Interview of Vera Jane Cook author of The Story of Sassy Sweetwater!

Interview of Vera Jane Cook author of The Story of Sassy Sweetwater!

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Finalist for the ForeWord Book of the Year Awards for 2012! Won the Eric Hoffer Award for Sassy Sweetwater for 2013 - Honorable Mention Best ebook Fiction!

Author Information: 

Vera Jane Cook, writer of Award Winning Women's Fiction, is the author of The Story of Sassy Sweetwater, Lies a River Deep, Where the Wildflowers Grow, Dancing Backward in Paradise and Annabel Horton, Lost Witch of Salem.

Jane, as she is known to family and friends, was born in New York City and grew up amid the eccentricity of her southern and glamorous mother on the Upper West and Upper East Side of Manhattan.

An only child, Jane turned to reading novels at an early age and was deeply influenced by an eclectic group of authors. Some of her favorite authors today are Nelson DeMille, Calib Carr, Wally Lamb, Anne Rice, Sue Monk Kidd, Anita Shreve, Jodi Picoult, Alice Walker and Toni Morrison. Her favorite novels are too long to list but include The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, Cheri and The Last of Cheri, The Picture of Dorian Grey, Wuthering Heights, Look at Me, Dogs of Babel, The Bluest Eye, The Art of Racing in the Rain, Body Surfing, Lolita, The Brothers Karamazov, She's Come Undone, Tale of Two Cities, etc., etc., etc.

The Story of Sassy Sweetwater is a finalist for the ForeWord Book of the Year Awards for 2012. Her first novel, Dancing Backward in Paradise won the Eric Hoffer Award for publishing excellence and the Indie Excellence Award for notable new fiction, 2007. The Story of Sassy Sweetwater and Dancing Backward in Paradise received five stars from ForeWord Clarion Reviews. The Story of Annabel Horton, Lost Witch of Salem is her first paranormal novel.

The author works by day for an education publishing company as an account manager and lives on the Upper West side of Manhattan with her long term partner, her Pomeranian, Daisy, her Basenji/Chihuahua mix, Roxie, her Chihuahua, Peanut and her two pussy cats, Sassy and Sweetie Pie.

Contacts:

 

Vera Jane Cook's Website: http://www.verajanecook.com/

Vera Jane Cook on Twitter: https://twitter.com/verajanecook
Vera Jane Cook on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vera.j.cook

Interview: 

I appreciate your taking the time to visit with us today.

1.            What inspired this particular novel/book?

The American South inspires me  mostly because my mother's side of the family was so southern. I think there is some genetic memory that takes over when I sit down to write and images and characters come to mind. I honestly have no idea from where. I was raised in New York City, no southern influence there.

2.            What character was your favorite to write for in this story? Why?

I particularly enjoyed creating the character of Sassy because the book is a narrative and it was as if she were speaking into my ear. I got close to her, got to know her. I liked Sassy Sweetwater because I understood her. She's like me in some ways but she's truly her own woman.

3.            Which was your favorite scene to write?

I think my favorite scene to write was also my most difficult. It was the scene in which Sassy is in France with her Aunt Beatrice, who is going through her hippie stage.

4.      What was the hardest thing about writing this story?

Dealing with incest in a way that fosters pity and compassion. Also dealing with the issues of race in the sixties from the perspective of innocence and ignorance.

4.            What Are Your Writing Quirks & Must-Haves To Write?

I love to write on Sundays, early morning to late afternoons. Quiet is most important. A perfect writing room for me would be in a little cottage in the country.

5.            What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

 I never outline. I think of a title and then I write the book. I don't know many authors who start with a title. I actually fell in love with Sassy's name, Sweetwater, which actually is a stream. I knew I had to use it.

6.            Do you write full-time? If so, what's your work day like?  If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?

 I make time to write while I hold down a busy day job. I work in education publishing and I sell our products into K-12 schools. My day is busy so I grab days off and holidays whenever I can.

7.            As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

An actress, which I was for ten years.

8.            When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?

I always wrote diaries and poems but never imagined I could write a novel. I believe I was fifty when I decided to try.

9.            Where do you find your Inspirations?

In my own past, my own family, in life and nature. In the world around me.

10.        What do you like to read? Who is your favorite author?

I like to read women's fiction most and would have to say I'll read anything by Anita Shreve but I have many favorite authors from back to the classics to now. I also love Wally Lamb, Nelson DeMille, Dean Koonz, Jodi Picoult, Anne Rice, etc.

11.        Please let readers know where they can connect with you and purchase your books...

Please visit my website: http://www.verajanecook.com My book is available with most all online retailers

12.        Anything additional you want to share with the readers?

Just a thank you for reading my novel. I hope you'll read others, I have five published and one to be released this year. You can read excerpts of each of them on my website.

Thank you so much for chatting with us today.

This product or book may have been distributed for review; this in no way affects my opinions or reviews.