Please Welcome Author Janine Caldwell!

Today I'm excited to welcome author Janine Caldwell to my blog and to our group on Goodreads, Never Too Old for YA Books.

A little about Janine:

Janine was raised in Northern California and has a B.A. in English from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. After 30 years as a California resident, she and her husband Mike, former wide receiver for the San Francisco 49ers, moved to Arizona and are currently raising their two sons in Anthem. Janine has always had a passionate love for literature. After many trips to Sedona, she was inspired to write her first YA series (The Vortex Series) based on the beauty and mystery of the Sedona red rock formations. When she is not writing or hiking around a Sedona vortex, she is practicing yoga, spending time with friends, and taking care of her family.

You can contact Janine at the following links:
www.janinecaldwell.com
www.twitter.com/J9fiction
www.facebook.co...more

This is Janine's Vortes Series:

Title: Rematch (The Vortex Series, #1)

Published: March 12, 2012

Publisher: Amazon Digital Services

ISBN: 1475004494 

Goodreads Link

n REMATCH, Cassie and Trent’s worlds are about to collide, but not in the way you might normally expect. After a rocky start to their senior year, Trent is determined to hide from Cassie how their lives are supernaturally linked. But when Cassie’s past continues to torment her, she’s soon looking to Trent for answers. Trent must choose between admitting what he is and his role in her past, or running away from her forever.

DOUBLE FAULT is the 2nd book in The Vortex Series and is now available.

Title:

Publication Date: April, 12, 2012

Publisher: Amazon

ISBN:1475005555

Goodreads Link

DOUBLE FAULT is the 2nd book in The Vortex Series where Cassie and Trent’s problems have only just begun as they navigate through a parallel world rot with mind-blowing complexity. With Cassie’s tennis career hanging in the balance, she continues to watch her world crumble while fiercely hiding a secret that might cause her to lose what’s most dear to her heart.

You can buy Janine's books here:

Rematch on Amazon

Double Fault on Amazon

And now let's see what Janine has to say!

1. When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer? 

As soon as I was released from my career job (Intellectual Property Paralegal) and was home starting a family, the burning desire to create was overwhelming. I guess you might consider me to be a late bloomer because I was about 30 when this urgent need came over me. I had always been an avid, life-long reader with a BA in English, but I never thought I could do something I love for a job until I started writing creatively. Since then, I haven't looked back. I know writing fiction is what I want to do with the rest of my life.

2. How long does it take you to write a book?

My first book (Rematch) took the longest. It took 4 years of hard work and many, many (many!) drafts before it became what it is today. The second book (Double Fault), the followup to Rematch, materialized much quicker. I would say it took me about a year. It was so much easier with the 2nd book since, not only did I know my characters and the plot line of the story on a deeper level, I also figured out my writing style.

3. What do you think makes a great story?

For me, there has to be a deep connection with the main characters. I want to feel what they're experiencing until I get so involved, I start to become mixed up on whether the story is happening to them or to me.

4. What is your work schedule like when you're writing?

I mostly do all my writing in the hours between 9:00am and 4:00pm. If I'm in an exciting point in the story, sometimes I'll come back to it again at night, but I'm usually too spacey by then. There are weekends, too, that I might work a few hours, but my family keeps me pretty busy.

5. How do you balance family and writing?

Honestly, it's difficult at times not to get frustrated at the demands of my family life when all I want to do is work, but during those times I have to remind myself that this career choice isn't a sprint, it's a marathon. My project isn't going anywhere, Twitter won't disappear if I miss tweeting a few days, and Facebook will take me right back as if I never left. At times, I get so wrapped up in writing my story or promoting my books, it's easy to forget what's important in life. Thank God I do have a husband and kids because I would probably become a complete hermit, never wanting to leave my quiet house.

6. Where do you get your information or ideas for your books?

So far, I think the ideas have all been planted in my brain by God. That's the only way I can explain it. It's like little messages from a song or a news story on the radio or TV will reinforce the beginnings of a theme in my head. When I sat down to write Rematch, I was aware of the elements I liked in YA fiction, so I knew I had to create a story with a supernatural side to it, that there had to be a love story in there, and that the plot had to be unique. I live about an hour's drive from Sedona, Arizona. As my series is called The Vortex Series, it was my visits to Sedona and its vortexes that ultimately inspired the fantasy element in the series. There is something truly magical about that place. It feels out of this world, fragile. I knew I had to create a story that led my characters to this incredible city.

7. What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating your books?

That I just don't get sick of doing it. I can work on a book for hours at a time, but it will feel like only a short time has passed.

8. How many books have you written? I have two published novels. Which is your favorite?

I guess a writer will always feel something special about their first baby, so I have to go with Rematch. Although, I'm starting to have readers tell me their favorite of the two is Double Fault. Good sign that they'll want to read the final book in the series (Deuce) when it's out.

9. Are your characters based on anyone you know?

There are elements of friends of mine, famous musicians (Brandon Boyd and Dave Grohl for example), students I've known over the years in my time as a youth group leader, and a little of myself in all of the characters. In the end, though, each character becomes their own person by the time I'm done writing the story.

10. Do you have a favourite place you love to write?

I'm the most productive in my office at home, butt in chair, and complete quiet in the house.

11. How hard is is to get published?

To be traditionally published, it's incredibly difficult these days. Unless you're a celebrity or a proven best selling author, you most likely won't get a sniff by any agent as a new writer on the scene. You have to absolutely floor an agent in two paragraphs of your query letter for them to consider reading the first 50 pages of your work. Agents tell us they receive hundreds of query letters in a month. It's a freakin miracle if they happen to choose your query letter as one they will follow up on. The good news is that self-publishing is not quite as painful. Oh, to do it well it's not exactly easy--finding a solid, reputable editor, hiring the right cover artist for your story, and then affording all these expenses on your own, can be nerve wracking and stressful to say the least. However, in the end, your labor of love is out there for the world to receive instead of being shoved into a drawer of failed dreams.

12. What do your family and friends think about your books?

They have all been wonderful supporters of my writing career and have been surprised by how much they now like YA fiction. My kids, especially, were so proud when I got invited to speak at their school this past year and can now find copies of my books in their school library. Most of my friends and family have known that this was a life-long dream of mine and are thrilled to see it begin to take shape into a tangible thing.

13. What do you like to do when you are not writing?

I do like to exercise--Vinyasa yoga, running with major tunes blaring in my ears, or hiking mountain trails are a few of my favorite activities. When I get my exercise done, though, I love to read (surprise, surprise). I love YA books just as much as any blogger and Goodreads user out there. And if I have any time left on my hands, which is rare, I love, love to play drums. I would say I play at an intermediate level, but I fantasize I'm keeping up with Jose Pasillas of Incubus and Taylor Hawkins of the Foo Fighters. My husband tells me to "dream on."

14. Do you have any suggestions to help aspiring writers better themselves and their craft? If so, what are they?

My best advice is to continue reading as much as possible, and not just the genre they write in, but in all genres. Don't let too long a stretch of time unfold without doing some sort of writing while you're plotting your masterpiece in your head.

15. As a child, what did you want to do when you grew up?

I have to admit, I just don't remember. Is that terrible? Besides being a track star, I really had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. Glad to have finally figured it out. Remember, late bloomer here.

16. What are your favourite books and which authors inspire you?

Oh, so many to list! J.K. Rowling is a goddess. Her genius still gets to me. What she and Stephenie Meyer accomplished is absolutely stunning. Both their series will forever remain in my top favorites. Other YA books I love are The Hunger Games series (of course!), The Divergent series, Matched series, Uglies series, and The Giver series. Classically speaking I have to go with J.D. Salinger's The Catcher In The Rye, Charlette Bronte's Jane Eyre, Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility, Charles Dickens's The Tale of Two Cities, and Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged.

17. For an aspiring writer what do you feel are certain do's and don’ts for getting their material published?

Do find a professional editor to polish your novel before publishing. Do work with other writers on your draft all along, so that the story is well into perfection before handing it over to an editor who will most likely charge by the hour. Don't feel you have to spend thousands of dollars on a cover artist when there are wonderful artists out there charging much less. Don't give up on yourself.

18. What are you working on now? Right now, I'm 200 pages deep into a story called Visited about a 17-year old girl who gets visited by a hot, mysterious, alien teenage boy. But, I have also been plotting in my mind how I'm going to complete The Vortex Series with the 3rd and final book. As soon as Visited is done, I will be immediately moving on to write Deuce.

Thanks so much for stopping by, Janine! It's been so great having you hear! Can't wait to hear more about books from you in the future!