Guest Post with Danielle L. Jensen, author of HIDDEN HUNTRESS

I’m very excited to welcome author Danielle L. Jensen to the blog today! The second book in her Malediction Trilogy, Hidden Huntress, is out next month, and I’m helping publisher Angry Robot promote it. If you’ve read Stolen Songbird, the first book in the trilogy, and loved it as much as I did, then you’ll be interested to learn about Danielle’s writing methods. So, with that, please join me in welcoming Danielle to Books, Bones & Buffy!

Danielle L. Jensen Writes: The Where and the How

My writing routine and the space I’ve done it in has varied quite a bit over the years. I’ve never been a fulltime writer – I’ve always had another job – so I’ve had to fit writing in around whatever else I was up to. I drafted STOLEN SONGBIRD while I was studying for my English degree and waitressing at night, so I wrote on my days off and in between classes, and there were many times I went a week or two without opening the manuscript. Because I didn’t have an agent or a publisher, I worked when my muse felt inspired. That didn’t last!

Not long after I signed my book deal, I took a job requiring me to be out of town for three weeks at a time, which meant that I’d work for twenty-one straight days, fly home, and then spend a week trying to catch up on life. The bulk of my writing happened during the twenty-one days. I’d typically work nine hours, have a quick meal, then write for three or four hours. Writing would take place with me tucked into bed, laptop balanced on my knees, and classical music playing in the background.

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When I was working at home, it was usually in my office, where I sat like a proper writer at a desk. Usually with my Harry Potter mug filled with coffee.

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That was how I did the editorial work for STOLEN SONGBIRD, how I drafted and edited HIDDEN HUNTRESS, and how I started BOOK 3. It was a very busy time, but I loved that routine.

The copy edits for HIDDEN HUNTRESS arrived in February of this year, two days after our daughter was born. I’d been under the impression that newborns slept a big chunk of the day. What I hadn’t realized was that it would be in twenty-minute increments, which meant “free” time was over almost before it started, and that even if I lucked out and she slept for forty minutes, I’d be too tired to take advantage of it.

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But my deadlines remained, so I talked to other writers with kids to see how they managed, and I immediately began implementing their tips. Now, I am a master of typing with one hand, my computer has voice-to-word software (which occasionally records baby babble), and you can often find me typing at the kitchen counter, bouncing up and down to keep the baby strapped to the front of me happy.

I drag my laptop around the house so I can maximize any free moment to answer an email or edit a page of manuscript, and instead of using naptime to shower or sleep, I finish guest posts or take notes on plot points. Drafting new words takes place in the hour between her bedtime and mine, and as you might guess, noise-cancelling headphones are a must!

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And when I’m lucky enough to get away for a few hours, I escape to a nearby café where the WiFi is free and the coffee is organic! Those are the most precious writing moments, and that’s when I get most of my new words written.

Thank you Danielle! I can honestly say, as a mother myself, I’m super impressed that you’re managing to write at all with a new baby in your life:-D Check back later this week for my review of Hidden Huntress!

About the author:

Danielle L. Jensen was born and raised in Calgary, Canada. At the insistence of the left side of her brain, she graduated in 2003 from the University of Calgary with a bachelor’s degree in finance. But the right side of her brain has ever been mutinous; and in 2010, it sent her back to school to complete an entirely impractical English literature degree at Mount Royal University and to pursue publication. Much to her satisfaction, the right side shows no sign of relinquishing its domination.

Find Danielle: Twitter | Website | Goodreads

Posted May 26, 2015 by Tammy in Author Guest Post / 8 Comments

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8 responses to “Guest Post with Danielle L. Jensen, author of HIDDEN HUNTRESS

  1. Fantastic post, Danielle! (And thanks for having her, Tammy!) It’s always interesting to hear where writers do their work and, if they’re not a full-time writer, how they fit it into their schedule. I’m not a published author yet, but I have a job and live on my own. So I have to fit my novel-writing in between all of that, and right now that only seems to be on weekends or days off. But I take advantage of it as best as I can.

    Also, belated congratulations on the new baby! 🙂

    This serves as yet another reminder than I haven’t read Stolen Songbird yet. (Yes, Tammy, the copy I won from you. *lol*) I need to get on that this summer so I can catch up with Hidden Huntress later this year.
    Sara L. recently posted…Field Trip: Downtown Plymouth and Brewster GardensMy Profile

  2. I have no idea what it feels to have a baby in the house, but even before then Danielle’s writing schedule seemed pretty hectic! She makes my days look so… lazy, LOL.
    One day I hope to be just as productive as her! 😉
    Melissa Robles recently posted…The Week’s Entrée #65My Profile

  3. Miss Shynasss

    Thank you. Great post. It’s interesting to see how Danielle Jensen manages to writes her books, how she finds the time, what is her routine and to show us she’s a strong woman who does everything to follow her dream. I think she’s rather inspiring as both a woman/mother and a writer. I wish her a long and successful career.

  4. Fun guest post!! I didn’t know babies slept in crements of 20mins either until my friend had her daughter last December. Since then, all our convos seem to be around baby topics lol. I’ve learn quite a few things I hadn’t known before and it’s all very interesting! And I want to hear baby babble!! It sounds so adorable <3

  5. Congrats to Danielle on the new baby! My daughter was born around the same time too, so the descriptions of different ways of multitasking listed here sound very familiar. “Sleeping like a baby” is such a false statement! You learn how to do everything one-handed pretty quickly. Between taking care of my newborn and my three-year-old, sometimes a whole day can go by with me feeling I got no work done, so kudos to Danielle!
    Mogsy @ BiblioSanctum recently posted…Book Review: The Shadow Revolution by Clay Griffith and Susan GriffithMy Profile

  6. Congrats on your newborn, Danielle! The writing schedule pre-baby sounds hectic enough as it is, I’m blown away that you’ve been able to keep it up with a new addition to the family. I just read Stolen Songbird last week and I really liked it; I’m excited to see how things shape up in Hidden Huntress. Gotta support my fellow Canadians! 🙂
    Danya @ Fine Print recently posted…Review: Dead Heat by Patricia BriggsMy Profile

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