Today my guest is Emily H. Jeffries. She is a theology teacher and speaker with bachelor's degrees in
drama and religious studies from the University of Virginia and a master's in
sacred theology from the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, DC, where
most of her classmates were wizards--that is, friars. She loves wandering
through forests and cathedrals, and her hidden magical abilities include improv
comedy, evading cardiovascular activity, and singing all of Les Misérables from
memory. She currently lives in Atlanta, Georgia, with her husband, baby
daughter, Aussie-doodle, and herbs."
Emily
has taken the time to answer some fun questions in a quick interview.
If you were about to be served your last meal,
what would be on your plate?
If I were to set the menu for my last meal, the main dish would
have to be crispy quail. And as my side, I'd request a handmade butternut
squash ravioli. Since this is my last meal, the heartburn would be worth it!
And since we're throwing caution to the wind already, for dessert I'll have a
slice of chocolate pecan pie topped with whole fat whipped cream, please and
thank you.
If you could
time-travel, where would your first stop be?
If I could travel to any time period, my first stop would be
Prince Edward Island, the late 1800s. No contest.
What do you
collect?
I do not collect many things, but since getting married, I have
started to cultivate two habits when I travel. The first is to buy a felt
Christmas ornament (usually of a local animal). The second is to buy a hand-painted plate to hang in my kitchen. This is something my well-traveled
maternal grandmother always did, and I used to love to listen to her tell the
story behind each of the dozens of blue and white plates she had hanging under
the crown molding of her little kitchen. I hope to make similar memories with
my grandchildren someday.
If someone
sent you flowers, they would be a bouquet of what?
I am a bit of a flower enthusiast, so asking me to assemble my
favorite bouquet is both an exciting and overwhelming question! Haha. It
depends on my mood and the season, I suppose. But among the most treasured
blooms would be yellow roses (like a Rosa Molineux), white anenome, and richly
colored dahlias. In fact, a character in my book, Fyrian's Fire, is named Dahly
after one of my favorite flowers! Ranunculus and poppies would make
the list too okay I'm done.
What is your
work schedule like when you're writing?
While I was writing and editing my second novel, The Midways
(unpublished), I kept to a writing schedule inspired by Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe.
Wolfe is an eccentric private detective who never leaves his home if he can
help it, and keeps to a daily schedule with unwavering constancy. In the
afternoons, no matter what is going on, he leaves his office to tend to his
orchids for two hours. I thought his afternoon gardening time - 4pm to 6pm -
seemed a perfect slot to carve out for my writing. I think the key to the
writing hours is that your friends and family are made aware, and you
consistently hold that time sacred. Once it became clear that I did not
schedule anything between 4 and 6, and didn't answer my phone or emails, I
think those close to me started to appreciate that I was taking my writing
seriously. Of course, many, many writers carve out a similar time during the
early morning. I wish with all my heart that I had that kind of self-discipline, but alas, I am fairly useless until I've had my lunch.
Do you have
any suggestions to help someone become a better writer? If so, what are they?
There are so many ways to become a better writer, most of which
I'm sure I have not yet learned. But given a typical writer, new to the
industry and hoping to publish a novel through the traditional channels, I'd
offer a couple of pieces of advice guaranteed to improve her writing.
First, be extraordinarily picky about who you allow to offer feedback on your
WIP -- and I don't mean friends and family. If you think you are ready to
query, give the first pages to professionals who like to read your genre, don't
know you from Adam, but have some reason to want you to succeed (I volunteer to
be one of those people!). Second, when you get their advice, follow
it. You can vent about how they are so wrong and don't know anything
about writing with your spouse or in your journal, but then you need to buck
up, express your undying gratitude to the person who took the time to improve
your stuff, and then implement 90% of their suggestions.
If you were going to cast the hero of your book, what actor would
get the part?
Casting the heroine of my debut novel, Fyrian's Fire is very
easy! She is all over the Pinterest inspiration page. It would be a teenaged
Lily Collins, but super freckly.
Give us a short pitch for your newest
book and tell us why we’re gonna love it
It is a clean YA fantasy adventure, featuring
Redwall-esque warrior animals, an enchanted hair tie, and a princess-to-be with
a lot to learn about herself and her homeland's past.
When Tess commits a grievous error, siege befalls
her land—a siege only Tess’s magic can end.
The
week of her wedding, Lady Tessamine Canyon is jilted by her betrothed, Prince
Linden. Left utterly humiliated, Tess betrays a tightly guarded secret to an
enemy spy—a decision that throws the Dione of Glademont into chaos. Hunted by
bloodthirsty mercenaries, Tess flees into the Hinge Forest. There, with the
help of a wild owl and a two-hundred-year-old bear, Tess begins to unlock the
forgotten mysteries of her people.
Deep
in the woods, the spirit of a long-dead dryad awaits the next Thane of a fierce
weapon. To Tess’s amazement, it is she who is called to master the weapon’s
power and save Glademont from an impending war.
When
a surprising turn of events reunites Tess with Linden—the prince who called off
their engagement—Tess must swallow her pride and join forces with him. But even
if Tess can rescue her people, will that be enough to forgive her treason?
Armed with a fiery magic, Tess is forced to make an impossible choice, one that
might seal her fate as the next Thane—but forever extinguish any chance at
following her heart.
