Jessica what is your favorite thing to do in the fall
season?
I adore going to all the local farm stands and picking up pumpkins, dried corn, mums, etc. And taking my son apple and pumpkin picking is always so fun. Of course, he always wants to bring home enormous quantities of apples so I have to put a cap on how many I’ll accept!
How long does it take you to write one of your books?
Officially, I have a year in between each book, but
generally I’ve written the books over a 4-5 month period. Writing with my mom
means that I also have to work around her schedule and despite our best efforts
to get an outline done in May or June, we usually finish the outline in
September. Then I write like crazy from early October to February, do the
edits, and finish by the end of the month for our deadline. It can be a bit
crazy around my house during those last weeks…!
Do you have a home office?
Yup. There are two small bedrooms on our main floor and one
master. We gave the master bedroom to Nick and Bill and I moved our bedroom
downstairs so we each get an office. I got the one with the oddly colored pink
carpet. But I couldn’t really stick Bill with that could I? Alana Machnicki,
who does the cover art for our books, sent me a few of her goldfish prints and
I framed those so I can peek up at them when I’m writing. Who knew fish were so
inspiring? I’ve got two bookshelves full of cozy mysteries and chick lit
novels, photo albums, and an out-of-place box of garden supplies. Oh, and tons
of yummy smelling candles.
For you what is the best and worst part of the writing
process?
Writing the first few pages can send me into a panic attack
and I usually spend a week riddled with anxiety about starting the book. The
first 50 pages are really the toughest for me, but once I get past that, my
fingers can fly across the keyboard so quickly that I end up with thousands of
typos that I have to go back and correct. That is one of the best parts of
writing. I also have so much fun writing scenes with lots of dialogue.
Do you have other author friends? If so who are they and do
you attend conferences?
Until I became an author myself, the only author friend I
had was my mother. I’ve me a few authors online and consider them friends.
Michele Scott and Karen MacInerney and I e-mail sometimes and I’m really hoping
to get to Malice this year to meet all my idols. I’ve never been to a
conference so my mother and I really hope to be Malice bound this year. And, of
course, you all know about my adventures with the charming Hank Phillippi-Ryan!
Do you have a newsletter and if so tell us about it?
Nope, I don’t have a newsletter…yet! I post on my blog when
I can, but when first started blogging, I had no idea how tough it can be to
keep up with it. Some people seem to be able to blog every day and fill the
screen with loads of anecdotes and news updates, but evidently I’m not wired
like that.
Tell us about juggling motherhood and writing.
It can be difficult! This year my son is in school full-time
(8-3) so I actually have a good chunk of time to write. Up until this fall,
though, Nick was only in school part-time and since I always put being a mom
first, I ended up in a real time crunch with the last book. For about four
weeks my son got to watch any movie he wanted while I was holed up in my office
typing like a mad woman! He loved it, but I felt pretty guilty. In addition, my
husband works such long hours and so it has been really important to me that I
give Nick extra time. And I’m the one who does the vast majority of all the
inside and outside home care so I generally have a pretty full plate! In the end, it seems to balance out okay and
I think any working mother struggles with the same types of issues I do.
What is your favorite movie? Wine? Meal and salad? Dessert?
Oh, it’s tough to pick a favorite! Spanglish is one of my
top movies, definitely. I just adored Adam Sandler in that and it was one of
those great films that balances humor with a very deep and touching storyline.
For my top wine, I pick a nice, crisp Pinot Grigio and for
dinner I’ll have a heaping bowl of fresh cut pasta with puttanesca sauce. There
is a place in Boston called The Daily Catch that does the most amazing pasta
dishes. I haven’t been there in years, and my favorite location of theirs has
closed, but they used to serve the pasta in the pan! It was always embarrassing
because I would order alfredo for an appetizer and then another pasta dish for
the entrée! And there is nothing like a real Caesar salad. There was a
wonderful restaurant in Minneapolis (where I went to college) that prepared the
salad right at your table. The waiter would appear with a cart that was loaded
with all the ingredients and then patiently prepare the raw egg dressing with
anchovies. Lots of people can’t stand a true anchovy dressing, but for me, it’s
the ultimate salad. For dessert, I’ll take my husband’s honey-lavender crème
brulee. Usually I love anything chocolate, but his brulee is out of this world.
If this series makes it to Hollywood. Who would you like to
see play your main characters?
Now, first of all, what do you mean IF??? Hee hee!! But this
is such a hard question for me…I don’t know why! I have thought recently that
Autumn Reeser (who played Taylor on The O.C.-yes, I am horrified to admit I was
an addict) would be a good Chloe. And Bradley Cooper, who played Will Tippin on
Alias, would be a nice Josh. Maybe he’s a bit too old, but who cares? He
actually played a chef on the short-lived TV version of Kitchen Confidential,
which I thought was a brilliantly funny and true-to-life show based on Anthony
Bourdain’s book.
Tell us about your mother and your family.
My husband, Bill, and I live in Manchester, NH with our son,
Nicholas. I am totally in love with both of these wonderful guys in my life and
cannot imagine a world without them. My parents are simply wonderful and still
live outside of Boston so they are only an hour away. I wish we lived closer,
but unless my books hit the big time or the housing market takes a drastic
drop, we’ll have to live with the distance!
Writing with my mother has been easier than I ever could
have imagined and since we have such distinct and separate roles in our work,
we rarely run into trouble. We have different styles in many ways, but those
differences have actually worked to strengthen our collaboration and we end up
complimenting each other quite well. My father is an enthusiastic supporter of
our books and absolutely adores hearing our good reviews!
Where would you like to vacation?
I’ve always wanted to take a trip to New Orleans and bask in
the food, music, architecture, etc. But for a family vacation with a
six-year-old, I would be thrilled to go back to the coast of Maine and spend a
few weeks exploring the shores. Of course, there is always the dream vacation
that centers around laying lethargically on a beach chair while a scantily clad
cabana boy brings me elaborate cocktails in between painting my toenails and
giving me backrubs…
Tell us about your friends and readers groups.
I’ve been really lucky to have such incredible friends in my
life and am still very close with four women I went to high school with. I
still have a few great pals from college, too, and it’s incredible to have deep
connections to people for so long. We’ve watched each other get married, have
children, find careers, struggle with life at times, and have always been there
for each other. I belong to four Yahoo! Groups and it’s been such a treat to
get to know so many authors and readers online. These groups are one of the
great upsides of technology and it’s such a neat experience to “meet” so many
wonderful people over the Internet.
How do people get on your respect and admire list? Who is on
this list and why are they on it?
I can’t stand people who just “go with the flow” and aren’t
willing to take a stand in life. Speaking up for yourself sends you to the top
of my list. I love when people are willing to fight the unpopular fight. My
son’s principal comes to mind; his top priority is fighting for the kids at his
school and he has become extremely unpopular with the local politicians and
school board because he does not make their life easy. He is not afraid to
throw himself into battle and has no problem taking heat from his superiors. He
is a very smart, well-thought-out, and dedicated principal.
Compassion and caring, humor, an obsession with one’s
children, and loyalty all do it for me. All my best friends fall into these
categories!
Tell us about Jessica the woman, what do you love to do and
what are your pet peeves?
I love cooking and gardening, and despite not being a genius
at either, I really enjoy my hobbies. I’ve recently started knitting and so far
am only able to knit square objects with one stitch…again, not a genius
knitter, but I have made scarves for all the kids in the neighborhood and am
knitting myself a cozy shawl. We’ve got tons of birds in my neighborhood, so I
have covered the backyard with various bird feeders and even have binoculars to
help me identify our visitors. Obviously I love to read, too, although recently
it’s been hard to find the time to fit in my cozies! I adore any family time I
get with my son and husband. We recently went apple picking together and had
such a blast. Bill is an incredible father and it is a joy to watch him with
Nick.
Pet peeves? Where to begin…? I tend to get annoyed by lots
of daily occurrences. Traffic jams and dumb drivers send me into a tizzy,
waiting in line behind someone with 75 coupons that have saved her 12 cents
irks me beyond belief. You can imagine how much I enjoy the new self-checkout
registers at the supermarket! Changing a duvet cover and hanging a shower
curtain are enough to cause a psychotic breakdown.
Have you been given a gift that has touched you deeply?
My husband gave me a ring with his and my son’s birthstones
on either side of a diamond. He said it showed that I was the diamond that kept
us all together….Excuse me while I grab a tissue…!
Okay let's chat about your website and your book covers.
My friend Meg’s husband, John Driscoll, (recognize the last
name???) did our first web site for us. We wanted something pretty simple and easy to
maintain and he gave us just what we wanted. We h thead blog and photos section
that we updated ourselves, but I ended up taking over the site myself so I can make changes right when I want to.
Alana Machnicki is our cover artist and my mother and I
couldn’t possibly be more thrilled with her. I was terrified to see our first
cover since I feared it would be a cartoon chef’s hat with floating hearts all
over the place. I think Alana’s work absolutely captures the tone of the book
and her work is really incredible. STEAMED was her first book cover and I think
she knocked it out of the park. Each of her covers gets better and better and
I’ve actually started writing scenes for her to draw. In our most recent book,
TURN UP THE HEAT (March 2008) I had Chloe arrive at the murder scene wearing
sweatpants and she’d thrown her hair into a sloppy ponytail. I then realized
that this was the scene that Alana would use for the cover so I rewrote the
section so that Chloe was wearing a more cover worthy outfit! Alana told me
that she researched Boston’s Newbury Street architecture so that she could
paint the bricks authentically. She is a dream! Since authors rarely get a say
in their covers, we feel very blessed to have such a great artist working on
our books. You can see more of her work at www.alanaland.com and can order
prints or even commission a piece from her. On her blog you can see pictures of
her painting on a Toronto street corner while working for Fruitopia. Her animal
paintings are my favorite and I think my mother might look into having Alana do
her dog mystery covers.
Last but never least leave of us with some “Mysterious
writing words of wisdom.”
Live well, love well, eat well!
Visit Jessica's web site!