Take 11 with Dana: Featuring JaNese Dixon - Nia Promotions presents Shh...I'm Reading

Take 11 with Dana: Featuring JaNese Dixon 02/09/2010

Are you ready for another installment of Take 11 with Dana? Today's feature is with Ja'Nese Dixon. She is schedule for her first release this summer. As with before, Take 11 with Dana features the same questions with a new author. Let's go!

Dana (D): Please introduce yourself.

Ja'Nese Dixon (JD): I’m Ja’Nese Dixon, a bookworm turned author. My debut novel, Black Diamond will be released in June 2010 and I have a short story included in the Coffee Confessions anthology.

What keeps you motivated to write?

I’m motivated by that crazy butterfly feeling that sits at the pit of your stomach when you read a great book. That rare burst of laughter releasing tension in a scene or the lingering thoughts of the characters you shared many hours with. If I could share a piece of that with someone else then I’d be satisfied.

Who is your biggest fan?

My husband and my children; however, my children are a bit critical (::smile::), they push me to be a better write.

If I had to do it (i.e., write your book, your writing career, etc.) all over again, I would…

I would have trusted the gift God has given me. I work daily at perfecting the stories I want to share with readers. But I would have stepped out and wrote a book sooner.

What is one of your quirky isms?

I’m a vampire. (::laughing::) I work in the wee hours of the morning, so it’s not unusual to receive an email from me at 3 or 4 in the morning.

How often do you read? And who is your favorite author?

I read about four or five books a month, on average; however, while writing it’s shifted my reading to a couple of fiction and nonfiction books to give my brain some downtime.

My current favorites are Beverly Jenkins, Lisa Kleypas, Janet Evanovich, and my fellow authors with SIR Authors. I can't believe I'm with such great company. They make me want to test my personal boundaries with my writing.

What is your greatest challenge as an author?

I am too critical of my work. I could talk circles around my work and it would never see the light of day. As a result, I would selfishly leave my stories on my computer. I have to let it go like a mother dropping her child off for the first day of school, trusting my baby in the hands of readers.

What is your favorite food?

Food…I love food, cooking, eating, all of that. (::laughing::) A few tasty items make my world wonderful -- butter pecan ice cream, peanut M&Ms, and pizza. Oh, and French fries.

What surprises readers most about your work?

My eerie ability to place them in the room smack-dab in the middle of the characters’ tension, lust, and sometimes pain. My test readers have commented repeatedly about feeling as if they were in the room.

Do you write with or without music?

With music…I have playlists for each story. I love to drive and crank up the music. I usually birth new ideas behind the wheel of my car with my music obnoxiously loud.

What mark would you like to leave on the publishing industry?

I want to champion a love for reading. So much can be found between the covers of a book—love, passion, hate, pain, knowledge, your dream vacation, a new career. It is my hope that I would be the first book some people have read for pleasure in a long time. That readers will love reading it so much that they buy a copy for their girlfriends (husbands, family members--heck anyone!).

Reading is a way to level the unruly playing field of life.

What final impression do you want your work to leave with readers?

Where did the time go? I want readers to sit and lose track of time while reading my book(s). I want great stories and memorable characters but I want readers to get lost in the world I created and walk away refreshed and ready to take on their world once again.

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Thank you Ja'Nese for your interview. We look forward to reading your debut novel.

Take 11 with Dana will have it's next installment later this week with author TL James of The MPire Trilogy...stay tuned.

Visit Ja'Nese Dixon's profile for more information. "See" you next time!