Chat & Win with Featured Author Jessica Chambers

Win one of 5 gift cards for Amazon or Barnes & Noble and get to know author Jessica Chambers today at the Book Boost!


TBB: Jessica, welcome to the blog and Congrats on your new release. Can you tell us where are you from?


JC: I’ve moved around a bit over the years, but I’m currently living with my family and crazy Staffordshire bull terrier in Windsor, a riverside town in the English county of Berkshire. Most people probably know it for the castle and nearby Eton College, and it’s this sense of history that I love most about my home town.

TBB: Please tell us about your debut release.


JC: Voices On The Waves is a sweet women’s fiction novel set against the stunning backdrop of rural Cornwall. The idea for the book came from my fascination with people and the ways in which they interact. What would happen, I asked myself, if you forced a group of strangers together in one place for a set length of time, and then left them to their own devices?


Well, this is precisely what happens in Voices On The Waves, where nine individuals from all walks of life win a two-week holiday in a beautiful farmhouse retreat. Having gathered such diverse personalities under one roof, all I had to do was let my imagination flow and the sparks fly! With new found love, illicit affairs and the sharing of long-buried secrets, Voices on the Waves really does have it all.


TBB: When and why did you begin writing?


JC: Clichéd as it sounds, I’ve harbored an ambition to be a writer ever since I was old enough to think about my future. Even when I was seven-years-old and wrote my first novel, a 30-page piece entitled The Mystery Of The Strange Telephone Calls, I knew that was how I wanted to earn my living. As a shy person, I love being able to escape into another world, and the sense of power that comes with controlling everything that goes on in that world.


TBB: Love the title of your first novel! LOL What authors have inspired your writing and in what way?


JC: Gosh, there are so many. To name a few, I love Maeve Binchy’s warm style, Jilly Cooper’s witty dialogue, Cassandra Clare’s larger than life characters and James Patterson’s economy with words. I suppose I take elements of all the writers I enjoy and admire, and combine them in a style that is my own.


TBB: What are your current projects?


JC: I’ve just started work on a novella, which will be written as part of a series with a group of my fellow authors at Red Rose. The idea is that we each write a book based on a reality TV show, and I’m taking the inspiration for mine from talent shows such as American Idol and The X Factor. It’s shaping up to be really great fun!


I’m also in the throes of editing a novel called Painting The Summer. More of a mystery than Voices On The Waves, it centers around a wealthy English family whose lives are torn apart when they invite a handsome young artist into their home to paint their portraits. All going well, I’m hoping both novels will be published some time in 2011.


TBB: Do you have any advice for other writers?


JC: Study your craft. Most of us, unless we happen to be a literary genius, won’t become a best-selling writer overnight. Read every book you can lay your hands on about creating believable, unforgettable characters and how to weave page-turning plots. Join a writing critique group, whether online or face-to-face, to get feedback on your progress that will help you improve. Most of all, write the sort of novels you would enjoy reading.


TBB: Thanks again for joining us and please tell our readers how they can enter your great October contest!


JC: Thank you so much, Kerri, for inviting me here today, and to all of you for stopping by. Anyone kind enough to leave a comment here, or at any point during my blog tour, will automatically be entered into the draw to win a $15 gift voucher for either Amazon or Barnes & Noble, so don’t forget to provide an email address in case I need to contact you. I’ll be announcing the five winners at the end of my tour on October 31st over at my blog
http://www.jessicachambers.co.uk/blog so good luck!

Want More Jessica?

Visit her website here: http://www.jessicachambers.co.uk
Visit her blog here: http://www.jessicachambers.co.uk/blog

Pick up your copy of her book today! Click here!