Today we're doing a different type of interview, and it should be
enlightening to both writers and readers following the blog.
My guest today is Jessica, or J.L Smith, if you want to be more specific.
Hello! Welcome to
Writing in the Modern Age! It’s such a pleasure to have you here.
Hi, Marie, and fellow readers and writers! Thank you for letting me visit.
Of course!
Can you tell us a little bit about your company or service, and how Writing in the Modern Age readers can benefit from it?
Thanks for having me! I run a book blog
called Queen J Reads and a podcast called 100Lit, the latter of which I created to teach and document my own
journey to 100 Reads per year. Both the blog and the podcast are designed to
help readers discover new books, and authors — both aspiring and experienced — get
information about writing, character development and publishing in order to
strengthen and ultimately sell their work.
Wow, it sounds great! I think a love of reading has brought us all here in some capacity. ;)
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| Susan Yin, Unsplas |
Jessica, are you also a writer? What genre or genres should we
expect to see you in? Do you use a pseudonym?
Yes, I am also writer under the name J.L.
Smith (it’s pretty much my real name). I’m focused mostly on Middle Grade,
which is a genre I’m pretty new to.
This is one of the reasons I established ‘Queen
J Reads’ and ‘100Lit’. I am always reading so I’m always learning something and
I want to share those things with others.
Nice!
How was Queen J Reads launched, or what spurred the idea? What sets it apart from other services?
The book blog was previously named Forward
Scribes. At the time I began it, I was on the last part of my dissertation for
my educational program so I was massively stressed. Starting the book blog was
basically my therapy. It let me read something for fun and then talk about it.
That’s what I love about it.
100Lit was a podcast I started because I was
watching a lot of movie review videos and people were just having fun talking
about movies. They were eating pizza, having drinks, and not really worrying
about being professional all the time. I felt like we should be talking about
books the same way; just enjoying them with our drinks and meals.
That's fantastic!
How do you intend to expand your services or company in the future?
I’ve actually done some expanding recently.
I created a program entitled Kid Forward, which was specifically designed to enhance literacy skills for
students, with language and learning differences through storytelling between
family members and loved ones.
Ooh...awesome. :)
Let's try some general
questions now.
Do you have any favorite authors?
Mary Shelley is my all-time favorite.
All right.
So, how about a different question?
When reading, do you prefer traditional printed books
or ebooks? And why?
No preference. As long as it’s a good book,
I’m more than satisfied. It doesn’t really matter to me how I read that book.
Can you tell us what you're reading for fun now?
Right now, I am reading a book called A
Delusion of Satan by Frances Hill. It's talking about the different players
and catalysts of the Salem Witch Trials. It’s a really interesting read thus
far.
Okay.
Well...to wrap this up, here's my last question, or questions, I suppose.
Are there any words you'd like to impart to
writers? Something you've gleaned from all the books you've read? Any advice
you can give us?
Write whatever story it is that you want to
write. Don’t worry so much about what’s trending. What’s popular doesn’t
always translate to a good read and trends don’t last anyway. If you write what
you want, your work will outlast the trends and become legendary. Build the
characters and the world you want with your words.
So helpful!
How can authors find out more about submitting a review request? Will book readers be able to suggest a title at some point, too?
Readers can suggest a title and writers can
go about submitting a review request at queenjreads.com.
What is the best way for writers, and
potential readers, to follow you and your work?
Great! Oh, yeah, it looks like we can subscribe to this awesome site as well. ;)
Jessica has a really cool job and she sounds like quite the reader too!
Queen J Reads appears to be a great
place for readers to check out, which is just about perfect for Writing in
the Modern Age, isn't it?
Thank you for stopping by the blog to tell us all about what you offer to writers and book readers, J.L.!
Thank you so much for having me here on Writing in the Modern Age...
Our pleasure, of course!
About the 100 Lit Podcast Show
100Lit is a book
and writing podcast that primarily follows the reading journey of Queen J to
100 Reads per year. There are also author interviews, writing and publishing
tips, and everything else related to books and their hardworking writers.
Service
Links
Jessica’s
Bio
A lifelong lover of books, Jessica (J.L. for short)
first put pen to paper at the age of nine with short stories, journals, plays,
and more.
During her doctoral coursework in Education, Jessica
founded Queen J Reads and 100Lit, a book blog and podcast show respectively where she
shares her favorite reads new and old, including her all-time favorite,
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley.
She currently works as an English professor, English
tutor, and literacy program developer. She hopes to continue to spread her love
of reading, writing, and diverse characters to the next generation.
Author Links:
Blog/Podcast Website/Reviewer Site: https://queenjreads.com/
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/J-L-Smith/e/B08B1XPH4C
SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/18091564
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/queenjreads
J.L.'s Books:
Coming Soon:
Available Now:
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