An Interview with Miss Jack and Celebrate the Small Things

I'm excited to be interviewing the one and only, However Improbable, Miss Jack Lewis Baillot:

Miss Jack Lewis Baillot is the author of the Steampunk adventure book, Haphazardly Implausible as well as the other three in this series. She has also written many other books which she hopes to publish someday.

She's also a fellow Sherlock and Psych fan, as well as a well-read fantasy reader, and usually has awesome quotes in every post at her blog. (Oh, and once in a comment section she gave a nod to my crazy idea that Psych is a very Americanized type of Sherlock (Shawn=Sherlock, Gus=Watson, Lassiter=Donovan or Lestrade, Julia=romantic Lestrade?) Anyway, on with the real interview:

Tyrean: What part of writing do you love the best - the daydream/prewrite stage, the first draft, the revision, the final publishing stage?

Jack: All of it. I have ups and downs with the editing but even it has enjoyable aspects to it.

I guess though, out of the all, I like writing the first draft the best. Sitting about, thinking up the new plot, and then writing it down in a mad dash. First drafts are wild and reckless and anything can happen in them – and some of those things cause me to cringe later – but it is still fun.

 

Tyrean: How much has the original Jack Lewis inspired your writing?

 

Jack: Considering the fact I didn't even know of him until the new The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe movie came out...a lot.

He has inspired me not only by his writing but his life. For one, he would answer every letter he got from his readers. He understood children and the need for them to use their imaginations. And he kept writing even when one of his closest friends told him his books were going to flop. He is an Author I greatly admire.

 

Tyrean: Do you have a favorite book by him?

 

Jack: Well...the only thing I've ever read by him is the Narnia series. I would read his space series but I cannot find the first one anywhere. So...the Narnia series. And out of that series I think...well, it is a tie between The Silver Chair and The Horse and His Boy. Those are wonderful stories and I adore Puddleglum.(Me too)

 

Tyrean: What's your favorite quote from C.S. Lewis?

 

Jack: Friendship is born from that moment when you say, “What? You too? I thought I was the only one.” (And I've found this to be a very true quote.)

 

Tyrean: What's your favorite part of Haphazardly Implausible?

 

Jack: The characters, though I have also become very fond of the airship.

I've written many books, but these characters have become some of my favourites. They surprised me every chance they got, they pulled me along on some wild adventure I never dreamed I would go on, and they showed me that by the end of the series I didn't know them as well as an Author should know her characters. (In fact, very often they would do exactly what I would tell them NOT to do, just to keep me guessing.)

 

Tyrean:  And do you have a favorite quote from your book?

 

Jack: As odd as this sounds, aye, I do. This quote wasn't planned, it just kind of happened, and I think it captures one of the characters, Darcy, very well.

“I guess you're going to stay with us for awhile. Something about my stupid brother promising to keep you alive. Personally, I would have just fed you to the dogs.”

 

Tyrean: What's your next book planned?

Jack: A Stretch of Loyalty, because things got a little behind with book two.

The Loyalty book is one I wrote during NaNo a couple of years ago and was written before I discovered Steampunk so it will have none of those elements in it. It is more of a fantasy book, filled with somewhat evil princes, an elf with a sense of humor, grumpy dwarves, a one handed hermit, and a lot of running. And snow...

 

Thank you Jack, for visiting with me, and sharing some of your favorite quotes, and your writing! Check out Miss Jack at her blog However Improbable and learn more about her book Haphazardly Implausible while there.

 

 

Celebrate the Small Things is an awesome exercise in positivity from Viklit. We're encouraged to celebrate anything, whether it's getting the laundry done, or getting a sentence on the page.

 

1. I had only one day of feeling miserably (pickaxe pain in the head and throat) sick. I made myself rest. (Actually my kids said I stumbled around barely speaking and grading their math homework before falling back into bed) And thanks to that rest, I started getting better (no more pickaxe pain, just sniffly, achy, manageable stuff).

 

2. Somehow I made my best onion beef soup ever while sick. My kids said I leaned against the stove and stirred for 40 minutes and they weren't sure I was awake. Maybe that's the trick to good cooking . . . dozing half-asleep while stirring.

 

3. Homeschool lessons actually got done this week, and a creativity issue in writing was resolved. (It was a formal, reality based, descriptive writing assignment that took an unexpected creative twist. I finally said, fine, take that starter paragraph and write a full story. And I want it on my desk in 5-7 days - yes, I'm a tough mommy sometimes)

 

4. Before I felt seriously sick, I got the courage up to do three things: I asked the local library if they would stock my book, I asked my homeschool co-op if I could do a book signing there, and I asked a local bookstore if they would stock my book. They all said . . .wait for it . . .as I did, with my blood pounding in my ears feeling slightly light-headed . . .yes! The librarian and the independent bookstore owner then proceeded to give me a huge amount of advice and information that I'm still taking in, and feeling a bit foolish for not knowing already (although they were totally nice about it and very positive - it's me feeling like I should have known all that already).

 

5. I got a tiny amount of outlining/creative brainstorming/craziness done for my second draft of Champion in Flight. (the first draft is filled with pen marks and notations)

 

6. Two loads of laundry got done, and some of the dishes are clean. (otherwise the house is seriously messy - because I've been sick, I think)

 

 

What are you celebrating this week? And do you know Jack? If you haven't, go meet her - she rocks! (Also, have you ever wondered about a deep, undercover connection between Sherlock Holmes and Psych?)