Tag: Paranormal

I always like repeat offenders. I mean that as in previously interviewed authors by LWI who come back for more punishment. Today I have the amazing honor of Jeanne Bannon joining me. You may have read my review of her short story Today’s the Day to be released September 15, 2015 but pre-order now. At .99 it’s more than worth it. Bargain time! It may not be my usual fare but she handles the story so well I enjoyed it and you can read about it by clicking here.

Since I’ve interviewed Jeanne before when her book Nowhere to Run was released, I thought I would simply ask a couple of questions to go along with the previous interview and give you a bit of a mix about her.

One thing about Jeanne’s writing the shocks me is you first take a look at her, the author, and then think “She writes this stuff? What is going on inside the wonderful head of hers?” I mean I see a nice, pleasant person who would write beautiful Romances or Mysteries and I get make-me-want-to-pee-my-pants evil stuff. Still trying to figure that one out.

How different is it for you to write a short story, the difficulties or ease as opposed to a full length novel?

In some respects, writing a short story is much more difficult than crafting a novel. It’s more difficult to develop characters and a storyline with a limited number of words/pages. With a short story, details have to be left out, in other words, it’s more of a cut to the chase scenario. I think it’s more difficult to write a satisfying ending to a short story than a novel since there’s not the luxury of time to build the believability factor of your story. However, I do enjoy writing short stories and novellas after completing a novel. It keeps me writing and it’s still satisfying to see a project come to fruition.

The story set to be released on September 15th, Today’s the Day, is an extended version of a story I wrote a few years back titled The Search for Trisha Campbell. It’s about a girl who goes missing on Halloween and the unfortunate police officer who finds her. I’d often thought of that story and wondered about the protagonist, officer John Galloway. What kind of man was he? These thoughts led to my doubling the length of the original and when a call for submissions for short stories was put out by my publisher, Solstice Publishing, I thought Today’s the Day would be a perfect fit. And it’s great timing – scary stuff with Halloween around the corner.

Who would you say, as in the commonly known superstar authors, your writing might be compared to?

Dare I say Stephen King? I’m not worthy of the comparison but he is my greatest influence. Today’s the Day is not for the YA crowd. There’s blood and gore along with a big of mystery. It was fun to write. I love to craft gut wrenching scenes – ala Stephen King, I suppose.

I want to say that the Stephen King comparison may just be about right. She is not overboard with the horror in her story, but gives just enough for you to get freaked out at the right times and keeps you a bit uncomfortable as well. So Stephen King? Yeah, I see it.

Maybe explaining how you came to be a writer might help explain where the ‘pleasant-not-Stephen-King-crazed-looking-woman’ turned the corner to write what you do.

I’ve always written. I can’t remember a time when I didn’t. I remember writing a bunch of poems in grade one and my teacher graciously transforming it into a book by stapling the pages into a folder and letting me decorate the front cover. Then she put it in our classroom library. I believe that was the time when I decided I wanted to keep writing. I’d gotten attention and some accolades. It was pretty nice. I do have a degree in journalism, but I’m not sure that makes me a writer. I’ve also worked in the publishing industry as an editor for over twenty years. Perhaps I’m a writer because I’m a reader first and foremost. My parents were readers and would leave paperbacks sitting around the house. I remember being curious about the books and started to read them. I was hooked after reading Cain and Abel by Jeffery Archer at the ripe old age of eleven. Then I moved on to Sidney Sheldon novels, lol.

I think how your book Nowhere to Run got its name would be interesting to our readers as well as to aspiring authors.

The title Nowhere to Run was not the original title. I’d titled it Love, Lies, and Redemption but the publisher decided the story needed a title that would better reflect the suspenseful elements of the novel and asked me to come up with a list of five alternatives. Nowhere to Run was on that list and that was the one they chose.

You have another venture outside of writing your books. Tell us about it.

I’ve recently begun actively seeking out freelance editing/proofreading work.

And if I understand correctly that’s something you have over 25 years experience doing and now want more clients?

That’s right.

I think you are insane but I checked out your Editorial Services page. Very nice. I may be looking your way sooner than later. Here are a few testimonials about her services.

“Jeanne is a very careful, precise copy editor who knows Word backwards. She is excellent at formatting and has years of experience. She also excels at evaluating mss., and structural editing of fiction.” –Sheila Dalton, author

“I have known and shared writing experiences with Jeanne Bannon for over seven years. She always impresses me with her dedication and professional work ethics. I prize her skills as an editor and proofreader. I have personally relied upon her talent and good nature in assisting me in preparing short stories from a variety of authors for inclusion in an anthology called Storyhole. I strongly endorse her to anyone seeking copy edit or proofreading help for their publication.”–C. Lee Brown, sci-fi/fantasy author

“I have been a published author since 2010. English and I have never been friends. I’m not a good editor/proofreader and I am always guilty of head hopping and verb usage, just to name a few. Jeanne Bannon is a person who has saved my stories. She has the eye and the knowledge to spot any incorrect usage of the English language.

Jeanne is a true professional and gets my work back to me in a timely manner. Because I am thankful to have found such an experienced editor/proofreader, I would recommend her to anybody!”–P.A. Estelle, author

And with that we end our visit with Jeanne Bannon, Author, Editorial Goddess and more. Click her book covers below and get her books. Varied in genre, just like when you see Jeanne, you’ll be surprised at what you get. Go NOW and BUY!!!

I’ve worked in the publishing industry for over twenty-five years, first as a freelance journalist, then as an in-house editor for LexisNexis. I currently work as a freelance editor and writer and am represented by the Serendipity Literary Agency.

My debut novel, Invisible, a young adult paranormal romance, was published by Solstice Publishing in 2011 and was subsequently optioned for film. Invisible is an Amazon bestseller both domestically and internationally.

In 2014, Nowhere to Run, a romantic thriller was published by Etopia Press. This past winter, I tried my hand at self-publishing with a paranormal romance novella, Beautiful Monster, The Exchange (Book One). I had a lot of fun writing and promoting my novella and am currently finishing up work on the second in the Beautiful Monster series.

Today’s the Day is set for release by Solstice Shadows on September 15, 2015. You can pre-order your copy now – http://www.amazon.com/Todays-Day-Jeanne-Bannon-ebook/dp/B014TJUWXC/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1441408830&sr=8-2&keywords=jeanne+bannon