Inspiration is a funny thing. It can come to us like a lightning bolt, through the lyrics of a song, or in the fog of a dream. Ask any writer where their stories come from and you’ll get a myriad of answers, and in that vein I created the WHAT (What the Hell Are you Thinking?) interview. Always including in the WHAT is one random question to really dig down into the interviewees mind, and probably supply some illumination into my own as well.
Today's guest for the WHAT is JB Lexington, a romance writer based out of Toronto, Ontario. Her first romance novel, FOREVER EVE is available now and she is working on the sequel and another series. JB lives with her husband, 2 kids and 2 dogs. When she isn't writing JB can be found at the gym, strolling designer boutiques in her neighbourhood or sipping a glass of Pinot Grigio at a local restaurant.
Ideas for our books can come from just about anywhere, and sometimes even we can’t pinpoint exactly how or why. Did you have a specific origin point for your book?
I’ve always been fascinated with the concept of past life and have more than a handful of times experienced Déjà vu so intense that I felt viscerally transported to another place. It only made sense for me to write a story about one’s past life experience and how it translates into their present.
Once the original concept existed, how did you build a plot around it?
When I came up with the storyline I could visualize every moment in my characters lives. I knew how I wanted it to begin and how it would end and everything in between was literary gravy. Every now and then I would think “wow I just wrote that line." We writers are a balanced dichotomy of ego and insecurity ;)
Have you ever had the plot firmly in place, only to find it changing as the story moved from your mind to paper?
Not yet. Forever Eve is my first published novel and I’m currently writing the sequel. With these two stories the plot was firmly in place but with the help of my amazing editor’s suggestions the storyline underwent a metamorphosis from the cocoon it started as into a beautiful butterfly.
Do story ideas come to you often, or is fresh material hard to come by?
Ideas come to me often and quite clearly, unfortunately I’m struggling with finishing them all now. I haven’t dedicated much time to my writing lately so I have a few half finished stories that I need to resurrect.
How do you choose which story to write next, if you’ve got more than one percolating?
I’m usually quite organized in life, and some people I know might actually suggest that I have a tad bit of OCD, but when it comes to my stories I might as well be chasing butterflies. I have about 4 stories on the go now and I jump between all of them, depending on my mood or any elements that may have influenced me throughout the day.
I have 8 cats (seriously, check my Instagram feed) and I usually have at least one or two snuggling with me when I write. Do you have a writing buddy, or do you find it distracting?
If a glass (bottle) of Pinot Grigio counts, then I most definitely have a writing buddy ;) Otherwise my doggies don’t stray too far from me so I can always count on them for company.