Jas' debut book, Berkano (The Ultimate Power of Three Book 1) is being released on the 12th August, only a couple of weeks away now, and I have to admit, I was biting my fingernails at that point in my journey, so how are you doing?
First of all, thank you so much for having me! It’s great to be here.
Honestly, I am a paradox of being incredibly, vibrantly excited and utterly terrified all at once! The countdown is very real. I know we spent the run-up to our launches joking about hiding in boxes together, but now that yours is officially out, you’ve successfully escaped! And I am so happy at the well-deserved success you’ve already had.
I, on the other hand, am currently looking for a good shipping crate to crawl into until my launch day passes. You'll have to come rescue me. If you see a stray cardboard box delivery at your house, just know I might be inside it.
Excellent! If you could line the bottom with chocolate and pack a bottle of wine for cushioning, I’ll be set until launch day. 😂
Now I’m definitely jumping in there too!
But I’m getting ahead of myself. I'm supposed to do an intro, for all the lovely people that don't know your journey, so let's start over! Can you tell me when you first started writing?
My writing journey started the moment I could hold a pen. I kicked things off with some angsty childhood poetry to vent some feelings, moved on to stories, and dreamed of doing it full-time.
Then adulthood happened. I ended up working as a medical secretary, which taught me two things: how to type incredibly fast, and that I absolutely hate working in offices. I traded the filing cabinets to become a full-time carer for my partner, which is so much more rewarding and finally gave my creativity room to breathe.
Being a full-time carer is a tough job, so I’m glad you find the time to be creative. What do you do for relaxation?
Thank you, being a carer is definitely a 24/7 gig and it can take its toll, so finding time to switch off and just create is everything to me.
These days, my passions are pretty simple: reading, writing, and masterfully burning dinner while sipping a very necessary glass of wine!
I’ve spent my whole life refusing to fit into any conventional boxes - which is pretty ironic given our current obsession with cardboard ones! It took me a while to embrace being different, but now I wouldn't have it any other way.
I love that. Be true to yourself - that’s inspirational.
Inspirational, eek! 😬 That's going on a sticky note inside my shipping crate. 😂 Inspirational might be pushing it, but finally choosing to just be unapologetically myself has been the most freeing thing ever. Worrying about everyone else’s opinion of me was just too much hard work!
Agreed, but talking of worrying, can I just say a huge thank you for your amazing support when my book went live. The fact you read it straight away, and then wrote that amazing review really helped calm my nerves.
And you are so welcome! Honestly, because of our journeys together, I had been waiting with pure, impatient excitement for My F in Life to come out. I absolutely loved it! You are just so incredibly clever - to write something that has so much humour but is deeply heartfelt at the exact same time, all while keeping the characters' journeys feeling so authentic? It’s masterclass stuff, and I am obsessed with your main character, Jaye!
Aww, now see, I don’t take compliments well, so shut up 🤣🤣
Okay, okay, I’ll behave! 🤐😂
But I am so, so glad my review helped calm your nerves. I totally get that fear of “Have I just written a massive pile of rubbish?” I think every author secretly terrifies themselves with that thought!
That's not just me then - good to know 🤣 But you’re right. Even though I’d gone through a development edit, a copy edit and then a proof read, I was still nervous that it wasn’t good enough.
It really is madness, isn't it? We can put our books through absolute rigorous testing and our brains will still try to convince us it's all bad. That’s why I am so endlessly grateful to my own editing team for giving me the confidence that my book is actually good.
Berkano went through four intense rounds of editing with my amazing team, Nik and Jon at Tepris Press. Working with professionals like them was a totally new experience for me. It was definitely a learning curve, but it has taught me so much about the craft. I genuinely think I’m a much better writer now because of it!
I agree about the steep learning curve. I’ll admit, I did what you’re not supposed to do, and allowed some friends and family to read My F in Life before I sent it to the editor. How about you - did you need validation too?
I am the exact opposite - I am incredibly, fiercely private with my writing! Before I sent Berkano off, absolutely no one had read a single word of it. In fact, my friends and family didn't even know I was writing a book at all. I guarded the manuscript so much that I'm pretty sure my partner thought I was secretly plotting a bank heist or creating a strange new cult, given how much time I spent muttering at my screen in absolute secrecy.
OMG, that’s hilarious! I can see it now, the wine and burnt food forgotten as you plan world domination!
Shh, don't give away my entire business model! 😂 Sending it to Nik and Jon at Tepris Press was the absolute first time anyone else had ever set eyes on it. To say I was terrified is a massive understatement - handing it over felt like willingly giving away my firstborn child to strangers. Not that I have any children, mind you - I think my childhood teddy bear that sits on my bed would be deeply offended if I replaced her with a human baby - but the separation anxiety was very real!
Looking back, though, I'm so glad they were the first ones to see it; having that immediate, professional feedback was exactly what I, and the book, needed.
I hear you. I found my editors’ feedback brilliant, although their reports did lead to rewriting and I seriously wondered if it would ever get published because I became this manic self-editor who couldn't let anything go by 😁 How about you?
Thankfully, Nik and Jon gave me a heads-up that a first-round edit usually looks like a crime scene of red text on the screen, so I didn't completely panic! I had to do some rewriting and shift sections around to improve the flow, but it was actually less painful than I’d braced myself for, and I genuinely loved every minute of shaping it into the best possible version of itself.
That's excellent! Prior to writing my novel, I'd attended courses and read lots of books, which I enjoyed, but I learnt the importance of hooking a reader with the first line/ paragraph, so I spent quite a lot of time working on mine.
Then my writer pal, Liz, had this brilliant idea of bringing one of my chapters forwards, so I ran time backwards to lead up to the event, and my opening lines ended up changing - typical! Did you feel that same pressure to get your opening right too?
I haven’t actually done any writing courses or read a single book on how to write... which now makes me feel like I’ve turned up to the exam without doing any of the revision! Maybe that’s something I should have put on my to-do list!
My school of learning was just pure, unadulterated reading. Books were always my safe haven, and usually far more entertaining than reality anyway. Because of that, I already instinctively knew how vital it was to hook a reader straight away.
It's funny how these things work - you moved yours forwards, whereas Nik and Jon actually advised me to move my original opening much later into the book so the new beginning tied perfectly into a different part of the story.
That's so interesting, as you do get blind to your own work, so having that external feedback is so helpful.
I know Berkano is book 1 in a series of 3, (like me - we really are on the same wavelength!), so what’s your process for outlining your book - plotter or pantser?
We really are in sync! As for my process, I think I’m a bit of a mythological creature in the writing world - a ‘plantsor’ maybe? My method is a bit chaotic. Believe it or not, the story itself is actually already written for books two and three, but only in a very rough, 'brain-dump, ignore all the rules’ kind of way.
I write out the entire narrative from my head without worrying about anything other than just getting it down. Once the dust settles, I go back, and that’s when the real work begins and I restructure, rewrite, and change massive chunks as new ideas spark. I plot the general direction, but I absolutely fly by the seat of my pants to get there! So I’m essentially a plotter and a pantser having a massive argument in the same body!"
You’d be surprised what I see in the mirror after a chaotic day of trying to fit my writing around my caring role 😆
But thankfully, no, the darkness hasn't come for me yet. If it did look back at me from inside my mirror, it would probably just see a very haggard, crazy woman in mismatched pyjamas and think, ‘Actually, you know what? I'll pass.’ 😂
As for the hook, that actually came from sitting for hours on end, desperately trying to think of something that would catch people's attention. I wanted readers to know right away that the story was about the dead, but I also wanted to show that it's different from other books in the genre. By the end of the day, I was completely cross-eyed, but I’d managed to come up with a few ideas. I pitched them to Nik, and between us, we chose that one.
And what genre best fits Berkano?
I am actually terrible at labelling genres! I always just thought of this book as fantasy, but I’ve since been reliably informed that it’s urban fantasy.
Okay, that's a new one on me, but where did the idea for the story come from?
To be honest, I’m not even entirely sure where it came from. I tend to live in my head a lot and always have so many concepts going round and round. Something on the TV or in a book might spark a thought, and off I go on my own little tangent, creating weird and wonderful worlds in my mind. When an idea refuses to go away, I start making notes, and that’s where it all begins.
At its heart, Berkano is about a young woman named George, who is living a pretty standard, unremarkable life. She works a regular day job, lives at home with her mum, and has absolutely no idea she's anything out of the ordinary.
Everything changes for her, though, when a mysterious woman approaches her one day. George discovers her life has been a lie, and that she has a power in her DNA that allows her to communicate with the dead. Suddenly, she finds herself being hunted by terrifying creatures and is forced to leave everything she knows behind, all to fulfil a destiny she’s really not sure she wants anything to do with.
While it's a fast-paced adventure filled with family secrets, ancient powers, and danger, it’s ultimately a story about friendship, loyalty, and discovering the courage to face the things that terrify you most.
Wow, Jas, that sounds amazing! I can't wait to read it.
I'm going to end our chat by asking about your publishing route. You’ve gone a completely different direction from me. Can you tell me more?
I was incredibly lucky in how my journey with Tepris Press began. They had actually read some of my previous work and were happy to take me on based on that, which left me absolutely over the moon and so incredibly grateful!
My experience with them since has been excellent. The level of support they’ve given me has been exceptional, not only with the editing itself, but also when it comes to answering my endless stream of questions.
They’ve held my hand through the terrifying world of marketing and social media - which is a relief, because left to my own devices, my marketing strategy would probably just be standing on a street corner yelling, “Buy my book or the teddy bear gets it!” While the PR itself has been my own doing, their constant advice on what I actually need to be putting out there has been a lifesaver.
They also handled getting the book up on Amazon, coordinating the launch date, and ordering the proofs. Having them handle that side of things took a massive amount of time and stress off my shoulders!
As for the cover, I am so completely in love with it. It was created by an amazing artist, Ashley McKenzie who works for a Nashville based company called TabGraphix. The design was entirely up to me, but Tepris Press was brilliant in helping me come up with ideas and assisting me in finding the artist to bring it to life.
That's sounds a wonderful working relationship - you really have found your home. Thank you so much, Jas, and I can't wait for your launch. You have so many people in the writing community rooting for you, me included, so readers will be flocking to read your work - I can see you on the bestseller list in no time!
You are far too kind, thank you! If I make it onto a bestseller list, though, it'll probably be 'Most Likely to Spontaneously Combust.’ If I can get through launch day without melting into a puddle in this heat, I'll count it as a win!
🤣 If you'd like to support lovely Jas by buying her debut novel, you can find the link here - I've got mine on pre-order and can't wait to read it!
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