Interview with YA Author Laura Jackson & Autographed Paperback Giveaway!!

Welcome to Readers Write to Know! I asked you, my readers, what questions they would ask their favorite authors if given the chance. This week, I’m so pleased to introduce you to Laura Jackson.  Laura is a school librarian who writes young adult. And – she prays for her readers! I love that! I have a young adult daughter who is a voracious reader and to think that the author of the book on her Kindle might be praying for her is such a beautiful thought.

Laura is giving away a paperback copy of her book, Worth the Wait, to one of my visitors! Make sure you check out the Rafflecopter below to enter the giveaway!

Thank you for joining me today, Laura.  I’m so pleased to have you on my blog!

 1.  Tell us a little bit about yourself.
I’m a school librarian by day and author by night. It’s wonderful to be surrounded by great books and enthusiastic readers all day. It inspires me to write.

2.  Tell us about your current release.
Ellie Lansing has a picture-perfect life with a close-knit family and the perfect boyfriend. But her world is suddenly knocked off center when her drool-worthy boyfriend cheats, and her always-has-it-together mother is diagnosed with cancer. Ellie doesn’t get it. She always does the right thing – doesn’t God owe her a happy life? Through her heartache, Ellie learns that sometimes what seems like the end is really just the beginning and that what God has for us is always worth the wait.

If you knew ahead of time your book would benefit only one person on their spiritual journey, would you still write it?
Yes! Even if it had never been contracted for publication, waiting on God and His plan was a lesson I needed to learn (and am continuing to learn). It was worth the effort even if I had been the only one to read it.

What do you think is lacking in Christian Fiction?
Some realism that life isn’t always perfect—that it doesn’t always end in a nicely wrapped package with a colorful bow. That it’s messy even when you love Jesus and are trying to seek Him and His will for your life. However, as a reader, I do like the endings to be nicely tied together, so I see why authors and publishers give us that.

How do you push past the fear of your writing being average and be bold enough to sell it to a publisher(or agent or audience if you self publish)?
Great question! I was and still am hesitant to let people I know read my writing. I’ve never really cared what people thought about me until I started sharing my work. It’s a scary feeling to put your heart and soul into a book and for people to reject it.

Who was your first Screen/Musical Crush?
I loved Tom Cruise, but I may have liked Michael Jordan first. Not sure which was first, but I do know I had plenty of MJ posters on my wall. I’m still a big basketball fan.

What made you take the plunge and finally do it?
My dad was dying of cancer. My sister and I would alternate sitting with him so that my mom would go to church. I wanted to write something with a happy ending, so I tried writing a love story. It was horrible. But, I loved writing. So, I thought about what I loved to read. YA was my first thought, so I decided to do that. I wrote 50k in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month—November), and added to it the next two months.

Do you have your plotline and character development already laid out before you begin writing a book, or do they develop as you write?
No but I wish I did. I have the character in mind. I know where she starts and where she finishes. I have a vague idea of what she’ll go through, but not much more. It’s an adventure, but it probably takes longer.

I did try plotting once, and  a few months later, I found that sheet of paper, which was completely different than what I ended up writing.

Who do you envision your typical reader to be?

I picture her as a girl/woman looking for her place in the world. Whether she’s a Christian or not, I see her as still searching to find herself.
And, I’m praying for her, whoever she is. I’m praying she finds a true relationship with Jesus, the best and most amazing love she’ll ever know.

Author Links:
Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads

Book Links:
Amazon, Barnes and Noble
a Rafflecopter giveaway

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