Hi! I am
Carolyn Howard Johnson, your trusty New Book Review blogger and author of the
multi award-winning HowTo Do It
Frugally Series of books for writers. This blog has heretofore been
exclusive for reviews but I thought I’d do a special series of interviews after
I chatted with Jeanie Loiacono, President of Loiacono Literary
Agency – Where ‘can’t’ is not in our vocabulary! I
thought sharing the interviews would help the many subscribers and visitors to
this New Book Review blog, including authors, reviewers, and, of course, readers
who just might find a new favorite author among the featured books and
authors.
So, today
welcome Jocko
Lee.
What is
your genre? Is it fiction or nonfiction?
I
don’t have a specific genre. I have written science fiction, fantasy and some
romance. All my work is fiction.
What
made you want to be a writer? I was kinda
tricked into it. I was in a depression and I got there by thinking about my
problems too much. So I decided to think happy thoughts and wrote them down. My
Mom read them and said that I had a start to a good book, and to finish it. So I
did. My Mom is the one who wanted to be a writer. I must have got the bug from
her.
Of all
the authors out there, who inspired you most? I like Louis
L’amour, Tom Clancy and Zane Grey, all for different reasons. L’amour can make
you feel that you are there while Zane Grey can give you the sounds. Clancy
makes you think about what you are doing. Jean M. Auel can educate you in the
medicinal value of plants if you read her Earth’s Children series. Many writers,
even though they are writing fiction, stick to actual facts.
What is
your writing style? Do you outline? Linearly? By scene? Why?
I have no idea what my style is. That is one thing I miss, not studying writing.
I don’t outline, I just put pen to paper and the story comes out. Sometimes I
have no idea how a sentence will end when I start one. I have been surprised. I
have told others that the pen writes the story, I just hold it upright. The
first manuscript I wrote had over 100K words.
Do you
write every day? How much? How long? I don’t write
every day. Sometimes I go weeks without writing. And then the story hits me and
I have to start putting it down. When I tried to force myself to write, nothing
came out right. Writing is like giving birth, the baby comes when it’s
ready.
Do you
think reading is as important to writing for an author? Why?
Reading was very important, to me. I have loved to read and have read all my
life. Reading is how I learned to write.
What
are some of the things you would like to share with budding
authors?
I am also a budding author, so I don’t have a lot of tried and true tidbits yet.
The best thing I can say is write what is in your head. Don’t let someone else
tell you how your story should go unless they are speaking from a marketing
standpoint, and have the results to back it up.
Do you
have any marketing and promotional advice, referrals, tips you would like to
share? Find
the best agent you can and listen to that agent. They are in this business
because they love what they do and they make a living doing
it.
Do you
think conferences are beneficial? If so, what have you learned? Which ones do
you frequent? I have no
thoughts about conferences, mostly because I have never been to one. I have
mobility problems at the moment but in the future I plan to see if they might
help.
Where can
we find you, your books and when is your next event? I have a web
site, www.jockolee.com. My book Tar Kyler: time Traveling Mercenary may
be found on all the online sites: Amazon, B&N and the publisher’s website www.rougephoenixpress.com.
Represented by Loiacono Literary Agency,
Jeanie Loiacono www.loiaconoliteraryagency/authors/jocko-lee
MORE ABOUT THE SPONSORING AGENT
Jeanie Loiacono, President, Loiacono Literary
Agency
A facilitator of dreams, Jeanie Loiacono represents over eighty authors. Her
forte is mystery, romance, thrillers, historical/military/southern fiction, and
all quality fiction/nonfiction. Her passion is to see her authors
succeed.“There is nothing more rewarding than to hold one of my author’s books and know I helped bring it to fruition. I am so blessed and privileged to be able to work with some of the most talented writers in the world.” Jeanie.L@llallc.net www.loiaconoliteraryagency.com
IF YOU WOULD
LIKE TO SEE MORE INTERVIEWS--TO FIND GREAT READING OR TO NETWORK WITH
AUTHORS--PLEASE SUBSCRIBE TO THIS BLOG. YOU ARE A WELCOME ADDITION TO THIS
FAMILY WHO LOVES BOOKS! YOU'LL FIND A WINDOW TO DO THIS AT THE TOP OF THIS BLOG
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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.
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