Welcome to WOLF NOTES, where interview questions stray from the rest of the pack. It’s nice to know the usual stuff like where an author gets their inspiration and why they write, but sometimes we need a little fun in our lives.
Jeanne Adams is the author of thrilling suspense, witchy paranormals, and intense urban fantasy. She’s also a happy fan of the macabre.
Wolf: If you could be any animal in the universe, what would it be and why?
Jeanne: So, if it’s a “real” creature, I’d be a Snow Leopard! Why? They’re totally gorgeous and powerful, have the most elegant fur you’ve ever seen, and are incredibly playful and fun. Kinda like me. Ha! If it can be a creature of imagination, I’m up for being a Dragon or a Gryphon!!
Wolf: All of them wonderful choices. The snow leopard sounds really cool. What is the strangest food you’ve ever eaten?
Jeanne: Gotta be Zebra or Gazelle at a restaurant called Carnivore in Kenya, West Africa.
Wolf: Sounds gamey. If you had to pick a weapon, what would it be and why?
Jeanne: I’m fond of a Bo – a 6’ staff – or a good rapier. Grins. A staff, if you learn to use one, is something that can be a “weapon of opportunity” in a situation where you might find yourself without a weapon. If you know how to use it, a broom, mop, or branch can save your life. A good rapier is light, strong, and, as a woman, be a weapon you can use without having the upper body strength a broad sword requires.
Wolf: I think a lot of folks don’t realize how deadly a staff can be. What is the meanest thing you’ve ever done to your characters?
Jeanne: Oh, I regularly put my characters through unmitigated hell, so that’s a tough question. I’ve beaten the devil out of them, tied them up and left them for dead, and dropped them in a canal with a head wound. But the worst was probably kidnapping my hero and heroine to a Central American country and dropping them in a hole and locking them in. Bwahahahah!
Wolf: That is evil. You’ve just been turned into a plant. Describe yourself.
Jeanne: I’m tall, and getting taller every year. My leaves are a glossy, dark green, and my flowers bloom in May and scent all the proms and graduations with a lemony scent. (I’m a Magnolia Grandiflora! Tree)
Wolf: Beautiful. Do you consider yourself a cat person, or a dog person?
Jeanne: While I love them both, and grew up with Siamese cats and a gorgeous black cat, my eldest son is allergic so we just have dogs – three of them! We have two fabulous pups from the rescue arm of a group called Labrador Retriever Club of the Potomac. They’re a bonded pair, which means they came as a matched set. Our other dog is a 3 year old Irish Water Spaniel. Irishers are considered a rare breed. I’m always showing pictures of them to people, kinda like you do with babies. Ha! People are always asking me if he’s a Labradoodle or a golden doodle…but he’s not!
Wolf: Ha. I have more pictures of my dog on my phone than my human children. While walking in the woods you come across…
Jeanne: A gold and red scaled dragon with a wicked thorn in his foot, which I, of course, remove, making him my forever friend!
Wolf: That’s a very good friend to have. If you could have a super power, what would it be?
Jeanne: My sons and I talk about this all the time! I think I’d like the power to teleport – what a joy that would be, right? If you’ve read Nalini Singh’s Psy-Changling series, you’ll know what I’m talking about…
Wolf: Beats walking. There is a door at the end of a dark, damp corridor. You hear rumbling. What do you do?
Jeanne: Oh, that’s just my friend who’s a giant space cat. She landed in my back yard after her fish-oil space engines malfunctioned. She’s been staying at my great aunt’s old house, keeping her company until we can find a source for enough fish-oil to get her going again. The rumbling? Oh, that’s just her purring. Rattles the whole house, right? Well, she’s pretty big, takes up the whole room down there. Oh, look at the time! She’s probably ready to be fed. Want to help?
Wolf: No thanks. Don’t want her to think wolf is on the menu. What five items would you want to have in a post-cataclysmic world?
Jeanne: Wow…that’s a tough one! Besides having my family and pets safe and with me, I guess there’s a few things we’d need. Here goes: 1) Keys to the biggest public library around wherever town I’m in. 2) My amazing multi-tool Swiss Army Knife or a Leatherman multitool. 3) A water purifier with boxes and boxes of filters. 4) Keys to the Costco warehouse and all the stuff in it! 5) A lifetime supply of antibiotics! (And tea!)
Wolf: Technically tea is a 6th item, but since you have access to a Costco, I’ll let that go. Which of your characters is your favorite?
Jeanne: That’s like asking which of your kids is your favorite! Ha! I love them all, but have to say that I have a special place for the characters in The Tentacle Affaire, my first Slip Traveler novel. (The second is due out in January 2020) That book was one of the first ideas I every wrote to completion, and while I had to rewrite it for publication, it’s near and dear to my heart.
Wolf: I’ll put it on my to-read list. What is your favorite body of water and why?
Jeanne: Oh! What a great question! I love Lake Lure in North Carolina. The mountains are so gorgeous and the lake is so amazing peaceful…yeah. Love that spot!
Wolf: I’ve never been there. What story are you working on now?
Jeanne: Thanks for asking! I’m finishing a novella called Lost Lives which will be out in an anthology called Who’s Your Daddy on Father’s Day 2019. Then this summer, the latest in the Outcast Station series I do with my friend Nancy Northcott. This will be a stand-alone prequel novel called Origins, an Outcast Station novel. I’m also part of a fabulous Kickstarter called Predators in Petticoats. I hope we’ll make the Kickstarter so I get to write the story! I’m also excited about a Christmas anthology called Christmas in the Castle that will be out at the end of the year!
Wolf: Wow. You’re busy. What do you like to do when you’re not writing?
Jeanne: All sorts of mischievous things! My eldest son is a Division I baseball player so we do a lot of baseball games. My youngest has been doing national-level Tae Kwon Do competitions, which is some travel and spectating as well. I’m training my Irish Water Spaniel for the show ring, so there’s daily grooming and work with him. I read alllll the time, because I’m a firm believer that if you don’t read and feed your mind, you won’t write well. Between all that and a genealogy hobby and writing all this stuff I’m committed to writing? Whew! I’m staying busy! Add in the wonderful reader and learning conventions I attend, and I’m happily jumping out of bed every morning to get started!
Wolf: Sounds like you don’t have much time to sleep. If this question were any question in the world, what question would you want it to be and how would you answer it?
Jeanne: Love this! Snork! Gotta say, one of my favorite questions is “What are you reading and what are you looking forward to?” So here’s how I answer it:
Nancy Northcott’s Herald of Day was great and I’m looking forward to book two! John Hartness’s latest Quincy Harker novel is great. I just started an Eric Asher novel, and am re-reading Faith Hunter’s Jane Yellowrock books, David Coe/DB Jackson’s Times’ Children was great, can’t wait for book two! Gail Z, Martin’s Deadly Curiosities series is one of my fave and I’m jonesing for Ilona Andrews’ next installment in her Innkeeper and Sapphire Flames series. Just read Sarah Beth Durst’s Queen Of Blood. Soooo good! Also got Seanan McQuire’s Discount Armageddon and am loving that and am catching up with Patricia Briggs’s Mercy Thompson series.
What about you? What are YOU reading?
Wolf: Recent reads include Just A Drop In The Cup, by Diane Arrelle, Navigating the Stars by Maria V. Snyder. Can’t wait for the next in the series. Just finished The Weird Wild West anthology. Just started Deadly Curiosities. Loved Gail’s other stories. There are others as well, but there is only so much room here.
What’s everyone else reading?
Don’t forget to catch up with Jeanna Adams at these sites:
Twitter @JeanneAdams
Instagram @JPAGryphon
Facebook at Jeanne Adams Author
Pinterest at Jeanne Adams
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