Lina Winterbock lives in the mountain strongholds of Solace. She’s an apprentice to the archivists, the wise men and women whose lives are dedicated to cataloging, studying, and preserving the objects that mysteriously fall from the sky in the scrap towns. Lina should be spending her days with books, but the Iron War has changed everything. The strongholds are now a refuge, so instead, Lina spends her days exploring the hidden tunnels and passages of her home.
The strongholds are vast and old, with twisting paths and abandoned rooms, some of them containing objects that have been lost and forgotten even by the archivists. And in one of the collapsed chambers, Lina discovers a secret. Hidden deep in a cavern is a half-buried airship like nothing she has ever seen before. She’s determined to dig it out and restore it. But Lina needs help, and she doesn’t know anyone she can trust with her secret.
Then she meets Ozben, a mysterious boy who has a secret of his own—a secret so dangerous it could change the course of the Iron War and the world of Solace forever.
Today we welcome Jaleigh for an interview!
Did you always know you wanted
to be a writer or did you want to be something else?
I knew from
about the time I was in seventh or eighth grade that I wanted to do something
that involved writing, even if I wasn’t clear on exactly what I needed to do to
make a career of writing. I just
knew I loved making up stories.
How long does it take you to
write a book from start to finish?
A first
draft, from start to finish, takes me a little over two months these days. That’s going at a pace of roughly 1000
words a day, every day. But if you
count the time spent outlining before I start the book, editing once I have the
rough draft, then sending the manuscript through crit group and through several
rounds of revisions, the process takes more like nine months to a year.
How do you come up with themes
for your stories?
Theme is a tricky thing, or at
least it is in my work. I often
don’t know exactly what the themes are (or only broadly) until I’ve finished a
couple of drafts of the book. I
think that’s because I don’t know the characters well enough yet to know what
they’re really fighting for. I
know what they want, but I don’t yet know how the story will change them, so
the themes come later, but when they do come, they come from the characters.
Do you have a schedule of when
you write?
I have a day job, so my writing
schedule has to fit in around that, which usually means I write in the evenings
and on weekends. That’s also when
the 1000 words a day schedule pays off.
No matter how busy or tired I am after work, I can always get at least
1000 words without feeling overwhelmed.
I’ve tried other methods and schedules, but this is the one that
consistently works for me.
How are you able to balance
other aspects of your life with your writing?
I don’t always balance things very
well—how I wish I did! When you
have two jobs, there are always going to be days when you think you’re
neglecting one or the other. And
you don’t want to miss out on time with your friends and family either. Sometimes, the best thing I can do is
take things one day at a time, try to go easy on myself and set realistic
expectations for what I can get done.
What elements do you think make
a great story line?
Speaking for myself, I always look
for great characters, people I want to root for and who I’m interested in
following for 300 pages. If I’m
invested in the characters and their journey, I’ll follow an author
anywhere—down the rabbit hole or into space!
What was the hardest thing about
writing a book?
Trusting my process and how I
work. My first drafts tend to be
very rough, lumpy things. At
certain points, I think I’ll never be able to make the story any good. You get lost in the weeds. This happens
with every book, and I always find my way out again, but it doesn’t stop me
from worrying when it happens. I
share these worries and uncertainties when I speak to students about their own
writing. I think it helps them to
know they’re not alone. We’re all
in this together.
How many books have you written
so far? Do you have a favorite?
I’ve written five books for adults
and four for middle grade readers.
Two of those MG titles are still in the editing/revision stages. I don’t think I could ever pick a
favorite!
Do you have a favorite
character?
I don’t think I could pick a
favorite character either. There
are so many things about them that I love—Piper and Gee’s courage, Anna’s
intelligence, Lina’s resourcefulness, and Ozben’s honor.
Where do you write?
I have an office in my house, but I
also like to write on my screened in porch in my backyard, especially in the
spring and fall.
When deciding on how to
publish, what directed you to the route you took?
I had a lot of help from my
wonderful agent, Sara Megibow, in choosing a path that worked for me. Random House and my editor, Krista
Marino, have been a dream to work with, because everyone involved understands
what I’m trying to accomplish with the Solace series, and they’ve worked hard
to let me realize that vision.
Have you gotten feedback from
family about your book(s)? What do they think?
I’m very fortunate to have an
amazing circle of family and friends around me. They cheer me on, trek to book events even in the dead of
winter, and they recommend my books to others. I’m so grateful to have them in my life.
What kinds of things do you
like to do outside of writing?
My husband and are gamers. Doesn’t matter what it is—tabletop
board games, video games, roleplaying games—we’re there!
What kinds of advice would you
give to someone who wants to start writing?
Make sure that you always love the
process, that you love creating.
Write for yourself first.
What is your favorite book?
favorite author? Do you have an author that inspired/inspires you to write?
One of my favorite books growing up
was A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle. And I got lost in places like Narnia and Middle Earth. The fantasy worlds created by those and
so many other authors are what inspired me to want to create a fantasy world of
my own. Solace is the result of
years of that inspiration.
Do you have any go to people
when writing a book that help you with your story lines as well as editing,
beta reading and such?
I have a writing group that
includes three other writers. They
are my first readers, the ones who will take the book off my hands when I can’t
bear to look at it anymore, and they’ll help me see the plot holes I’m blind to
and make suggestions to make the story better.
Are you working on anything
now?
Two books at once--whee! Book three in the Solace series, and a
new project that I can’t speak of yet, but I’m very excited about!
Tell us 5 things that make you
smile
1. My husband’s laugh 2. A great
game with friends. 3. Movie night on the couch. 4. An excited reader. 5. A
letter from a reader.
Tell us 5 things that make you
sad
1. An empty coffee cup. 2. The
absence of cake. 3. A natural one. 4. Finishing a book I adored. 5. When
someone tells me they don’t like to read.
If you could travel anywhere in
the world to visit a place so you could use it as a background for a book,
where would it be?
For years and years it was Venice,
Italy. I finally made that dream
come true last year. I’m not sure
when I’ll write the book, but I have lots and lots of ideas…
Thanks so much for stopping by today, Jaleigh. It was great having you here!
JALEIGH JOHNSON is a lifelong reader, gamer, and moviegoer. She loves nothing better than to escape into fictional worlds and take part in fantastic adventures. She lives and writes in the wilds of the Midwest, but you can visit her online at jaleighjohnson.com or on Twitter at @JaleighJohnson.
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