Author Interview: Nonnie Jules

Today I am pleased to present to you all the 100th in a series (of 100) of Author Interviews. Recently I sat down with the private, daughter-raising, Nonnie Jules, and our conversation went something like this:

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Paul:  I like to start my interviews by asking if you have any writing rituals?

Nonnie:  No

Paul:  Okay!

Paul:  What types of books do you like to read? Who are your favorite authors? Why?

Nonnie:  I like to read a variety of books. Right now I’m into anything health & fitness. I love poetry, short stories and recently read something for the first time from the Fantasy genre that I actually liked! My favorite author of all times is Louisa May Alcott because her main characters were very strong, independent women. Traits that I admire and embody.

Paul:  If someone had the power to step into your creative mind what would they see?

Nonnie:  Oh, I fear for the person who would step inside my mind. It is filled with so much stuff! It never sleeps, and is constantly creating. I used to keep a pen and paper by my bed at night because I would jump up at 3am and have to jot down ideas. With the invention of the wonderful iPhone, I just roll over and record into it.

Paul:  What is a typical day for you?

Nonnie:  A typical day for me since I started seriously writing in April is wake up, get to computer and maybe, just maybe, peek my head out of my office when my daughters start looking for me. I have been forgetting to eat because of this writing thing. It is pure madness, but I love every minute of it!

Paul:  Do you have a favorite character in each of your series, aside from the lead? If so, which one and why?

Nonnie:  I don’t do favorites in my real world or my writing world. I love all my characters equally. Even the bad ones.

Paul:  How do you find the time to write?

Nonnie:  I have the most understanding family in the world. They miss me spending family time, but they know that this is very important to me and that one day soon it will all level off. They’re awesome!

Paul:  What is one thing you hope I do not tell the readers?

Nonnie:  I haven’t shared anything personal with you so I’m not concerned at all with what you might fabricate and tell your readers J

Paul:  If you are self-published, what led to you going your own way?

Nonnie:  I am self-published and just from my research, I knew that being traditionally published was a long shot. I knew that if I wanted to get my hard work into the hands of readers, self-publishing was the only way to go.

Paul:  Do you plot your stories or do you just get an idea and run with it?

Nonnie:  I do both

Paul:  Do you do a lot of editing or do you find that as time goes on your writing is more fully-formed?

Nonnie:  I don’t really have to do a lot of editing. I am a perfectionist of sorts, so as I write, I “clean it up”.

Paul:  Do you have to do much research for your stories?

Nonnie:  My first published piece of work The Good Mommies' Guide To Raising (Almost) Perfect Daughters is a parenting guide. It contains 100 tips on how to raise AMAZING daughters and since I have raised two, I lived each of these tips and didn’t need to research. My upcoming as-yet-to-be-titled novel is the first time I had to do a bit of research. I live in Shreveport, LA and my story and my characters are from Houston, TX so I’ve had to do a bit of travel back and forth to familiarize myself with the cities and the places which I’ve included in my book.

Paul:  What is your most recent book? Tell us a little about it.

Nonnie:  My most recent PUBLISHED book as mentioned above is The Good Mommies' Guide To Raising (Almost) Perfect Daughters and it is a parenting handbook filled with 100 top tips on how to raise (almost) perfect daughters. But don’t let the title fool you, this book is for ANY parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle or guardian who have been blessed with the task of raising girls.

Paul:  What inspired you to write this book?

Nonnie:  Well, when I was pregnant with my first daughter, I looked around the world and what I saw, I knew I didn’t want my daughters to become. I wanted them to be better than the norm. I wanted to have the best children I could. So, I put in the hard work and the results are phenomenal

Paul:  Do you also write any poetry, non-fiction or short stories?

Nonnie:  Poetry is my first love and I typically write from experiences or things I see going on around me.

Paul:  Do you enter competitions? Are there any you could recommend?

Nonnie:  I haven’t entered any as of yet, but am planning on entering Readers Favorite next year.

Paul:  How much marketing do you do for your published works or for your ‘brand’?

Nonnie:  I do enough. It really takes a lot to keep this machine moving (books being sold).

Paul:  What’s your favorite / least favorite aspect of your writing life?

Nonnie:  My favorite part of it is that I get to write and see my work published. My least favorite part of it is the time constraints. It really is all-consuming.  Has anything surprised you?  The level of support that you get from other Indie Authors, has surprised me. But it’s been a very pleasant surprise.

Paul:  What do you do when you’re not writing?

You mean there are authors who actually don’t write 24 hrs a day/7 days a week?  WOW!  They’re lucky!

Paul:  Do you have any hobbies or party tricks?

Nonnie:  My favorite hobby… I love to read and Barnes & Noble is my favorite place in the whole entire world.

Paul:  Thanks, Nonnie, that was most interesting. I wish you every success for the future.

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About Nonnie Jules: Nonnie Jules was born in the mid 70's in TX. When she was 3 yrs old, her family relocated to Shreveport, LA where red dirt roads and pick-up trucks go hand in hand. She still lives in Shreveport today with her husband, two daughters and their many animals. She loves to write from a variety of genres of literature including short stories, poetry, fiction and non, as well as how-to books. This author lives by the premise that A CANDLE LOSES NOTHING BY LIGHTING ANOTHER CANDLE. She's always willing to lend a helping hand to another, and her hope is that her fellow authors will do the same for others coming up in the ranks, when they are presented with an opportunity. Nonnie says she will continue to write as long as her readers continue reading her work.

Nonnie's Website: Nonnie Writes
Nonnie on Twitter: @nonniejules
Nonnie on Facebook: Nonnie Jules
Nonnie's latest book: The Good Mommies' Guide To Raising (Almost) Perfect Daughters (Amazon)

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