Author Interview: Jessie Rose

We are back again. Another week, another Indie Spotlight. This week, I had the pleasure of interviewing, Jessie Rose. So, Jessie, you ready to answer some questions? Well let’s dig in.

Let’s start with telling us a little about yourself.

Rose: I’ve been writing most of my life, publishing books since 2019. I live in Wisconsin with my family and three giant cats. I grew up in Alabama and lived in Chicago several years before moving here. I love being near Lake Michigan.

It is beautiful.

So, what inspired you to start taking your writing seriously?

Rose: I spent most of my childhood daydreaming, making up stories in my head to escape. Books were my friends. I had a lot of snail mail pen pals and we’d write fifty page letters to each other. I was always writing letters and my thoughts, but I was in my thirties before I saw it could be a career and that other people might actually want to read what I was writing.

So just how many books have you released?

Rose: Twenty-four across three genres.

You’ve been keeping busy. Wow.

So, with your books, do you go through an indie publisher, or do you prefer to do it yourself?

Rose: For most of my books I do it all. I hire editors. My writer bestie Ruth Anna Evans and my husband Bryan do most of my covers.

You’ve created a whole team. That’s great to have that support system.

With all those books, do you have a favorite?

That… Yeah, hearing something like that would do it. It is amazing when your work has that kind of impact. Life changing even.

Now, I’m curious, who are some of your favorite authors? Who inspires you?

Rose: Stephen King, Augusten Burroughs & Gillian Flynn

So, what are some of your favorite books then?

Rose: Running with Scissors by Augusten Burroughs & Gillian Flynn Dark Places. My favorite Stephen King book always changes, but the ones on my mind recently are Lisey’s Story and Doctor Sleep. Newer favorites are American Rapture by CJ Leede and Andrew Joseph White’s Hell Followed With Us.

Great list. I’ll have to check out a few of those that I haven’t read.

So would you say that is your biggest influence in your writing?

Rose: Those authors are definitely big influences, but I grew up in Alabama around southern women who were always gossiping and sharing stories with each other. My mom was known for her outlandish stories, she’d come in with a shocking hook and go from there. It was always weird and always true. I definitely influenced my writing. But I think it also trained me to notice those sort of off beat characters and stories.

That is interesting and a great way to learn. So, you’ve had stories around you your whole life, no wonder you’re a writer.

Now with your writing, do you prefer to write longer or shorter fiction?

Rose: Longer fiction. I try to write short stories, but my ADHD brain keeps going!

Are you a Pantser then or a plotter?

(Now, for those of you that are not familiar, when it comes to writing you are usually either a Panster, Planner, or a hybrid of the two. A pantser is normally someone who rights without anything other than a vague plan of where the story is going to go. A planner on the other hand, outlines the story before they begin writing.)

Rose: Pantser to a fault. I usually have a beginning, middle and end in mind and just watch the story unfold from there.

When you are writing, how do you know when you’ve reached the end?

Rose: When the crying starts. Just kidding…. or am I? I will tinker on something until the end of time. I have books I’ve been tinkering with for ten years now. For me, it’s done when it’s published. I wish I had a better process but I’ll keep doing it the hard way.

So, how do you come up with your characters?

Rose: I’ve never planned out a character, they come to me and I follow them on their journey.

Do you prefer likable characters?

Rose: Flawed characters are my favorite. I love a good flawed character more than just about anything. They’re so fun. My favorite character from my book Asunder is a horrible person but I love him. Personally, when I’m reading a character who is more distant and maybe stand-offish I feel like it puts me as a reader in the front seat of the emotion. Just because the character is holding back, doesn’t mean it’s affecting me any less. It makes me curious what’s going on in their mind and what made them the way they are.

Do you have any upcoming releases?

Rose: There’s one story I keep putting on hold because I want to go up to the Apostle Islands in Northern Wisconsin before I finish it. I figure now that I live here, its the least I can do before finishing a story set in that area. World events have kind of distracted me from writing this year, so I’ve been more focused on book festivals and markets. Right now I’m getting ready to share the application for Slay the Lake Chicago LGBTQ+ Horror Book Fest in November at Soundgrowler Brewing. My horror writer friend RE Bunch and I hosted the first one at The Final Girl horror themed bar in Kenosha, Wisconsin this April. It was so much fun we decided to keep slaying.

Now where can people find you?

Rose: In a ball in the corner. No, really at @jessieroseauthor on social media and www.jessieroseauthor.com
www.facebook.com/jessieroseauthor
www.instagram.com/jessieroseauthor
https://www.amazon.com/stores/Jessie-Rose/author/B06XZRMFHW
For anyone interested in applying for Slay the Lake Chicago LGBTQ+ Horror Book Fest they can do so here: https://forms.gle/ocG9XZTTD838PwTZ7

Thank you, Jessie, for taking the time with me, and for everyone out there, make sure to check out Slay the Lake. It looks to be an excellent event.