Author Interview: Jerilee Antic Java

About the author:
Jerilee Kaye was born under the sign of Leo in the year 1979. She graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Legal Management from De La Salle University. She has post-graduate qualifications in the fields of Product Management, Project Management and Procurement. She is a Certified Senior Professional in Supply Management from NLPA, Pennsylvania and is currently working her way to an MCIPS certification from CIPS UK.

She manages a global supplier portfolio for multi-national and government entities in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. She is also an entrepreneur, managing a photography and printing company with her husband.

She is married to her first love, Sam, who she's been dating since she was 16. They are blessed with two beautiful angels, MarQuise Justine Jerilee and Sir Alfred IV.

When she's not buried under stacks of paper at work, or engrossed with her writing, she spends some down time playing golf, kicking her husband's butt on a judo match and learning to play the piano.

What inspires you to write romantic fiction?
I love reading romance stories and also watching romance movies, so it's natural that I write about this genre too. Romance always inspires me. I write what I like to read.

Tell us about how you write.
I don't really have an outline when I write. I just have a general plot in mind. And then when I begin writing a scene, the story and the characters just seem to come alive in my head. It's like I picture them in my mind and I listen to their conversations inside my head.

I am a method writer too. When I write a story, I cannot read any other book or write any other story. I have to be immersed in that particular story. I have to feel the characters. I have to grow in me, fall in love inside me.

I listen to songs that inspire the story and I repeat that songs over and over on my stereo. Sometimes, I even learn how to play them on the piano, just to fully immerse myself in the characters I am writing about.

Do you listen to or talk to to your characters?
I listen and talk to my characters. When I'm alone in my car, I talk as if the characters are beside me. I listen to songs that inspire the stories. I listen to the characters talk inside my head, as if they are right beside me. So when I finish writing a story, I feel like I have a whole new set of friends.

What advice would you give other romance writers?
Write a story that you, yourself, would read over and over again. If you love it, you will find an audience for it. The world is big and while it seems it’s hard to penetrate, it also means that the possibilities are endless. Just don’t give up.

How did you decide how to publish your books?
I self-published my book, although I am open to work with a publisher if given the right terms. I had received some offers in the past, but the publisher wanted me to sign a contract that says I cannot publish any other book for the next two years, unless it's through them, and also wanted me to take down all my previously published books and make it exclusive to them. At that point, I didn't feel that the terms were right.

What do you think about the future of book publishing?
I think now, authors have more freedom to choose how to publish their works. The readers decide what is a good read and what is not. There are different avenues and more creative ways to get an audience for their masterpieces.

Which romance sub-genere(s) fit your stories best?
Contemporary

My books are available in the following formats:
eBook, Print