Interview With Author Jen McConnel

Interview With Author Jen McConnel

What is your current project?

I’ve got a few projects on my plate.  In January of 2013, I’ll be releasing the sequel to The Burning of Isobel Key.  The novella The Key Inheritance picks up ten years after the novel ended, and I had so much fun writing it!  I’ve also started fiddling with a new idea, and I can’t wait to see where the story takes me.

Where do you get your ideas from?

Mythology is one of the heaviest influences on my writing; I love the work of Joseph Campbell, and I rely heavily on the structure of the hero’s journey when writing my fantasy.  For my historical and contemporary novels, the ideas come from a variety of places.  I have a wide range of interests, and things I read or see or experience tend to plant seeds that I explore in books.  Sometimes, the influence is really direct: my first novel, The Burning of Isobel Key, is about a young woman who travels to Scotland, and I was inspired to write it after I visited the misty and magical country.  I’m a bit of a magpie when it comes to ideas, and I collect shiny little pieces and store them away until I’m ready to weave then together into a tale.

I read that you started writing poetry. How did you go from poetry to YA Fantasy?

I blame my students!  I used to teach middle school, and one year I had a very inspired group of young writers.  I started dabbling in YA Fantasy, and fell in love.  I’ve also always been a reader, and YA Fantasy is one of my favorite genres to curl up with on the couch of a weekend.  Plus, I love myths and magic, and it seemed natural for those archetypal stories to begin to work into my writing.

What is your writing process?

I’m not much of a pre-planner, but once I have an idea and have begun drafting, I will occasionally outline the story.  I do my best brainstorming out loud, and I am so thankful that my husband likes to talk through ideas with me on our evening walks.  Once I start writing, I follow the lesson of NaNoWriMo: just write.  I try not to worry about editing until I have a draft down, and then I go back over it.  My revision process involves a lot of wait time in between drafts, and a book from start to finish can take me up to a year.  I used to hate revising, but I’ve developed a few methods that really work for me: reading the full draft on my ereader and making revision notes on a separate piece of paper is where I start, and then I work through a series of close revisions, sometimes including a book map of the story (a method I learned from editor Cheryl Klein).  It’s a messy, long process, but it allows me to be working on various stages of various projects almost simultaneously, and that seems to work for me.  I thrive on organized chaos!

Writing a book is full of stressful times much like any job, what helps you push through them?

Tea and chocolate help a lot, and so does my writing community.  I’m so lucky to know a number of amazing writers, and their support and encouragement has helped me get through the stressful times.  Also, my husband is the biggest key to my sanity!

Do you still write poetry as well?

I do!  Poetry is so much fun: it’s condensed narrative!  I’ve actually got a collection of fairy tale themed poems coming out in 2013 entitled Once Upon Another Time.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

Hmmm.  I guess the fact that I don’t like to write in coffee shops (I prefer my home office): seems like most writers I know love to write out of the house!  I’m still highly caffeinated, though...

Anything you like to add?

Thanks so much for having me!


Jen McConnel first began writing poetry as a child. Since then, her words have appeared in a variety of magazines and journals, including Sagewoman, PanGaia, and The Storyteller (where she won the people's choice 3rd place award for her poem, "Luna").

She is also an active reviewer for Voices of Youth Advocates (VOYA), and proud member of SCBWI, NCWN, and SCWW.

She's been a book store clerk, a middle school teacher, a librarian, and is now currently an adjunct instructor at a community college. In her spare time, she loves to travel with her husband and write, write, write!

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