Meet Jenny Moss!
I'm so happy to have a chance to introduce you all to Jenny Moss who is not only a fellow 2009 Debutante, but who also shares my editor (for her SECOND novel)...But this is about Jenny's first, wonderful book, WINNIE'S WAR!
A debut novel set against the backdrop of the Spanish Flu epidemic of 1918.
Life in Winnie's sleepy town of Coward Creek, Texas, is just fine for her. Although her troubled mother's distant behavior has always worried Winnie, she's plenty busy caring for her younger sisters, going to school, playing chess with Mr. Levy, and avoiding her testy grandmother. Plus, her sweetheart Nolan is always there to make her smile when she's feeling low. But when the Spanish Influenza claims its first victim, lives are suddenly at stake, and Winnie has never felt so helpless. She must find a way to save the people she loves most, even if doing so means putting her own life at risk.
Jenny Moss is a former NASA engineer. She earned a master's degree in literature and taught writing as an adjunct at University of Houston-Clear Lake. Winnie's War is her first novel. She lives with her two teenagers in Houston, Texas.
Meet Jenny Moss
When first conceiving of Winnie's War, what came first? Winnie? The Spanish Influenza? Winnie's family? Or something else entirely?
Yanno, I'm a child of the suburbs, so I wanted to create my own small town. So Coward Creek came first. Then Winnie's voice, her relationship with her mother, and finally the influenza. After I selected that time period, it did seem perfect. So many changes happening in 1918, a time when people rode horses and drove cars, and then came the well-known influenza, but this strain was a virulent killer that confounded doctors -- to the surprise of those in the new twentieth century.
You took on a really interesting time period when writing the book. From one historical writer to another, what were the best and worst parts of writing historical fiction?
Researching is the best. And it's great to have an excuse for spending days and days in the library. :) All that research does take time from the actual writing of the story, though; sometimes I get frustrated when a few unknown historical details are slowing down the writing of a scene -- and I can't find the answers anywhere!
You used to be a NASA engineer, and now you've got two books in the pipeline! This seems like a drastic switch to most people. What caused it...and is it that drastic, after all?
I've been writing stories since I was a kid. Even when I was an engineer, I was taking writing classes at night. For me, it doesn't feel like a sudden switch from engineer to author -- rather, it's a lifelong dream finally fulfilled!
And finally, Jenny Moss on:
Pluto:
Miscategorized? Or misunderstood?
I like the idea of a Pluto just misunderstood.
Dylan:
Blonde on Blonde or Blood on the Tracks?
Blonde on Blonde is genius too, but 90% of the time I prefer Blood on the Tracks.
Sickness:
Feed a cold or Starve a fever?
Always eat?
Winnies:
Winnie Cooper? or Winnie the Pooh?
I love Pooh bear!
----
Thanks so much for coming over to play, Jenny!
For everyone else...find Jenny at her website. I also think she'd appreciate you ordering Winnie's War on Amazon.
A debut novel set against the backdrop of the Spanish Flu epidemic of 1918.Life in Winnie's sleepy town of Coward Creek, Texas, is just fine for her. Although her troubled mother's distant behavior has always worried Winnie, she's plenty busy caring for her younger sisters, going to school, playing chess with Mr. Levy, and avoiding her testy grandmother. Plus, her sweetheart Nolan is always there to make her smile when she's feeling low. But when the Spanish Influenza claims its first victim, lives are suddenly at stake, and Winnie has never felt so helpless. She must find a way to save the people she loves most, even if doing so means putting her own life at risk.
Jenny Moss is a former NASA engineer. She earned a master's degree in literature and taught writing as an adjunct at University of Houston-Clear Lake. Winnie's War is her first novel. She lives with her two teenagers in Houston, Texas.
Meet Jenny Moss
When first conceiving of Winnie's War, what came first? Winnie? The Spanish Influenza? Winnie's family? Or something else entirely?
Yanno, I'm a child of the suburbs, so I wanted to create my own small town. So Coward Creek came first. Then Winnie's voice, her relationship with her mother, and finally the influenza. After I selected that time period, it did seem perfect. So many changes happening in 1918, a time when people rode horses and drove cars, and then came the well-known influenza, but this strain was a virulent killer that confounded doctors -- to the surprise of those in the new twentieth century.
You took on a really interesting time period when writing the book. From one historical writer to another, what were the best and worst parts of writing historical fiction?
Researching is the best. And it's great to have an excuse for spending days and days in the library. :) All that research does take time from the actual writing of the story, though; sometimes I get frustrated when a few unknown historical details are slowing down the writing of a scene -- and I can't find the answers anywhere!
You used to be a NASA engineer, and now you've got two books in the pipeline! This seems like a drastic switch to most people. What caused it...and is it that drastic, after all?
I've been writing stories since I was a kid. Even when I was an engineer, I was taking writing classes at night. For me, it doesn't feel like a sudden switch from engineer to author -- rather, it's a lifelong dream finally fulfilled!
And finally, Jenny Moss on:
Pluto:
Miscategorized? Or misunderstood?
I like the idea of a Pluto just misunderstood.
Dylan:
Blonde on Blonde or Blood on the Tracks?
Blonde on Blonde is genius too, but 90% of the time I prefer Blood on the Tracks.
Sickness:
Feed a cold or Starve a fever?
Always eat?
Winnies:
Winnie Cooper? or Winnie the Pooh?
I love Pooh bear!
----
Thanks so much for coming over to play, Jenny!
For everyone else...find Jenny at her website. I also think she'd appreciate you ordering Winnie's War on Amazon.
----
Labels: meet someone cool, why ya is awesome
posted by Sarah MacLean at
2:24 PM
1 Comments:
Great interview, Sarah....the book looks interesting. And how cool that Jenny used to be a NASA engineer...
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