It's been awhile since I've had a chance to interview yet another astoundingly affable author, so here it is, from across the Pond, with J.L. Coulbeck!

HN: Hi Jenn - thanks again for taking the time to be interviewed! Let’s begin with telling us a little bit more about who Jenn Coulbeck is?

JC: Jenn Coulbeck is an existential crisis pretending to be a human being.

HN: When did you know that you wanted to be a writer?

JC: I don’t know as if I ever sat down one day and said ‘I want to be a writer.’ I started writing roughly a year ago and haven’t stopped yet.

HN: How did you develop the ideas for your stories?

JC: I was dedicated to the art of writing without a plan. But that way lies madness, so I brought the book ‘Take off your pants’ by Libbie Hawker, who helped me realize that there was a far better way to plot a story than winging it and hoping for the best. Of course, there’s also a plethora of inspiring visits to local museums, day trips to the park and chatting about ideas with good buddies on this here internet, which certainly helps.

HN: Which projects were the most fun to develop? Which were the most challenging?

JC: Fun!? Do you think I am having fun while doing this!? I’ve pulled half a head of hair out on this last scene alone!!

HN: What are your plans long-term for your writing? Do you have additional/different works in mind?

JC: For the current series I am working on I am aiming to write ten books. Four shorter stories/novellas that lead into the main story and then a six-book saga. I’m hoping that somewhere along the lines, I’ll gain a following of loving, adoring fans that will ask me to write spin-off books featuring their favorite side characters.

Failing that, I’ll just write stories about my own favorites. I’m not really too hot on the idea of having a solid plan, I run on chaos.

HN: As an author, I share the challenge of getting the word out on my books. What have you had to do to win broader exposure and branding for your works?

JC: At the moment I am pretty much shouting into the void. I don’t have any books published in this pen name yet so it’s back to the slow climb starting from nothing. But I do have a small social media presence and a shiny website. I am hoping that’ll help. The only advice I can give really is to get a super good lead magnet for your loyal readers and start building a newsletter.

HN: This question will start off sounding like an old joke – a person walks into a bar (or convention or bookstore) and bumps into Jenn Coulbeck – what would be your elevator pitch to showcase your work?

JC: I’d be wearing a hood of invisibility. You’ll never see me in the first place. Honestly, I am super introverted. I’d probably turn into a glibbering heap if you started talking to me in person about my work.

HN: As an author, it’s sometimes difficult to finally say a product is finished, no matter how many times you review or edit. Is there anything you would go back and change in your completed works? Were there ideas you had in mind and then decided NOT to include?

JC: At this point, it’s hard to say. Mostly because I don’t have anything out in the world yet. However! I have written seven books under another pen name. Leaving all that behind to start over in a new genre was a revelation in itself. Those books, some I am still insanely proud of, some I wonder why they even sell and others I wish would do better. If I was to revisit one of them, I’d write it with a clear, solid genre in mind rather than just throw everything into the pot and hope something conclusive came out; spoiler alert, it didn’t.

HN: I have an 11 year old son, and structuring time around him can be challenging! I’ve lost count of the times he nearly pressed the delete button on something I was working on…how do you find time to carve out your ideas?

JC: I’m in the same boat but with a seven-year old. I just steal a bit of time in the evenings, when he is at school. The amount of times I’ve had the ‘perfect’ idea while in the bathroom is unreal! I carry around a small notebook with me all the time and stop during walks with the dog to jot them down. Walking is the best time for ideas, that at the moment when you’re half awake/asleep in the morning.

HN: Do you have a certain method you use when you write – i.e., a certain room, music, mood, etc., to help get you in the right writing frame of mind?

JC: I recently brought myself a small writing desk. I love it! It’s my happy place. Now I just need a more comfortable chair.

HN: What are you reading right now?

JC: Scars by Chris Wraight. I’ve been slowly chipping away at Black Library’s Horus Heresy for a couple of years now, along with Dave, my long-suffering buddy reader.

HN: Where can people go to find out more about Jenn Coulbeck?

JC: http://jlcoulbeck.com/ - my home on the internet.

Thanks a lot for these questions, and I hope that you find the answers satisfactory, enlightening or at the very least, entertaining!

HN: Thanks Jenn, for sharing some of your time!