Ask the Author: Jennifer Uhlarik
Answered Questions (9)
Jennifer Uhlarik
Oh gosh...so many! I'm particularly excited about reading an Advanced Reader Copy of The Blue Cloak by Shannon McNear and finally getting to read Courting Morrow Little by Laura Frantz.
Jennifer Uhlarik
For me, the best thing about being a writer is getting to create stories that can transport people to different time periods, teach them a few things about history in a non-boring way, and entertain them for a few hours. To hear a reader say that they enjoyed my stories and learned something along the way--that's a high compliment!
Jennifer Uhlarik
A man was born and lived a terrible life. He died without coming to know God.
Jennifer Uhlarik
Oh, that's a hard question to answer! There are so many to choose from, and all of them wonderful. The easy answer would be anywhere in the Old West from my stories or other people's...but I "live there" in my mind all the time. So something else would be nice. After thinking for a bit, I think I would want to visit Narnia and sit down for some very long talks with Aslan. I can imagine walking with him, letting him show me things, and just learning from his wisdom and understanding. Sounds pretty awesome to me!
Jennifer Uhlarik
In no particular order, my three go-to solutions for writers block are: 1) read a book for fun. Sometimes getting out of my own story and looking at someone else's creation gives me an idea on how to get past the tough spot in my own plot. 2) brainstorm some ideas with trusted writer friends or my husband (who helps with plotting every story I write). Or 3) trust my instincts and write the pictures/scenes playing in my head, no matter how silly or stupid they seem at the time. Perhaps they won't end up being the right thing for the story, but most times, they are.
Jennifer Uhlarik
My advice for aspiring writers is two-fold. First, study the craft. This would include reading books on how to write, going to writing conferences if you're able, join a critique group and get feedback from other authors on your work, and enter your writing in contests that offers feedback from the judges. Take all of those things you learn and apply them to your writing. Hone your craft until your writing sings. (This process can take years and lots of hard work, so don't rush it). The second part is: NEVER GIVE UP! The writing business is an achingly slow industry. Most every writer I know says that it took far longer than they ever dreamed to get that first contract or the first big break, so to make it as an author, one has to push on even when it feels like the waiting will kill you. And when the waiting drags on, go back to the first part of the answer. Study more, enter more contests, pen another story. Keep practicing and try not to focus on how long it's taking. More often than not, the breaks will come if you work hard and persevere.
Jennifer Uhlarik
I am days away from completing the editing phase on a Civil War era novella (part of a 3-in-1 collection I and the other two authors hope will be contracted soon). The collection is tentatively called "The Brides of War Collection." My story, Marcher's Masquerade, is about a nineteen-year-old woman who cuts her hair and joins the Union army to fight alongside her brother. There's a romance involved, but I don't want to give away too much, so I'll leave it at that.
As soon as Marcher's Masquerade is completed and sent to my agent, I'll be starting my next contracted novella, The Outcast's Redemption, which will be one of nine stories in Barbour's May 2017 release, The Secret Admirers Romance Collection. In this story, a reformed cattle rustler is framed for stealing cattle, but his secret crush, the daughter of the now-disgraced lawman who arrested him years earlier, comes to his aid. I'm very excited to get working on this story. Hope you'll look for it next year!
As soon as Marcher's Masquerade is completed and sent to my agent, I'll be starting my next contracted novella, The Outcast's Redemption, which will be one of nine stories in Barbour's May 2017 release, The Secret Admirers Romance Collection. In this story, a reformed cattle rustler is framed for stealing cattle, but his secret crush, the daughter of the now-disgraced lawman who arrested him years earlier, comes to his aid. I'm very excited to get working on this story. Hope you'll look for it next year!
Jennifer Uhlarik
Writing was deeply ingrained in me from an early age. I have old photos of me as a young toddler with pen and paper in hand, scribbling away (I didn't yet know how to write, so I truly was scribbling). By the age of five or six, I was sneaking out of bed each night to write stories about earthworms and other creatures. But the idea of writing stories and publishing them didn't really take root until I was about twelve. That was the age when playing pretend with my friends was no longer cool--they were moving on to makeup and swooning over boys. But I had great stories living in my head that I still wanted to act out. So when a friend of mine announced to me one day that she was "writing a novel," the inspiration struck. If she could do it, why couldn't I? I had the stories to tell, but I find a new way to tell them. So rather than acting them out in my friends' back yards or basements, I began to write them down. Silly, but true!
Jennifer Uhlarik
I'm not sure which "most recent book" this question is in reference to, so I'll answer about my upcoming release--Mountain Echoes, which will be included in The Courageous Brides Collection (release date: July 1, 2016). My publisher, Barbour Publishing, requested stories that revolved around a woman acting courageously in the face of hardship and danger, and endearing herself to a male suitor in the process. I always like to try new things with my stories, to research new settings or write about things I've never done before. I'd never written about a stagecoach trip, and the idea of a stagecoach accident happening high in the mountains sounded like a recipe for an exciting story. Of course, I needed a compelling reason for my heroine to be on the stagecoach, so I made her an employee of the California School for the Deaf. She is sent over the Sierra Nevadas to take charge of a deaf child who will be attending the school. When the stagecoach later crashes, she is the only adult able to take charge of the scene and attempt to get the survivors to safety.
About Goodreads Q&A
Ask and answer questions about books!
You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.
See Featured Authors Answering Questions
Learn more