Jody Hedlund ~ Author Interview #2

Mar 13, 2015 by Rachel

Welcome back to Rachel’s Back Talk! Another Friday interview!

While you may have remembered me interviewing Jody Hedlund before, this week, I am celebrating the release of her new YA series and the interview will focus on questions from her newest book, An Uncertain Choice.

So without further ado, on to Rachel’s Back Talk – Special Edition!

Interview:

RR: Hi Jody! I am so excited to have you visit Rachel’s Back Talk again. I know I always enjoy reading your books and An Uncertain Choice was no different. After writing for the adult market, why did you decide to transition to young adult books?

JH: I have five children and three of them are now teens. That means that over the past few years I’ve ended up reading a lot of books in the Young Adult genre not only to stay abreast of what my kids are reading, but also to have discussions about the topics and world views within the books.

All that to say, I’ve fallen in love with reading YA books! Naturally, as I’ve fallen in love with reading them, I had to consider the possibility of writing them. And while I have a lot of other things going on my publishing career, I decided I wanted to make this move into YA now while I still had teens at home to read my books (and give me feedback!).

RR: That is a great reason to begin writing them and it is certainly nice to do while your teens are still home! So how is your approach to writing Young Adult novels different than your Historical Romance novels?

JH: My approach is different in a couple of ways. First, my adult historical romances are mostly set in the 1800’s in America (due in part to that setting being considered the “sweet spot” for adult historical fiction). But my YA is medieval times which is allowing me to jump into a time period that I’m crazy about! I’ve had lots of fun writing about knights, castles, and daring damsels!

A second difference in my YA and adult fiction is in how I’m approaching the heroine and the romance. Obviously the heroine is a young adult (under 18 or on the cusp of turning 18), and so this is more of a coming of age story where the heroine must grapple with some “growing up” issues. She’s also just beginning to explore relationship issues and must wrestle through timeless questions about how to know who’s the right one, what qualities to look for in a relationship, and how to know when you’re really in love.

RR: What Rosemarie grapples with in An Uncertain Choice is just one of the things I love about the novel! What essential ingredients do you strive for in your novels to ensure an authentic love story emerges?

JH: I always try to incorporate the elements that I like to see in the romances I read. That includes deep emotions that are birthed out of a character’s past. I also like to have a relationship that evolves organically throughout the book. I try not to have my characters being antagonistic to one another the whole book and then finally falling in love in the last chapter at the last minute. I want the couple to move from friendship to falling in love gradually and to have a growing attraction (with the sparks flying!) throughout the book.

At the same time, however, I don’t like to have the love relationship resolve too early in the book. Readers don’t want the “happily-ever-after” moment to come until the end. So while the relationship is developing, it’s important to find ways to keep the couple from being fully together until the end.

RR: Yes, you definitely want to make sure the characters come off as being realistic in their relationship. And now for a more general question, what has made you grow the most as a writer?

JH: If I had to narrow down one specific thing that has helped the most in my quest for publication, I’d have to say this: My careful, ongoing, and thorough study and practice of writing techniques has been the single most beneficial aspect of my writing career.

In other words, I read writing craft books, studied fiction-writing basics, and then put what I learned into practice. All the studying has been the number one thing to help me in my writing career.

RR: That is a great tip for aspiring authors for sure! And now, what readers (and myself) wonder about..are you working on the next book in the series?

JH: Yes! I’m excited about the second book in the series. It’s already written and I’m in the process of getting ready to turn it in to my editor in order to get her expertise feedback. As I mentioned it will involve another one of the three knights. But of course, I won’t give away which of the knights until closer to the release of the book! (How’s that for a tease!)

RR: Oh that is such a tease, but I sure am glad you are writing about one of the other knights! Thank you so much for being here, Jody!

And right now, Jody is having a blog tour featuring An Uncertain Choice. I would definitely encourage you to participate, because who knows what you might win!

And in case you missed it–read my review about An Uncertain Choice! 

 

Jody Hedlund is a best-selling and award-winning author who loves fairy- tales and happily-ever-afters. She makes her home in Midland, MI with her husband and five children. When she’s not writing another of her page-turning stories, you can usually find her sipping coffee, eating chocolate, and reading.