Author in the Spotlight

Hello! Today we have Jessica M. Chittester for Author in the Spotlight.

About the Author

I have been writing since I was 10 years old. My passions and hobbies vary but my love for writing knows no boundaries. To date I’ve published three books (which I think is pretty decent for a 22 year old) and will one day publish more. I live at home with my family and my pets. For the most part I’m either working or slaving away at the keyboard, I can be found with my nose in a dinosaur encyclopedia or scribbling in a journal as new ideas for stories come to mind.


After talking with Jessica and asking her questions, here is what she had to say:

1.) What inspired the author to write the book(s)?

My most recent book is a poetry book that I had published through Createspace. I’ve been working on it since I started writing; I was about 10 years old at the time. It’s just a collection of every poem and lullaby that I’ve written throughout my writing career and I thought that it’d be a good time to get it published. I may write more poems in the future but, at the moment, it just felt like a good time to get it published. Plus, I like to see my work in book format and it’s my dream to one day walk into a book store and see someone skimming through my book.

2.) Who is your favorite author?

I’d have to say it’s a three way tie between J.K Rowling and J.R.R Tolkien and Stephen King. I’m in love with their story telling. But, the author of my favorite book is a paleontologist named Robert T. Bakker. ‘Raptor Red’ is my all-time favorite book.

3.) Do you outline?

Occasionally I do outline. If the book is going to be long but I want it finished quickly I will sit down and do an outline. It might not be the typical way that most people do it but it works for me. I write down how many chapters I’m planning on writing and then I’ll go back through and jot down ideas of what each chapter will be about. This helps keep me focused and on point.

4.) What is your routine?

I don’t really have a routine. I sit down at the computer, or at my notebook, I’ll but on Pandora radio or my favorite radio station, tell my family that I’ll be writing today and not to bother me, and then I just sit down and write.

5.) How do you market your book?

I don’t really market my book. I post my work on Facebook, tell my family and friends about it, and sometimes I look around for people or places that are interested in doing a book signing. I also do the occasional table at a craft show and I try to bring a few copies of my books to these and sell that at my table.

6.) What do you do when you aren't writing?

When I’m not writing I like to spend time with my rabbits (two of them – they’re my boys, Copper and Bun Bun) and dog (Honey – she’s my little baby girl). I also spend time with my family and my fiancé. And I also read and go for walks.

7.) Where do you get your ideas from?

Most of the time my ideas come from my dreams and day dreams. They’re so vivid that I just have to write them down; if I fail to do so, they will haunt me until I do. I had a dream that stayed with me for three days – I didn’t get any sleep until I wrote it down. It made for a long week.

8.) How do you get over writer's block?

That’s a hard one to answer. I suffer from writer’s block a lot. I think it mostly has to do with my brain always being in a whirlwind. I’m always getting ideas for the next great story! I think the best way for me to get over it is to take a step back, breathe, and then look at my work as if I was the reader. I read it out loud; see what works for me and what doesn’t. Normally, this helps get the juices flowing. If this method fails, I drop that project and work on another until my mind gets a new idea for the old work and I go back to it.

9.) What project are you working on now?

I’m working on three at the moment. All are fiction.

There’s ‘Red Death’. It’s my zombie apocalypse book. I know that zombies have been done to death but I’m actually getting very good feedback from my beat readers. It’s unique and a different take on zombies and I have high hopes for it.

Then there’s ‘Dinosauria’. This book I’ve been working on since 2010…if not a bit before that. It’s an adult novel that has mainly dinosaurs as the characters. I love this story even though most people don’t want me working on it. They tell me that dinosaurs are for children. NOT! I’ve like dinosaurs since I was two years old and I’m tired of not seeing adult dinosaur fiction novels.

And last but not least is ‘The Bastard’s Club’. This is my first take on a romance novel – I’m hoping it turns out as nicely as it is in my head. The main characters are a mermaid and a dwarf prince. It’s different and I’m enjoying working on it.

10.) Is there anything that you would like to say to your readers and fans?

Yes. I’d like to thank them all for being supportive and patient with me. Also, thank you all for taking the time to read my work. I’m trying my best and I love you all.

And there you have from Jessica M. Chittester. Thank you for allowing me to do this interview. It was nice meeting you. I wish you the best of luck in everything you do.

Click here to buy Jessica's latest book!

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