Jessica Redland was born in Teesside but now lives on the stunning North Yorkshire Coast which inspired the creation of the fictional seaside town of Whitsborough Bay where she sets all her books.
She lives with her husband, daughter, Sprocker Spaniel and is a self-confessed stationery addict. She loves chocolate, although it doesn’t love her, 80s music, collectible teddy bears and lighthouses.
Her dream is to be able to write full-time one day but, until then, she has a day job as an HR Tutor and tries to balance her time – usually unsuccessfully – between that and writing.
What inspire you to write a book?
All sorts of things. Ideas come from so many places. The first book I wrote was inspired by a real event that happened to me. Another was inspired by my experience of setting up and running my own shop. I have one where the idea came from the lyric in a song. My Hedgehog Hollow series started off as an exercise on my Masters in Creative Writing.
Do you write full time? if yes, is it tiring to write day in day out?
For many years, I fit writing around a full-time job where I worked long hours but I was lucky enough to find myself able to leave my day job and write full time from June 2020. Is it tiring? It can be. I spend long hours – sometimes 14 a day – in front of a computer creating. If I’m writing an emotional scene, I feel those emotions and will cry which can be quite draining. But most of the time it’s an absolute joy. The hardest part is not the writing of the book but the keeping up with everything else, particularly a social media presence
Which of the book that the story plot touches you the most and the hardest for you to let go?
Snowflakes Over The Starfish Cafe which was released in late summer 2021 is the most emotional story I’ve written. It’s about two characters, Hollie and Jake, who have suffered extreme tragedy in their lives but who meet when Jake finds a lost dog on the beach below Hollie’s cafe. It’s a beautiful, uplifting story but I really did feel their pain
Sidenote: This book is an emotional read for me too
Do you read other author’s book specifically from the same industry as you?
I don’t get nearly as much time to read as I’d ideally like (because I spend so much time writing!) but I do read books by authors similar to me. I write the books I write because they’re the types of books I love reading. I also read out of genre. I’m currently reading a few cosy crime books but enjoy crime/thriller/psych thrillers too
Which part of the writing process that you find it hardest to go thru i.e. from writing to the published book?
I find the first 20k words of a book the hardest to write as the start of the book always feels so much slower (and painful) to write. From that point, the words flow so much quicker. I enjoy edits but they can be tricky if there’s a major change needed like extending the timeline or swapping some key events out. It doesn’t just have an impact on that part of the book; it knocks everything out and it can be a challenge trying to knit it back together. But I do enjoy that challenge. I’m so lucky to be doing what I absolutely love. There aren’t really any parts I don’t like.
Find More About The Author Here:
My Sanctuary 
Reblogged this on Jessica Redland Author and commented:
Thank you to My Sanctuary for this lovely interview last month x
LikeLike
Thank you very much for featuring me on your blog 🙂
LikeLike