1. What is your name and where do you
call home?
My name is Jen Minkman and I am Dutch. I
live in the Hague, the Netherlands. I have also lived in Austria, Belgium and
the UK for my studies and internship.
2. What is the name of your most recent
book and if you had to sum it up in 20 or less words, what would you say?
My YA novel ‘Shadow of Time’ is about
true love, supernatural romance, Native American spirituality, and a little bit
of Navajo history.
3. Do you have plans for a new book? Is
this book part of a series?
‘Shadow of Time’ is not part of a
series. I already have a new book – the only thing I have to do is translate it
into English, because I write my books in Dutch. They are published by a small
press publishing house in Holland, and I self-publish them in English.
4. What or who inspired you to start
writing? And how long have you been writing?
I
was inspired to write because I have always loved reading books. All the books
I read as a child inspired me to come up with stories of my own. I wrote my
first ‘book’ when I was ten. It was a sci-fi story about four Earth girls
discovering a UFO in the woods. I taught myself how to use a type-writer so I
could make a proper book.
5. How did you come up with the cover?
Who designed the cover of your book?
I design all my book covers myself (even
with my traditional publisher in Holland, I can always make suggestions for
what photos or images to use for the book cover). For ‘Shadow of Time’, I
wanted to have an image that would convey spirituality and romance at the same
time, with a little bit of Native American influence thrown into the mix. That
is how I came up with a silhouette of a couple holding hands, standing in the
middle of a lightbeam in Antelope Canyon (situated in Navajo Nation).
6. Do you have a book trailer? And what
are your thoughts on book trailers?
Yes, I do. It can be found here:
I
love book trailers! I think it’s a brilliant idea to promote books by showing
the readers snippets of the storyline and find the right kind of images and
video clips, combined with the right kind of music, to convey the ‘mood’ of
your book. I make my own book trailers in two languages (Dutch and English).
7. Do you prefer e-books, paperbacks,
hardcovers or audiobooks?
I have never quite warmed up to
audiobooks, because I can’t focus long enough on someone telling me a story on
a CD. I get distracted easily. But e-books are wonderful! Ever since I bought
an e-reader, I haven’t had to take a suitcase full of books with me on holiday
anymore – I can take hundreds of books with me on one device. Having said that,
I do want a physical copy of a book if I really like it and am likely to
re-read it in the future. I prefer paperbacks because they are easier to take
with you (less heavy, smaller) when you’re on the tram, bus or tube!
8. Are you a self-published / Indie
author?
Yes and no. In my own country, I have a
publisher, but in the rest of the world, I am self-published. The chances of my
book ever being picked up for translation in a foreign language are so slim
that I decided to do it myself. Who knows – publishers from Spain, Germany or
France might contact me to make translations for their markets next!
9. Have you ever read a book more than
once? And if so what was it?
I have read tons of books more than
once. If a book is really good, you’ll come back to it more than once, because
the storyline and the characters are interesting enough to hold your interest,
even if you already know how it’s going to end. I regularly re-read books from
my childhood (Thea Beckman, author of ‘Crusade in Jeans’ is one of my
favourites) as well as paranormal romance books and contemporary romance books
when the romance is well-described and can make me swoon each and every time I
read the story.
10. What is your favourite film based on
a book?
My two favourite films would have to be ‘Lords
of the Rings’ (the entire trilogy) and ‘Twilight’ – in both cases because the
film really captured the mood of the books so well.
11. What is your favourite book genre at
the moment?
Paranormal romance and dystopian fiction
or romance. ‘Twilight’ drew me in, but I have discovered so many more good
books since then! Paranormal romance is also my favourite genre to write. I don’t
have any plans to write a dystopian novel yet, but I wouldn’t be surprised if I
came up with something in the future. ‘Fahrenheit 451’, ‘Day of the Triffids’
and ‘The Hunger Games’ feature in my top ten of favourite dystopian reads.
12. What books have made it onto your
wishlist recently? And why?
I am currently connecting with a lot of
authors from my home country who write in the same genre as I do (fortunately,
the YA paranormal and dystopian genre has finally taken off in Holland as
well!) and buying their work because I want to support fellow authors. It’s
almost Christmas, so I’m hoping for some new, good reads!
13. What book are you reading at the
moment? And in what format?
I am currently reading ‘Divergent’ in
paperback format.
14. If you could invite any four
celebrities (alive or dead) to your dinner party, who would you invite and why?
I would invite John Lennon, Yoko Ono,
David Bowie and Tori Amos. They are all musicians who have inspired me to
create my own music, my own fashion style, and to look differently at the
world. John and Yoko have always been my favourite romantic couple, moreover.
15. Do you have any advice for other
writers? And what’s the best advice that you have been given when it comes to
writing?
My advice would be: don’t think too much
about what to write, just WRITE! Make a rough outline of what you want to
include in your book, but don’t be afraid to deviate from it. And once you have
a draft, don’t hesitate to delete at least half of what you’ve written in order
to make it a better and more compelling read. The best advice I have been given
as a writer is undoubtedly ‘kill your darlings’. Not everything you write and
feels dear to you should end up in the final draft of your book. You have to
leave some of it to the reader’s imagination, too.
16. Do you have any hobbies that aren’t
related to reading & writing?
Yes, I love making music and I also love
drawing and painting. I play the piano, the guitar and the viola.
17. Where can your readers follow you?
Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/JenMinkmanYAParanormal
Goodreads author page: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5808037.Jen_Minkman
Twitter: @JenMinkman
Thankyou so much for taking the time to do this interview and allowing us a glimpse into your writing world!
Thanks for posting! :)
ReplyDeleteGreat interview!
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