Interview with Author PATY JAGER

Today I’m interviewing Paty Jager . Her book, Secrets of a Mayan Moon is an Action Adventurer Romance and was released on August 4th.



Please tell my readers a little bit about your book.

Sarah, thank you for having me here today!

Doctor Isabella Mumphrey has a genius IQ and a fascination for Native American studies because she is one eighth Hopi. This fascination and near photographic memory has made her an authority on the artifacts and hieroglyphs of the People. Part of her interest is in connecting the tribes of Central America to those in North America. She is losing her funding at the university when her mentor archeologist Virgil Martin calls and dangles not only the money she needs to keep her department open but also the chance to decipher an ancient Mayan ceremony.

Describe the genre of this particular title, and is the only genre you write in?

This book is an action adventure romance. The story takes place in the Guatemalan Jungle at an archeological dig. There are artifact thieves, drug traffickers, and someone out to reenact a human sacrifice. Amid all this danger an attraction and romance build between Isabella and Tino, a DEA agent.

I have books out in the genres of historical western romance, contemporary western romance, and historical paranormal romance.



How did this story come to be?

This story came about after I complained to a friend that I was disappointed in a book that was dubbed an action adventure romance. She dared me to write what I thought an action adventure book should be, and we brainstormed the basics of the book while driving to a writing retreat.



Did you have several manuscripts finished before you sold? If so, did you send them out yourself?

I wrote six manuscripts before I sold. It was the sixth one that was contracted by Wild Rose Press. Yes, I sent them to agents and editors and now after being published I can see why they were all turned down. While myself and family and friends thought they were good, I had a lot to learn about craft- goals, motivation, and conflict and just writing an interesting sentence.



What is your writing routine like?

When I’m in direct writing mode(not busy with promotion) I’m at the computer by 7am answer e-mails, drop by a few blogs, and FB. I have breakfast about 8-8:30 and do outside chores. Then I’m back at the computer by 9-9:30 and write until noon. I take a break for about an hour again eating lunch and doing household chores. Then I’m back at the computer by 1pm and work until 4 or 5 depending on what I have to make for dinner. In the winter I may go back on the computer an hour or two after dinner but that’s to socialize and do promotion. In the summer my hours aren’t as strict because I have haying and irrigating to do along with the usual. And I try to get in an hour horse ride. The thing I’ve learned is you HAVE to sit in the chair and turn the computer on if you want to write. A book can’t be published if it’s sitting in your head.



What sort of promo do you do? Do you have help?

I like to do blog tours like this one when a book comes out. Then I pop on other friends’ blogs now and then. I have book marks, calendars, and a tri-fold flyer with all my books. I do book signings, teach workshops at conferences, and have a monthly contest on my website. The only help I have is my daughter who designs my covers and helps me with bookmark designs and posters.



Having achieved your goal to be a published author, what is the most rewarding thing?

The most rewarding thing about being a published author is receiving e-mails from a reader and hearing how much they enjoyed the book. As a child I read to experience new places and cultures in an enjoyable way and that’s what I hope my books do for others. Maybe teach them one thing they didn’t know and have an enjoyable ride along the way.



Are you a member of any writing organizations and, if so, have they helped?

Yes, I’ve been a member of Romance Writers of America (RWA) since 1998. It has been the catalyst that helped me hone my writing and put me in contact with other writers who have helped me along the way. It’s a great organization for someone starting out in this profession. I’m also a member for several RWA chapters, again, the camaraderie with other writers is so valuable. I also belong to a local writing group Central Oregon Writers Guild. It’s nice to have

some local writers to visit with now and then. Writing is a lonely profession and when you first start out and have the characters in your head you think you might be crazy, but then you meet and talk with other writers and you realize you aren’t alone. There are other people walking around with characters in their heads too. ;0)



What’s next for you?

I’m just about finished with the second Isabella Mumphrey book and then I’m going to start a mystery series set at a ski area in Northern Idaho. A half Nez Perce artist will be the protagonist who helps solve crimes through dreams from her dead grandmother.



BOOK BLURB

Child prodigy and now Doctor of Anthropology, Isabella Mumphrey, is about to lose her job at the university. In the world of publish or perish, her mentor’s request for her assistance on a dig is just the opportunity she’s been seeking. If she can decipher an ancient stone table—and she can—she’ll keep her department. She heads to Guatemala, but drug trafficking bad guys, artifact thieves, and her infatuation for her handsome guide wreak havoc on her scholarly intentions.

DEA agent Tino Kosta, is out to avenge the deaths of his family. He’s deep undercover as a jaguar tracker and sometimes jungle guide, but the appearance of a beautiful, brainy anthropologist heats his Latin blood taking him on a dangerous detour that could leave them both casualties of the jungle.



A little bit about the author

Wife, mother, grandmother, and the one who cleans pens and delivers the hay; award winning author Paty Jager and her husband currently ranch 350 acres when not dashing around visiting their children and grandchildren. She not only writes the western lifestyle, she lives it.

Her contemporary Western, Perfectly Good Nanny won the 2008 Eppie for Best Contemporary Romance, Spirit of the Mountain, a historical paranormal set among the Nez Perce, garnered 1st place in the paranormal category of the Lories Best Published Book Contest, and Spirit of the Lake, the second book of the spirit trilogy, was a finalist in the Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence.



Excerpt

Isabella climbed out of the boat, keeping as much distance between her and Tino as possible. He’d humiliated her, and she couldn’t get away from him. They were stuck together tonight and all of tomorrow until he delivered her to the dig. His taunting her with a kiss and then drawing away as if she were some vile creature hurt as deeply as the things Darrell Rutley had said to her face in grad school.

She walked into the forest, hunting for a place to have a few moments to herself.

“Do not go far,” Tino called in his seductive Latin accent.

She cursed her reaction to his voice, raised a hand acknowledging his order, and tromped deeper into the trees. The murmur of the river faded away in the steady drone of mosquitoes. She slapped at the leaves on the plants and wandered deeper. Rustling in the underbrush shot her heart into her throat. Jaguars were nocturnal weren’t they? A small, furry, pig-like animal trotted across her path, followed by five smaller versions.

She giggled at her jumpy nerves and the animals’ comical parade as she watched the last one disappear through the greenery. The waning light enlarged the shadows. Reluctance played war with her logical self. She should return to the boat before darkness descended and she couldn’t find her way back. But her pride, something she usually didn’t consider, wouldn’t let her face Tino.

Not yet.

It was stupid to believe he wanted to kiss her. Tino was handsome, virile, and so unlike any of the men she’d met during her college days or professionally. Exactly the type who toy with women like me. His chivalry and her attraction to him made her feel attractive, something she rarely experienced. But the way he brushed her off after he’d initiated the kiss... He’d only proved he could kiss her and not that he wanted her. She mentally slapped herself at her stupidity and virginal cravings.

The walk hadn’t settled her anger. Reliving the event only escalated her rage.

How could one be a genius yet stupid about life lessons?

She pulled out what she now considered her knife and hacked at the plants along the way. With each swing she lopped off something of Tino’s. Blue penetrating eyes. Devastating smile. A hand, so good at soothing her. The other hand. Her smile grew, and her frustration turned to the healthy exhaustion of an extensive taekwondo class.

Isabella wiped a sleeve across her sweaty brow and heaved a sigh of contentment. The vigorous exercise worked wonders on her disposition.

A fierce roar vibrated through the trees.



How can my readers buy your book?
Secrets of a Mayan Moon is available at Kindle, Nook, and Smashwords.

You can find more information about Paty Jager and my book, Secrets of a Mayan Moon by visiting my website, http://www.patyjager.net or my blog at http://www.patyjager.blogspot.com.



Just a few fun questions to answer if you don’t mind.

1) What’s your favorite movie?

It’s a toss up between Burlesque and The Proposal

2) What is your favorite TV show?

Castle

3) What is your favorite drink?

Hot Chocolate

4) Who is your favorite author to read?

There are too many to name just one.

5) What’s your favorite vacation spot?

Anywhere my husband or family are.

6) What’s the best piece of advice you have been given?

When you get feedback on a story let it sit a day and think about what they said. Sometimes it hurts or makes you angry but usually if you step away from your feelings and take a good look you can see that maybe they were right and there are ways to make the story better.



Giveaway

This post is part of a two week blog tour. I love to give and you could be the winner! I will be giving away a $5 egift card to a commenter at each blog stop and will give a bag full of goodies to the person who follows me to the most blogs and a gift to the host who gets the most commenters. You can find the blog tour hosts at my blog: http://www.patyjager.blogspot.com
 or my website: http://www.patyjager.net



Thank you for having me here today!

Paty