interview: Author Jennifer Laurens

A warm welcome to Author Jennifer Laurens today at Darlyn & Books. I'm thrilled to have her here for an interview and hope that you guys are too. She is the author of Heavenly, Penitence and soon-to-be published Absolution, the final book in Heavenly series.


D: What inspires you to be a writer?

JL: Wanting to provide great stories that inspire and uplift, or enlighten or make someone laugh...without excessive violence, sex or language. I have 6 kids of my own, and they were put off by much of what's published.

D: How did the concept for Heavenly evolve? And why angel?

JL: I have a child with autism, and the road to accepting her condition has been long for all of us- told with many of our actual life experiences, writing the book was purging for me in a way. I could control the outcome whereas in real life, I can only do so much.


D: I know that you write Heavenly mostly from your life experiences. How do you feel about sharing them with readers?

JL: I love sharing them with readers. It's that real element that touches people. No one can say, "This doesn't ring true " because it IS true. Yes, I believe in guardian angels. Have I seen any? Not yet - but I know they've stepped in and protected our "Abria" many times. As far as the other elements, like Luke's drug addiction and Zoe's partying and all that - those characters are based on my own teenagers who struggled in their own way to try to deal with having a severely handicapped sister. It's not easy being stared at in public because someone you are with screams, tantrums, or steals something causing a scene. When they were teens, in that most difficult time of life it was particularly hard for them.


D: What is your writing process? Do you plot everything first or do you tend to fly in the mist?

JL: I have a skeletal outline that ferments in my head over a period of months - sometimes years - before I write. I write 6-8 hours a day, every day.


D: Which character that made you hard to write? And which is the easiest?

JL: Luke was the hardest because my son's drug addiction was more terrifying than anything we've been through. There were days I wasn't sure he'd make it home alive. I'm happy to say he's married now and very far from all of that. Oddly, Matthias was the easiest.


D: Which scenes, if any, were the most challenging to write?

JL: The scenes with Zoe and Matthias because I really wanted people to believe that this - guardian angels in our lives - is real, even if we don't see them.


D: Did you plan Heavenly would be a series or trilogy from the beginning?

JL: No. One Albert came into my head, I knew I had more story to tell.


D: Personally, do you think Absolution will be a great satisfaction ending for Heavenly trilogy for readers? Why?

JL: Ab-so-lute-ly. I love the end of this series and am sure readers will close the book warm-hearted.


D: What’s next? Would there be another book series from you?

JL: Overprotected is next - in February. It's a dark, coming-of-age story about a girl fighting for independence. It's the first story I ever wrote, re-written about fifty times!


D: What do you like best and least about the publishing industry, which made you goes indie author?

JL: I've been the NYC route, had two agents who went to bat for me and decided I wanted to take an indie stab in spite of it all. I love the control, I love the creative process and love being able to publish authors like me (through Grove Creek Publishing) who have excellent work the world needs to read. * see Grove Creek Publishing, Submissions for guidelines*


D: Name three things we might be surprised to know about you.

JL: I once was Julie McCoy's stand in on Love Boat. I have a massive dollhouse and miniature collection and my favorite city is NYC - I'd live there if I could.

Thanks so much for the interview Darlyn!

About the Author

Jennifer started writing when she was in her youth, choosing to hole up in her bedroom creating stories rather than going out to play with friends. She attended Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, where she took classes in English and Theater Arts. Later, life took her back to her home in Palos Verdes, California where she worked in the entertainment business before meeting her husband and marrying. They have been married for 25 years.

Jennifer is the mother of six children, ages 11- 23, one of whom has autism. She fell back into writing after lengthy jaunts into the fascinating hobbies of ceramics, porcelain dolls, tole painting and muffin making.

Her perfect day is spent writing from 9 until 5 while her family is at school and at work. She considers herself blessed that most every day is perfect.

Readers can find her at her BLOG and WEBSITE

More about Heavenly Books at http://www.heavenlythebook.com/


Thanks so much Jennifer! It's a pleasure to have you here today. Guys, she's a very great person, honestly. I'm also excited for Absolution, the finale of the Heavenly series and I think all you too. Well, who's going to pass a story with guardian angels. I bet Mathias did a great job being one =)

Oh, she also asked me to spread the word that any blogger interested in a copy of Heavenly can have one, just set up an interview or chat and contact her at jennlaurens@yahoo.com !