JB Lexington On Balancing A Writer's Ego & Insecurity

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.

Wednesday WOLF - Lake Erie

I'm a nerd. In fact such a big nerd that I tend to look up word origins in my spare time because I'm fascinated by our language. The odder the origin, the better. I've got a collection of random information in my brain that makes me an awesome Trivial Pursuit partner, but is completely useless when it comes to real world application. Like say, job applications.

In any case, I thought I'd share some of this random crap with you in the form of the new acronym-ific series. I give you - Word Origins from Left Field - that's right, the WOLF. Er... ignore the fact that the "from" doesn't fit.

Recently a follower filled me in on an interesting tidbit. Lake Erie figures into my novel NOT A DROP TO DRINK, and the original name for Lake Erie was actually The Lake of the Cat, which I just love. Why was it the Lake of the Cat? The original inhabitants of the area were the Erielhonan Indian people, which means People of the Cat in their language. When the French showed up, they referred to the nearby lake (Lake Erie) as the Lake of the Cat.

And you know what else? "Cat"in Gaelic is... "cat." It hasn't changed, like ever. God bless you Irishfolk.

Peter Hoffmeister On Being Rejected Even As A Published Author

Welcome to the SNOB - Second Novel Ominipresent Blues. Whether you’re under contract or trying to snag another deal, you’re a professional now, with the pressures of a published novelist compounded with the still-present nagging self-doubt of the noobie. How to deal?

Today's guest for the SNOB is Peter Hoffmeister, an author, rock climber, public speaker, outdoor expert, and athlete gear-tester for Ridgemont Outfitters. He teaches at South Eugene High School:  Literature, creative writing, outdoor pursuits, and survival. He also served as the spring 2015 Writer-In-Residence at Joshua Tree National Park.

He is the author of two books of nonfiction and three novels. His current novel, Too Shattered For Mending, was released this fall by Knopf, Random House. The New York Times Book Review wrote that Too Shattered was “A portrait of the heart and will that's so tragic and beautiful it singes.” Hoffmeister lives in Eugene, Oregon and is currently at work on his sixth book, An American Afterlife, a novel that will be rejected before it is published.

Is it hard to leave behind the first novel and focus on the second?

There are two answers to this. First, if you like how your first novel turned out, then yes, it’s hard to leave it behind and focus on the second. Change is difficult. But more importantly, you should already be working on that second novel. During every glacial delay in the publishing process (for example: while your agent is reading a draft, or while your editor is reading a draft, or while you’re waiting for copy edits to be returned, or while you’re waiting for the publication date, etc.) you should already be working on your next book. Since the whole publishing process takes one to two years, I always aim to have a draft of the next book by pub date. It doesn’t have to be a great draft, but have a full-length draft, ready to revise.

At what point do you start diverting your energies from promoting your debut and writing / polishing / editing your second?

This is something I’m not good at and I’m trying to learn from my mistakes in the past. So I’m spending more time promoting my current book, rather than focusing on and stressing about my next book. In the past, I’ve mostly left my current release alone and moved on completely. But it’s good to find a balance: Work for at least an hour every single day on your next book, but also spend some time each week to promote your current release. Also, go on social media and build community, message other authors, and post about books you love.

Your first book landed an agent and an editor, and hopefully some fans. Who are you writing the second one for? Them, or yourself?

That’s also a good question. As a writer, you have to write the story that you’re passionate about. If you’re not in love with your idea, no one else is going to be. But publishers are fickle, and they won’t just pick up any old thing that you want to write. So expect rejections at this point even though you’re already a published author. Your publishing house might reject a next book proposal or a partial draft. Even if you have an option, they might reject three proposals in a row. But keep after it. This is maybe one of the most unexpected things in a publishing career. Everyone talks about rejections before you get a book deal. Not many people talk about the hundreds of rejections after you get a book deal. I have five books out now and have been fortunate enough to get starred reviews from Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, Booklist, and School Library Journal, but that doesn’t mean I don’t get rejected all the time. I had two essays and a story rejected this week. As a writer, rejections are something you’re going to face for the rest of your life. So write the story you want to write, but realize that the market will always be tough.

Is there a new balance of time management to address once you’re a professional author?

Yes. For example, I never got interview requests until I was a published author. But the specific demands depend on how much money you’re making, how much marketing is being done by the house, and how much publicity you’re hustling on your own. If you have a huge book deal (and most of us don’t) you’re being flown all over the country, going to every conference, and constantly doing events. For most authors though, it’s 10-20 interviews or essays a year and 3 to 5 events. So time management is really about maintaining the daily discipline of sitting down to write at your own desk. If you want to move on to a second novel, then you have to keep getting in that chair every day. Set a daily word or page goal and hit that goal.

What did you do differently the second time around, with the perspective of a published author?

Since I’ve published with four different houses, I’m sort of eternally working on my “second book.” I’ve never gotten to the place where my editor pledges her eternal love and a house just keeps renewing my contract. So I go through the same process over and over. I write, revise, edit, submit, get rejected, revise, and submit again. From what I know of other authors’ careers, this is more common than you’d think. The days of authors staying with single houses for entire careers are mostly gone. A few authors are that lucky, but most are not. And – truly – none of that matters. In the end, you have to ask yourself, “Do I love writing stories? And am I excited about the revision and editing process?” If so, if you’re in it for the long-term, things will work out. Just keep writing.