Janet writes hilariously funny, feel-good (and hot and sexy) contemporary romances. If you're in need of cheering up, or just need a break from too many angst-ridden novels, I highly recommend you pick up one of Janet's wonderful books. Take it from me, (as someone who has once again stuffed her knee playing her first game back at netball and is almost finished this book) she will have you laughing out loud and forgetting your worries.
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| Self portrait of Janet - "Smurf Me" |
Can you tell us a bit about
yourself?
I’m a Scottish lass living
in New Zealand and loving it. My days are filled with caring for two adorable
tiny girls, one high-maintenance husband and more animals than one person can
cope with! I’ve lived and worked all over the world. One of my favourite countries
is Peru, where I spent a year. I’d live there again, only my Dutch husband
refuses to learn another language! I have a degree in fine art – I used to be
an installation artist – and a teacher’s qualification. I’ve taught every
level, from primary school to art college. I love art history and am probably
more than a little obsessed with Van Gogh. Apart from that, I eat too much
chocolate and can quote large chunks of dialogue from Buffy The Vampire Slayer!
When did you first consider
yourself a writer?
…when I started to get
letters from readers, telling me that they loved my work and wanted to read
more. I remember sitting in shock after reading a couple of these, thinking: people think I’m a real writer. It blew my
mind!
Aww...I love that! Makes it all worthwhile doesn't it to think others around the world are enjoying what you do. Do you remember what inspired
you to write your first book?
Bugsy Malone. I was eleven.
I wrote my own gangster novel. It was set in Chicago, a place that only existed
in my imagination. The irony was, there were actual real life gangsters in my
extended family and I had no idea as a child. I could have based it on them!
I love call stories. Can you
tell us about yours and your reaction?
I don’t have a call story. I
have ‘wait’ stories. My first romance sat with a publisher for two years while
they repeatedly told me that they loved it and they would make a decision soon.
I think I would still be waiting! That was after I had to part ways with my
agent. They refused to send my books to romance publishers. It’s been a rocky
few years! In the end, I decided to self-publish. I know self-publishing is a
risk, there are a lot of people out there who naturally assume that if you put
your own work out, you must be rubbish - or that no one wanted you! But I think
that in time, your work speaks for itself. And if readers like it, then that’s
all I care about! Well, that and the fact I don’t have to go back to teaching.
I’d rather boil my own eyeballs than teach again! J
After reading your work, I'm flabbergasted you haven't been snatched up, quick-smart! What drew you to write your
chosen genre?
I write what makes me happy.
I love writing about people in mad situations that they think are normal. I
love the humorous quirks of life, when people aren't trying to be funny but
they so are. I love it when sparks fly between a couple, but they really don’t
know what to do about it, or about each other. Mainly, I love a good story that
leaves me with a smile on my face. I hope that’s what I write.
Let me assure you - you certainly do! What’s the most challenging
part of the writing process for you?
Getting peace to write! I
have two tiny girls who think my office is a playroom. The youngest still
doesn't sleep through the night, which means I spend days as a zombie. I have a
husband who likes to chat – particularly every time I sit down at my computer. I
have animals that need to nest/ bed/ play in my room. It’s a mad house! I try
to write at night when everyone’s asleep, but even these days that’s hard. Roll
on term time!
Hehehe - I couldn't resist posting this photo which shows exactly that from your Facebook page. Hilarious! Which one of your books is
your ‘baby’ and why?
Laura’s Big Break. It was
the second romance I wrote and I feel like things came together for me in it
and I found my voice. I love that it has laugh-out-loud moments, but also
really serious sections. The only thing that bothers me about it is the length
– if I was writing it again, I’d make it longer! I was seriously thinking about
writing a follow up, just so I could see how Charlie and Laura were doing a few
years down the track. Now, that’s sad!
What are you working on
right now?
I’m working on a trio of
books set in Scotland. I made up a tiny town in the Highlands and I’m now
letting my characters run riot in it. These books are much longer than the last
three I wrote, so it’s taking a bit more working out. The first is called Lingerie Wars and tells the story of
Lake Benson, an ex-army guy who buys a lingerie shop to help his sister out.
He then takes over and does what he does best – wages war with the lingerie shop
over the road! It’s a case of last shop standing and the whole town get
involved. Unfortunately for Lake he knows nothing about lingerie – other than
how to remove it from a willing body. Meanwhile the owner of the rival shop is
an ex-lingerie model, who knows quite a bit about lingerie and about men! I’m
having a blast with it. Especially with Evil Betty, the 87 year old who
resembles a Hobbit.
I love Betty already :) Latest news?
I have a revamped website
that has a lot more content than the last one. There’s a resource
section for writers, a list of wonderful Kiwi authors and excerpts from my
books. It’s still under development but I’m hoping it will grow so full of
information that I’ll struggle to control it! You can find it at www.janetelizabethhenderson.com
Where can we find you and
your books?
I have a blog, that I mainly
use to humiliate myself by telling the world everything I do wrong! http://www.janetelizabethhenderson.blogspot.com
Thanks so much for stopping by Novel Natterings, Janet! You're just as much fun in person as your books suggest you would be. Good luck with all your future endeavours, I'm looking forward to reading more from you :)
