Today on My Overstuffed Bookshelf, I have the pleasure of introducing you to another new-to-me author. Please welcome Jessica McHugh to the blog and let’s get started.
To start off, welcome and can you tell the readers a little about yourself?
Thank you so very much for having me, Amy. I’m a 27 year old author of (mostly) speculative fiction, and I live in Maryland with my super fantastic husband Dave and a meatball of a cat named Tyler. When I’m not at my day job, you can find me either scrawling away in a notebook or thinking about what I’ll be scrawling in my notebook next. Yes, my handwriting can only be described as “scrawling” and that’s the way I like it. If no one but me can read it, no one can steal my ideas. 😉 For more information, feel free to visit my website:
www.JessicaMcHughBooks.com or my Offical Facebook Fan Page:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jessica-McHugh/95113167381.
Can you tell us a little about your upcoming or latest release?
My latest release was my dystopian novel “From the Herald’s Wearied Eye” published by Reliquary Press in March 2010. It’s basically about a vigilante named Shal who wants nothing more than to overthrow the tyrannical Council that has siezed control of the world and to kill the man running the show…who also happens to be her stepfather. The book has three different parts: the first follows Shal, the second follows a soldier in her army named Raoul, and the third focuses on the Capesman: an immortal being with a communal mind who accidentally destroyed God and Heaven. It’s not exactly a story about sunshine and rainbows, but very few of my stories are.
I am a fly on your wall. What would I report back to my master of the daily grind of Jessica?
You’d probably have an extensive knowledge of the plotlines for Showtime’s The Tudors. What plays on my TV in my Writing Hut usually relates to what I’m currently writing, and as I’m currently writing a historical fiction about Christopher Marlowe, I’ve been playing a lot of The Tudors in the background just to keep me in the proper mindset.
When you are not writing, what kind of books do you like to read? Do you have any favorite authors, that are must reads?
I wish I had more time to read, but I’m always writing and reading my own stories. Plus, I get nervous that another author’s style is going to unconsciously bleed into mine. It happened several years ago when I was reading “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” by Douglas Adams who, as many of you know, has a very distinctive and humorous style. Needless to say, a lot of what I’d written of “The Tales of Dominhydor” had to be rewritten after it took a sudden turn towards dry wit. As far as favorite authors, Roald Dahl is number one. I love his children’s books, but most of all, I love his stories of the macabre. My Uncle Oswald is also a particularly interesting book. I’m also a huge fan of Stephen King and Bret Easton Ellis.
What are 3 things that are “must haves” for you when you sit down to write a new book?
If its a brand spanking new story, I’ll probably have a glass of wine or beer sitting right next to me. I like a little liquid encouragement now and then, and the beginning of a story is when I like it most. It depends on what kind of story it is, but usually I’ll have a whole bunch of research spread out too, along with notes and outlines and little musings I’ve written down while brainstorming. I like to plan things out, but not too much. I like having the skeleton of a story and being able to flesh it out as I go. And for a third thing…I don’t know. A turkey sandwich. Not really, but I’d sort of like a turkey sandwich right now, so let’s go with that.
Do you have a blog or website that your readers can keep up with you and your books?
I have all kinds of stuff. My website is
http://www.JessicaMcHughBooks.com where you can read my blog, see what books I’ve released, what’s due to be released soon, and the stories I’m currently writing and editing. My Official Facebook Page at
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jessica-McHugh/95113167381 is frequently updated with new quotes, excerpts, and links to places where you can buy my books, and I also have a Twitter account at
http://twitter.com/theJessMcHugh.
Now for some fun stuff:
1. What came first–the chicken or the egg? I changed my mind about the turkey sandwich. I’d like a chicken sandwich with a side of egg salad. Wait, what was the question?
2. Why doesn’t glue stick to the inside of the bottle? I don’t know, but it sure does stick to the roof of your mouth…..not that I’d know….
3. If you choke a Smurf, what color do they turn? Ask a Snork; they’re probably the ones doing the choking.
4. If Jimmy cracks corn and no one cares, why is there a song about him? Yes, definitely a chicken sandwich with egg salad….and a side of corn.
Favorite perfume: Versace Red Jeans
Favorite TV show: LOST
Favorite Movie: Fantastic Mr. Fox
Favorite Drink: White Russian
Favorite Dessert: Skyscraper Devil’s Food Cheesecake
Thank you so much, Amy! That was really fun!!
Thank you Jessica for stopping by! It was a lot of fun to interview you! I loved your answers!
