Featured Author Interview: Jill Cooper - author of Plugged

[Jen Rattie]

Can you give us a brief overview of your latest book? Is it part of a series? Plugged is a YA Time Travel novel, book 2 in the Rewind Agency Series. It follows Lara Crane as she tries to undo the damage she did in the first book after she changed the past. Now she’s being held captive, like a mouse in a cage, and must struggle against her own mind to obtain freedom.

Do you have a favorite character? Lara is my favorite character of the series for sure. How could she not be? She’s impulsive, rash, but she never gives up. Her spirit is never broken. She is always searching for a new way out. She loves, cares, and is a compassionate character, no matter what is happening to her.

Have you ever had a minor character evolve into a major one? Did that change the direction of the novel at all? In the Dream Slayer series, I created a one off villain who was only supposed to exist in the opening sequence. Like a monster of the week in an episode of Supernatural, or Buffy. He was so much fun to write for and changed so much of the course of the novel, that he ended up in 6 of the 7 books.

If you used a graphic designer/publisher’s designer, how involved were you during the creative process for your cover? I’m always very involved in the cover process, even if I don’t know exactly what I want. I usually have a theme or feeling I want to convey and have complete creative control over images, fonts. We went through several drafts of Plugged before we found what I was looking for and I am so so happy with how it turned out!

What is your writing process? Do you listen to music or do you like silence? To be honest, it depends on the book and the scene. If I am going to listen to music it is almost always instrumental, like a movie or video game soundtrack. For Plugged I listened to music thorough out the entire novel and listened to the Mass Effect 3 soundtrack.

Do you outline your story or just go where your muse takes you? I don’t believe in outlining. It kills my creative process. I write a small 250 word blurb and start writing from there.

Besides writing, do you have any other passions? Spending time with my 5 year old daughter, teaching her, and being present is really the only other passion I have time for right now! Home renovations are a close third, I suppose. My husband is a woodworker and I am always finding pictures of some piece of furniture I want him to recreate!

What’s next for you? I want to write the next Rewind Agency novel, finish the Glistening Haven series if I can focus enough. I also have a scifi romance novel in mind, and would like to sink my teeth into a zombie idea I’ve had for awhile. I won’t spoil the surprise though, so I’ll keep that plan under my hat.

About the Author:

I could write this in the third person. I could tell you what I like, where I was born, and what my favorite things are.

But instead, I’ll say I don’t want to write like everyone else. I don’t want to craft stories you’ve read a thousand times before. I want my novels to be a cinematic experience, blending themes, genres, and situations unlike any you’ve ever read. 

I want to break the rules. I want you to break out in a cold sweat as you read my books out of fear, love, and excitement. I want my books to be an experience. When you finish, I want you to feel something. Good or bad.

If you do, then I’ll have succeeded. If not, I’ll keep trying.

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