Today, Author J.C. Plaza has joined us to discuss her writing process. Please check out the interview below:
K.W. – Hello, and thank you for joining us today. Please go ahead and share your story and tell us a little about yourself.
J.C. Plaza – As a young child, I told tales of creatures living beneath the floorboards to my pet mice, while teaching my Chihuahua Spanish. Later, I earned a BS in Clarinet Performance and an MBA. I also married my high school sweetheart, birthed two enchanting children, and moved to the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania where I started my doctoral adventures, leading to an early retirement from my music career.
After hanging up my clarinet, I kept my black velvet dresses and turned them into the inspiration for my rekindled passion, fantasy storytelling. I earned my MBA and embarked on my doctoral journey in learning management, a field focused on teaching professional skills to adult learners. Working with high-profile clients, I realized publishing was just the beginning. I spent countless hours prior to my novel’s release researching marketing and personal branding. Combining my marketing knowledge, performance skills, and writing prowess, I released my first novel, The Legend of Lake Sangre: Summer’s Reign, and my own marketing campaign, adding social media content creation to my private client services through my LLC.
As a homeschooling mom, I wrote books to aid my, now adult, children in reading. Less than a year after my novel’s launch, Smart Little Mouse was released as an early reader, followed by You’re an Author! The Art of Crafting You, and I finalized the edits to the second book in the Legend of Lake Sangre series—Summer’s Plight.
Now, I spend my time giving life to dreams because fantasies are meant to be shared.
K.W. – Can you tell us about any notable works or collaborations?
J.C. Plaza – Author of The Legend of Lake Sangre Summer’s Reign, You’re an Author! The art of crafting you, and Smart Little Mouse a #2 bestseller on Amazon. I work in collaboration with Mark Victor Hansen Libraries, and am on the committee for Authorfest in Honesdale, PA, where we have such notable authors as Bob Eckstein and Lyndsay Barett George. I oversee the regional author event for Milford Readers and Writers Festival in Milford, PA where we have globally recognized award winning authors on our stage and in our venues every September for the last ten years. I collaborated with the NY Times bestselling author Bob Eckstein for a panel on branding and marketing during last year’s festival and am hosting a panel this year with award winning author Keith Gilman, and author Patrick Field.
K.W. – When did your love of writing first begin?
J.C. Plaza – I first became interested in fantasy through nursery rhymes and fables. One of the first books that had me wanting more was The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Andersen. My mother read it to me when I was in elementary school. Not long after that, she ordered an encyclopedia set that had an unexplained mysteries volume. We would read them together and try to solve them. Later, in middle school, Greek mythology captured my interest. By the time I was in high school, I was going to the library to read fantasy books and scour the reference section for anything that had to do with myths and magic.
K.W. – What inspires your writing process?
J.C. Plaza – Cryptozoology and people. I love learning about different cultures, beliefs, and the creatures of folklore around the world. It’s how the Crocottas from antiquity (a wolf/dog hybrid) ended up in upstate New York in The Legend of Lake Sangre Summer’s Reign.
K.W. – Can you describe what your writing process looks like?
J.C. Plaza – When I start a project, I sketch an outline of what I want. I start with introducing the characters, building a small backstory, and then bringing in the inciting incident that causes the characters to go through the actions that build into the climax which is the direction change. The book’s resolution is always grandiose even if it isn’t a happy ending.
K.W. – What is your approach to writing a new book?
J.C. Plaza – I consider the setting, and research for countless hours in print, online, and through interviews with people in positions that correlate with those I plan to explore. I let the characters and storyline flow but stick to an outline that I add to as the projects unfold. I visit the places I can and imagine what I don’t know. I take note of smells, colors, lighting, people and their mannerisms. I put myself into the story before I begin.
K.W. – Is there anyone in particular who has influenced you the most?
J.C. Plaza – I’d say my biggest influences are my publishing team both as a ghostwriter and as an author. My publisher is an amazing woman with award winning talent. She’s an artist as well. The other is my senior editor. We have been working together for 8 years. She keeps me busy and is also someone who has worn many hats. These women are a daily inspiration with decades of experiences.
K.W. – How do you stay inspired and creative?
J.C. Plaza – I am always inspired. I write every day. I read through cryptozoology encyclopedias, the Bestiary, and study languages, art, music, and marketing. I study psychology and adult learning which enables me to work with a variety of clients.
K.W. – What are some common challenges you face?
J.C. Plaza – The biggest challenges are setting up interviews. Time is precious to my clients and myself. We can go for months without speaking about a project because of their work schedules.
K.W. – How do you overcome these challenges?
J.C. Plaza – I keep in contact with my clients through email or text. A chapter or scene can get approval or even a section of a book. It takes time so I usually have five or six projects going at any given time, excluding my own. Currently I have 2 books that I am editing when not ghostwriting. They should be out this fall.
K.W. – How has the industry changed since you started?
J.C. Plaza – There are a lot more indie authors. This has raised the desire to write and be creative on a global scale. It is a blessing because people have stories to tell and are finding ways to share them.
K.W. – What trends do you see emerging?
J.C. Plaza – People are becoming arc readers and beta readers to gain book related bonds with like-minded individuals. There are book groups for every subgenre from poetic memoir to shifter romance.
K.W. – What advice would you give to other authors?
J.C. Plaza – Write. Write the first, middle, or last chapter. Read it and dream about it. When you think you hit a wall, put yourself in the characters’ shoes. Each one, whether they are primary or secondary, needs a purpose. They all have to live on the pages you create. The best way to do that is to write how you would feel if you were in that moment. Don’t forget to add the five senses.
K.W. – What is your favorite character you’ve written and why?
J.C. Plaza – I’d say Summer Candella in the Legend of Lake Sangre series is my favorite character because she goes through great changes, mentally and emotionally. She is complex and is like a friend who sits on your couch with a cup of tea, rambling on about what she should have done or thinks should be. The thoughts are real as they came from my experiences with other people. She is very real in an unreal situation.
K.W. – Are there any upcoming projects you’re excited about?
J.C. Plaza – Yes. I have my second children’s book coming out this fall as well as the sequel to the Legend of Lake Sangre Summer’s Reign. The title is Summer’s Plight. We learn more about Summer’s heritage and the preternatural sanctuary of Mount Mort.
K.W. – What are your goals for the future?
J.C. Plaza – My goal is to see all eight books to the series published and to have the first in a new series out in 2026. I will continue to ghostwrite, coach, and teach master classes to help as many people as I am able to achieve their goals of seeing their books in print or online.
