SPOTLIGHT ON… Escape Publishing: Jenny Schwartz

Jenny Schwartz

Describe yourself in one word:
Readaholic

What is your background with regard to writing? 
I can’t remember a time when I didn’t write. No exaggeration. My mum says that before I learned to read and write, I’d sit at a tiny blue child’s desk and “write” (ahem, scribble lines) on endless pieces of paper.

When did you first begin writing with a view of embarking on a career as a published author? 
I began flirting with the idea in 2002, but it took me a while (um, obviously) to get myself sorted out.

What is your writing routine? 
Routine? I’ve heard the word… I write during the day and try to rest the brain at night. You know, so it stops whirring and I actually enjoy that thing called sleep.

Favourite snack whilst writing? 
Chocolate. Yes, it’s a cliché, but so true.

If you weren’t writing, what would you be doing? 
I believe everyone has creativity just itching (clawing, scratching and biting) to escape. I’d cook, paint badly and annoy everyone by whinging that I wasn’t writing.

One thing you’d like readers to know about the romance genre:
That the stories are about hope. Romance readers are wise because they believe in the power of hope – and love.

The one book that you’ve read over and over is… 
Too many to count. I’m a dedicated re-reader: Georgette Heyer, Terry Pratchett, Jayne Ann Krentz, Ilona Andrews, Patricia Briggs,…

Favourite fictional character: 
Granny Weatherwax from Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series.

Number one thing to do on your bucket list:
Live in a house by the sea where I can watch whales swim by while drinking my morning coffee. Heaven. Dolphins can visit, too.

What book has changed your opinion/stance on something important to you, and why? 
Dorothee Soelle’s “The Silent Cry: Mysticism and Resistance” lead me to value quiet courage.

Biggest accomplishment to date:
This question stumped me. I started listing things in my head, trying to weigh them against each other, but then I realised – my answer to the question above holds the key. My biggest accomplishment is to accept myself. Not perfect, but that’s okay. In fact, the suspicion just struck me that self-acceptance is at the heart of many romance novels. How do you love someone if you can’t love yourself?

What’s next for you?
More coastal romance novels! If I can’t yet swing the whole house-by-the-sea dream, imagining it will do. So I’m one happy author.

If you could offer just one piece of advice to aspiring authors, what would it be?
Be yourself. Find your voice, your promise to readers, what makes you thrill to the idea of hours and hours and hours of butt-in-chair writing and pursue it. The publishing landscape is changing really fast. Being yourself is the only thing that won’t date.

 

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