Author Interview With Joselyn Vaughn!

Happy Hump day, Kristina's Books & More fans! I hope everyone is having a great week! The weekend is not that far away! Today on the blog I have author Joselyn Vaughn! Enjoy!

First off, can you tell everyone a little bit more about yourself?

I’m a stay at home mom who writes so that my entire life doesn’t revolve around my children’s bowel movements. (ugh.) I have three great kids, but we are in the throes of potty training and it has its own circle in the Inferno. Dante just forgot to write about it.  When I’m not doing that immensely fun project, I love to thrift store shop and sew. I recently discovered Pinterest.com and have found all kinds of ideas that I would like to make. Unfortunately, my sewing machine was recently haunted and no longer works, so I can’t do many of them until I purchase a new one.  I also enjoy running and, of course, reading.  I got a Kindle Fire for Christmas and am reading so much more now.

What age did you start writing? What inspired you to start?

I’ve always written on and off and always carried a notebook in my purse, possibly from fear that I might get stuck somewhere and not have anything to do. I started my first novel at thirty. A friend and I were discussing programs for the library where we worked and out of that came the parts of CEOs Don’t Cry. I went home at lunch that day and started writing.

Tell us about your book(s)?

They are sweet, small town romances with quirky characters that hopefully make you laugh. I have 4 books. CEOs Don’t Cry, Sucker for a Hot Rod and Hauntings of the Heart all follow related characters. Courting Sparks is more of a stand alone.

Are your characters based on people you know?
No. I’ve met people after I’ve written a story and thought that person is one of my characters. There was one character that I needed to channel one of my friends every now and then. So when writing those scenes, I would think ‘what would this person say here?’ But the rest of the character was not based on him at all.  

Are any of your characters a lot like you?

I think they all carry elements or characteristics of me, but none of them are actually me. They are a lot braver and adventurous than I am in most cases.

Do you listen to music while you write? Do you have playlists for your books?

Does the Bob the Builder theme  song count? I try to write during my kids’ downtime, I don’t get much done then. I guess children’s tv shows are conducive to productivity for me.  I do make playlists for each book, but I don’t necessarily listen to them while I’m writing. I use them to get inside the head of a character, so I might listen to a song a couple of times in a row, then work on a scene.

What are you currently working on?

I am close to finishing a short story about Barbara and Elmer, the paranormal investigators from Hauntings of the Heart. It has been a lot of fun to work in the streamlined setting of a short story.
Are there any specific things you have to have while you write?

My laptop or a notebook. I switch back and force between typing and working with printouts and writing in a notebook. It depends what I’m in the mood for. I feel a bit more creative when I’m writing in a cute notebook.

Do you have a certain place/time you write?

I get the most done after the kids go to bed. If I can summon the energy.

What do you do when you're not writing?

Mostly it’s hanging out with my kids, feeding them, and cleaning up after them. I’ve heard it gets easier. I’m still waiting.

Do you read all the reviews about your books?
I have been reading them. Mostly because I’m so excited that someone actually read one of my books. I’ve been lucky that most of the reviews have been constructive if they aren’t favorable.

Tell us about your journey to get published?

My first strategy was to find an agent. I sent out several query letters and got nibbles, but no offers. After about forty rejections, I decided to try editors. At that time, there were few publishers that accepted unagented manuscripts and that were looking for clean or sweet romance. I found a handful of publishers and sent queries. Two requested fulls in the same week. Eventually one of those publishers offered a contract for CEOs Don’t Cry. It was published in April 2009.

Do you read? Who is your favorite author?

I have so many favorite authors and so many good friends who are writers. They are keeping my Kindle full. Some favorites are W.S. Gager, Tess Grant, Patricia Kiyono, Tanya Eby and Kay Springsteen. I love romances, especially comedies, as well as classics and historical fiction.  
Do you have any advice for aspiring authors like myself?

Keep writing and find a good critique partner. You need someone you can trust. Someone that will give you honest feedback because they want you to have a better manuscript. I have a great critique group and I don’t think I would have made it as far without them. In fact, I probably would have deleted Hauntings of the Heart without their encouragement.

Random questions:

Favorite band? Zac Brown Band, Brad Paisley, Carbon Leaf

Movie? French Kiss, You’ve got Mail, Love Actually, anything with Hugh Jackman in it.

Color? Pink

Food? Dark chocolate

Where can fans find you?

Contact Links:

Email: joselynvaughn@gmail.com

Webpage/ blog: http://joselynvaughn.com

Facebook: http://facebook.com/joselynvaughn

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/joselynvaughn

Amazon: http://amazon.com/author/joselynvaughn

Anything else you like to tell everyone?

Thank you so much for having me!

Happy Reading!

Kristina