When writing, what themes do you feel passionate about?
The writing themes I feel most passionate about are women empowerment, a deep love and connection to nature, our innate ability to create magic (i.e., the events of our lives), and exploration of Latino culture and relationships.
Are you a disciplined writer?
I'm not a disciplined writer in the traditional sense. I tend toward writing in spurts. Since I write based on experience, if I've been playing it safe, not risking, or living small or half asleep, writing is difficult, almost painful, because there is no muse to inspire me. On this same line, sometimes I seek a peace that wreaks havoc with novels that require conflict, which is every good novel. And sometimes I'm afraid of what the silence will bring and so I avoid writing. But when I'm in the zone, I'm writing constantly, at stoplights, in the grocery store, at my kids' soccer matches, out to dinner with my husband, the movies with friends, family birthday parties, whenever. I balance this with journaling in my diary whenever possible.
What advice would you give to aspiring authors?
The writer's advice I focus on today is that your characters should be able to convince others of their point of view. This of course, comes back around to conviction. However, over the past eight years I've received a slew of advice on writing and publishing from my friends and historical romance veterans, Kathleen Givens and Amanda Scott, as well as my literary agent, Julie Castiglia.
My upcoming project is a woman's fiction called The Making of a Xicana Goddess that follows Eva Ramirez, an overachieving corporate executive, Abigail Moreno-Smith, a neurotic artist-mother, and Moonstone O'Grady, their Crone mentor, who uses women's magic to reveal and heal the childhood traumas that prevent Eva and Abby from obtaining the one thing they truly want: contentment and self-acceptance.
Do you have a website where readers may learn more about you and your work?
My website is www.jamiemartinezwood.com, my blog is http://jamiemartinezwood.blogspot.com.
Thanks for this interview, Jamie!
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