Connie: Hello Jana, and welcome. I appreciate the opportunity to interview you and share our conversation with the readers. Before I begin with the questions, please get us rolling with a bit about yourself and perhaps a sneak peek at what you’re working on now.

Jana: Hi Connie! Let’s see – a bit about me. I’ve just returned from two weeks in England where I conducted research for the third book in the Time Rovers Series (Madman’s Dance). It was a busy fortnight! Between enjoying the fine ale and trudging somewhere between 5-10 miles per day, I did get a lot of research done. I didn’t, however, lose any weight. Sigh. Other than that, it was a success. I wrote a rough draft of Madman’s Dance last year to get a clue where the three-book story arc was headed, but now it’s time to flesh out those scenes and do the rewrites. Just what have I been researching, you ask? Newgate Prison, executions, the Great Fire of London (1666), what it’s like to walk through a tunnel under the Thames and lunatic asylums. I have a great job.

Connie: Wow, fascinating first-hand research! For those who are not readers of the paranormal-sci-fi-fantasy, and those who are not readers of mysteries, historical or otherwise, how would you describe the Time Rover series to them to catch their attention?

Jana: Usually I just say "Time Travelers, Shape-shifters & Jack the Ripper." It’s such a different premise I’ve found it hard to boil down to a single sentence or two. How’s about -- A riveting paranormal mystery set in late Victorian England. But then that’s not mentioning the romance. You see my problem.

Connie: Yes, quite a dilemma.

Where/how do you find the balance between the two to appeal to the two audiences and not turn either off with too much shape shifting, time traveling, or too much mystery?

Jana: Since I genre-blend, finding that balance is tough. Luckily I seem to know when I’m going off the deep end in one direction or another. I’m blessed with an editor who is very good at reining me in. In the end, if the novel moves right along and is hard to put down, I know I’ve hit the mark. I want readers to become captured by the story, only to realize after the fact they’re reading a genre they don’t usually fancy.

Connie: A wonderful goal to achieve!

Time rover Jacynda and wayward "tourists", shape shifters, Victorian London, conspiracy, Jack the Ripper…and a (stuffed) ferret. Well, there’s a lot of ground covered here and it all started with Sojourn and continues with Virtual Evil. You’re weaving a mystery into the real world of 1888, paranormal-sci-fi-fantasy, and that of a world yet to be. What is the most challenging and exciting aspect of bringing this tapestry together?

Jana: Figuring out where the story is going and keeping all the little details correct. I do not plot my books ahead to any great degree, unlike such authors as Jim Butcher who says he knows exactly where his series is going (all 20 books worth!) I am not wired like that. I have a rough idea where each book is headed, but it’s still pretty open ended. That makes for what I call "white knuckle writing," especially when you’re on deadline. The biggest challenge is to weave all the little bits and clues into the story and then deliver a satisfying resolution for the reader. I’d love to say I knew all the cool twists beforehand, but that would be fibbing.

Connie: Well, that means you’re as surprised as the reader when you’re "white knuckle writing" and that would mean you’re on the right track. Right?

Jana, at one time or another, we all think "if only" or "what if" whether it’s about a time in history whether one or a hundred years ago, or something from our imagination playing the "what if" game.. What was your "what if" scenario that brought this series and Jacynda to life?

Jana: I wondered what it would be like to send a modern female to late Victorian London in the middle of the Ripper murders. She DETESTS that time period and is slowly losing her edge because of the time lag she’s accumulated for all her travels. Her mind is starting to unravel and she’s not sure if what she’s seeing is reality or a hallucination. No one is what they seem and just about everyone is out to double cross her. Her "simple" job is becoming a nightmare and she can’t seem to find any way to get it back on track. Sounds like what a lot of us face very day, at least in the corporate world. Okay, maybe you don’t have time travel or shape-shifters in your office, but the backstabbing and corporate politics are right on.

Connie: Hmm, edge of the seat reading…With Jacynda being from 2057 you have, of course, literary license to create this time as you see it being in her world. That being said, have you done research and incorporated any into the series on recent or ongoing quantum studies?

Jana: I’ve been actively following the latest developments in time travel, nano technology, RFID chips and such, which is funny as I’m not really science oriented. At least not until I started the series. My twenty-first century is not that far advanced as the real 2057 will be. I made the decision not to go too futuristic. If you think back to 1957 and what has been discovered in the intervening fifty years, that’s an incredible amount of new technology. I suspect most of the stuff I mention will come to pass within 10-15 years and some of it is already in place. At present there is a GPS unit the size of a jump drive. You carry it around and when you get back to your computer you plug it into a USB port and track your precise journey on Google Earth. Now that’s creepy. And fascinating, I must admit. Will time travel come to be? In many ways, I hope not. I don’t think we’re wise enough to handle the responsibility of meddling with history. We’re not doing so hot in the here and now, can you imagine how bad we’d screw up previous centuries?

Connie: Yeah, and it would be extremely hard to keep any promises not to meddle. But just to take some peeks, well, I can’t imagine how cool that would be, not to mention dangerous depending on the time and place.

What about Jacynda’s world? What about the 2057 terminology (found on your website)? Did you base/create these solely on your imagination, or was some research incorporated into the two along with the picture your mind created?

Jana: I created those mostly out my imagination. It took some time to figure out the Transitives’ and the Rovers’ terminology, their "lore" and such, but to make their worlds feel authentic, there had to be new words. The characters just told me what to put down and I did. When I look at the terminology, I’m rather stunned. Wow. I came up with all that. Makes me wonder if I have too active of an imagination.

Connie: Nah. An imagination is a good thing! Use it!

The 1888 research, will you talk about some of what you’ve learned? Perhaps what the police investigations and reports were like from that time?

Jana: I spent a lot of time trudging all over London, both in Whitechapel and Southwark (the south side of the Thames.) I took somewhere near 450 photos for reference. I’m a very visual person so it helps to have a photo I can look at to help make my scenes come alive. That requires a lot of work on my part. Of course, I love it!

I’ve read countless inquest documents, police reports, newspaper accounts, even Victorian erotica just to get a flavor of the times. The police reports were pretty straight forward as they lacked the ability to collect forensic evidence. Most of the reports dealt with witness statements and such. It’s really fascinating to look at the old documents, often written in fine copperplate handwriting on (now) weathered paper. I just saw one that listed one of the Ripper victim’s possessions at the time of her murder. Catherine (Kate) Eddowes’ was essentially homeless unless she earned enough money for a bed (usually by casual prostitution), so she carried everything she owned with her. It was sobering to see how little she had in the world when she met her killer.

Connie: Fascinating information. It’s amazing that the documents still exist and they’re available to look at.

Is there a possibility the series could go beyond the third book planned for a 2008 release, Jana? Could Jacynda, with her problems developed from time-traveling, have more adventures waiting for her in another time, another place?

Jana: I’m hoping so. I will be wrapping up the main 1888 storyline at the end of Madman’s Dance (Book #3) but I suspect Jacynda is up for more adventures down the line. It really depends on my publisher and the readers.

Connie: Sometimes stepping away, doing the laundry or vacuuming can somehow get things back on track or enhance an already percolating idea. What about in the middle of the night? Ever wake up with a fabulous idea for dialogue or a specific scene? What happens then, how do you take care of it?

Jana: My characters wake me up every now and then and play out scenes in my head while I try to fall back to sleep. I absolutely refuse to get up and work on them even if I lie awake for two or more hours. I’ll get up in the morning and type out the scene as best as I remember it. If I let my characters dictate my night’s rest, they’ve won . Then it will become a habit.

Connie: I can imagine only too well.

You have a murder mystery series researched and the first book needs to be finished. Can you talk about it, what the premise is, what characters have been developed for it?

Jana: I have ideas for four or five books in a Victorian murder mystery series. I originally conducted the research for this series in 2002, which gave me a huge leg up on the Rover series. Some of the ideas have wandered into the new series, so I will have to rethink a book or two. The plots are still pretty loose at this point so I hate to say exactly what will become of the story ideas and the characters. I suspect they’ll see the light of day sooner or later. I’d love to show the conflict between a straight-arrow policeman and someone who is a bit of a show off, a James Bond of his time. That could be a great deal of fun. The Late Victorian Era has a wealth of plots from which to choose. It’s just a matter of finding a publisher who is intrigued enough to keep me in ink cartridges and paper.

Connie: Keep me posted on them! I see I need to move this along, Jana, get to know the personal side of you, if I could. Do you enjoy cooking, baking, and/or gardening? Or do you consider them chores and leave the task to someone else?

Jana: I cook fairly well, but when I’m the throes of a book I tend to keep the food pretty simple. Since I constantly battle my weight, I don’t bake much or I’d eat all the goodies. My hobbies are reading old books and photography when I get the chance. I clean house as needed to keep the place decent, but I don’t live to clean like some folks I know. I don’t want a tombstone that reads "A spotless house but what a dull life."

I’ve recently taken up container gardening mostly because I like fresh food. Georgia is not known for its great soil (unlike Iowa) so I’ve gone to container gardening. It would great to have fresh herbs and lettuce in the middle of the winter.

Connie: Container gardening is a good way to cut down on the yucky weeding, too!

Ice cream and chocolate are two of your favorite foods. YUM! Is there any certain brand(s)/flavors you prefer to nibble, eat, devour, or will most any brand(s)/flavor do?

Jana: Edy’s Coffee ice cream. I love it. I also adore chocolate mint (with big chunks of chocolate.) Did I mention I have trouble keeping my weight down? Belgian chocolate rates right up there with some of the new organic ones. Well, not all of them. The Chocolate-Ginger combination just doesn’t make it for me. That’s so wrong on too many levels.

Connie: When you’re relaxing and reading or watching a movie and are at your most comfortable, what would we find you in; sweats, jeans & t-shirt, pj’s, or something else entirely?

Jana: I like being frumpy in sweats and a tee shirt. I think that’s why the UPS guy just sets the boxes on the porch, rings the doorbells and runs for it. I like being comfortable. I can dress "to the nines" as they say, but I prefer being comfy.

Connie: I’m with you there! Jana: Not really. I can always find some local equivalent, like strange shampoo in India or different sorts of headache powders in London. What I find amazing is all the stuff you have to pack to support your electronics. Electrical cords, chargers, converters, you name it, for your computer, IPod, PDA, cell phone, digital camera. And of course, the batteries (both AA and AAA) since they’re more expensive at the destination. My luggage looks like a Radio Shack.

Connie: Hmm, did you ever think of setting up a Kiosk in the lobby to sell some of your Radio Shack-like wares?  : - ) Providing you have extra, of course.

Is there a particular author or historical figure from decades or centuries past you’d like to meet? What would you say or ask him/her?

Jana: Edgar Allen Poe, at least when he was sober. I’d love to spend an evening talking with the man. I’d especially want to learn where he got his idea for The Cask of Amontillado. That story is just so chilling. Who knows, maybe I could pick up a few tips from the master.

I’d also like to sit down with Inspector Fred Abberline who was in charge of the Ripper investigations. It’d be riveting to hear his side of the tale: the frustrations he encountered during the investigation, how he coped with the extreme pressure from the higher ups, the immense disappointment at never having caught the guy. Hollywood portrays this man as an alcoholic or a drug user. Abberline was neither. He was just a copper caught in the midst of a murder spree without the tools he needed to solve the case.

Connie: Both intriguing choices. There’s so much they both could tell. And with that, I’ll say thank you, Jana, for your time and let you get back to your writing and plotting. But first, is there anything I forgot to ask that you’d like the readers to know?

Jana: Thanks so much! I certainly enjoyed myself. What else would I like the readers to know? That they’re the reason I get up in the morning, schlep to the computer and do my thing. Thanks folks. Without you it’d not be as a much fun!

Comment or respond to Jana's interview and we'll post your comments below!

Top
Author's Interviews