| Interview
with Jinx Schwartz
Most
of the authors that I have interviewed in these columns
are writers that I have met at conferences, presentations,
writer’s groups, or have worked with on some project.
Up until now they’ve all been people who I’ve
met personally and have had some kind of working or
social relationship with.
But
it’s been different with Jinx. I first encountered
her through social media. I had heard her name mentioned
a time or two by other authors so I began reading the
things she posted on the internet. I couldn’t
help but notice that she lives a very interesting life
and soon recognized that our thoughts were often parallel
and so the interest deepened. Finally I picked up one
of her books. A Hetta Coffey mystery titled, Just
Needs Killin’ and will be posting a review
of it here next month.
I
asked her for an interview and she generously accepted.
Dennis:
Your life looks like it’s been an ongoing adventure.
Have your experiences inspired your writing?
Jinx:
Without a doubt. I was a construction brat who attended
seven schools in twelve years in places like Haiti,
Thailand, and other exotic locations. Originally from
Texas, I followed my dad into the construction/engineering
field. I then lived and worked in several countries
before, at the tender age of 45, meeting and marrying
the love of my life.
Being
single all those years gave me plenty of fodder for
the Hetta Coffey series.
Dennis:
How long have you been writing?
Jinx:
I never started writing anything at all until about
twenty years ago, when we cut the lines and took our
boat to Mexico. We were supposed to go on a three month
tour to Cabo San Lucas, but much like Gilligan’s
three hour tour, we never returned.
Cruising
the Sea of Cortez without television, telephone, or
the like gave me time to un-box a pile of genealogical
material passed to me by a cousin. I knew I was ninth
generation Texan but it wasn’t until I spent a
couple of years researching the family during summers
in Texas that I decided I had a story to tell. Thus
my first book, The Texicans, an epic historical
novel covering the thirty years leading up to the fall
of the Alamo. I will probably never do that again!
Dennis:
Is your Hetta Coffey series going to be the backbone
of your career?
Jinx:
Looks like it. I love writing the series and am working
on book number seven My career has really just started
taking off thanks to Hetta. And if it ain’t broke,
don’t fix it.
Dennis:
Is there a particular author who may have influenced
your writing?
Jinx:
Larry McMurtry because he has captured a particular
brand of Texas humor, Nelson DeMille because of his
dry wit and great stories.
Dennis:
Are you a structured writer who works from an outline
or are you the stream of consciousness type?
Jinx:
Definitely a pantser. I choose a setting and let Hetta
drag me by the seat of my pants into a story, occasionally
writing myself off into a ditch. I dust myself off and
start over but that’s part of the adventure.
Dennis:
I’ve noticed that you’ve joined the ranks
of independently published authors. Can you tell us
about that?
Jinx:
I have been self published, small publisher published,
and then as an indie (which is new speak for self published).
My small publisher was difficult to work with, didn’t
even want to deal with Amazon, and certainly not with
Kindle. I talked her into making me her first author
in a Kindle format. After a few months I hadn’t
received one single commission from Amazon (and I knew
for a fact that I had sales because I bought one) and
asked her about it. Her answer? She hated Amazon. They
had made deposits into her account and didn’t
say who they were for. Huh?
That
was three years ago and now I am very pleased with my
Kindle Direct Publishing career and have hooked my book
future to their star.
Dennis:
What do you do when you’re not writing?
Jinx:
Uh, when would that be? Just kidding. I market. A lot.
Using social media I have given away (via Kindle Select)
well over a half-million books and have garnered a lot
of readers. When I’m not writing or marketing
I enjoy being on the boat, walking, playing with the
ham radio. And reading, lots of reading.
By
the way, if anyone reading this interview wants to know
when I’ll have free books or a new book, they
can sign up for a newsletter on my website. I never
use this newsletter to send out pictures of my dog.
Honest.
www.jinxschwartz.com
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