Jinny Alexander interview

AUTHOR INTERVIEW

A little introduction:

I live in the Republic of Ireland in a small rural community that may be the inspiration for the setting of both Dear Isobel and my cosy series. (My work-in-progress 4^th novel heads back to my childhood home of Norfolk, England, for a change.)

I’ve had some publishing success with short story and flash competitions and in December 2020 I secured a publishing deal for my first three novels. The first of these, Dear Isobel, will be released in March 2022. I’m also currently studying an MA in Creative Writing, as well as my day job of teaching English as a foreign language to people all over the world. 

When did your love of books begin?

I was brought up in a book-filled house, although I don’t remember my mum reading much. My dad was a big reader and had complete collections of the Famous Five books and the Lone Pine series (Malcolm Saville) from his own childhood, which I read over and over, but my earliest-remembered favourite was Margaret Mahy’s picture book, The Lion in the Meadow. Some of my earliest memories are of walking to the local library and the hours spent there. 



When did you start to have the wish to become an author?

I was published in Horse and Pony Magazine when I was about ten. I’ve never not wanted to be an author, but life got in the way for a long while.



How have you found the process for becoming an author?

Stop/start! I’ve been writing for years - Dear Isobel was started about 10 years ago but only got finished in 2020 – but then everything happened very fast as I pitched it, got offered a publishing deal, and signed that deal within a month of finishing the book. I’ve written 3 complete novels and have almost finished my fourth, but in between I’m also studying a Creative Writing MA and have completed an undergraduate Creative Writing course. My first cosy mystery was begun as part of that undergrad course and my current work-in-progress is being worked on in tandem with my MA, so I’m getting constant feedback and critique from tutors and peers on the course. I strongly recommend writing courses, not so much to teach you how to write or how to think of stories, but because the access to constant feedback and peer support is simply invaluable.



What would you say to those wanting to become an author?

Write the stories you want to write. I see so many authors getting stressed because they are trying to write a story they think their publisher wants, or a story they think will sell, but then they don’t enjoy the writing process. Focus on getting your story down first. Everything else can be fixed later. I also love things like National Novel Writing Month, as the discipline of writing to a target and feeling as if I am accountable to someone spurs me on and makes me get words down.



Tell us about your book/books:

My debut, Dear Isobel, is a contemporary story set in rural Ireland. It centres around the narrator, who gives us a somewhat biased account of her affair and its aftermath. Although told only from her point of view, this is a tale of two families, friends in a close-knit community, and how they each deal with the fallout once the affair is out in the open. It covers heartbreak and loss, hope and anger, and the difficulties of trying to move on when you can’t let go. Early readers have described it as ‘soul-baring’, ‘honest’, ‘relatable’, one reader went as far as to say she could relate to ALL FOUR of the main characters, although another was disgusted with the whole idea and described the narrator as ‘deeply unlikable’, which, at times, she is. Aren’t we all?

It’s being promoted as women’s fiction, because: publishers, but I’ve had a lot of great feedback from male readers too. (There are a couple of reviews from male readers on Goodreads at the time of writing this, to add weight to my assertation.)

What do you love about the writing/reading community?

I am part of an active and supportive Twitter 2022 Debut Authors group, which is great, because there are so many thinks to learn on the journey to getting published and we are all there for each other to cheer and cry as necessary. It’s quite a rollercoaster, and more fun to ride it in understanding company!

As previously mentioned, doing my MA is also fun and helps me push myself to experiment with new ideas and techniques, among like-minded people.



If you could say anything to your readers what would it be?

For readers of Dear Isobel, I wrote this book because I think it’s important to acknowledge that the kind of things that happen in the book can and do happen to ordinary people. It centres around a taboo subject, but the characters it happens to are ordinary people – your friends, your neighbours, your relations. During and since the writing, I’ve become aware that this stuff happens more often than you might think and we shouldn’t be afraid to talk about it because it can be a very lonely place for those involved.

For readers of my Jess O’Malley Cosy Mystery series (book 1 coming in October) – these books are more light-hearted than Dear Isobel, and really just a lot of fun, but, like Dear Isobel, they are set in a small rural Irish village, and offer a bit of social commentary on that life.



Where can people connect with you?

Twitter: @ceramicfairy

Instagram: @JinnyAlexanderAuthor

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JinnyAlexanderAuthor

Website: www.jinnyalexander.com