she wrote for a tugboat company is probably the piece of Jan's writing that comes closest to fantasy.



Connect with Jan on: Website| Facebook | Goodreads