Romance at Heart Magazine Author Interview: Ann Jazz

Interview with Ann Raven and Jazz Matthews:

Hello to Ann Raven and Jazz Matthews, the writing team known as Ann Jazz. It is good that you could join us here for this interview. We would like to get to know you, and your books, and what makes you tick, so lets get to it shall we? Here we go…

- What can we expect from you in the future?

Ann - Currently I am writing a futuristic romance titled His Silver Savior. It’s about a woman, a man, a morphdog and a cool ship with an attitude. Jilaran is an archeologist and amateur inventor, Max is a Ranger and the morphdog is Jilaran’s pet, Fuzz. They have a destiny—though they don’t know it, to stop a madman from destroying the Four Systems.

- How do we find out about you and your books?

Ann - You can visit Jazz and my website at Ann Raven & Jazz Matthews and also join our yahoo group http://groups.yahoo.com/group/annjazz/ We post excerpts of our wips.

Jazz – Check out my website at http://annjazz.250free.com/ and check out the Yahoo group of Ann Raven and myself at Ann-Jazz Yahoo Group.

- How may readers contact you?

Ann - You can email me at annjazz04@hotmail.com, or yangele@hotmail.com, stormie_ca@yahoo.com, raven@romanceatheart.com Jazz – You can contact me at annjazz04@hotmail.com, kinacalrissian@hotmail.com, & jezzy@romanceatheart.com

- When did you first think about writing and what prompted you to submit your first ms?

Ann – I have no set time or date that I first thought of writing, but my first MS was submitted when I was encouraged to enter the Romance at Heart Publications contest, which resulted in Night of the Cat being written and co-authored with Jazz Matthews.

- Generally, how long does it take you to write a book?

Jazz – Generally, it depends on the story and how passionate I feel about it. The longest book story I’ve written so far has been about a year, the shortest has been about six months.

- What do you do to relax and recharge your batteries?

Ann – I watch TV, read a lot of romance novels, and generally just vegetate.

- Where do your ideas come from?

Ann – My ideas can come from anywhere; from a commercial to a sentence to a fortune cookie. A lot of them do come from movies and reading romance novels.

- Do you feel humour is important in women's fiction and why?

Ann – Humor is very important. I like to give the reader a laugh even if it’s just a funny phrase or quip by the hero or heroine. I find a too serious or sad book without a touch of humor boring. So humor is definitely a given in a good book.

- What are your thoughts on love scenes in romance novels, do you find them difficult to write?

Jazz - Sometimes, it isn’t difficult for me to write if I really concentrate upon them and I’m in the mood. But I find that the more I write them, the harder it is getting to be inventive of different locations and places for your characters to come together. But for some, I think if you’re characters are hot under the collar and need to blow some steam, hot love scenes help ease some of that tension. That is, until they realize that they love each other…lol.

- Do you have a favorite author? Favorite book?

Jazz – Goodness, I have too many favorite authors, but I’ll narrow it down to three. Nicole Jordan, big time inspiration and her whole Notorious series, Ecstasy being my favorite book among them. And Diana Palmer is also another and her Silhouette Desire book named Man of Ice is one of my favorites from her. And finally, Brenda Jackson. She’s just awesome with this series she’s currently doing for Harlequin. My friends and I just eat up every single word. All three are very high in my top ten and I hold them in high esteem.

- Who are some of your favorite authors?

Ann – Oh my kind of question! Among my favorites, are Sherrilyn Kenyon (yummy Dark-Hunters), Christine Feehan (to die for Carpathians), Robin D. Owens, Susan Kearney, CJ Barry, Liz Maverick, Angela Verdenius (love her Heart and Soul series)...and too many more to mention here.

- Who, if anyone, has influenced your writing?

Jazz - My friends. Definitely. Always pushing me to do better and want to do better beyond the call of duty. I believe that I would be nowhere if it wasn’t for their support.

- What do you think of critique groups in general?

Ann – Critique groups are important. The people there help you to grow as a writer, help you to find your voice. Not all CG’s will do that, but there are some really good ones out there, you just have to find them. If all they do in a group is slam your work and you, then you know that group is not for you. The good CGs are the ones that praise as well as gently guide you and explain why something doesn’t sound right.

- How long have you been writing - have you always wanted to be a writer?

Ann - I’ve been writing for about six years now. I first started out writing children’s stories though none have been published and now have branched out into romance. I’ve set my children’s stories aside to give the romance a chance and see where it goes, but I’ve not forgotten my children’s stories, I will be going back to them sometime in the future.

- Among your own books, have you a favorite book? Favorite hero or heroine??

Ann - Since so far I’ve only one story written Night of the Cat featured in the Anthology Animal Attraction, I guess I can safely say that Jared and Laura are my favorite h/h, though the futuristic I’m currently writing has two fabulous h/h’s Jilaran and Max could very likely knock Jared and Laura from their pedestals.

Jazz – Oh, geez. I guess from all that I have written, I would have to choose my Ryan Boys. Even though there are three of them, I find that Gage, Grant and Graham Ryan are the embodiment of hot southern hospitality.

- Which comes first, the story, the characters or the setting?

Jazz – A combination of everything. But majority of the time, the plot comes first in vague bits and pieces, then the characters form in my mind of how I want them to be portrayed.

- What is the hardest part of writing/the easiest?

Ann - Everything about writing for me is hard. I’ve heard from others that their characters speak to them, help them along, even write their stories for them, well, mine are mute. They don’t talk to me so I have to guess most of the time what my characters want. There is no easy part for me.

- Are you in control of your characters or do they control you?

Jazz – Hm, I think my characters and I share a 50/50 outlook on that. I might be the one etching them out for everyone to know of them, but at the same time, they become so real that they seem to be channeling their characteristics back to me and it gives me no choice but to mold them how they wish to be. And so far, the characters I have allowed a few people to know have enjoyed them, so I think I’m doing something right.

- Have you experienced writer's block---> If so, how did you work through it?

Ann - Writer’s block? Have I ever! And it’s a question I ask many authors in chats. For myself, I’ve learned to put my story away for a time then come back to it. It’s the only way for me.

- If you weren't writing, what would you be doing?

Jazz – Simple. I would only be attending my college classes instead of doing that and writing too…lol.

- Are there any words of encouragement for unpublished writers?

Ann – Keep writing. Don’t give up. View those rejection letters as experience. Those rejection letters could be something as simple as that publisher isn’t publishing the type of story you wrote. So keep submitting and stay positive.

Thank you very much, for taking the time with us and answering our questions, Ann and Jazz. I really appreciate this interruption to busy schedules, school, and writing... Good Luck, and we will be looking forward to the next delightful creations from your talented imaginations either together or separately!

Yours in good reading,
Rose!

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