Jennifer St. Clair is the author of the wide-ranging fantasy universe “Beth-Hill”.  This universe has spawned a number of series, which sometimes may appear unconnected but all are either set in Beth-Hill, contain Beth-Hill characters found in other series or furthers the story of the universe.

As a fan of vampires, werewolves, dragons, elves and other mythological creatures I love her take on these creatures, and am always looking forward to her next offering.

Here is our interview with Jennifer, remember, if you have further questions, write them in the comments section and I’ll get Jennifer to answer them.

Also, don’t forget this month we have a new set of free books up at WEE for you to enjoy…

Author Interview

You write mostly fantasy, do you have a favourite fantasy creature?

I’ve always been rather fond of dragons. It seems to me that they would have a hard time existing in the modern world. Kind of like vampires. 🙂

Do you enjoy watching fantasy movies or reading fantasy books? If so, what would be some of your favourites? And have any of them actually inspired any of your stories?

I like to read, but I don’t watch many movies. Some favorite authors are Charles DeLint, Terry Pratchett, James P. Blaylock, Tim Powers, Sharyn McCrumb (who doesn’t write fantasy, but some of her stories have fantastic elements in them.)

I grew up reading fantasy and watching fantasy movies, like Labryinth, Ladyhawke, and The Neverending Story. Right now, I’m waiting for Part 3 of the Hobbit to come out in the theaters.

Do you ever use family or friends as inspiration for your characters? If so, are there any you want to own up to?

My friend Grey appears in “By Any Other Name”, which is set at a Renaissance Festival. While some other characters’ names match people I actually know, they’re not really based on real-life people.

If you could be any of your characters in real life, who would you choose?

Oooh, this is a hard one. I’m not sure I’d want to *be* any of my characters, but I’d really like to meet Gabriel, the Master of the Wild Hunt. And I have a soft spot for Malachi, one of the Hounds of the Wild Hunt, as well.

When did you start writing? Do you recall made you decide to be an author?

When I was thirteen years old, my best friend told me that she had written a romance novel. Up until then, I thought authors were only adults, and special ones, at that, and that not just everyone could write books. But my friend wrote one, so I decided to write one too. I wrote my first novel in eleven days. It was based off the one sentence summary of the next episode of “Beauty & The Beast”, a TV show that I loved to watch. So I guess, technically, it was fanfiction. I did not stop there, however. From that point on, I was hooked on writing novels, and I really haven’t stopped since.

When you sit down to write, do you know what happens next?

I don’t, usually. I don’t outline, and sometimes hardly know what will happen in the next sentence, much less the next chapter, or even the ending. Occasionally, I will think I know what happens next, and then someone derails the story and leads me down a path I never would have anticipated. I like writing this way. It makes me more interested in the story, and since I don’t know what happens next, gives me incentive to find out.

Do you have any suggestions for new writers?

Write! Don’t worry about what happens after the book is finished until the book is finished. Sit down and write. Study everything you read for proper grammar format, and find your own voice. Care about your stories. Don’t write something just because it’s a current trend; write the story *you* want to write. And did I mention WRITE?! Too often, new authors get bogged down with taking classes, giving and receiving critiques, and reading every book on writing that exists. This does not help your end goal: to write a novel/short story/novella/whatever.

To be a writer, you have to write. After you have written, then worry about what happens next.

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Check out Jennifer’s Author page for purchasing information for all her books: