Interview with Jessica Verve

Today I have the pleasure of giving you an interview with Jessica Verve, a brilliant writer from what I've read of her work.

Jesse (J): Hello Jessica Verve, welcome to The Writing Pen. It's a pleasure to have you here.

Jessica Verve (V): Hey Jesse! It's awesome to be a part of your blog.

J: Thank you! Now, first question: why did you start writing?

V: It's hard to say exactly. At first I wanted to fill the shelves of the bookstore with all of the stories that I loved to read but couldn't find. Shortly after that I began to write as a way to explore people and situations in life.

J: Are your stories more character-based, then?

V: Yes. In fact, some times I'll write 1/2 of the story and realize I spent so much time exploring the character that I have to go back and write in a stronger plot arc. My writing friends are constantly telling me to just write the plot arc first and fill in details later, however the first ideas that usually come to me are the characters and their surroundings. Recently I've been finding a nice balance between the two, thankfully.

J: Yes, balance is important. What is your favorite genre to write? Since you're a more character driven author, does that mean it is easier for you to write in different genres?

V: My favorite stories to write are mysteries. Over the years I've tested out a lot of the genres, mainly Lit Fic, Young Adult, and Sci Fi. I'd love to try Thrillers and Ruritanian once I finish my current Sci Fi novel.
What makes an interesting story to me are the characters. Genre is sort of like a setting or circumstance. It's sort of fun to think "Okay, this sort of person would usually be depicted in this sort of genre, but what if I mixed things up and put them some place no one would expect them to be?" Perhaps that's just my way of avoiding cliches, but I think it's a fun way to go at a story.

J: Yep it is. I like stories with a good twist. Speaking of stories, what are some of your favorite stories (whether TV, novels, or movies)?

V: I have the weirdest taste in books. Many of my favorites I've gotten from library book sales and are pretty unknown. Looking at my favorites shelf right now, I have Anne of Green Gables, Red Rain by Aubrey Hansen, a ton of Newbery winning authors, and The Wednesday Wars/Okay for Now by Gary D Schmidt (The Wednesday Wars is a total riot and one of the best YA novels I've read). As for visual media, pretty much the only fiction TV show I watch is Doctor Who. Movie titles are eluding me at the moment.

Oh! And I love the Supervillain of the Day series by Katie Daniels. I'm reading my way though those right now.

 

J: Doctor Who and Supervillain of the Day, I knew I liked you for some reason.

 

V: *laughs*

 

J: What authors do you look up to?

 

V: Gary Schmidt and Patricia Reilly Giff. Ms. Giff writes really fun historical fiction, and she just sort of... knows the characters. Mr. Schmidt I met at an author lecture/book signing earlier this year. I appreciate how much work and thought he puts into each novel. He's not afraid of asking the really tough questions, and he does it through the eyes of a kid.

 

J: One last question, then we can both get back to our busy lives. Are you published? If so, can you give the title and a brief description of the story? If not, can you give the title and a brief description of your work in progress?

 

V: Unfortunately, I have not been published. The W.I.P. I'm currently making headway on is a Biothriller (and here I said I haven't tried the genre yet =p) with a working title of The Cloud. It’s about a young man who grew up on a space station and gets trapped on a distant-future Earth. He must find his sense of humanity while battling nomadic groups and mutant animals to reach a safe city before his superiors from space catch him. It's rather rough around the edges at the moment. Now that I have a small break from school I plan on refining the plot and finishing it up.

 

J: Sounds intriguing. I look forward to the day when one of your books is on my shelf. Jessica, thank you for being on the blog, I hope you have a great day.

 

V: Thank you so much for interviewing me! It was a pleasure.

 

Jessica Verve is a writer of many talents, writing in various genres. You can find her on twitter @Jessverve.