Ultimate Interview - with Jessica Bell!

GUYS! Guess what? It's time, y'all! It's time! My Ultimate Interview Contest, held to celebrate reaching 100 followers, was all about featuring one awesome writer/blogger in an interview - with questions asked by (and linked to) other bloggers. Y'all gave some GREAT responses and also helped me pick the winner, which was extra helpings of awesomesauce all around.

So, without further ado, I'm excited to welcome said winner, Jessica Bell, whom we all know as the riotous

Alliterative Allomorph!

Yep, that lovely lass is our own Alliterative Allomorph, who, besides being the winner of the Ultimate Interview Contest, also lives in Athens, Greece (how freakin' cool is that??) after growing up in Melbourne, Australia. The offspring of two gothic rock musicians who took her along as they moseyed between Australia and Europe, Jessica is also a helluva musician in her own right.

Her ability to write music soon stimulated an enthusiasm for literature that blossomed during her years at Latrobe University and ensuing career as an editor. In 2007, Jessica left her post at an English language teaching publisher to go it alone as a freelancing writer/editor who works for Cengage Learning, Macmillan Education, Education First, Pearson/Longman and Signature Manuscripts. In addition to her freelance and musical projects, Jessica is also working on a novel and a memoir while she seeks agent representation for her novel, DEAD IN THE CORNER OF MY BEDROOM. 

Her other hidden skill? The ability to come up with some intense freakin questions! Hers was the winning interview question, which went a lil something like this:

Q. Have you ever gotten sexually excited after writing a love scene and then acted upon it?

A. Well, I’m sorry to have to break it to you, but the only love scene I wrote ended in the female protagonist finding out that her husband was having an affair, so unfortunately by the end of that scene any arousal was dampened. (boo!) But I will admit to getting in the mood before writing the scene (I’ll let your imagination fill in the details) … well it’s gotta be realistic, right? Hahaha, sorry, is that a disappointing answer? (Boo! Again!)

[Zoe interrupts to say that the "boos" are Jessica's, not mine :D. Although I'll give it a "dammit!" because I was hoping for some saucy stuff!!! *hauls mind, dripping and stinky, out of the gutter*]

Okay, folks! The rest of the interview questions come courtesy of the bloggers whose questions got the highest response in my contest question poll:

Q. From Roland Yeomans at Writing in the Crosshairs: When the room is dark and your heart says 'give up', whose voice do you hear next, and what does it say?

A. My mother’s. Through all her difficulties surviving benzodiazepine withdrawal when I was a kid, she still managed to drill ‘If there’s a will there’s a way’ into my head practically every day. For a mother who was never in the right frame of mind, she did a pretty damn good job of pushing me in the right direction. Yes, I strayed for a while, but eventually pulled myself together. So I guess my mother is responsible for both my rebellion and getting my priorities straight. She was an awfully brave woman, and she is living proof that if there’s a will there’s a way. If you knew what she went through, you’d understand, but it’s a REALLY long explanation.

Q. From Shannon Messenger at Ramblings of a Wannabe Scribe: Orlando Bloom - sexier as a pirate or an elf? (and why?)

A. You’ve got to be kidding me. I don’t see any sexual attraction to him whatsoever. As a pirate he reminds me of an ex-boyfriend of mine - obviously ‘ex’ for a reason. As an elf, he reminds me of a wannabe metal head too embarrassed to go whole hog with the black make-up. I’m a Johnny Depp gal from a very young age :) - from the age where I would stick socks in my top to impress Mr. Depp, who was pinned up on my wardrobe.

Q. From Lydia Kang at The Word Is My Oyster: Who would you NOT want reading your shiny new novel?

A. LOL. Um, my ex employers. I don’t say very nice things about them. But that’s totally my protagonist’s opinion, not mine! (wink wink)

Q. From Courtney Barr at Southern Princess: Is there any subject that disturbs you so much that you WON'T write about it? If so, why?

A. Not that I’m aware of. I haven’t tried to write anything disturbing to that degree. Mind you, I’m having difficulty with my memoir at the moment because I slip into a state of depression I just don’t want to be in. I think my memoir is going to take a VERY VERY long time. My memoir is primarily about growing up with a drug addicted (and rock musician) mother and how her addiction and eventual never-ending drug withdrawal basically prevented me leading what most would call a ‘normal’ childhood. Hate going back to that place. But it is a very interesting story and I hope that one day I can get it done. [Zoe interrupts again: damn I want to read that! Sound like one compelling story. Kudos to Jessica for being brave enough to face it!]

Q. From Justine Dell at...Justine Dell: Tell us about the time when you almost gave up.

A. Um, regarding writing? I haven’t yet. I’ve been pushing myself for five years now, and I’m still determined. But I did almost give up living when I was a teenager and wanted to be free of my mother. But I could write a whole book about that (probably why I am), so you’ll just have to wait till I get published. Can you wait twenty years? LOL

On a happier note … Who wants Zoe to answer these questions as well? A show of hands please … Ok, let me count … Wow, Zoe, looks like there’s over a hundred hands here … :D

[Zoe's comment: uh...I'mma get back to y'all on that one, lol!]

But there you have it! Some really awesome interview questions + a whole rack of awesome bloggers = so much fun! Jessica, thanks so much for stopping by (that golden flash drive's in the mail tomorrow I SWEAR, lol)!

Also thanks so SO much to everyone for participating - this was one of my favorite blog moments, ever. So thanks for becoming followers and supporting my blog - I'm truly humbled and grateful. Remember, folks, keep payin' it forward - you never know what lonely writer you might comfort with a comment :D Thanks!!