Interview with Author Deborah Jaeger

I am very pleased and privileged to have as my guest today, Deborah Jaeger. Debbie and I met on Facebook after she asked me to read and review her book. My review can be found in an earlier post and can be found in the archives if you are interested in checking it out. Now, without further delay, I will introduce you to Debbie.

BIO: I was born and raised in the suburbs of Detroit, Michigan, the fifth of six children and the consummate drama queen! My husband and I moved to the suburbs of Nashville, Tennessee in 1988, where we have lived happily for twenty-two years. The mother of four beautiful and intelligent grown children. I am also the proud grandmother of four equally beautiful and astounding little ones.

My husband is a staunch supporter of my writing obsession and is willing to put up with my unending chatter and thought process regarding the characters in whichever chapter I am working on. They become so real to me!

After a long day in front of the computer, we enjoy relaxing on the patio, walking, or just spending time together. Writing is, by necessity, such a solitary occupation! Jackson and Josie, the family pets, snooze next to my desk while I write. Jackson snores, but I have come to look upon that as background music and I miss it when he occasionally wanders into the next room.

I am working on my next book and looking forward to sharing more details as it progresses.

1- For those who are not familiar with your book, Prophecy-the Fulfillment, will you tell us a little about it?  

   The jacket copy probably explains it best:

   A typical teenager, Jillian Macomb, is looking forward to senior high. Or at least she was. Having just broken up with her boyfriend, she receives the stunning and unexpected news that she's pregnant. As if that isn't enough, she must also convince her parents and her doctor that she is still a virgin. Her father's protege, Stephen Jacobs, and she, form an unlikely alliance as each realize that their nighttime apparitions are more than simple dreams, making it clear to them that the child she carries is no ordinary child.

   Then the miracles begin.

   When a geneticist discovers that Jillian's pregnancy holds the key to sudden, inexplicable healings, he will stop at nothing to claim the magnificent discovery as his own. Meanwhile, government officials and representatives from the Catholic Church arrive to investigate the astonishing events, realizing that whoever controls the source of the miracles will become the ultimate world power.

   Face to face with evil, Stephen and Jillian realize that time is runnig out to save her child, and they are driven to escape the forces that covet control of the miraculous life she carries. In the ultimate test of faith, they must decide who they can trust, and whether or not to believe the compelling and terrifying message of the prophecy.

2- How did the book come about and why a Christian focused book?

   I don't honestly know. I started to think about what would happen if a woman were to become pregnant with no physical explantion. So, PROPHECY began with the idea of a virgin birth. I thought perhaps I would write more of a science fiction book, ala Stephen King or Dean Koontz. One evening, Lloyd was gone for the evening and it was just the two dogs and I sitting on the patio. I had a glass of wine and I was dreaming of the prologue....I could see my character, I could picture her, I could feel her fear, her excitement, her confusion. I decided to go in and write. So I did. The prologue was born. The story evolved from there. It took a very different direction from what I had originally planned. Once the story took off in my mind, it became very clear to me that this was something I had carried around inside of me and there was no stopping until the novel was finished.

   It is not a book about religion, and is filled with suspense. It is about people and their reactions to an incredible circumstance, and asks us to question our own beliefs and what really matters to us.

3- Do you have a WIP? If so, can you tell us about it?

   I am working on a second novel. And a smaller project that is dear to my heart. It seems that the beast has been unleashed and I will write for the rest of my life. It's a decision. As far as the new novel, I tend to keep things close to the vest. I don't outline, so many times I am not sure where the story is going until it takes me there.

4- What prompted you to start writing novels and do you do this full time?

   I've always loved to write. I have always been in awe of the power of words. I kept saying that someday I was going to do this, write a novel, but it was an abstract idea. Then one day, the idea for PROPHECY came to me. I kept turning it over and over in my mind... it wouldn't go away. I was at a point in my life that I realized that it was either now or never. It was time to make time to do what I had  always wanted to do. I had to make some difficult business decisions to pave the way. I have always been an 'all in or all out girl.' That and my husband's constant refrain. "Go write your book." He had faith in me long before I did.

5- Do you have plans to write in other genres or do you plan to stay with Christian books?

   That is a tough question because I thought my next novel would be light and easy. In fact I have an idea for a novel that is comedic, and I am itching to try my hand at it. My blog is very much a wry look at everyday real life...things that happen in my family and probably every family. There always seems to ba a moral to the story, but the facts are real. And so often funny. So maybe after the next novel is finished, I will try my hand at something lighter.

   But the novel I am working on now is in the same genre as Prophecy-the Fulfillment. The idea for this novel was put in front of me by the most strange and compelling circustance. So I will go with it. And I will talk about that process when the new novel comes out. I am a firm believer that we are all led. We don't always listen; but we are all led.

6- What has been your greatest challenge with writing to date?

   Staying off Facebook! And the internet! And the e-mail! I find that I am too easily led astray! And I love to answer the questions people send me on the website. I am actually working on a FAQ's page right now.

7- Has any particular author had a special influence on your writing? If so, who and what?

   I love to read. And I love to read new authors.I have a book in front of me every day at lunch time. Always an open book. All genres.

   I am constantly inspired. But the author that pushed me off the cliff and influenced my decision to start writing was ...Paulo Coeho and his best-selling parable "The Alchemist." By the time I finished the introduction to the book, I knew he was talking to me. Life changing! Run fast and read this book!

8- Do you set aside a certain amount of time each day for writing and research?

   I am an early bird. When I am writing, I want to be in the chair by five or five-thirty in the morning. I like to do my business first, emails, and yes, the ever addictive Facebook. Then I have a few blogs I read, or I will write mine. Finally, I read what I have written the day before. I have breakfast and shower, that is when I think about where my characters need to go that day. I write chronologically and logically, so the way you read my novel is the way I wrote it. I do not use any outline because I never know the middle or ending until I get there.

9-What do you do for relaxation and enjoyment?

   I love to read. I love to observe, walk, go for rides. Simple things. I am not a party girl. Writing is so solitary, but I kind of like it. I need it. The tie to myself. To hear myself think.

10- How can readers get in touch with you? (website, blog, FB, twitter etc.)

   I always check my website contact page and the blog comments, and of course Facebook. (Debbie Richardson Jaeger) Please friend me!

   And Prophecy-The Fulfillment has a group page- I hope everyone will push the like button!

   I try to answer questions every morning. I don't think I will ever get tired of that. It amazes me daily that people are interested in 'behind the scenes.' 

I want to thank Debbie for taking the time from her schedule to visit with us today and answer these question about herself. If anyone has any questions for Debbie, please don't hesitate to ask. Just be sure to check back later for a response.