CS4W: Welcome, Jane! Thank you for joining us. Please tell us about your latest release, Mrs. Perfect .
Thanks so much for having me here! And my new book, MRS. PERFECT explores the theme of appearances, self-image and what lies beyond the public image.
It’s the story about Taylor Young, a wife and mother who’s always strived very hard to be perfect. She has the perfect hair, the perfect clothes, the perfect home. She’s so wrapped up in the need to be perfect that she, she doesn’t notice the cracks in the image until her life starts crumbling all around her. She learns the hard way what truly matters as she struggles to build a new life for herself and family.
CS4W: The main character of Mrs. Perfect, Taylor Young, first appeared in Odd Mom Out. When did you know she would have her own story?
I watched the struggle between Marta, my character from ODD MOM OUT and Taylor as I was writing Marta’s book and I realized there were issues that I needed to look at more closely. We women tend to be so hard on each other and I wanted to write about two women who didn’t like each other, and yet were forced to deal with one another on a regular basis. I discovered that these women, although quite different from the other, actually had a lot in common. I also discovered that at the end of the day, we women have to be compassionate towards each other, but also ourselves. I really love this new book, too. It’s a story very close to my heart and I hope readers will enjoy it, too.
CS4W: Your characters are so true to life and easy for readers to identify with. Do you have a special formula for creating your characters? Have you ever modeled any of them after people you know?
I have a lot of girlfriends who are great women and they definitely help inspire and empower my characters. My friends are strong women who manage a career and a family and they’re always juggling commitments just like I am.
CS4W: What inspired you to write Odd Mom Out? I can’t imagine you ever feeling like an odd mom out, but did you ever find yourself feeling that way?
My youngest son always asked me painful questions like, “why don’t you volunteer more? Why aren’t you at school like all the good moms?” and his questions led me to ask myself, what are ‘good moms’ and am I one? Those questions helped shape Odd Mom Out, because I think there’s a bit of the odd mom out in every mother. No matter how hard we try its never going to be good enough. We’re always going to be lacking somehow and that’s painful.
Odd Mom Out also got some of its power from my life as a single mom. I enjoy being a single mom and the head of my household but there’s a stigma at times. In our culture we view being single as a flaw or failing. Studies show that single moms make significantly less than married moms, and mothers over all make less than women without children, and in general, women make less than men. How is that fair? In my need to understand the hows and whys, I found myself asking what if, and with enough what ifs, I had the building blocks for a book.
CS4W: Your second book with 5 Spot, Flirting with Forty, has been reprinted numerous times and will soon be a Lifetime movie starring Heather Locklear. What was it like finding out Flirting with Forty was being turned into a movie? What was your experience like being on the set in Hawaii ?
The whole book-to-movie experience was great. At the end of April I spent a week on the set in Hawaii and had a lot of fun. I got to be an extra in beach scenes on two different days, and then wear a headset and sit behind the director and listen in as they filmed. Everyone treated me as a VIP, including the film producers, and I kind of had to pinch myself to believe the film was happening.
CS4W: In addition to writing modern chick lit for 5 Spot, you also write classic romance for Harlequin Presents. In fact, you have written over 20 books for HP. Is the transition ever difficult when switching genres? What do you enjoy the most when writing in each of these genres?
The writing process in many ways is the same regardless of genre. You get an idea, you start to write with a great deal of excitement and then you realize its going to be a lot of hard work. And it is.
I don’t transition easily from one genre to the other, but at the same time I crave the transition since it allows me to write fresh again and do something I haven’t done in awhile. Ultimately writing in two styles/voices makes me a stronger writer and a happier one.
CS4W: What was your path to publication like? Did you have an agent when you sold your first book? Did you enter contests?
It took me fifteen years to sell my first book. I had over twelve rejected manuscripts before I finally sold my first book in January 2000. I entered contests and pushed myself in every way I could think of to be a better writer. I did have an agent at the time I sold but it wasn’t my agent that sold the manuscript. I’d attended a conference where I met an editor, she requested a partial, I sent it to her, she requested a full, and then she bought it. I always believe it’s so important to have a chance to talk to editors directly, to hear straight from them what they want, don’t want, like, dislike. Your editor is your first reader. You need to click with you editor, surprise and delight your editor. That’s your job.
CS4W: Do you have a writing routine? What do you do to keep your creative soul rejuvenated?
I try to plan in advance as much as possible and then block out time. If I know I’m on deadline for a book, the last 4-6 weeks will be grueling with 10-18 hour days at the computer so before and after I block out dedicated mom time, time where I don’t need the sitter over, and I plan a fun trip or weekend activity with the boys. Same thing for my social life. Once I’ve been freed from my deadline, I try to catch up with girl friends and have coffees and lunch as when I’m writing hardcore I literally only leave my house to take kids to school and sport events. When the pressure is on me, everything falls away but work and kids.
CS4W: You’re a prolific writer, you have a great web site, a fun blog and you travel frequently. You also have two sons. How do you balance your writing life with your family life?
I learned a valuable lesson. Don’t take life too seriously, and don’t try to do everything.. You’ve got to roll with the punches and learn to laugh. Far better to do a few things well than everything mediocre, so I concentrate on the kids and my writing and take it a day at a time. Some day my writing takes precedence. Most of the time, the kids take precedence. But I always talk with them, communicate what I’m doing and why and it helps. They respect my work and the fact that I have to write to support us. But I’ve also learned that my kids don’t stand a chance if I don’t take care of myself. Moms have to learn to be selfish to protect themselves and their families. Moms have to say, time out, I need a time out, because when we make sure we’re healthy our families are healthier, too.
CS4W: I read Mrs. Perfect in one sitting and can’t wait for More Than a Pretty Face. Please tell us about this new book and when we can expect to see it in stores.
More Than a Pretty Face is scheduled as a July release in 2009. It explores the pressures the media puts on women and the unrealistic pressure we put on ourselves to measure up to the models and actresses we see on TV and in advertisements. We’re bombarded with these images to the point that we treat ourselves callously, as if we’re dolls not women. This new book let me look at this role of image and beauty particularly set in Hollywood . The main character, Tiana, (Marta’s friend from Odd Mom Out) was also fun to write because she’s been a widow for seven years and has given up on men and then it turns out the one man she disliked most was the one man that was the most right for her.
CS4W: In parting, what writing advice would you like to share with our readers?
As with anything, don’t give up. Don’t accept defeat. Keep learning, keep applying what you learn about the craft, about the world, about you to the story. Writing is a muscle and requires muscle. Learning to write well takes time. It’s like hitting the gym to build a bicep. You only get a better, stronger muscle by working it. Well, the same is true for writing. Of course good writers make it look easier than it is so don’t be discouraged if you have to write and rewrite.
CS4W: Jane, thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to be with us! I’m a huge fan and feel honored to have had this chance to speak with you! Best of luck in everything you do!
An award-winning novelist with nearly 4 million books in print, Jane Porter is still a small town girl at heart, never feeling too far away from her roots in central California's golden foothills, oak trees, and miles of farmland.
When Jane was thirteen her family moved to Europe for a year, and that abroad changed Jane forever, introducing her to different cultures and customs and creating a life long passion for books, travel, and adventure. Jane later spent much of her high school and college years abroad, studying in South Africa, Japan and Ireland.
Armed with a Bachelors degree in American Studies from UCLA, Jane immersed herself in sales and marketing, followed by another six years in the teaching trenches of junior high school before becoming a full-time fiction writer with an MA in Writing from the University of San Francisco.
Jane’s first published novel, The Italian Groom, sold to Harlequin Presents in 2000. Since then, Jane has been prolific, penning more than 22 novels. She was a finalist for the prestigious RITA award from Romance Writers of
America in both 2002 and 2003.
The publication of The Frog Prince in May 2005 marked a new avenue for
Jane's career. Taking a more literary turn than her previous work, Jane
stayed close to home, using the backdrop of exciting San Francisco to look
at the complex relationships between mothers, daughters and the men they
love.
July 2006 marked the release of Jane's second multi-bestselling modern lit novel, Flirting With Forty, set in Seattle and Hawaii. Selected as Redbook Magazine’s Red Hot Read for 2006, Flirting with Forty was reprinted seven times in six weeks before being optioned by Sony for Lifetime TV. The film is currently in post-production and will air in December 2008 starring Heather Locklear and Robert Buckley.
Jane's highly anticipated third modern lit, Odd Mom Out released September 2007 generated considerable buzz and earned critical acclaim including 4 ½ Stars, Top Pick award from RT Magazine and a RITA nomination from Romance Writers of America as best single title with romantic elements.
Mrs. Perfect, the follow up to Odd Mom Out, hit the shelves May 2008 with tremendous success pleasing both the critics and readers. USA Today called Mrs. Perfect ‘the perfect beach read’.
Jane lives in Bellevue, Washington with her two sons where she’s working on her next novel for Grand Central Publishing.
