My guest today is J. A. Dege, author of the “Souls Adrift” series.
I know Jennifer from social media, where she is outstanding as a warm and supportive member of the online author community. Our conversation, conducted via email, has been lightly edited for flow.
Jennifer Dege, thanks very much for joining me today, it’s a pleasure to have you here.
“It’s an honor to be here!”
So I see from your Amazon bio that you have traveled the country in a van, going to dog shows. How long ago was this? Are you still showing dogs? Has Emma the Poodle won any awards?
“I started showing dogs, primarily Poodles, as a teen and continued throughout getting a teaching degree at St.Cloud State University. It morphed into a career and a gypsy-lifestyle on the road. I retired from showing dogs professionally in December 2016 when I trashed my left knee. I now own and operate a grooming salon and small boarding kennel. No longer on the road 49 out of 52 weekends, I finally found time to write something other than poetry. And yes, Emma is an AKC Champion and hopefully pregnant with her first litter at this time. Stay tuned!”
Have your travel experiences and the people you met on the dog show circuit inspired your writing projects?
“I’ve been writing stories since high school, and I always wrote when on the road, mostly poetry. I would say some of my characters grew from people I’ve met. Poodle People in particular can see definite influences in place names and some minor character’s names. All the time I spent driving coast-to-coast, there were stories playing in my head, like movies yet to be written.”
Tell us about your writing process. Do you usually begin with story, or with characters?
“My stories begin with characters and an “issue”. One story, now in final draft, (WE NEED TO TALK), began as a poem and simply exploded. Overall, I would say my stories are driven by strong characters.”
How detailed are your outlines?
“Oddly enough, the only story that I fully outlined before writing ended up being a Novella (WILL YOU KNOW MY NAME?). It’s fine as it is but this made me leery of outlining to such an extent again. Instead, I establish a timeline (which actually works similarly) and complete character arcs before I’m beyond 5K words. I then know where the story Must go, but sometimes the characters take over the script (and the pace) and I simply let them. I write as an escape; it’s an exercise of fun, and I hope that is reflected in each story.”
How do you handle editing?
“I love editing as much if not more than writing. I often edit as I write, review previous chapters, adding and subtracting. My first drafts are written pen on paper, so the first edit occurs when that gets inputted to a Word document.”
When did you start writing “Souls Adrift”? Do you have any earlier writings that you might release eventually?
“WILL YOU KNOW MY NAME interrupted another novel. I wrote it start to finish in about 3 weeks. The story was prompted by the death of my father. It was therapeutic. The interrupted novel – TAPESTRY – is in final draft now. TAPESTRY is a fantasy revolving around issues of eugenics, colonialism, Telepaths and Empaths, pawns and power, and redefining love.”
I’m really sorry to hear about your father. I admire your approach, viewing writing as a therapeutic process.
What concept or unifying theme ties the books of the “Souls Adrift” series together?
“The Souls Adrift series center around humans facing social/moral/self-actualization issues. The human characters solve the problems they face in each volume. The concept of some Universal entity constructing the worlds proves just as human as the rest of us. The collective of souls – the Caretaker’s source of power (or strength, if you will) – is really just Us. We are all in this together and it’s up to us to make the world we live on the best it can be.”
Creative inspirations are a topic of great interest to me. I have a whole series of blog posts talking about the inspirations for some of my favorite creative works. I see in the description for the first book of your Souls Adrift series that it’s set in the present, as a pandemic rages, but it’s based on a sort of alternate reality concept. Had you already written much of the book before the Covid-19 pandemic broke out? What gave you the idea?
“WYKMN was written in July, 2018. It was set in July, 2020, which is why I chose to release it in June 2020. Absolutely terrifying watching a pandemic unfold in real life, but interesting observing how it spread starting in December, 2019. In WYKMN, souls were giving up on a too-crowded Earth, (a pandemic of suicides). During 2018 there was a rash of suicides in the news, both celebrity and non, people just giving up on life. I’ve long felt that Earth was overpopulated…”
Wow, your book predicted the pandemic. That’s eerily prescient!
So, what gave you the idea for Joshua the Caretaker? Would it be fair to describe him as a modern reimagining of the character of Jesus?
“Obviously, there’s a strong Star Trek influence in this series, particularly the Q continuum and the holodeck. Why not one entity creating worlds, life forms, social constructs, and of course, with programming there are bound to be glitches… possibly even some hackers and ransomware… but I digress into Volume 4 (FIRE ANGEL 2022?). I’ve taken some huge liberties with my Christian background. The Souls Adrift series isn’t meant to be irreverent, rather just another possible explanation of the universe and its creation. In the first book of the series, the Caretaker, Joshua, truly cares about the souls entrusted to him. Did not Jesus also care?”
Well said.
Is the character of Julia Altieri at all semiautobiographical?
“Julia is not me, but there are parts of me in her character. My dad was an excellent cook, and my mother really does not like cooking. Grandpa did believe ice cream was good for the soul. Julia and I do live in Minnesota…”
I like that.
I’m curious because I can see that the books in the “Souls Adrift” series were all released just a few weeks apart from each other; but these are full-length books, so I’m making the assumption that you must have had all four books written before the release of the first one. What made you decide to release the books in the series so close together, and would you say it was a successful marketing strategy?
“Volumes 2 and 3 came together very quickly on the heels of Volume 1. Both were written mid-2018 to mid-2019. I queried all 3 books and got nowhere. Because Volume 1 was set in July, 2020, I felt it needed to be released, rather than wait for an agent to pick it up. I launched it in June, 2020, then followed with 2 and 3 about 3 weeks apart. These were my first self-published novels. I had no idea what I was doing but had support and tech help (Thank you again, Adam Eccles!) The early readers of Volume 1 dove into the second and third books as soon as they came out. Overall, sales reflect all 3 books are selling evenly, with Volume 1 selling a few more copies. Hindsight is 2020. I wish I had separated them by a few more months. I had quality issues I had to fix after they were released, which if I had taken more time, no one would have seen an issue I was less than proud of. I will go a bit slower releasing the fourth book in the series.”
Best of luck with your upcoming book release!
So I was confused at first, I honestly didn’t realize at one point that I was connected to you on both Twitter and Instagram. I assume that you created your Twitter account under the name Jaedyn Wynde because you were considering publishing your books under a pen name. I have considered using a pen name, too, but like you I ended up publishing under my own name. What was the deciding factor for you, when you decided to publish under your own name?
“Ah, Jaedyn Wynde is my Main Character in TAPESTRY. I have a Twitter account under my real name but early on had a stalker give me a bit of a scare. Hence using Jaedyn as a cover. You will all get to meet her soon. I was cautioned not to use my real name for the Souls Adrift series as some thought it a bit heretical. But I already had an audience and name recognition before publishing a single book.”
That sounds alarming, but I’m glad you’ve stuck with us!
Can you tell us anything about what you’re working on currently?
“TAPESTRY – an epic fantasy in final editing. WE NEED TO TALK – a 21st Century Cinderella Story in final editing. WATCH OUT ON YOUR LEFT – a contemporary urban fantasy in editing phase. FIRE ANGEL (Souls Adrift, Vol. 4) – current WIP at about 22K words. WAY TO MANY IRONS IN THE FIRE AT PRESENT!”
What do you like best about Minnesota?
“Spring, Summer, and Fall!”
What advice would you offer to aspiring authors?
“Write first with your heart, soul, and passion. Don’t force yourself to write. Or at least don’t set huge hurdles (high word count expectations). If the words don’t flow today, read what you’ve written, research (find a rabbit hole worth losing a few hours in), read other works. I don’t agree that writing is hard work – that’s editing! Writing should be fun or cathartic or therapeutic (all positives.) It comes from the creative side of your brain. And if doubt creeps up on you (it does for everyone), keep writing.”
What do you think is the key to success for self-published authors?
“Key? Wow, I’m not sure I found one yet. I don’t think the number of followers on social media have much to do with success. Get out and talk about your books – a work, church, the grocery store, the post office, gym, wherever. If someone invites you to attend an event and bring some books to sell, do it. But remember, accounts on social media do not buy books. People by books. Real people. Many of my readers come from the dogshow community, clients, friends, friends of friends, etc. I’ve done 3 book signings and these are an excellent way to broaden your reach. And not too intimidating for this introvert!”
That’s good advice, thank you.
Any other words of wisdom you would like to share with us?
“Cover design is important. Look at covers in your genre. If you can’t do them yourself, find someone who can (Search Twitter). There may come a time when I ‘re-do’ the covers for Souls Adrift, and by that, I mean hiring someone to design them for me. I think I did OK on my own, but…
Beta Readers may be hard to come by but find at least 3 to read your manuscript, especially if you are close to self-publishing. It’s amazing what fresh eyes find which your own have ‘autocorrected’ through a thousand drafts.”
How can readers find your books and connect with you?
I’m always happy to interact with readers!
Facebook – Jennifer A Dege
Twitter – @JaedynWynde
Author website: https://www.jenniferadege.wordpress.com
Books: https://www.amazon.com/Jennifer-A-Dege/e/B08B7TK8J8
Professional dog training, boarding & breeding services: https://www.refinnepoodles.com
Jennifer A. Dege, thank you so much for joining me today! It’s been a real pleasure talking with you, and I sincerely hope readers will look you up and delve into your books. Wishing you the best of luck!
Jesse, thanks again for this opportunity. I enjoyed it very much!
