"My name is Jess Sturman-Coombs and I love to write novels that capture the imagination. My stories seek to take you on a journey that thrills and excites.
I love to
read and write and I've written many novels aimed at the YA and crossover
market. My debut novel, Poker Face, is currently doing very well as an e-book
and paperback available through Amazon, Waterstones and my website."
When I was eleven I started working on the market, a ladies
lingerie stall apparently. Basically
we sold anything from pop socks to massive satin girdles, as well as knickers
with the most important bits missing (I know!) and nurse outfits. I was eleven!
It was a bleak and often very cold job. With 5am starts and vans to unload and
display all before school and then
having to do it all again after school, it was actually quite tiring. Also I
couldn’t do the job in my school skirt so I had to get changed before 9am.
Unfortunately, the attendants in the public toilets cottoned on to my
‘changing’ habits and they wouldn’t allow me to use their facilities (mean or
what). I ended up having to find a way of making the shopping centre lifts jam
between floors so I could get my jeans off and my uniform on. There is a knack
and I’ve mastered it. Oh what fun I had!
When did you begin
writing?
I wrote at school and often received commendations in
English literature. I hadn’t a clue how to punctuate or spell but I loved to
write stories and poems. They were always full of meaning and were often quite
deep and depressing but, I suppose, they reflected my feelings at that time. I
wasn’t happy at school, in fact, I wasn’t happy full stop and my writing
definitely showed it. I didn’t realise back then that, if I nailed the English language
side of things, I could actually use the skills I had to earn some money.
Instead I embarked on a crazy mish mash of jobs that finally resulted in me
being accepted into a law firm. From there my future and prospects got much
brighter. I owe that firm BIG time!
Where do you get your
inspiration for your stories from?
Much of my inspiration comes from dreams and fantasies as
well as experience. I have a very vivid imagination that has always liked to
roam and wander. At one time it was a means of escape and I would live out
whole scenarios in my head that could last for hours. In my head everything
could go the way I wanted it to and I had all the control. The imagination is
like a muscle and if you exercise it regularly it grows and develops. Mine has
ended up like a freakishly massive bicep that’s actually too big for my head!
Do you have a
favourite place to write?
I like to be at home, it’s where I feel safest and most
comfortable and it’s where I can truly be myself. That makes it the perfect
place to write. I often imagine having somewhere by the sea and how it would
feel to open up the laptop there but, in reality, I’d probably have to travel
to get there and travelling scares the living daylights out of me! At the
breakfast bar or on the back of the sofa where the sun shines brightest is the
ideal writing place for me.
Tell us a bit about your
novel Poker Face
Poker Face is about a young girl who leaves school with
nothing. She faces a future so painful and bleak that just the thought of it
forces her to walk into the first law firm she comes across, and lie her way
into a job. The senior partner watches her little performance and likes what he
sees and, just like that, she secures herself an office junior position.
However, not everyone is quite what they seem and she finds herself risking her
life to protect an appeal file with incriminating evidence on it. Poker Face is
a legal thriller series aimed at the young adult market but it is being enjoyed
equally by adults. It is gritty and real and the characters are full of life
and personality. The book is about finding security in the most unlikely of
places and the importance of true love, respect and loyalty.
You have some great
reviews for Poker Face on Amazon. How does that make you feel?
Yeah I’ve been very lucky and people have been so kind. The
reviews are important for a couple of reasons. One, they give others an idea of
what they might be letting themselves in for. I really appreciate the role my
readers play whenever they choose to leave a review. Two, the reviews give me
inspiration and motivation when my insecurities are pestering me for my dinner
money, and generally being the biggest meanest bullies ever to walk the face of
the earth. I regularly go back to my reviews and read each and every one because
they boost my writing confidence. I’m not a person who can pretend that what
others think and feel doesn’t matter. It has always mattered to me.
If you could have any
career (other than writing) what would you like to do?
Errrrm...hmmm...I would like to be an actress please! Ha ha!
I always wanted to act when I was younger, from as young as I can remember in
fact. Apart from the ‘C’ in English Literature the only other qualification I
left school with was my very proud and quite shocking ‘A’ in drama. I like
nothing more than the idea of playing at being someone else now and again. I
get awkward around people and nervous when I’m out and about. When you act you
lose those inhibitions and you become that other individual for a while. That
character might handle things worse than you (which is a bit of a break from
being yourself) or they might handle things better (which is nice to experience
now and again). Pretending to be confident comes much easier to me than
actually being confident.
When is the sequel to
Poker Face coming out?
19th December 2012! Whoop whoop! It’s sooooooo exciting! As I write this it
is the evening of the 9th and I am supposed to be editing my proof
copy of The Puppet Master. I need to send it off to be printed! Don’t tell
anyone but I am SO last minute!
Are you having a big
launch event?
Oh yes! I’ve hired a theatre, The Deco Theatre in
Northampton, and it’s a fantastic building. I can project my trailer and book
covers onto the walls and decorate the venue in the black and white Poker Face
theme. I’ll be offering a gift wrap
service and both books will be there...as well as lots of children (to include
mine!) The people who work there have been awesome and they offered to bring
round ice creams in the interval! How cool is that! I have to say the ice
creams were a deal breaker as far as my children were concerned!
Where can people find
out more about you?
jesssturman.wix.com/jess-sturman-coombs/apps/blog for my blog.
http://jesssturman.wix.com/jess-sturman-coombs for my website.
Jess - Thanks for dropping by and telling us all about yourself and Good Luck with the launch.
Thank you so much for having me, Marie, and for being so incredibly
patient over the time it has taken me to get these answers together! I know I
can be a bit last minute but I’m not usually this bad! November and December
have been ganging up on me...I blame them!
No comments:
Post a Comment