Jolene talks about...the Importance of Putting a Little Bit of YOU in What You Write

When I first started writing, I tried to really WRITE.

I wanted interesting words, and vivid descriptions, and dramatic characters, and it all came off sounding a little juvenile. And more than that, like I was just trying too hard.

It took me a long time to find my voice as a writer, and it happened when a story was SO close to my heart, that I couldn't be anyone but ME when I was writing.

Consequently, it was the first project I did in present tense. I CAN write in past tense, and still feel like I'M in there, but it doesn't come as naturally to me.

I think it takes a lot of time, and a lot of playing around with tenses, and stories, and characters to find a way to let yourself come through what you've written. And your writing "voice" is really one of those BIG things that separates books that get published, versus books that don't.

The other thing that helped me find my writing voice is blogging. I know some writers who scoff at blogging, but it does SO much for helping me keep my writing true to me, and true to my language. Because I think when you're trying to come off as someone you aren't, you're not going to be as successful as you could be when your personality comes through.

I'm not sure about anyone else, but i want a little insight into the author whether I'm reading their blog, or their novel. I'm definitely IN everything I write.

The Story Behind the Cover

Night Sky
by Jolene Perry 

The Story Behind the Cover 

Night Sky was a very special project that took a lot of team work with an artist I love http://igreeny.deviantart.com/. Who is now an honorary Bokheim Media team member. You should definitely check out this work, it is extraordinary! When I was helping out a friend, Jamie Magee, and we were hunting the net for a new art piece for her rerelease of Insight we stumbled upon Marek, referred to from this point on as the artistic genius of Awesomeland. Okay, just kidding, but I really love his work and working with him, so I asked if he would be interested in doing some Bokheim Media work with me and thankfully he said yes.

Tribute Books sent me a copy of Night Sky to read and I drew up a concept and found most of the stock used (Marek found this brilliant night sky he used as overlay that I just LOVE!) I knew that no matter what I threw Marek's way he could do it. He brought the image together and we went back and forth with it for a few days before finally I was able to add the text and effects. A big thank you to Marek for always being able to accomplish anything I throw his way! I am looking forward to hopefully having more projects with him soon!

The final cover result:

To find out more about Night Sky and read an exert click here.


To enter the giveaway use the Rafflecopter form at this link.

Jolene talks about...sticking to her guns

I’m from Alaska, and my mom’s from Southeast Alaska, where Sky’s character is from. It almost felt like cheating writing a culture that I already know fairly well. I’ve lived in Alaska most of my life and have been able to spend a bit of time in several native villages scattered across the state.

I didn’t remember all the symbolism for the animals on the totems, so I had to look that up, and I double-checked maps to make sure I was “creating” a village, instead of using one that was already there.

The directions Sky gives Jameson to where she grew up are accurate, and I think it’s one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen – even though it’s been a while since I’ve traveled in that part of the state.

My book “sell story” is pretty simple for this one.

My agent turned it into a publisher that I really wanted to work with on it, and they LOVED it, the editors fought for it, but the company was worried it wouldn’t have enough commercial appeal. My writing in this story did make them want to see more from me, so it still felt like a win.

We turned it into one other larger pub house, and they said the same thing – the writing is great, but we’re worried there’s not enough commercial appeal if the order of events remains as-is.

I told Lauren that I wasn’t willing to change my story simply to give it the commercial hook it could have had – I loved the story too much to alter the order of events.

Lauren said if I want it out, that she’d find someone who loves it as-is, and she did. Tribute Books has been just awesome and supportive, and understood the order of events, and we didn’t change anything in the story. Some of my projects are just closer to my heart than others – this is one I knew I couldn’t change, and it feels awesome to find someone who saw my vision for this book.

I think the lesson is that if the writing is good enough, you will eventually find someone who loves the story (almost) as much as you (because no one will ever love the books I write the way I do).

Indie Author Giveaway Hop

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Night Sky
by Jolene Perry

Girl I’ve loved, girl I’m falling for. Now that they’re both in view, the problem is clear.

After losing Sarah, the friend he’s loved, to some other guy, Jameson meets Sky. Her Native American roots, fluid movements, and need for brutal honesty become addictive fast. This is good. Jameson needs distraction – his dad leaves for another woman, his mom’s walking around like a zombie, and Sarah’s new boyfriend can’t keep his hands off of her.

As he spends time with Sky and learns about her village, her totems, and her friends with drums - she's way more than distraction. Jameson's falling for her fast.

But Sky’s need for honesty somehow doesn’t extend to her life story – and Jameson just may need more than his new girl to keep him distracted from the disaster of his senior year.

Jolene talks about...writing from a male POV and also creating a Native American character

I was asked to write about writing a teen, male, POV, when I'm neither of those things, and also a little about writing a Native Alaskan character. I'm going to try and do both without being too long-winded.

I love reading guy POV books, and had wanted to write one for a while. I grew up playing with the boys on four-wheelers, and out fishing. I was also the only girl in a sea of boy cousins. I patterned Jameson a bit after my husband, and he was a really good sounding board - but after a while I told him - Jameson can't notice boobs ALL the time, even if you do, lol. Jameson's voice was so clear in my head, that the book actually went really fast.

Writing Sky, even though I've spent a lot of time living with and around the Native population in Alaska, was more difficult. I'm much louder than she is, and more forward in some ways, but less forward in other ways. I'm not sure I would have climbed in a guy's car and gone swimming with him that same night. Sky explains why she did it later in the book, but it took me a while to be okay with that decision of hers.

I'd love to write a TON of books using some of the Native Alaskan groups I've been around. The Tlingit's live in what I think is the coolest part of Alaska, so I made her from there, but I have an Inuit character in another book I'm putting finishing touches on now. He's not a huge character, but I was able to use the setting more clearly.

It almost felt like cheating to make Sky part of a group I was so familiar with, but it made her real to me much faster than she would have been otherwise. I love the totems in Southeast Alaska. I love Tlingit artwork, and their drumming and dancing is just incredible. I'm fortunate in that even though I don't live in that part of Alaska, the dancers from a lot of different Native tribes seem to make the rounds pretty often. We also have a fair Tlingit population in Wasilla, where I live.

(I attached a picture of a Tlingit meeting house that's still in use. When I was a kid I remember going there and listening to the drums and just being amazed)

Jolene talks about...the best part about being an author

First off, and yes, this is totally vain - I can totally start sentences with, "So my agent . . ."

If there's something I've always wanted to do, or a place I've always wanted to go, I can do the research, and experience it through my character. I'm working on one that takes place in Paris, but I do keep telling my husband we might need to do some "field research."

I have different works in progress for different moods. I just finished a MS with a good friend where my character was a bit self-centered and cocky. This is not me, so it was a blast to write.

This is totally random, but I feel like being a writer gives me license to be a little odd and quirky - which I tend to be anyway.

Everywhere I sit - whether I'm on a plane, or waiting in line - I have something to think about. If I'm not thinking about plot lines, I can be listening in on conversations, or watching people, gaining material for characters.

I can play ball with all my teenage friends in the name of "research."

My job, doesn't feel like a job. It feels like playtime. My favorite hobby is my job.

Along with the above - I would write for relaxation whether I was published or not. So, it's a win-win for me.

I put something of myself in each and every book - some like or dislike, some fun quirk from when I was a kid. I name characters after my friends, and (so far) they all think it's great.

The best part about being an author is finishing a story, and feeling like I did that person justice, because by the time I'm done with a book, my characters are as real as my friends.

And that's why I love being a writer.

Jolene talks about...fun facts about NIGHT SKY

When I first got the idea for the story, Jameson did not end up with the girl that he ends up with at the end of Night Sky.

Jameson's parents are based on an awesome couple my husband and I knew when we lived in Las Vegas. They had one of the nicest houses in the neighborhood behind the apartments where we lived. He was a dealer at a casino, and she was a waitress. Both had worked in the back, but made more money with all the tips while working in the front. We used to see her leaving for work about 10 PM wearing almost nothing, climbing in her car, and taking off. They were way cool.

Sky really had to be the opposite of Sarah, but I didn't know what she looked like until I wrote the scene where Jameson drives up behind her. That first scene between Jameson and Sky wrote itself, and it was cool to learn about who she was as the scene progressed.

I'm third generation Alaskan (almost fourth), and most of my family still lives in Southeast Alaska where the Tlingit people live. When I was little (and to this day) their drumming and dances are my favorite of the many cultures of Alaska Natives. I've spent hours in the parks in Sitka and Ketchikan, and never got tired of the massive totems there.

My parents own a company that installs gym floors (yes, I know how to install a gym floor, as well as how to paint game lines and logos) and it gave me the opportunity to be in a LOT of native villages all over the state. Many times we had to bring in all our own food, and slept in the school because it was the only public building. I was in Manokotak a few years ago, and the native language of Inuit is still the first language spoken for these kids, and there is one phone for the community. This is changing with the spread of hand-held satellite phones, but I love that there are still places like that in the U.S.

There's talk in the book about Native Corporations versus Reservations. Alaska has only one reservation. The Native people up here formed corporations, which gave them a lot more rights and control over their land than most Native Americans, if not all. It's a very cool thing. My sister and her husband just adopted a native baby, and had to get permission from the tribal council - they work very hard to preserve the cultural heritage.

I put In-N-Out Burger in almost all my books so I can live vicariously through my characters. The chances of one ever making it to Alaska are very, VERY slim.