I would like to welcome debut 
Aussie author Jayne Fordham to The Tales Compendium! Jayne has been working her way around the blogosphere lately, taking part in her book blog tour for A Season of Transformations.
I recently reviewed A Season of Transformations here on The Tales Compendium and you can read my review here.
What was the hardest thing about writing it?
I think the hardest part was the redrafting and editing process. The structure of the story, the plot and the characters certainly evolved during this process and there were many times when I questioned whether it was worth continuing. But eventually I got it to a stage where I was happy with the finished product and it was well worth the 2-3 years I spent working on the manuscript to get it where it is today.
What was your road to publication like?
I chose to self-publish. I hunted for an agent and I looked into independent publishers but was rejected by an agent and couldn’t find a publisher which was a good fit so I took the plunge and did it all myself. It was a lot of hard work (and still is!) but I am glad I took the risk because I am learning so much from readers’ feedback that is truly invaluable.
Can you describe A Season of Transformation in three words?
Teens transform together
In highschool, which stereotype do you think you were?
That’s a good question; I haven’t been asked that before! To be honest, I don’t think I fit into any of those stereotypes in high school. Perhaps each of the stereotypes reflect me in some way- I did well academically at school, I was a bit shy but also a bit of a clown sometimes and I was also the ‘good listener’ among my friends. I certainly wasn’t the popular rich kid!
Who are some of your favourite YA authors?
Definitely Aussie authors John Marsden, Melina Marchetta and Maureen McCarthy but also Stephanie Meyer and P.C and Kristen Cast.
What are you reading now?
An Aussie memoir titled ‘Biting the Big Apple’ by Bella Vendramini and Spellbound by Cara Lynn Shultz.
If you could trade places with any fictional character, who would you choose?
As much as I love the paranormal genre, I also love historical romances and English literatures so I would have to say Elizabeth Bennett from Pride and Prejudice. I am very curious about this era and meeting Mr Darcy would certainly be a bonus!
Aussie author Jayne Fordham to The Tales Compendium! Jayne has been working her way around the blogosphere lately, taking part in her book blog tour for A Season of Transformations.I recently reviewed A Season of Transformations here on The Tales Compendium and you can read my review here.
Where did the idea to write A Season of Transformation come from?
I’ve always loved to read and write romance novels but I wanted to write something with a supernatural element to it. I already had in my mind that I wanted a group of teenagers to develop special abilities and I also had an idea about the relationship between Makenna and Lucas. It was a matter of filling in all the gaps. When I came up with the idea of the ancient wooden box that brings the teens together, it all seemed to fall into place from there.What was the hardest thing about writing it?
I think the hardest part was the redrafting and editing process. The structure of the story, the plot and the characters certainly evolved during this process and there were many times when I questioned whether it was worth continuing. But eventually I got it to a stage where I was happy with the finished product and it was well worth the 2-3 years I spent working on the manuscript to get it where it is today.
What was your road to publication like?I chose to self-publish. I hunted for an agent and I looked into independent publishers but was rejected by an agent and couldn’t find a publisher which was a good fit so I took the plunge and did it all myself. It was a lot of hard work (and still is!) but I am glad I took the risk because I am learning so much from readers’ feedback that is truly invaluable.
Can you describe A Season of Transformation in three words?
Teens transform together
In highschool, which stereotype do you think you were?
That’s a good question; I haven’t been asked that before! To be honest, I don’t think I fit into any of those stereotypes in high school. Perhaps each of the stereotypes reflect me in some way- I did well academically at school, I was a bit shy but also a bit of a clown sometimes and I was also the ‘good listener’ among my friends. I certainly wasn’t the popular rich kid!
Who are some of your favourite YA authors?
Definitely Aussie authors John Marsden, Melina Marchetta and Maureen McCarthy but also Stephanie Meyer and P.C and Kristen Cast.
What are you reading now?
An Aussie memoir titled ‘Biting the Big Apple’ by Bella Vendramini and Spellbound by Cara Lynn Shultz.
If you could trade places with any fictional character, who would you choose?
As much as I love the paranormal genre, I also love historical romances and English literatures so I would have to say Elizabeth Bennett from Pride and Prejudice. I am very curious about this era and meeting Mr Darcy would certainly be a bonus!
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Great interview :) Love hearing about our Aussie authors.
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