How did you get started?
I started when we went to Argentina one year. We were way out in the country, no one around. There was no television, and my twins were only two, so I had a lot of free time on my hands. (We had a maid, a cook and a nanny there too!) So, I wrote a book. I wrote a murder mystery, that is still lying somewhere in a drawer. But I actually plotted it out and finished it, so I proved to myself I could write a novel. Before, I had only written short stories.
What type of writer are you? Do you plan ahead/plot or do you simply fly by the seat of your pants?
I plot, but the plots often change dramatically. I don't like starting without a plot though - and I don't do outlines, although I will do a quick chapter- action sketch to keep the story moving. (For example, chapter one, Kate gets kidnapped. Chapter two, she escapes and finds herself in a foreign country. Chapter three she meets Kiko when he saves her from getting her hand cut off for stealing...)
Do you write best at a certain time of the day?
I wrote best at night, which is when everyone is sleeping, it's quiet, and there are no phone calls to bother me. I get distracted easily. (Like now I'm supposed to be writing, instead I'm doing this interview <G>)
What type of writing schedule do you have?
None, really. I write when I can. Mostly at night and when the kids are in school.
How do you handle life interruptions?
I can't write until everything is solved, so I tend to be very effective handling interruptions.
Do you get blocked? Any hints how to stave it off?
I guess everyone gets blocked. I try to ride it out, not think about it much. I like to have a couple books going at the same time, so I can switch when one gets stuck. I just finished one that took three years to write, I kept getting sidetracked, but I think it's one of the best I've written and I'm looking forward to getting it published.
What authors do you look to as a role model and inspiration?
Lots of authors! I have my favorites, but they aren't really role models. OK, here's one I admire terribly - Linnea St. Clair - she has written some awesome books, (under her own name and under a pen name, Megan Sybil Baker) and she is also a terrific artist. She has enormous talent, and her devotion to ebooks is immense. I guess she would be my inspiration!
What's the best advice you ever received?
My father always told me, 'Finish what you start'. Excellent advice.
What sparks a story?
A dream, mostly. It's amazing how many of my stories started that way. Luckily, I tend to remember my dreams!
What was it about your genre that interested you enough to choose to write in it and not in another genre?
I love history, and time travel is a fascinating concept. It seemed natural to combine the two in the Iskander series. Science fiction is also a favorite, and Virtual Murder was a pure science fiction tale set in two different worlds, one real, one virtual.
Have you seen an evolution in your writing? What steps did it take?
It only gets better, tighter, and more fluid. The Iskander series is a good example; each book is better than the last. Writing gets easier as you go along.
What have you always dreamed of writing, but haven't yet?
I think I'd like to write a psychological thriller. Some day...
What one thing do you like most about writing? Least?
Mostly I love inventing stories and different worlds and characters. I don't like editing, it is a strain, and sometimes I start a book and I get to page five, and it's like, 'Oh no, here I go again. What have I gotten myself into?'
What is your next project?
I'm working on some books for Ellora's Cave (under my pen name Samantha Winston) and I also would like to start the sequel to 'The Promise', a sci-fi book out at Double Dragon ebooks. It's a YA novel, and I've been getting great comments from readers. But the kids all want me to write Red Sky's story (one of the characters - he saves horses) and so I have to get that done!
What advice would you pass along at this point in your career?
It would be the same advice as always. If you love writing, write. Don't give up, just finishing a book is a terrific accomplishment!
Jennifer Macaire is an American freelance writer/illustrator. She was born
in Kingston, NY and lived in Samoa, California and the Virgin Islands before
moving to France. She attended Parsons school of design for fine art, and
Palm Beach Junior College for art and English literature. She worked for five
years as a model for Elite. Married to a professional polo player, she has
three children. After settling in France, she started writing full time and
published short stories in such magazines as Polo Magazine, PKA's Advocate,
The Bear Deluxe, Nuketown, The Eclipse, Anotherealm, Linnaean Street, Inkspin,
Literary Potpourri, Mind Caviar, 3 am Magazine, and the Vestal Review. One
of her short stories was nominated for the Pushcart Prize. In June 2002 she
won the 3am/Harper Collins flash fiction contest for her story 'There are
Geckos'. Her story 'Islands' will appear in the anthology 'A Dictionary of
Failed Relationships' published by by Three River's Press, an imprint of Penguin
Putnam, in June 2003.
She has written a series of seven fiction novels based on the life of Alexander
the Great - the first, Time for Alexander published by Jacobyte Books in April
2002 is an EPPIE finalist for 2003. Her science fiction novel Virtual Murder
will be published by Novel Books, Inc. in March 2003, and Angels
On Crusade, a fiction novel about the ill-fated eighth crusade, will appear
in October 2003. 'The Promise', a science fiction book for young adults, will
be published by Double Dragon Books in 2003.
Her illustrations have appeared in many magazines and most recently in a children's
book 'Christmas Stars' by Rita Toews, available at Books Unbound.
Under a pen name, Samantha Winston, she writes for Ellora's Cave. 'The Argentine Lover' will follow her first novel 'A Grand Passion' in January 2003.
Heroes in the Dust
Book 2 in the ISKANDER series (historical fiction)
by Jennifer Macaire
Published in March 2003 by Jacobyte Books
www.jacobytebooks.comThe story begins as Ashley is sent to interview her childhood hero, Alexander the Great. Alexander rescues her, mistaking her for the goddess Persephone being kidnapped herself by the cold god of the underworld, Hades. Ashley is now trapped in a time three thousand years removed from her own. 'Heroes in the Dust' starts where 'Time for Alexander' left off. Ashley is following her husband into Bactria, chasing after the Persian crown and her son, Paul, whom the oracles call 'The child of the moon'. The next three years are spent in Bactria, with harsh fighting. Alexander must recapture the crown of Persia, taken from Darius by Bessus the traitor then by Spitamenes. Paul, son of Ashley and Alexander is also part of the war, being held
hostage by Spitamenes in a last, desperate attempt to win Persia. When Alexander finally triumphs, it is to find out that his son has been sent to the sacred valley of Nissa in India.Virtual Murder
Genre: science fiction
Publisher Novel Books, Inc.: Release Date:March 2003
Publisher's URL: www.novelbooksinc.comAndrea Girt, owner of Virtual Tours, knows something is dreadfully wrong. Someone, somehow, is stalking and killing the tour guides. But who, or rather what, can suck someone's life from inside a computer program? Panic starts when the Net Security shows up. They believe it's a virus. Andrea thinks it's sabotage. Whatever it is, it calls for an expert - someone who knows the program inside and out, and who better than its creator? The only problem is that mutants created the program. Half human, half machine, they are beings so secret that no one except the CIA. and the Net knows about them. To solve the mystery, the Net decides to take one of the mutants out of his glass case and have him fix the program. They plan to tell everyone that
Monkey (his real name is M-18) is a programmer. Easy - except for one thing. Monkey isn't your everyday programmer, and the virus isn't a virus at all. It's murder - and only Monkey can catch the killer. That is, if he can be convinced he's not in another computer game.
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