If Jennifer M. Eaton Can Do It, Anyone Can.

Welcome to the week-long Meet The Author fest! We're focusing on the six lovely ladies of the Make Believe Anthology from J. Taylor Publishing that released December 3rd!

Today we're meeting with one of my beta buds.

Jennifer M. Eaton

Tell us why we should read your story?

The world as we know it has ended.  Emily stumbles into the woods looking for love, and discovers a secret that will change her life forever.  You can never know how the truth will affect you, until you are forced to confront the unthinkable.  What would you do if you found out everything you believe in is a lie?  Come on… ya wanna know, don’t cha?

What is the first thing you thought of upon seeing the picture prompt for the Make Believe Anthology?

“What the frig am I going to do with that?  I guess I will have to pass on this one.”  Seriously… that is what I thought.

Which came first: The story or the character?

The character.  Completely.  I used an old writing trick of mine.  I took the girl in the picture, described her, and had her take a step.  That was all I needed.  Once she stepped into the snow, and her red silk slipper dampened in the thawing slush—I never turned back.  Emily was born, and her story simply flowed from my fingers.

How did you choose your setting? 

Wasn’t too hard… I was looking at a picture of a girl in the woods in the snow.  I went with it.  I tend to lean toward fantasy, and she looked like she was in the past, but as she moved through the woods, I came up with the idea about making the future not very futuristic.  I think it really worked well.  I love the world I’ve created, and I may even expand on it someday.

Is there a moral behind your story? 

I think there are many moral lessons in Last Winter Red, but I don’t really want to list them.  I believe this is the kind of story that can mean different things to different people, depending where they are in their life.  Despite the odd Dystopian setting, I think the characters are relatable on many different levels.

What is your least favorite form of exercise? 

I have to pick one?  Ugh.  I guess lunges.  I don’t have the coordination, and I always fall over.

If you won the lottery, what is the first thing you would do?

I think I would take my entire family (my brothers and sisters and their kids) – oh, my husband and kids, too – on a vacation together.  Something relaxing and fun – Like a Disney Cruise.  I think it would be a great bonding experience for the younger ones, and I don’t get to see enough of my brother and sisters anymore.  Yeah… I’d take my family on a cruise

What would you name the autobiography of your life?

“Get off your butt and do it.  If I can do it, anyone can.”

What did you do growing up that got you into trouble?

I collected bugs.  Every size and shape.  Problem is that when a moth crawls out of a chrysalis onto your hand it bonds with you.  After that happens 100 or so times in a summer, you get quite a crowd hanging out at your house.  I loved it when they all came to say “Hi” when I went outside.  My sister?  Ummm… not so much.

If you had to spend a day not using any technology, what would you do?

Hiking in the woods with my dog ... Total outside unplugged pleasure.  Oh!  Maybe we could fly down to the Caribbean and snorkel all day long!  Or hike up the falls in Jamaica.  Ooooooo!  The possibilities are endless!

What bad habit would you be willing to give up if it guaranteed you would live to be 100?

Biting my nails.  I need to give it up anyway.  Funny.  I did this as a kid, and stopped for over twenty years.  As the Deadline approached for submitting Last Winter Red, and I realized what I wrote was actually good… you guessed it, I started chewing on my nails again, and now I just can’t stop.

If you lived in the pioneer days, would you have traveled west or stayed put in the east?

I’m not much of a risk taker when my life is on the line, and that is what the danger was of heading west… dying.  I would probably have stayed on the east coast.  Property values go down as people move out anyway.  I would be able to afford a bigger place.  J

Stalk Ms. Eaton:

Website / Facebook / Twitter / Goodreads

Meet the other ladies of Make Believe:  Lynda R. Young, J. Keller Ford, Kelly Said, J.A. Belfield