Author Jenna Harte Shares Their Story

About the Author
Jenna Harte is a die-hard romantic, whose favorite romantic characters are committed, often married and frequently getting into trouble. She is the author of the Valentine Mysteries featuring Tess, a chocolate loving, couture lingerie wearing sleuth and Jack her love interest. She also writes novellas featuring the adventures and passions of Max and Madeleine Delecoeur. When she’s not telling stories, she works by day as a freelance writer and blogger. She lives in central Virginia with her husband, two teenage children and two cats.

What inspires you to write romance books?
I love a good romance, especially coupled with mystery, suspense or adventure. For the most part, I write the kinds of characters and stories I’d like to read or watch on TV.

Tell us about how you write:
So far I’ve been a pantster. I have scenes in my head, which I write regardless of where they take place in the story and then fill in the rest of the details later. But recently I’ve been trying to do a little more plotting mostly to get the mystery detailed, such as the suspects, why they’re suspects (herrings) and what clears them. So in my next book, I’ll be a combination of pantster and plotter. The only “notes” I take are ideas, dialogue etc that come to me that I want to remember. I put them in Evernote, which I can use from my phone, ereader and computer. Sometimes I’ll make a list of scenes just to give me a sense of order, but I never have every scene or every detail plotted before I write. I love that moment when I’m writing and inspiration takes over to direct the story.

Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
I don’t have direct conversations with them, but sometimes their stories make a racket in my head. For example, I wanted to write my next novella, but the Valentine characters were pretty insistent that I write their next story. Since the novella characters were fairly quiet, I decided to go with the fourth Valentine book.

What advice would you give other writers?
Write what you want to read. We’ve all read books or saw movies/shows that we enjoyed, but maybe would have tweaked to fit our tastes. That’s all I do really. I would also start right away developing your platform. I started my blog and social network profiles long before my book was done. This helped sell the book once it was done and gives readers a place to go after they read the book.

How did you decide how to publish your books?
I submitted the book to agents and got good feedback, but no one bought it. I saw the success many indie authors were having and decided to go that route. So far so good! I think it helps to try and submit to an agent or publisher because you can get good feedback. At the same time, the success of indie authors suggests that publishers don’t get it right all the time. Plus I like the control I have over the book.

What do you think about the future of book publishing?
I think there will always be readers and therefore a need for writers. But as far as traditional publishing goes, its future remains to be seen. Now that authors have so much more control and can get to readers directly, the big 5, small publishers, and book stores need to re-think their model.

What genres do you write?
Romance, romantic mystery, romantic adventure, romantic suspense

What formats are your books in?
eBook, Print, Both eBook and Print

Website(s)
Author Home Page Link
Link To Author Page On Amazon

Your Social Media Links
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6456441.Jenna_Harte
https://www.facebook.com/JennaHarteAuthor
http://www.twitter.com/Jenna_harte
http://pinterest.com/jennaharte/