Indie Author Spotlight #14
Meet Author Jenna St. James plus the future of the series
Welcome back to another edition of my Indie Author Spotlight Series! It’s been a few weeks and I’m so so happy to be back. This week meet Author Jenna St. James!
Hello, my name is Jenna St. James. I write mostly paranormal cozies. I’ve also written contemporary cozies and romantic comedy. I have a paranormal series (A Witch in the Woods) that spans over thirty books in the first series and has a couple spinoffs. That’s the series and world I write in, mainly.
How long have you been writing (for fun and or professionally)?:
I’ve always enjoyed writing. After high school, I attended college for a year and decided to change career paths. I became a court reporter/stenographer. Which was fine. I told myself I was writing other people’s stories. I did that for a number of years before I changed professions again, went back to school, and became a teacher. I have a Master’s degree in Education, emphasis in special education. I also started my doctorate and earned a Specialist’s degree. I was working as the testing coordinator (administering the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Test) for my school district when I decided I needed a change. I had been divorced for a few years, was in a second-chance romance with my high-school sweetheart (who had a daughter who lived with us), and I was about to explode from stress. LOL. It was my sister who introduced me to cozy mysteries. She told me to read two different authors, sent me their books, and then said, “Jenna, you can do that!” And so I did. After publishing five books, I was able to quit my education job and write full time. That’s not a brag on my writing…that’s a sad state to how little we pay educators—by then I had twelve years classroom teaching experience, two years as a testing coordinator, and half my doctorate completed. And after five books, I could quit to write full time.
Do you have a favorite series of yours?:
That’s so hard to answer. Ryli Sinclair (contemporary cozy) got me out of working in the teaching field and writing full time. Sullivan Sister (contemporary cozy) is a series written about my real-life family and friends. BUT the A Witch in the Woods (paranormal cozy) series is what catapulted me into a different economic field, which is always a blessing. My paranormal cozy series also has two spinoff series with two more spinoff series releasing sometimes this year and the next. This is a huge series (over 50 books) in the Paranormal Apprehension and Detention Agency world, linking the characters to other series in the PADA world. All of my books are in Kindle Unlimited, so there’s plenty to choose from if you are a Kindle Unlimited reader who likes to binge read.
Who are some of your inspirations?:
Definitely my mother and sister. My mother never once told me I should stay in teaching and not write. She always had my back. My sister is the same. In fact, my sister produces 90% of my swag/merchandise for me. She’s incredibly talented when it comes to designing merch items, and she’s also currently working on her own writing series. My husband is also a HUGE encourager of mine. He does my woodworking and resin merchandise, mailouts, and any other behind-the-scenes needs I may have. I’m incredibly lucky to have a close family who lifts me up.
What made you decide you wanted to start publishing your writing?:
It was my sister. She saw how I was struggling. I was working as a reading-writing teacher, was a stepmom in a difficult situation, and I was just struggling…angry and frustrated. My sister encouraged me to just sit down at a computer and write. So I did. I wrote Picture Perfect Murder and released it on my sister’s birthday. I often think I need to go back and update and rewrite the first couple books in that series. Even though I taught writing, I realize now I have grammar/tense issues in my first couple books. I do think of going back and correcting them…and then I remind myself that it’s a journey. If you were to read Book 1 and now Book 100, I’d hope you could see a huge difference in my writing.
Do you have any upcoming releases and or future projects you're excited about?:
I publish one to two books a month—two if it’s in my co-written series. I’ve been doing that kind of rapid release for a good number of years now. Is it difficult…gosh, yes! Do I have much of a life…gosh, no! Even on vacation, I write. My husband loves to scuba dive in the mornings, while I write, and then we go out at nights together. That’s my vacation schedule. I write or do admin or marketing every day, seven days a week. This week, I had to take my mom to three doctor appointments, and so I wrote in the waiting room. My husband was also in the ER three days ago. I posted pictures of me writing while he’s getting an IV. LOL. I work all the time and sleep even less. But I love it. I love the fact I have been able to release a book or two a month since 2020. This month, I have two releases…each in my PADA world series.
Do you have a favorite quote or moment from your writing?:
Some of my favorite moments happen during book signings. I’ve met so many wonderful authors in different genres, been to exciting book signing places like the Dirty Dancing resort—lol, also known as Mountain Lake Lodge. I’m extremely extroverted, yet because I write so much, I’ve had to learn to be an introvert. So when I get to “come out and play,” I do it in full force.
What are some hobbies of yours other than writing?:
I will be honest and say I don’t have time to do much of anything other than writing. I also suffer from feeling guilty if I’m doing something other than writing. I like spending time with my family. Recently, my extended family purchased a resort in Arkansas overlooking Bull Shoals Lake. What does that mean? It means we have a 6-cabin place with a main house. My sister and her husband have a cabin, my mom has a cabin, my husband and I have the main house, and the other cabins will be open in the future for authors and readers. My sister and I came up with the name Literary Shores. Any spare time I have is spent making Literary Shores a destination place.
Where can readers find your work and support you best?:
You can always go to my website at http://jennastjames.com/. When you go there, you’ll be able to sign up for my newsletter and get a free box set of Grant & Serena’s story…a prequel to the A Witch in the Woods series, my best-selling series I write. I have an author page on Facebook http://facebook.com/jennastjamesauthor.
Instagram page https://www.instagram.com/authorjennastjames/.
TikTok account https://www.tiktok.com/@authorjennastjames.
Bookbub https://www.bookbub.com/profile/jenna-st-james.
As always, thank you all so much for stopping in and showing this week’s spotlight author some love! I do plan on making some exciting changes to the series that I would love to share with you. First off, to keep things running smoothly and to make each edition even more special, from now on each week I will be featuring not one, but two authors! I will also try to feature new releases for that week.
Until next time!