FORMAL BIO:Jennifer is a native New Englander and graduate of Providence College. After college and a three-year stint in Southern California, she settled back in New England. Currently, she lives in Rhode Island.
Jennifer mainly writes YA that tends toward the dark side with touches of magic, horror, and the supernatural. In addition to writing, Jennifer is a fantasy artist/illustrator and finds alternating between writing and illustrating helps prevent creative blocks. If you like, you can visit her fantasy art site here. Jennifer has written and illustrated a Tarot deck, Crystal Visions Tarot, which is published by U.S. Games Systems, Inc. Please visit Jennifer's tarot site here.
Jennifer is a member of the SCBWI and has worked as copywriter, resume writer, and has written many short stories, reviews, and articles for small press magazines and anthologies. Please visit the Books page to find out more about her current projects.
INFORMAL BIO:
1. I grew up and live in Rhode Island, but I hate seafood, have never been to Block Island, but I DO, unfortunately, have the accent.
2. I backpacked through Europe in my twenties and would love to go back, but after seeing the movie, Hostel, would prefer to stay in hotels next time. :)
3. I've had many jobs over the years, from waitress to real estate marketer. The strangest jobs were a salesperson for a company that provided marketing for cosmetic surgeons and a telephone tarot reader.
4. Rosemary's Baby, The Exorcist, (both recommended by my mother), and Carrie were my first introduction to horror movies. They are still my favorites and I credit them for making me a horror fan for life.
5. I love to read but have always been a picky reader. I love Stephen King books and read a ton of them while growing up. I credit his talent for characterization and amazing creativity as my inspiration to write.
6. I wrote my first novel when I was 24 after getting my first computer. It's saved on a floppy disk somewhere.
7. I got an agent right away for that novel, signed a six-month contract without ever speaking to anyone. The internet warned never to call and hound an agent and I took that advice to the extreme! Six months came and went, I never heard from anyone, and that was that. The agency is still around and now only takes previously published writers. I've never actually heard of them selling anything, but I've never heard anything negative either. Very mysterious.
8. I didn't realize how badly I wanted to be a published writer until I received my first rejection, and the desire has only grown with each subsequent pass. My desire is colossal now.
9. I used to hate Twitter, but once I took the time to become acclimated, it has become an invaluable learning and networking resource for writing.
10. I started writing one of my newest novels, The Long Walk Home, about ten years ago. It was originally intended to be a vampire tale, but I got stuck and shelved it, and then the vampire craze hit. I missed that boat, but the heart of the story stayed with me all these years, so I decided to resume the story sans vampires and voila, ten years later it's finally finished!
11. I've written too many novels to list here. Let's say it's beyond double digits.
12. I'm glad now that first novel never saw the light of day. It, and I, weren't ready. I know, eventually, I will team with a great agent and be published well. The waiting, the writing, and each rejection ensures that goal.
SOME OF MY FAVORITES (In no particular order ...)
Favorite (current) Books/Series: (Note: These are stand-outs. There are many more I've read and liked.)
Head Full of Ghosts, Atomic Habits, The Woman in the Window, GOT Series, Baby Teeth, The Wicked Deep
Favorite (all-time) Books:
On Writing, Danse Macabre, The Shining, Rosemary's Baby, The House Next Door, The Haunting of Hill House, Dracula, I am Legend, A Kiss Before Dying, Rebecca, Thirteen Reasons Why, The Hunger Games, Divergent, Gone Girl, Unwind, The Girl on the Train
Favorite (current) TV:
New Girl, The Witcher, The Stranger, Black Mirror, Stranger Things, NOS4A2, Mindhunter, The Walking Dead, Veronica Mars, Shameless, Big Little Lies, Dead to Me
Favorite (all-time) TV:
Sons of Anarchy, The Strain, Game of Thrones, The Tudors, Six Feet Under, Dexter, Breaking Bad, Lost, Orphan Black, Veronica Mars, Sopranos, True Blood, Mad Men, Frasier, Big Bang Theory, Two and a Half Men, Columbo, Designing Women, Golden Girls, Three's Company, I Love Lucy
Favorite (semi-current) Movies:
Crimson Peak, Us, It Follows, Let Me In, You're Next, We Need to Talk About Kevin, Despicable Me, Orphan, Black Swan, The Conjuring
Favorite (all-time) Movies:
Heathers, True Romance, Practical Magic, Dial M for Murder, Rebecca, A Kiss Before Dying, Rear Window, The Shining, Carrie (original, but the newest remake isn't horrible), 30 Days of Night, What's Eating Gilbert Grape, Edward Scissorhands, Misery, The Exorcist, Sixteen Candles, Breakfast Club (From this list, I guess you can tell I like Alfred Hitchcock, Stephen King, Johnny Depp, Christian Slater, and Molly Ringwald. :D)
Best TV Series/Movie Endings:
Six Feet Under, Breaking Bad, Big Bang Theory
Worst TV Series/Movie Endings:
Seinfeld, Sopranos, Lost, How I Met Your Mother, The Mist, Castaway, 13 Sins
On-the-Fence TV Series/Movie Endings:
GOT, Dexter
(These lists will grow as I think of more ...)
