Get to know Jodi…

Jodi Meadows lives and writes in the Shenandoah Valley, Virginia, with her husband, and an alarming number of ferrets. She is a confessed book addict, and has wanted to be a writer ever since she decided against becoming an astronaut. Visit her site here. 

Let the conversation begin!

Have you ever had something happen to you that you thought was bad but it turned out to be for the best? 

Absolutely. Before I wrote and sold INCARNATE, I went through years of writing, rejection, and depression. I was ready to quit writing for publication because it seemed no one would ever love my books the same way I do. It was an awful period in my writing life.

But when I look back at that, I’m grateful. It made me very appreciative for what I have now  a great agent, a great editor, and a great publishing house. Not to mention amazing fans who seem to love my book as much as I do. 

If I’d succeeded when I’d first started, I wouldn’t appreciate it like I do now. And at that point, I was writing the wrong kind of story; I hadn’t yet discovered my utter love of young adult books. If I’d succeeded then, I wouldn’t have debuted with INCARNATE, and my debut certainly wouldn’t be as strong as it is. 

If you could throw any kind of party, what would it be like? 

Masquerade, of course! I’ve always wanted to go to a masquerade, though if I had to make my own costume, like the people in Range, I’d probably end up going as a big yarn tangle. 

If you could choose to stay a certain age forever, what age would it be? 

I used to say I’d like to stop aging at 25 and then just celebrate anniversaries of my 25th birthday. It seemed like a good age. Old enough to know better. Still young, though. But now, I don’t know. Some great things have happened since I passed up 25. 

Would you rather publish a string of mainstream books or one classic? 

Yikes. Um. A string of mainstream, I guess? Because I have a lot of ideas and I’d hate for only one story to get published. 

If you won the lottery, what is the first thing you would do? 

I’d buy a new bookcase! 

Do you begin with character or plot? 

Usually I begin with a character in a situation and the plot develops around that. 

Where do you get your ideas? 

I steal them from the minds of people in the grocery store. 

What advice would you give to new writers? 

Read a lot. Write a lot. Don’t give up.

I know that’s pretty standard advice, but it’s the best there is. If you don’t read, you don’t know what’s out there. If you don’t write, you don’t get practice and you don’t improve. If you give up, you’ve taken away your chance to succeed. 

What is the best writing advice you’ve ever received? 

When a friend told me to stop trying to write like someone else and start writing like myself, in my own voice. 

Do you let anyone read your work-in-progress? Or do you keep it a secret? 

I have a friend who reads as I write. She mostly cheers me on and brainstorms with me when I need to talk out a plot problem.