Interview with Guest Judge Sapphire Star

Don't forget to check out the #QuerySchoolsIn chat at twitter. Join us, ask questions, let us know what you are hoping for this week, etc. All the conversation will help us improve on our next mini conference/contest.

Now, on to our lovely judges. This group gets the Team Work Award for excellent tag teaming during our School's In workshop. Amy, Katie, and the chief editor, Liz Carpenter are all helping with feedback and answering your questions.

Here's a reminder of what Sapphire Star is looking for in a manuscript at this time.

We're especially interested in contemporary romance and paranormal romance at this time, although we are accepting submissions in all fiction categories.

1. How did you decide to get into editing/publishing?
 
I’ve loved books and writing all my life. After working as a technical writer and editor in the technology industry for years, I realized I’d enjoy my work so much more if I was reading and editing fiction. It’s always best when you can make your hobby your job.

2. Why did you choose the publisher you are working with now?
 
I wanted to work with a small publisher that seeks out new authors. Sapphire Star Publishing authors write in a variety of genres so I’m not pigeonholed into working on one type of manuscript. The executive team at Sapphire really looks out for their authors and encourages their editors to supply grammar, formatting, and story comments that enable writers to improve their craft.

3. What's your favorite part of the job?
 
I love getting a new manuscript. Reading Chapter One is stepping into a new world. The pleasure of reading as an editor is that you get to ask the author all the ‘what if’ questions. Authors have a vision of their novel’s world, and I believe it is an editor’s job to reflect that image back so that authors can verify what readers are seeing. Sapphire Star Publishing empowers me to ask questions that challenge authors to craft worlds that are interesting, create characters that evolve during the story, and build plots that entertain.

4. What is your current favorite book that you could read over and over? 
 
The downside of being an editor is that you never have time to re-read a book. There is always something new and great to read. I’m a big fan of the romantic mystery so anything by Laurell K. Hamilton, Carrie Vaughn, or Janet Evanovich is an automatic addition to my to-read list. I read an early draft of Lisa Regan’s Finding Claire Fletcher and I’m anxiously awaiting Sapphire Star’s release of that in December so that I can read the final manuscript.

A little more to help you get to know A. L. Jackson:

A.L. Jackson first found a love for writing during her days as a young mother and college student. She filled the journals she carried with short stories and poems used as an emotional outlet for the difficulties and joys she found in day-to-day life.

Years later, she shared a short story she’d been working on with her two closest friends and, with their encouragement, this story became her first full length novel. A.L. now spends her days writing in Southern Arizona where she lives with her husband and three beautiful children. Her favorite pastime is spending time with the ones she loves.

Pulled is a story of attraction and separation, of a love so strong it refuses to give up even when all others have.

You can learn more about this and her other books HERE.