Debut Author Jenness Walker Returns

Jenness Walker is a romantic suspense author for Steeple Hill. Her debut novel, Double Take, released this month. She also co-authors lighthearted stories with Tracy Bowen. Jenness lives in Florida with Jason, her beloved website-designer husband, and Hyacinth, her almost-as-beloved laptop. When she’s not writing from her magic coach, she loves to decorate or plan her next road trip with Jason.

I was privileged to interview Jenness in March soon after she sold. If you’d like to learn more about her and her writing journey, you can read her interview by clicking this link.

Join me as we learn about more about Jenness and her debut novel.

Jenness Walker

Jenness’s Journey Begins

•Please recap for us how you got started writing and what led you to create your debut novel, Double Take (formerly Déjà vu).

I’ve been writing for as long as I can remember. A horrible rewrite of Goldilocks and the Three Bears in first grade. A thirty-page, hand-written mess in fifth grade about a woman who falls in love with her kidnapper. Fun, over-the-top short stories in high school about my friends falling in love. I took a correspondence course and then some college classes for creative writing.

Double Take is my fourth completed novel, and I’m not exactly sure what inspired it. 🙂 I was brainstorming one idea and was also thinking about an interview I’d read with a cover model, when the plot for Double Take began to take shape pretty much out of nowhere. I love it when that happens.

From First Sale to First Book

You received The Call from your agent, Tamela Hancock Murray of the Hartline Agency, with news of your first sale in December 2008. That event changed your life in many ways, I’m sure.

•What have been the most exciting aspects of having sold your first book?

It is so much fun to give copies away to the people who have meant so much to me or spent a lot of time helping me with research or encouraged me along the way. It’s nice to have a dream validated. And it’s so cool that a person like me, who would rather avoid crowds and stay somewhat in the background, can reach people I’ve never met through my stories. It’s awesome, and it’s humbling.

•What aspects of being a published author have surprised you?

Maybe that I don’t feel any cooler. Lol. I still am really bad at answering people when they ask what my book is about. (Must practice before the book signing!) I’m so excited about having my first published book…but I still don’t feel like a published author, you know?

•What advice would you offer to not-yet-published writers about things they can do now to help them prepare for the day they get The Call?

Don’t feel like The Call is going to completely change your life or who you are. It’s a wonderful, validating feeling, yes, but getting a contract doesn’t make or break you. It probably won’t make you a millionaire. More likely, you’ll still be driving the same broken-down car, like me. 🙂 Be content with who you are. Love what you do. Be passionate about writing, because you’ll still need that passion and determination after you sign your name on the dotted line.

A Delightful Delivery

•When did you hold your book for the first time? What was your reaction?

My author copies came at the end of July. My husband wasn’t home, so I sat there and stared at the box, trying to decide if I should wait on him or go ahead and open it. So I compromised—I took the box to his meeting and interrupted him long enough to open it. 🙂 It’s such a weird feeling to see your name on a book cover, to hold it in your hands.

•Are you celebrating your release with a launch party?

Yes! My local bookstore is hosting a book signing for me. We’re going to have refreshments and door prizes, and it should be fun. I don’t do crowds, really, but I have been practicing my autograph ever since I could write, so I’m sure it’ll be fine. 🙂

•Promotion is a vital part of the writing business. What are you doing to get the word out?

Steeple Hill does a great job of promoting its authors, so that saves me a lot of work. But I am doing some giveaways to try to build up my list of subscribers to my newsletter. I’m having a blog tour and talking about Double Take’s release on Facebook. And I’m promoting the book signing locally and doing some other odds and ends.

A Warm Welcome

•What’s it like to be part of the Love Inspired family?

It’s a great family to belong to. The authors have an email loop where we discuss themes, get brainstorming help, ask random questions, etc. They’re a great bunch of ladies. The editors I’ve worked with have been patient and insightful, and all the other Steeple Hill people I’ve had contact with have been very helpful.

•Double Take has begun to receive rave reviews, including the fantastic four-and-a-half stars and Top Pick from Romantic Times. Woohoo on that debut! What a way to launch your career as a published novelist. What are some of your favorite comments so far?

Thanks, Keli. That RT review was an awesome surprise!

I’m very grateful for the good reviews Double Take has gotten. After all the edits were in, I started to get nervous about having a published book. It’s one thing for your family and friends and critique partners to read your story. They might be honest, but they still see it through eyes of love—or maybe shock that you actually completed a whole book that was somewhat coherent. J But for complete strangers to read it and get a little glimpse of your heart…that can be pretty scary. When I got a couple of WOW!s, the nervousness began to slip away.

I think my favorite comment so far was when a lady emailed me that she’d been challenged to keep reaching out to her teen daughter even when the girl pushes away. Yes, I hope you love my story, that you can’t put it down and finish it with a big “WOW!” But more than that, I hope in some small way I can challenge you or change you or help you see Jesus a little more clearly.

Jenness’s Debut Novel . . . and Beyond

•Please tell us about Double Take.

Double Take begins with Cole, the hero, reading a best-selling thriller where the villain plays a deadly game of cat-and-mouse with the heroine. When the first scene from the book is replicated in real life in front of Cole and a woman is kidnapped, Cole believes he holds the clue to her survival in his hands. But will anyone listen to him? Or will he be too late to save her? The story is set mostly in Atlanta and includes some of the scenes from the thriller.

Something kind of cool about the story—I sat on a friend’s porch and told her this brand new story I had around Christmas ’07. Almost exactly a year later, I received an offer on the book. My friend moved, but I think I’m going to try to sneak over there and sit on her old porch every time I get a new idea.

•What can your readers look forward to next?

I’m reworking my very first novel, which I hope to sell to Steeple Hill. It’s about a man who’s lost everything, the woman who tries to bring him back to life, and the killer who wants to destroy them both.

Five Fun Facts About Jenness

~ I once climbed a volcano in Guatemala. Nine hours on this mountain without a bathroom break, hyperventilating, watching a friend nearly fall off a cliff…And I still didn’t get to see the center. But it’s a great memory.

~ I’m a klutz. My husband has figured that out. Now when he hears a clatter, he first yells, “Are you okay?” and then “What’d you break?”

~ I have too many books that have to go on too little shelf space, so every time I buy books I loan out a stack.

~ I love the smell of coffee. I want to like the taste of it, too, and I’ve tried. I put whip cream in it, ice cream, sugar, creamer, chocolate syrup—nothing works. Sad, eh?

~ I am a virtual packrat, with almost 5,000 emails in my inbox.

Jenness’s Question for You

•I’ve enjoyed having you as my guest, Jenness. Thanks for your great answers to my questions. Now it’s your turn to ask a question of your visitors, so have at it.

Thanks for inviting me back, Keli! Here’s my question: In Double Take, the plot of a best-selling novel comes to life. If you could choose a story to play out in real life, which novel would you choose, and what character would you be?