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Firstly, tell me about your newest book release.
Lancashire
Legacy is my second
Australian/Lancashire novel, following Lancashire Lass - and the
latter is my best-selling book of all, but Lancashire Legacy has
made an equally good start, going into reprint before it even
hit the shops. It’s the story of Cathie, the daughter of the
heroine of my first Aussie tale, but you don’t need to have
read Liza’s story to read Cathie’s. It’s set in 1876 and
is a complex, exciting story that moves from Western Australia
to Lancashire and back again. I had trouble finding a good name
for the hero, then I dreamed he walked out of the mist, all 6
feet 4 inches of him, glared at me and said in a strong Scottish
accent, “Ma name’s Magnus Hamilton, woman!” And it was a
perfect name.
One critic said of the book:
I don't enjoy sagas but Anna Jacobs is
exceptional. Where the average saga is depressing, this is
exciting - more akin to E.V.Thompson or Victoria Holt. Anna
knows Lancashire and the Australian outback very well: it
shows in vivid descriptions, use of language and everyday
lives of the characters.
I was swept along by the sheer torrent of
adventures, scheming relations and the sins of the fathers
crashing down on the head of the innocent but lively Cathie
and her hapless but much-married mother. (Historical Novels
REVIEW No 16, Winter 2001)
How many books have you written?
Lancashire
Legacy is my 21st
novel, though I’ve written about 30 full novels and several
fragments. 21 are published and three others are in the
publisher’s pipeline, with one of them Down Weavers
Lane,
coming out in April in hardback. Of the earlier novels, one isn’t
publishable and the others are waiting for a good polishing and
their day in the sun, but they’re not historical sagas so won’t
fit with my current publishers. I have a busy writing schedule
with two books 135,000 words long per year to produce for my
current six-book contract with my main publisher, Hodder &
Stoughton UK, and possibly one shorter historical romance for
Severn House.
Are you writing under your own name or a
pseudonym?
I write under various pseudonyms, but mainly
as Anna Jacobs. I used to write SF/F as Shannah Jay, and I have
a few books published as Sherry-Anne Jacobs, including two
how-to books about writing.
How long were you writing before being
published?
Ten years. There’s a lot to learn and there
weren’t such good support groups in those days eg the Romance
Writers of Australia.
How long have you been writing since you have
been published?
Ten years in November 2002.
Since your acceptance for publication, how has
writing changed for you?
It’s become a full-time occupation - very
full-time as I usually work ten-hour days. This is not all
writing because there are also lots of related jobs, eg going
through the editing and proof reading on each book, doing all
sorts of business tasks for my publisher and agent, answering
readers’ letters and emails . . . I keep busy!
What were the most important things you
learned in your early years of writing?
Perseverance and ‘polishing makes
publishable’ ie not to send out manuscripts too soon, but to
work them up to a professional standard, a process I share in my
how-to book Plotting and Editing.
How did your first sale come about? How did
you feel hearing those magic words?
I was a finalist in a big national
competition. I had a phone call at work to say I was one of the
three finalists and they wanted to fly me to Melbourne for the
presentations. Since I knew this meant publication, I had tears
of joy trickling down my cheeks - which worried my colleagues in
the office till I was able to explain. Well, after ten years of
trying, I was very emotional. Oh, and I came second, by the way,
winning a $10,000 prize and publication for my first novel, a
regency romance.
What happened to those rejected manuscripts?
Some of them have been reworked and sold, and
are now in print eg Salem Street, Jessie, Change
of Season, A Forbidden Embrace, Replenish the
Earth. Some are still waiting.
Is your writing still evolving? Does it get
any easier?
Yes, I write very differently now. I couldn’t
have planned a plot in advance when I first started. Now, I can’t
work without a five-page summary of the plot - though the second
half of this always changes somewhat. And I’m much more aware
of the details of my craft, so polishing is a quicker process,
though I still like to set the manuscript aside for a while
before doing the final polish to get a fresh view of it.
Is writing your full-time job?
More than full-time - an absolute obsession. I
even dream new plots. I work ten-hour days usually six days a
week, and I love it as I never loved any of my other jobs.
How long does it take you to write a new
story, idea conception to finish?
About five months of actual writing time now -
but it took about two years when I first started. However the
plots have often been ‘simmering’ on the back burner of my
brain for years or months before that. I get ideas out of the
blue and write them down, then start ‘seeing’ scenes from
that story - sometimes at inconvenient times, eg when I’m deep
in another book or trying to sleep.
Who have been your influences?
Georgette Heyer. I still love her books and my
first book was an imitation of hers. Jane Austen, Maeve Binchy,
Rosamund Pilcher, LaVyrle Spencer, CJ Cherryh, and latterly
Barbara Delinsky. Plus countless other writers, too numerous to
mention.
Tell me about when you held your first book in
your hands. How did it feel to see that first cover?
My first book was a French textbook, two
decades before my first novel was published. For each of them my
reaction was the same. I cuddled it with tears of joy in my
eyes.
Are you a reader? Tell us who you enjoy
reading?
Of course I’m a reader. Most writers are. I
read about three novels a week, including the authors mentioned
above. I try to read more widely these days, to learn from other
top writers. I’m currently reading Melvyn Bragg’s
semi-autobiographical novel A Son of War, which is a mirror of
my own life in a nearby part of England, as well as being simple
but excellent writing. I like most of the non-horror genres,
from category romance to modern relationships novels and also
SF/F. And I love reading history books for research as well as
novels - well, you’d have to, wouldn’t you, if you were a
historical novelist?
What are your other “hobbies”?
Chatting to my husband of many years, watching
TV, going to the theatre, spending time with friends. I don’t
have much time for hobbies now, and things like cross-stitch
embroidery have fallen by the wayside.
Tell me about a typical day in your writing
life ?
Rise at 5.30am, answer emails, play cards on
computer, start writing. Break regularly to move my body. Fit in
household tasks when I have to - I’m not very domesticated. Do
business ‘stuff’ towards end of day, when I’m too tired to
be creative. Do exercising in swimming pool three times a week.
Mostly, I write, write and write some more. They tell me I’m
prolific. Well, anyone would be who spent as much time writing
as I do!
What are your ambitions in your future
writing?
To improve and write better books and keep my
readers happy. I love the way there’s always room to do better
in writing. I have a self-development programme worked out. I
want to get to the top of the bestseller lists - I’m only
hitting the lower reaches so far.
Tell me about your covers. Which is your
favourite?
Since
Jessie, a wonderful artist called Nigel
Chamberlain has done the covers for my Hodder & Stoughton
books. I love the ones for Our Lizzie, Our Polly and
Our Eva so
much I’ve bought the artwork for them and it hangs on our
dining room wall. There’s a page on my web page where all the
covers are shown. If you go to www.annajacobs.com
and click on Covers, you’ll see them all.
Did you read the book when your author copies
arrived?
No, I never re-read my books, except snippets
to check facts when I’m writing a sequel. By the time you’ve
spent several months on a book, then edited it, then proof read
it, you know it rather too well to want to read it again.
Besides, by then I’m working on a new book.
Where do you get your ideas?
From everywhere. They can hit me at the
shopping centre, or when I’m lying in bed, half-asleep. They
often come from the historical non-fiction books I read for
research. I think ‘What if a woman was in this situation . . .’
and away I go. The imagination is a muscle, I think. The more
you use it the stronger it grows.
What are you working on now?
A
Pennyworth of Sunshine, my third
Lancashire/Australian novel, set in 1859 - 64. It’s a tale of
an Irish servant girl (and that’s all I’m telling about her
at this stage) and the hero is Mark Gibson, the member of the
Gibson family who ran away to Australia. Now we find out what
happens to him!
To what do you contribute your success?
Very hard work and a deep and abiding love of
writing.
When did you first realise you wanted to
write?
When I was 10 and figured out someone had to
write the books I loved to read.
How did you hone your craft?
By ten years of hard work writing and
re-writing once I’d settled seriously into writing novels - I
had to do that before work, after work, at weekends. Good thing
I have a lovely supportive family, eh?
Was there a time you thought you’d never get
published?
I was already published with non-fiction when
I started writing novels and somehow I always believed that if I
worked hard enough and wrote well enough I’d get my novels
published, too.
What are your other writing projects?
I’ve written two how-to books about writing
An Introduction to Romance Writing and Plotting and
Editing. My
agent says the latter explains all he’d like to say to the
unpublished writers who contact him and have talent but are not
‘there’ yet. I’ve also had many short stories published,
mainly romances in women’s magazines, but also children’s
SF/F in anthologies. Plus 20 poems published. Oh, and I’ve
written a lot of articles about writing. I have some up on my
web site at www.annajacobs.com and regularly add
others.
Can you single out your
biggest thrill as a writer?
No, I love it all - except
proof reading!
What is your favourite thing
about being a romance writer? Least favourite?
The thing I like most is the warmth of emotion
in the books - and the friendliness of other romance writers. I
dislike intensely the silly, scornful attitude some people have
towards romances - usually without having read any, or maybe
having read one - which makes them real experts! They have the
same attitude towards historical sagas, which is my main area of
writing now, though I do write ‘pure’ historical romances as
well for Severn House. Why can’t people just value diversity
in writing?
What aspects of RWAustralia
have helped your development as a writer?
Helping me to meet and network with other
writers. Writing is a lonely trade, but it’s a lot better
since the Internet. Promoting published members’ books by the
Romantic Book of the Year competition is helpful, too. When one
is published what one needs is PR, PR and more PR.
Tell us a little about the
author/editor relationship - how do you deal with your editor?
I’ve had a variety of editors for other
publishers, but with my main publisher, Hodder & Stoughton
UK, I’ve had the same editor from the beginning, during which
time she’s gone from Editor, to Senior Editor, to Editorial
Director, to Publishing Director. Thankfully she still manages
the production of my books personally. She’s a lovely person
and very shrewd, so that I really value her input into my books.
Nowadays I bounce a one-paragraph idea off her before I begin
any story, then later I bounce the whole plot concept off her by
way of a five-page synopsis. When she edits my books, she sends
me her ‘thoughts’ and I incorporate them into the copy
editing process, so we don’t do a separate story-line edit. I
have lunch with her when I go over to England and we have a good
old natter about books and writing. She’s good value.
How do you cope with the pressure of having
to produce at least two novels a year?
I just set to and do it. I’m a quick writer
and a hard worker. I’ve found in all aspects of life, not just
writing, that if you’re overwhelmed by work, the best thing to
do is dive in and get rid of some of the ‘burden’. Though
writing isn’t a burden to me. I love it. And if I only wanted
to write one novel a year, I could. I’ve chosen to write two.
You see, I have all these stories begging to be written, nagging
me in the middle of the night . . .
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Lancashire
Legacy