Rising Star Spotlight Quinn Avery

My goodness, you have an impressive portfolio of books in multiple genres yet each is under different pen ,name! Explain why you chose to go that route.

Although I’d wanted to be an author since I was 8, I didn’t start publishing until the Twilight phenomenon was in full swing. Many other indie authors were publishing young adult paranormal, so I thought I would give it a try since I’d loved the paranormal genre forever (I’m a big Charlaine Harris fan and devoured the Sookie Stackhouse series in a matter of days). Seven books in (8 counting the middle school book I wrote for my son as J.A. Naumann), my editor at the time suggested I try writing romance since that genre was blowing up after Fifty Shades. When I took his advice, I used the name Jennifer Ann rather than my full name (Jen Naumann) because my children were pretty young at the time, and their friends were beginning to read my YA books. I didn’t want to receive calls from angry parents or corrupt any young minds. After writing 21 books as Jennifer Ann, I realized my stories were getting heavy on the suspense element. I was also a mega-fan of the Veronica Mars TV series and I was bummed they had ended it so abruptly after 3 seasons (in my world the 4th season doesn’t exist). Then one day my character, Bexley Squires, came to me, wanting to tell her stories of being a sassy yet Sierce amateur sleuth, so I decided to switch genres once again. My romance novels tended to get pretty graphic and included colorful language, so I switched pen names yet again as I wanted my new series to be PG-13. I wanted to write something my family could talk to their friends about (my sister is a doctor and her nurses would tease her about my romance books). It’s funny because I’m not really a romantic person in real life, but there always tends to be an element of romance in my stories no matter the genre. Accordingly, I usually gloss over sex scenes as Quinn Avery.

Are you happy you did?

Abso-freaking-lutely. It would’ve been far too confusing to readers if I had written everything under one name. Plus my writing has grown immensely since my Sirst book, and I have a very short attention span, so it’s been fun exercising my writer’s brain in different genres over the past 11 years. I feel as if I’m Sinally in the place I was always meant to be - careerwise. But no promises I won’t add another pen name… I’ve always wanted to write a horror novel! What made you choose the genres you write in (YA, Romantic Suspense, and Suspense Thriller?)

In addition to my answer above, I’ve gravitated toward the suspense, thriller, and mystery genres because I’ve been a true crime fan since Jeffrey Dahmer was arrested around my senior year of high school. I was fascinated that someone who only lived one state away could be that mentally ill (I’m proud to say my daughter inherited my fascination and recently became a probation ofSicer after earning dual degrees in psychology and criminal justice). I was also in high school when Jacob Wetterling was abducted a few hours from where I lived in Minnesota. He was only a couple of years younger than me, and it always bothered me that he just disappeared without any answers. My upcoming release, Lost Girls of Kato, kind of came to be from being shook up for so long by Jacob’s disappearance. I still can’t read about the monster they recently arrested for his murder without breaking down… especially now that I have a son and can empathize even more with Jacob’s mom, Patty. Do you have a favorite genre to write in? And why or why not?

I love writing mysteries. After Sinishing the Sirst draft, I go back and insert red herrings throughout the story. It’s a total blast… like putting together a puzzle I created.

How do you get the inspiration for your next novels?

The ideas literally come from everywhere. Sometimes pieces will come to me in a dream. Sometimes they’re inspired by a song, movie, or TV show. Someone once said to me, “Wouldn’t it be nice to know exactly how long you have to live?” and I was like no, it wouldn’t, then came up with the storyline for my YA dystopian novel, Shymers. Sometimes I’ll be sitting on the back of my husband’s Harley and ideas just come to me out of nowhere (that’s also the place I often tend to shake writer’s block). I wish there was a way to turn off my mind every now and then… it’s always running in full speed. I don’t get a lot of sleep.

What prompted you to begin a writing career in the Birst place?

I’ve always been a passionate reader and I’ve been writing stories since elementary school. I still have the My Little Ponies story that made me declare I wanted to be a writer,, along with massive 3-hole binders full of “fan-Siction” I wrote in high school during my obsession with John Hughes movies. But then college and raising a family got in the way, and there was a good decade in which my creativity was seriously blocked. I didn’t actually “pull the trigger” on publishing until someone very dear to me faced cancer at a young age, and I realized I needed to follow my life-long dream before it was too late. It helped that indie publishing was a thing because I’m not sure I would’ve had the patience to work with a publisher—I also don’t do well with people telling me what to do.

What are you like at home, when you aren't writing?

Depends on the day. I struggle with depression, so there are days when I resemble a sloth and merely binge NetSlix. On a good day, my husband would probably say I’m like a gnat… always doing several things at once or annoying him. He’s a farmer, so in the winter we’re together 24/7 and tend to get a little cagey. I’ve tried just about every craft—I’m currently obsessed with macrame and humorous cross-stitch designs. Our youngest two children now live on opposite sides of the country, so we’re not home as much as before. And we’re in the process of building a new house, so I’ve had to put my career on the back burner in order to assist with the physical labor involved with our side of the construction.

What is the one trait that your family or friends would say most deBines you?

They’d probably either say I’m a total ham or extremely ditzy. I think it depends who you ask. My daughter recently told me I’m sometimes funny without even trying. I’m not sure that’s a compliment. What is the one area of your life that you would most like to change?

I’m becoming increasingly anxious with age and constantly worry about everything and everyone I care about (it doesn’t help that my closest friend died last year in a freak accident). Sometimes it’s little things, like worrying my husband won’t enjoy his meal when I pick the restaurant. Other times it’s crippling, like when it prevents me from driving because of potentially bad weather. I don’t like taking meds as it messes with my creativity, so I’m trying to convince myself to let the less important things slide and trust that things will be okay. Accordingly, I stopped covering my grays last year so I’d stop obsessing over whether or not they were showing… it’s extremely freeing not to care about it anymore! Although it only addresses a small area from the cause of my anxieties, I recently decided my new motto is, “Not my circus, not my monkeys.” Turns out I know a lot of monkeys.

If you could have one personal and one professional wish, what would they be?

I’m obsessed with the production of movies/ television shows, so it would fulSill both of those wishes if one of my books became optioned for a movie or series, allowing me to follow the process upclose and personal. I would say Bexley is a strong contender, but with the current trend of serial killers, I could also see either In Her Father’s Shadow or Lost Girls of Kato becoming a major motion picture. It seems like a wild thing to dream about, but then again, I’m the same girl who once dreamed of becoming a published author.