If nothing else, the title of this month's
Jen's Jewels author's latest
release obviously hooked you and that's why you are here.
The Sex on the
Beach Book Club is not your ordinary, run of the mill title for a book.
Heck, imagine if there really was a book club named that? Then again, if you are
looking to form a group, you may want to consider it. Seriously though, if
nothing else, this month's author certainly knows how to reel in her readers.
I first met Jennifer Apodaca when she called in to my book club for an author
phone chat. We immediately hit it off and became e-mail friends. When Jen's
Jewels became a reality, one of the first people I asked to interview was
Jennifer. She enthusiastically agreed, but the column never made it to the web
site due to circumstances beyond my control. Jennifer never complained and
graciously waited until it was the right time. Finally, I am able to introduce
you to her.
What I like best about her books are her down-to-earth and believable
characters. They're not jet-setting to Paris or dining in England with the
queen; however, the mishaps and mayhem that they get embroiled in keep the
reader coming back for more. Quite simply, we all can relate to her stories,
although I have to say my book club doesn't have such a catchy name! Initially,
I was hooked on her Samantha Shaw series, but this new one is just
as exciting with a tough P.I. lead character named Holly who gives as well as
she takes. I guarantee you'll love her.
As part of the interview, Jennifer is giving away five autographed
copies of The Sex
on the Beach Book Club! (Thank you so much, Jen!) After reading my
column, enter the contest with the correct answer to the trivia question and you
will win! It's that simple. Good luck!
It may be early in the day, but as Alan Jackson always says, it's five
o'clock somewhere. Go grab a cocktail, maybe even a Sex on the Beach, and get to
know Jennifer Apodaca.
Jen V: Please tell us a little bit about your professional background.
Jennifer A: There's not a lot to tell unless you want to know about when I
worked at the dog pound, or did health accounting for the county Tuberculosis
clinic or a few other assorted jobs! I did go to college for a while when my
kids were small, but ultimately I chose to stay home and write. I did take a lot
of different classes and workshops on writing. I think they helped, but what
ultimate prepares us for being an author, is writing. Writing and rewriting to
learn the craft. And then learning to write through all of life's joys and
trials to make deadlines :-)
Jen V: At what juncture in your life did you decide to become an author?
What finally made you take the plunge and do it?
Jennifer A.: When my kids were small and my husband was finishing up
his masters degree. I was restless and started night classes in college (my
husband took care of the kids, he's always been supportive). I had always loved
reading and had a secret desire to write. I don't think I ever told anyone, not
even my husband. It somehow seemed silly to me. But eventually college showed me
that one of my strengths was writing. When my sister gave me her old computer, I
gave it a try. I don't think anyone expected that I would become so determined!
Jen V.: How long did it take for you to write your first book? After
completion, please tell us how you went about getting it published.
Jennifer A.: I don't actually remember how long it took me to write my
first book but I'd guess around nine months or a year. I had no idea what I was
doing. The first version of that book was bad. I rewrote it many times and in
the process learned a great deal. It took me eight years, five complete
manuscripts and a few partials to sell. What's interesting is that the first
four manuscripts were historical romances. I loved them, but my writing voice is
much stronger in contemporary books. Also I was trying to write straight
romances, but somehow dead bodies kept turning up. That was a major reason I
kept getting rejected. My husband, sister and mom pointed these things out to me
and eventually the light went on. I wrote a mystery with a little romance and
sold. I was shocked.
These days, I'm writing romantic mysteries. I just finished writing a novella
for an anthology titled SUN SAND SEX that is more romance than
mystery, but it still has mystery. I seem to need the added plot and action in
order to tell the story!
Jen V.: Please take us through your typical writing day.
Jennifer A.:
5:40-- Get up and stumble into the shower before I realize
what the heck I'm doing. Think of coffee. Sometimes I think of the gym too. On a
really good morning the gym wins out.
7:00-- Get youngest son off to school, have coffee and maybe
hit the gym.
9:00-- Read and answer email then pull up the file and get
started writing. Sometimes the writing just flows. Other days, I spend more time
checking email and blogs.
9:30--Shut down email and write.
9:45--Just a quick check of email.
10:15--How long have I been online? YIKES! I have to write!
11:00-- Probably wondering why I've only written one page on
my book and twelve pages of various emails whining about writing.
Noon -- Lunch, which means scrounging through the kitchen
wondering what to eat. Maybe unload the dishwasher and do a few chores. Try to
ignore cookies, but trust me, in a staring contest, the cookies ALWAYS win.
Coffee and chocolate are my two weaknesses.
1:15-- Back to work. Going to write pages so fast I'll break
records!
2:00 -- Feeling desperate. Desperate enough to shut everything out and
just write. I start typing, and...
5:00 -- Husband comes home and I'm surprised. Where did the time go?
And how did I get ten or fifteen pages done?
Seriously, my days vary. That's the beauty of working at home--I get to set
my own schedule. I might do errands in the morning and work all afternoon. I try
to make evenings family time, but I do occasionally work. Some days, I can
produce twenty pages and other days five pages are a major chore.
The thing about choosing a career like writing is that it's always going to
require compromise. I work around whatever is going on in my life. I'm serious
about my career, and I've been known to snarl at the family when they forget
that I need to have time to work. Fortunately, my family is very cooperative,
and they also remind me not to take myself too seriously. My husband and each of
my three sons have the ability to make me laugh and remember why I always try to
put them first.
Jen V.: What is the most challenging part of writing a romantic
suspense and why?
Jennifer A.: Weaving the romance and suspense (or mystery) so tightly
that one cannot exist without the other. The mystery is usually what brings the
characters together while it's the emotional risks of the characters that keep
the readers turning pages. When the balance is right, the reader doesn't even
notice. When the balance is off, the book feel clunky and slow paced. Readers
notice! And yet, hard as it is, it's what I love doing!
Jen V.: To date, how many books have you had published and which one
is your favorite and why?
Jennifer A.: I have six books and one anthology published. I'll have
another anthology and book out later this year. My favorite is a really hard
question! Each book represents something different to me. Dating Can Be
Murder was my first and how do you ever top that? But the second
book, Dying to Meet
You, I started writing when my mom was really ill and dying.
Finishing that book was a personal accomplishment, and it's also the time my
husband saw my struggling a little bit without my mom to read the manuscript and
give me feedback. He gently offered to do it for me (in place of my mom). I
can't tell you how much that meant. And after 20 years of marriage, I found out
just how creative my husband can be, he had fantastic suggestions to help me
with that book. I could go on and on about each book. So I don't have a
favorite, but each book holds special memories.
Jen V.: Your latest release, The Sex on the Beach Book
Club, is fantastic! How did you come up with the premise? And how did
you arrive at the title? Is it your favorite drink?
Jennifer A.: Thank you so much, Jen! The premise took a little time to
come up with. I had Holly, a tough PI, but a hero for her and a good plot eluded
me. Then I came up with a bookstore, a murder and a bookstore owner with secrets
of his own. The sex on the beach drink (and not the drink) just sort of arrived
as I was writing the story idea (synopsis) for my editor. The title was my
editor's idea. She is fantastic at titles! As to the drink, I never even tasted
it until the book was finished! I tried it one evening when my husband and I
went to dinner.
Jen V.: In the Samantha Shaw series as well as in this new one, your
female lead characters are very strong woman. I just have to ask....are they
modeled after yourself or someone you know?
Jennifer A.: My characters are much braver than I am! They really
aren't modeled after anyone I know. In the beginning, I have an idea of who the
characters are, but they really tend to take on a life of their own as I write
the book. I think they are more the women I hope I could be if I were in their
circumstances. But the truth is that they get out there and live, taking risks
and making mistakes, while I sit home and write about it!
Jen V.: In The Sex on the Beach Book Club, your lead
male character encompasses all of the right qualities...strong, sexy, and
vulnerable at times. How did you come up with this character?
Jennifer A.: Ah, great question! It's never easy for me. I start off
with ideas, and write several chapters. That's when I begin to see what is and
isn't working. There comes a point where I feel like the characters are talking
to me--it's a different point in every book. That's when I go back and start
layering in scenes to reveal more about the characters. For Wes, I wrote about a
hundred pages and knew I was missing something. Wes was too flat. I had to back
track and change his back story, give him someone he loved that he was
protecting, and make him lonely, but strong enough to fight for what he wanted.
What he wanted was Holly. She had exactly what he needed; loyalty, courage and
she needed him too. It's a really fine line to make a man strong and sexy, but
not an overbearing jerk.
Another trick is to carefully match the hero with the heroine. Because Holly
was so strong and aggressive in some ways, the reader wasn't worried about her
handling Wes. If the heroine had been shy and timid, some of Wes's actions might
have looked more like bullying. But since he's essentially meeting Holly's
strength with his own, the reader is comfortable with it (I hope!).
Jen V.: What do you like best about this book and why?
Jennifer A.: There are a few things. I love Holly's brothers. They are
on her side no matter what, but they tease her endlessly. Much like my brothers,
I suppose. Holly loves her brothers, even though she's a bit wounded and covers
it up with a chip on her shoulder, she adores her brothers and will do anything
for them. That's the reason readers know she's capable of love, just leery. I
really like the way Wes and Holly bring out each other's strengths, and they
learn to trust each other in a very poignant way. Both these characters touched
me. They are heartbreakingly vulnerable but still strong.
As the author, I have way too much fun tormenting the characters too. I get
to put then in humorous, or dangerous, or emotionally charged situations and
force them to find their way out.
Jen V.: Of all the books you have written, which one is your absolute
favorite and why? And who is your favorite character and why?
Jennifer A.: I've already mentioned that I don't have an absolute
favorite book. Character? Hmm, one character that will always have a special
place in my heart is Grandpa from the Samantha Shaw series. My father
died when I was thirteen and I never really had a grandfather. So when I
developed that series, I decided to put just a little bit of my dad (whom I
still miss to this day) in there, and I mixed that with the grandfather I always
wished for. It was pure fantasy to create Grandpa! He's a retired magician who
always has something up his sleeve, he's crafty, and he adores Samantha and her
boys.
Otherwise it's always the book and the characters I'm working on that's my
favorite.
Jen V.: Now that you have many books published, in what area of your
writing have you experienced the most growth and why?
Jennifer A.: This is a tough question, but I think the answer is that
experience has honed my instincts. That allows me to spot looming problems
quicker and have a better grasp of what will work. Otherwise, I'd say I have a
better grasp on constructing a mystery and that I trust my writing voice more. I
let my voice tell the story, not a thesaurus!
Jen V.: What has surprised you most about the publishing business? And
if you knew then what you know now, would you have done anything differently in
your career?
Jennifer A.: Surprised me, hmm. Because I worked for so long to
publish I had a pretty good idea of what it would be like. I think the fact that
editors and agents are really very nice human beings is one thing. They have to
reject people, but they don't like doing it any more than authors like being
rejected. It's just business.
There are probably dozens of things that I'd do differently had I known then
what I know now. But one thing that sticks in my head was when I turned down a
contract for an anthology with a New York Times Bestseller. Simple fear got in
my way. I had a book due soon and was afraid I couldn't manage writing both by
their due dates. But it was such a great opportunity I probably should have made
the time. I'm very lucky that I was offered the chance again with another New
York Times Best Seller and this time I said YES. Live and learn!
Jen V.: What advice would you give to someone contemplating becoming
an author?
Jennifer A.: You really need to love writing and have a deep drive to
do it. It's the thing that really surprised me about myself. No matter how many
rejections I got, and how many times I swore I was done beating my head against
a wall, I kept writing. I just couldn't stop. That's the drive you need to make
it in publishing.
My second piece of advice is to just write. The writing is the ONLY thing you
truly have control over in this business. Rejection and judgment (reviews) are
part of the business. You have to learn to tune that out and write.
Jen V.: Of all of the famous authors you have met, who has impressed
you the most and why?
Jennifer A.: Dean Koontz springs to mind because he was such a nice,
genuine and generous man. I'd read his books for years, then when my
brother-in-law broke his neck and was in bed traction (he's fine now) we traded
Dean Koontz books and passed time discussing them. Years later, I was the
co-president of my local RWA chapter and Dean Koontz came to speak. I was so
thrilled. That day we had over 200 people attending our meeting. So I'm standing
with my co-president talking about some business or other, and I looked up.
There's Dean Koontz, walking in by himself, looking like any other man. He did a
fabulous talk. Our chapter had used his talk to raise money for the Women's
Transitional Center. Just by agreeing to come to the meeting, Dean allowed us to
raise quite a bit of money. When we presented the check to the Women's
Transitional Center, Dean immediately stepped up and said, "My wife and I
would like to match the donation." We were surprised and the center was
delighted and touched by the gesture. Dean stayed until every single book was
signed and every picture was taken, being gracious until the end. He really
impressed me.
I've met so many authors who are wonderful people and have become friends! I
can't possibly name them all, and of course, I would be mortified if I forgot
someone!
Jen V.: What are reading now? What is your all-time favorite book and
why?
Jennifer A.: I just finished Laura Lippman's BY A SPIDER'S THREAD. I
don't have an all time favorite book. I love so many books! How could I possibly
pick?
Jen V.: What is the best perk about being an author?
Jennifer A.: Getting to do what I love to do. I feel blessed that
way. I'm surprised everyday that I get to write stories and call it a job. There
are a lot of headaches and stresses in the work, but I still get to tell stories
for a living and that makes it all worthwhile
And my readers! I wouldn't have a job without them!
Jen V.: Any new projects in the works?
Jennifer A.: I have the SUN SAND SEX
anthology with Linda Lael Miller coming out in June 2007. I was so honored to be
asked to be in that anthology with her! I read her before I really imagined
becoming an author myself! And in November 2007 I'll have another full length
romantic mystery out called EXTREMELY HOT. I'm still working on that book so I'm
afraid to say too much about it.
Jen V.: Do you have a web site? A blog? A mailing list? A fan club?
Jennifer A.: My website is www.jenniferapodaca.com
Jen V.: Thank you so much for your time, your continued support of my
column, and most importantly your friendship. I wish you only the best for your
future.
Jennifer A.: Thank you, Jen! It's always a pleasure to chat with you!
I hope you have enjoyed my interview with Jennifer. Five people who enter the
contest with the correct answer to the following trivia question will win an
autographed copy of her book! Good luck!
What is the name of
the lead character in The Sex on the Beach Book Club?
Next month, I will be interviewing Elaine Viets, author of High Heels are
Murder and contributor to the highly popular blog, The Lipstick
Chronicles. You won't want to miss it.
Happy St. Patrick's Day......Jen
© 2003-2026