Please welcome author Jennifer Priester to Imagineer-ing! Defying being cast as a genre-specific writer, Jennifer offers her readers a wide selection of delights. But let’s hear the facts from Jennifer herself…
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When did you first discover the desire to write was so strong in you?
I discovered this back when I was in second grade. I just started writing and never stopped.
Do you usually write in the same genre you tend to prefer to read?
I do write in the same genre I read, although I am more subject based than genre and read almost all genres so I also write in multiple genres. Currently these genre’s include: fantasy, children’s fiction, short stories, sci-fi/fantasy, sci-fi, general fiction, nonfiction, comic books, graphic novels, and supernatural…I think. There may be others and I’m actually not sure supernatural is a genre. The subjects I read and write about are animals, the relationships between humans and animals, magic, the supernatural, and superheroes, space travel, and alternate realities or dimensions. At this time I also read a lot of books with the subject of time travel, but I don’t write about it… yet.
When reading, do you prefer traditional printed books or ebooks?
I still prefer to read print books, but I have begun to buy and read some books in eBook format, and actually when buying a book new if it is available as an eBook this is how I will buy it.
Have you been influenced and/or inspired by another writer, or writers?
My first book/book series, Mortal Realm Witch, was more inspired by a TV show than anything else, but over the course of my writing, writers such as David Clement-Davies, Erin Hunter, Richard Adams, and more have influenced and inspired me to some degree, especially on my currently unpublished books featuring adventures about animals.
Do past or current events in your life have an influence on your writing?
They do and sometimes certain events get written directly into a story I am working on, such as my unpublished comic book/graphic novel; Spider and Jackal which is about the relationship between the two dogs I used to own. Many of the stories in this book actually happened. A story of mine that is in my untitled book of animal adventures called; “Pit-bull Park” was actually inspired by the Pit-bull bans that have been happening in many places. Current events in my life, and current events in general, influence my writing more than past ones, but although I will probably never reveal which ones, past events have had some influence.
Have you got a favorite author, who stands well ahead of all others?
For me, it is actually a group of authors who write under the name of Erin Hunter. The Erin Hunters are my favorite animal fantasy writers. I really love all three book series; Warriors, Seekers, and Survivors. When trying to figure out how to write animal battles that felt natural, meaning they reflect the animals behavior realistically, even though my first one was wolves and the Erin Hunters don’t write about wolves, I often referred back to the battles written about in the various Warriors book series.
Have you got both printed and digital books published?
Do you try to write to satisfy what is fashionable, or do you write pieces that you would want to read?
I only write what interests me. Overall I write for myself and hope that others will like it as much as I do. Sometimes I am interested in something that is currently fashionable and sometimes I am not. I only read what I am interested in, and never read anything just because it is fashionable so why would I write this way? I don’t see the point, because I write for the reason that I enjoy doing it and if I’m not liking what I am writing about, chances are my readers won’t like what I wrote either, because I feel a writer needs to love what they write for the book to have any appeal to readers.
How do you fit writing into your life? Do you have set times for writing?
I don’t usually have set writing times. I have tried this and usually ended up throwing out what I wrote because it sounded really stupid to me, so I just write as I get ideas. I have always been writing and it has always been a fun thing for me, so writing more or less fits into my life as both my work and my play. Even when I have no plans on writing I usually end up doing it anyway so there really is no need to schedule specific time to do so.
Do you keep every jotting of ideas, just in case they might be developed at some later date?
I actually often wait a while after I get an idea, and if it sticks with me for twenty four hours or more, only then do I consider it to be a good idea and write it down. Often these are pieces for stories already being developed, but sometimes they are completely new ideas for stories. The only times I write down an idea right away is when it is something that came to me in a dream. Because even my best dreams often disappear as soon as I wake up and from that first moment I begin to forget more and more of it, I usually grab a pencil and notebook as fast as I can get to them and write down everything I can remember. Sometimes I end up writing everything out of order, but if once I get back to it and reread what I wrote, and still really like it, I will rewrite it in order or in whatever order seems to be the best for the story I am planning on it becoming. Sometimes I also begin to write out as much of the actual story right away and other times I wait to see if more ideas come first.
Do you write freeform or do you faithfully plan every piece meticulously before you start on a piece?
I usually write freeform. When ideas come, they come and usually they don’t stop until I stop writing. Sometimes, when I am at a stuck point or I have had so many different pieces that I have written down for later use in a certain story do I find the need to organize and plan out where my story is heading and what I want to happen in it.
When writing, most authors now use a computer of some description. Which do you find more satisfying: writing using any means available, using a computer, using a typewriter or using a pen/pencil?
I prefer to use a mechanical pencil and a notebook for my writing. Because I usually need to watch TV while I write and because I find myself able to use a pencil for longer than I can type this is how I prefer to write. I also am able to get my ideas down faster and I make less mistakes this way. I always type everything up on the computer after I either stop writing and haven’t been back to a story in a while to organize and make everything easier to read, or after completion of a story.
Have you ever been somewhere and discovered a copy of a book that’s extremely difficult to find, and drooled over the discovery?
Not exactly. I have found some U.K. books that are hard to find in the U.S. which I was excited to get, but considering I could always get these books from the U.K. they aren’t considered to be extremely difficult to find.
If you’ve had books published in print form, have you ever come across a copy of one of your own books by accident?
No, but once I almost accidentally grabbed my own book in the library on impulse just because the cover got my attention. I realized it was mine before actually grabbing it.
What is your greatest ambition in writing?
I would really love for my writing to make money, but overall I hope to write things that are both fun for me to write and entertaining for my readers.
Where can readers find out more about your works?
Mortal Realm Witch series: booksmrwseries
Other non-series works in progress: otherbooksbyjenniferpriester
Another series I am working on: animalworld
More about some of the books I am working on: meettheanipals
More about the Mortal Realm Witch series: meetthecharacters
Discover my writing (Free PDF story): freetoreadstories
Mortal Realm Witch: Learning About Magic Excerpts: 3-book-excerpts-mortal-realm-witch-learning-about-magic
