Interview with Jess C. Scott + CONTEST

We'd love to give a warm welcome to Jess C. Scott, author of novel Eyeleash! [Visit the site here, after you read and comment here obviously.]

1) First off, if you could describe yourself in 5 words, what would you say? What about EyeLeash?

Ah, this is a variation of one of my (self-imposed) interview questions on another book blog (the original question was: "Ask yourself a question, then answer it").

In 5 words, I'm: (In)sane, driven, introspective, complex, intense.

In 5 words, EyeLeash is: Fresh, contemporary, innovative, introspective, authentic.

2) So what inspired you to write EyeLeash?

"A look, a touch, a kiss..." -- I'm listening to Michael Jackson's Dangerous, as I'm writing this. A bunch of things can happen really fast, sometimes. In real life, things don't always make sense. In fiction, they have to. EyeLeash was a culmination of factual and fictitious elements I've lived + imagined ;).

3) When did you start writing/ when did you decide that you wanted to be a writer?

I first started writing EyeLeash in 2005 (I've since tossed aside the initial first draft somewhere). I wrote a lot of poetry as a teen. I can't recall not ever wanting to be a writer -- nothing else gives me the same amount of meaning and satisfaction.

4) EyeLeash is also in the E-book format. Which do you prefer, E-books or printed, and why?

I like both for different reasons. I don't currently own an e-reader (yet), so I find a printed book easier to peruse. However, an E-book is more accessible to readers (especially on an international scale), so in that sense, I'm all for technology/the E-book format.

5) Now, EyeLeash is written in blog format- blog fiction, as you call it. Why did you decide to write it in such a way, instead of the usual writing format?

EyeLeash is dedicated to bloggers/netizens -- some people read more blog posts in a week, than books in a year. I don't believe this necessarily equates to them "disliking books", and/or not having the time for books. I thought I'd write a coming-of-age book, that was/is representative of The Internet Generation.

6) Jade writes her innermost thoughts into her blog. Do you think it's a good idea to put such things on the internet?

I wouldn't recommend it, actually. Even though Jade's blog is private -- it's still not 100%-foolproof. Whatever's online has a chance of being retrieved somehow -- on a global scale -- which literally means that the whole world could potentially end up seeing what somebody intended to be private. Then again, it wouldn't be 100%-foolproof either, if she'd written her thoughts into a journal and/or Word document (though the chances of the number of people stumbling upon it might be lower). Just something to keep in mind.

7) Are there any books that have influenced you and your writing?

Most of the material I love ends up having some kind of influence on me, I guess. Some perennial favorites include De Profundis (an 80-page 'love letter'), Lolita, Roald Dahl's works...these books will stay in my heart till the day I die.

8) Did you base your main character, Jade, or any other characters on anyone in particular?

a) Jade spends more money than I do (right now)
b) I did get my inspiration from many folks. I have several aliases. It helps.

9) For any aspiring writers out there, what is the #1 tip you would give?

Be persistent (in doing better/getting to where you want to be), and dedicated to your work. Keep reading and writing as much as you can. It's advice I'd give to anyone aspiring to be successful/lead a meaningful life.

10) And finally, what are you currently working on?

I've just launched an adult contemporary short story collection. I'm 1/4 of the way done of my next book (a YA series) -- there's been lots of notes + planning -- and I've changed the characters' names several times. Now that that's finally out of the way, I look forward to jumping back in to finish what I started!

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Thank you so much Jess for the lovely interview! And because Jess is such a wonderful person, she's offering up goodies for a giveaway!

So up for grabs, we have 4 e-books of Eyeleash to go to 4 different winners, and an Eyeleash postcard to go with each book! (Post card featured to the left.)

Now, we're going to make this short and simple. We could do the huge list of extra entries, but that seems like a lot of work. Instead:

Comment once here to enter! You MUST leave us your e-mail address here in this post. (Or if you prefer, just shoot us an email with Eyeleash or something of the like in the title.)

+1 if you link to this contest somewhere, whether it be sidebar, blog, twitter, etc. Just please, LEAVE A LINK.

Contest in INTERNATIONAL and ends September 22, 2009!