Today we are thrilled to share our latest author interview! In this episode, Fable and the Verbivore have the chance to speak with author, editor, and professional speaker Jo Mercer.

Jo is the author of ten works of fiction in a variety of genres from Women’s Fiction, YA Contemporary, and YA Fantasy that are in various stages of release. During our conversation, we focus on her latest self-published YA paranormal Shady Woods, book one of her Shady Woods series, which debuted on October 13th of this last year. She has also written and personally managed the release process for her books After They Go, Dark and Stormy, Perfection and Other Illusive Things, and Triplicity.

In this episode, Jo covers a lot of ground, providing advice on a variety of writing and reading topics based on her own writing journey. She discusses how she approached creating the fantastical world for Shady Woods, and the need to balance efficient world-building with the need to make sure that the setting feels authentic and rational. Jo also describes how she learned to listen to herself and identify when she needed to step back from a project and let her subconscious do some of the work, rather than forcing things that didn’t work and would have to be rewritten.   

She also shared her own perspective on the self-publishing process, what is needed to be able to approach it with the right mindset, and some reasons to choose it over traditional publishing. Later on in the episode, she talks about beta reading and critique process - both from the perspective of the reader and the writer - and gives some great tips for how to approach both of these parts of the writing process.

Lastly, she reminds us that the best advice is to have patience and to continue to do the work. Knowing that it is a field that you continue to grow in with time, experience, hard work, and listening and connecting with other writers.

Jo shares regularly on her Instagram site with writing prompts, editing tips, and mood photos to help spur creative brainstorming. We also highly recommend checking out her work and connecting with her on her Instagram account @jmercerbooks and on her website at jmercerbooks.com.

We hope you enjoy listening this episode! Keep reading, writing, and putting your voice out there!

Into the woods,

Fable & The Verbivore

Notes:

Jo’s personal website is jmercerbooks.com and her Instagram account is @jmercerbooks. You can connect with her on social media, and we would highly recommend checking out the story prompts, author advice, and mood pictures located in her Instagram stories. Her website also lists the editing services she provides and her current rates.

Jo mentions that she used Canva.com to design her book cover for Shady Woods.

Jo paraphrases a quote, which is sometimes attributed to writer James N. Watkins. Here is that full quote:

• “A river cuts through rock, not because of its power, but because of its persistence.”

Books Mentioned:

• A Fly Went By by Mike McClintock

• Shady Woods: Book one in the Shady Woods series by J Mercer

•  After They Go by J Mercer

• Perfection and Other Illusive Things by J Mercer

• Dark & Stormy by J Mercer

Movies Mentioned:

• Knives Out

Music from: https://filmmusic.io
’Friendly day’ by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)
Licence: CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)