Melanie Musing With Author Jodi Gallegos!

Welcome to the Spotlight Lounge!  The hangout spot on MelaniesMuses.com where you can find guest posts, interviews, and more! You never know what might be going on. 

​Today I (Melanie) want to share with you an interview with Author Jodi Gallegos!  In an idea world you should have found yourself here via the release day post.  In case you found it a different way - then be sure to also check out the release day post HERE!

About Jodi
​Jodi is a YA and Adult author, black belt, and registered nurse. She lives with her husband, three sons and an evolving herd of undisciplined animals in Colorado. She has a well-earned fear of bears, but tolerates the Teddy and Gummy variety. She has been obsessed with books, both reading and writing them, for most of her life and prefers the written word to having actual conversations. The most current projected completion date of her To Be Read book collection is May 17, 2176.

 
Welcome to the Spotlight Lounge! Thanks for coming to chat with us today and let’s start with what your favorite drink would be to have while we chat.
A -I have a weakness for a frosty, icy Coke. But I’d also love to sip on a steamy cup of tea.
 
Musers hail from all around the globe – so where do you live and do you draw your inspiration from there?
 A- I was born in Portland, Oregon, and live in Colorado, but all my inspiration has come from traveling. The Rum Runners series is set in Louisiana and The High Crown Chronicles is the culmination of trips to Ireland, London, and two trips to Scotland. The Elyphesian gods in The High Crown Chronicles were inspired by a long-standing love for Greek mythology and a trip I took to Ephesus in Turkey.

The earlier books I read from you were Historical Fiction but today come the highly anticipated release of book 1 in your new YA Fantasy series - The High Crown Chronicles!  So how do you decide what you want to write?

• I am so excited for this book’s release. It was actually the first novel I ever completed, and yes, it is very different from the Rum Runners books.

My creative process could be described as chaotic at best. There are always several ideas bombarding me while I’m already working on a project. I write the new ideas down with as much detail as possible so all the information I need is there when I’m freed up. Inevitably, there will be one project that’s stuck in my head, yelling at me louder than all the others. That’s the one I move on to next. So I guess the answer is, I don’t really get to decide. My muses tell me what I’m writing next.
 
History, and especially Royal history can be quite a rabbit hole to dive down.  Do you have any favorite books, movies, or TV shows that inspired you?

• I spent several years chipping away at The High Crown Chronicles. Between writing it and all the revisions—plus a few other projects thrown in between revision rounds—it was seven years! During that time, I went through a lot of thematic books, movies and shows to keep me in the “royal” mind. I actually love the first few books of Philippa Gregory’s The Cousins series (The Lady in the Water, The White Queen, The Red Queen, and The White Princess). I spent a lot of time traveling for work early on and I can’t tell you how many times I listened to the audiobooks for each of those.

As far as movies & tv: I devour all things royal and medieval. While writing The High Crown Chronicles I watched Reign—a lot. I also loved The Tudors. And then…Game of Thrones came along and had the dark, vengeful tone I’d envisioned for the entire series, so I jumped right into that world!

Do you have a favorite character in the High Chronicles? If so who is it – and are they based on anyone in the real world?

• None of the characters are based on anyone I know in the real world.

I adore Malory, of course, otherwise I’ve chosen the wrong person to take on a three-book adventure (actually four, because I did toy with a novella that she’s in!). I think Malory is a fantastically flawed character. She discovers that the person she’s spent her life becoming is just an image, not her true self. Now she’s forced to figure out who she is and what she stands for while being in a dangerous position where she has to balance caution and wisdom against impulse and vengeance.
I’m also very fond of Kennard. He’s a great, big grumbly presence who is both terrifying and intriguing.  

Are you a planner or a pantster? (I read this somewhere and had to steal it! Basically do you plan where your books are heading or do you write and see where the story takes you?
I started The High Crown Chronicles as a pantser. I just had a vague idea where this story was going and no idea how we were getting there. The beauty of pantsing is that you get so wrapped up in the novel, that you don’t really realize where you’re heading until you’re there. There were times I gasped as I realized something had just happened that I had no idea was coming (Chapter 29, page 118!).
The problem with being a pantser is that it can be chaotic during revisions and it’s hard to keep the timeline straight. I am now a “plantser” (1/2 plotter, ½ pantser). I outline an overview of where my story is going with major plot points, but it isn’t terribly detailed. It’s kind of like if I planned a trip from Colorado to Louisiana and I know I’m stopping in Albuquerque and Dallas, but how I get to each point, what I do along the way, and how long it takes will be decided on the road.    
 
What for you is the hardest part of writing a book?

• So many things! Sadly, the inspiration that gets me started with every book dwindles once I get to the real meat of the book. The introduction is easy, but about 1/3 of the way in it definitely becomes more “work” than passion. It’s hard to push through that last 1/3 where the action or intensity that I’ve been building up to is at it’s height, and the words flow easily again.

 
Where do you get your ideas?

• Well, this goes back to the chaos theory of my creation. Things just pop in my head (character traits, random bits of dialogue, situations) and sometimes become a book. The High Crown Chronicles started as a random scene in my head in which a newly married medieval couple were in his chambers and as she shies away from his touch, he demands, “ I am the king…”. That scene never came to be, because it just wasn’t in Jamis’s character to be so demanding. But I think the new scene is so much sexier, so I’m not even sorry!

The idea for A Shine That Defies the dark came from several things, but I credit reality tv for it! My husband and I were watching a lot of shows set in the deep south. I remember turning to him one night and saying, “I’m really intrigued by the whole moonshining and bootlegging culture. I might write a book about that someday.” One day a bit of dialogue jumped into my head as I was getting ready for work. I entered it into my phone so I wouldn’t forget then proceeded to think about who that person was and why she’d have said those words. The dialogue I wrote down—I didn’t go lookin’ for trouble that night. I was tryin’ to avoid the man in my momma’s bedroom the same as she was tryin’ to ignore the fact that I knew he was in there with her—became the opening lines in the first Rum Runners book.

If you could give younger you one piece of advice what would it be?

• I would tell myself that my high school English teacher was a short-sighted, dumb ass who had no right crushing the dreams of teenagers. I would tell her to love literature with all her heart and look for a way. And also that bad boys are really just bad.

Are you reading any books right now?

• So many! I’m reading an ARC of Little Threats by Emily Schultz. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. And The Girls by Emma Cline.

What TV Shows are your #MustWatch at the moment?
A- I’m dying to catch up on the most recent season of Schitt’s Creek. I finally watched Little Fires Everywhere (LOVE!). I’ve been working and writing a lot though, so I haven’t been able to keep up. I need recommendations!

What’s the last movie you watched and how would you rate it?
A- The last movie was My Spy on Amazon. It was cute, good for family watching. Nothing too cerebral though. Being a nurse during covid has left me gravitating toward light-hearted entertainment.

Jodi, thank you so much for chatting to us today!  Before you leave please let the Musers know where they can stalk you!

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/JodiLGallegos
Twitter - https://twitter.com/JodiGallegos_
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/jodigallegos_/
Amazon – https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B077WZKF4M
Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17175445.Jodi_Gallegos
BookBub - https://www.bookbub.com/authors/jodi-gallegos


Let us know what you think of Jodi's answers below and I'm sure she will be happy to jump in and answer any questions you wish I had asked! 

And Be Sure To Check Out The Release Day Post And Giveaway HERE!