PNR: Can you tell us a little about how you started writing; was it something you have always wanted to do?

Jennah S.: I’ve always had the tendency to write down stories from the time I could hold a pencil.  When I was a teen, I focused primarily on poetry, as most teens who write do, but loved my creative writing courses.  It wasn’t until I was married and on a camping trip that I thought I might try a novel.  I’d read so many books and kept thinking, I could do that.  I had many requests from editors for the manuscript but no one bit.  I self-published that one just so I could have it in my hands.  When I published with Cobblestone a year ago, I jumped at the chance to create more stories and haven’t stopped since.

PNR: Could you tell us about your writing routine, how do you balance writing and personal time?  What do you enjoy doing when you are not writing?

Jennah S.: This is the trickiest part about writing because my kids are still so young.  Every other day, I have both of them in school and that’s when I try to write.  It’s much harder to find time in the summer.  I find I write best in the evenings and so I save my promotions and email for the mornings.  I’m not sure I have a great routine down yet, but I’m working on it.

When I’m not writing I love alpine skiing in the winter, swimming in our lake in the summer, camping, playing with the kids and of course, reading.

PNR: Who or what has been your biggest influence as a writer? Who or what has been your biggest support?

Jennah S.: My biggest influence has to be Rosamunde Pilcher.  I adore her descriptive style and her characters.  She wrote The Shell Seekers among many other novels.

My biggest support has been and always will be my husband.  He doesn’t read what I write but he knows it’s my dream and I think his ulterior motive is that he wants to be a kept man. He has a long wait ahead of him ;)

PNR: Your writing is very popular with readers and reviewers. How does it feel to have such positive recognition for your work?

Jennah S.: Wow. I hadn’t really thought of it that way. Thank you.  I love reading good reviews on my work.  They validate my craft and keep me writing but I’m always on edge waiting for the next one.

PNR: What do you consider to be the key elements of a great story?

Jennah S.: I would say characters with flaws, a setting to help the reader escape, believable conflict.  I love a hero who isn’t the perfect ideal of a man and a heroine who I can relate to.    There are so many elements to a great story that it’s hard to narrow it down.

PNR: Congratulations on the March 2007 release of THE OCEAN’S SHADOW from Samhain Publishing. Could you give us a peek at this fascinating world you have created? Are you planning additional stories in this setting?

Jennah S.: I love this story too and I had a blast writing it.  It flowed so smoothly and the cover by Anne Cain is perfect.  The Ocean’s Shadow is set in a fictional, slightly historical setting.  I say “slightly” because I don’t want to date the story.  It’s set in a time when mer people where not just myth.  They existed, caused trouble, fought their fears and loved.

Ailfinn and Claire are very special to me.  I would love to write more stories in this setting and I know readers would like that too, but I have a few more characters vying for attention.  It’s up in the air right now.  I’d be interested in hearing from readers who’d like more in this setting.

PNR: STORM SURGE, released October 2006 from Cobblestone Press has been a reader and reviewer favorite. Could you tell us a little about Mia and Tydon’s story; what was your inspiration and do you have plans to visit Utopia Camping in future books?

Jennah S.: Thank you.  I’m very proud of Storm Surge.  It’s about a coming together of souls who are meant for each other, as most of my stories are.  It’s set in a small village on a fictional island but is based on the town of Cabarete in the Dominican Republic. Cabarete is known for it’s windsurfing and if you’ve read Storm Surge and been to Cabarete, you’d recognize the similarities.

Mia is a cryptozoologist, which means she studies and searches for beings that don’t exist to others and as such, she’s never really fits in with society.  Mermen fall into the category she studies.  When she hears of a possible sighting, she journeys to this island and stays at Utopia Camping, a small settlement on the beach.

Tydon is a merman able to shift to human form.  He interacts with the locals, trying to learn more about who might be out to capture his kind.  When he meets Mia, he’s instantly attracted to her and must resist telling her his secret.

PNR: Can you tell us about the challenges you face in world building and making it work with the ideas you have in mind for the progression of your characters and their story? Do you write your characters to fit the world you have created or vice versa?

Jennah S.: To be honest, the characters seem to evolve along with the world building. They’re intertwined too much to say one comes before the other. They compliment each other.  There is always a bit of the contemporary in the stories so that makes it easier.  The other worlds aren’t too difficult to build, especially when I’m innately drawn to the sea and have always had a fascination with mythology.

PNR: Do you feel your writing is character driven or plot driven? How do you balance these two elements?

Jennah S.: I’d have to say it’s primarily plot driven although I strive to create real, full characters who are facing the challenges of loving one another.  I think that’s what balances it out.  You have to have strong, great characters even for a plot driven story.  Her Handyman, is my most character driven book to date. It’s available at Total E-Bound Publishing, a new company in Britain.

Plot is very important to me when I’m reading.  Stories that are strongly character driven don’t hold my attention as well.

PNR: You have been complimented for writing strong heroines and sexy heroes. Could you tell us a little about how you develop your characters? Who has been your favorite character to write? The most challenging?

Jennah S.: Many of my characters come to me almost complete. I come up with the setting first and then think of what happens there.  Who it happens to comes next.  Why are they there, what do they need, why can’t they achieve it?  Those are all questions that help build a character.  From there, it’s all in the details.

My favourite character has to be Sera from Along the Hibiscus Path.  The decisions in her life were ones that I would probably have made in similar circumstances and she was probably the easiest to write.  Her story is close to my heart.

The most difficult is a toss up between Ailfinn from The Ocean’s Shadow and Daerek Sawyer from The Rift (just released).  These two heroes didn’t want to share their secrets. They’re stubborn and a little dark at times.  It was like uprooting dandelions getting their stories from them.

PNR: The heat level in your writing is quite high; do you find it difficult to write love/sex scenes? How do you approach writing the love/sex scenes?

Jennah S.: It was difficult at first.  When I decided I was going to write explicitly, I practiced.  I would just write out sex scenes until the internal embarrassment disappeared.  It didn’t take long and now I don’t stop writing if a love scene is coming up. It has to have a natural flow.  All I do is keep the bedroom door open and write down what happens next.  If I stop writing before a love scene, it’s much harder to pick it up again because I need to remember the emotions of the scene before.  Does that make sense?

When I’m reading, I always feel cheated when I’m so involved with the characters lives and emotions and can’t see the culmination of what the story has been leading up to. I try not to cheat my readers.

PNR: Mythology of the mer and selkie has long captured the imagination of readers. Why do you feel mythology in general, and mer and selkie specifically, is such a popular theme with readers? As a writer, what is it about this genre that captures your imagination?

Jennah S.: I think it’s both the allure of the sea and the mystery that captures my imagination.  I’ve always lived on water and couldn’t do without seeing it every morning. I even chose my university based (not solely) on that fact that a river ran through the center of campus.  I think water calls to many of us and the idea that a partially human being could live there is thrilling.

So little is known about mythological beings. That provides writers like myself with a gold mine of story ideas and the ability to expand and build on what is already there.

PNR: You have written in many genres including fantasy, paranormal, erotic, contemporary, and historical.  Is there a genre you haven’t written but would like to try?

Jennah S.: I think I’m finally settling into my niche.  I prefer to write fantasy/paranormal with a touch of the erotic.  I might like to try futuristic sometime.  We’ll see.

PNR: Please tell us about the projects you are currently working on; what can readers expect to see in the coming months? Do you have any new series in the works? Single titles?

Jennah S.: I have a new series just beginning with Cobblestone Press that I’m really excited about.  Shifting Sideways Book 1: The Rift was released in July and is the first in a series of three.  These are contemporary/fantasy novellas.

Here’s a little blurb:

Lost in a land she knows nothing about, Charlotte clings to the one thing she feels a connection with...Daerek Sawyer, a man trying to save his land from a mysterious threat.  A mere brush of his lips on hers forces her to choose between the life she left behind or the man she'd die for.

As far as single titles, I’m working on two full-length books.  Both have paranormal elements.  The first is tentatively titled Empath, the second is The Forbidden Gypsy.  I hope to have them both completed before Christmas.

I also have a short Frontier Heatsheet coming out with Phaze in September and will hopefully have more out with Total E-Bound and Cobblestone this Fall.

PNR: Thank you, Jennah, for taking time out to speak with us. Where can readers find out what's new and how can they contact you?

Jennah S.: Thank you so much for inviting me.  I love it when readers contact me.  I have a sneak peek page on my website for my upcoming books along with a newsletter.  If readers sign up, they receive all the news before anyone else and are in line for special benefits and prizes.  Contests are happening all the time. 

I hope everyone will drop by my site at www.jennahsharpe.com

You can also find me hanging out at the following places:

www.myspace.com/jennahsharpe

www.romancedivas.com/forums

www.cobblestone-press.com (mainstreet forum)

and www.total-e-bound.com (forum)

 

 

Buy it now!

 

Utopia Camping, a Mecca for windsurfers and cryptozoologists or a haven for Merbeings?  Mia has always known Merbeings existed despite the evidence to the contrary and for her beliefs she is considered abnormal. 

 

When she meets Tydon, a man who follows his instincts, she is immediately drawn to him.  When he reveals his secret, will their promise of love be enough to save his species from those who wish to exploit his kind?

 

 

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