Jessica Khoury is 22 years old and was born and raised in Georgia. She attended public school followed by homeschooling, and earned her bachelor's degree in English from Toccoa Falls College. She lives in Toccoa, Georgia with her husband Benjamin, two terrible dogs, and an abundance of books, shoes, and sweet tea. When not writing, she's usually directing stageplays or coaching soccer. Origin is her first novel.
How long have you been writing?
Since I was four years old. So… that’s 18
years.
When and why did you begin writing?
Well, if you don’t count
my four-year-old Syd Hoff fanfic, I began seriously writing at age 13, when I
wrote my first novel. Before that, I would act out my stories with my friends,
but one caught hold of me and just stuck in my head, driving me crazy. I thought
I was too young to write, or that surely I’d never finish anything. But my mom
got sick of me wandering around in perpetual distraction, and finally told
me—in tones of exasperation—to just go write it down. She literally made me sit
at the computer and start writing. And I did. I wrote my first novel and was
hooked on the craft from then on. Thank you, Mama!
Tell us about your early works—what was the first thing you ever wrote?
Again, if you don’t count
my Syd Hoff fanfic (an illustrated sequel to Danny and the Dinosaur), my first novel was called Tirel. It was high fantasy, 600 pages
long, and absolutely terrible, but of course, I didn’t know that at the time. I
thought I was the next Tolkien. Now I wouldn’t show that manuscript to you even
if you offered me money!
When did you first consider yourself a professional writer?
When I sold Origin. Up until then, I’d had a few
short stories and poems published, but not in any major venues.
What books have most influenced your life?
Oh gosh. Where do I start? The ones that drove
me to start writing—and whose stories shaped much of my writing—are Brian
Jacques, Lloyd Alexander, Susan Cooper, C. S. Lewis, and I could go on and on.
But these are the highlights.
What genre do you write?
Young adult. My past
novels were all high fantasy, and Origin
is kind of unclassifiable. It’s a romance-adventure-science fiction blend.
What is your favorite theme/genre to write about?
I really love high
fantasy, and I’d be thrilled if I got to return to it in the future, but I also
love exploring new genres or blending them in novel ways, as I did with Origin. There’s something terrifying and
liberating about treading new literary waters. I want to write the books that
aren’t like any other book out there.
If you couldn’t be an author, what would your ideal career be?
I’d definitely be a
marine biologist and work with orcas. I’m kind of nuts about orcas. I can quote
the entire movie of Free Willy if you like.
Please let us know where your readers can stalk you:
Website: www.jessicakhoury.com
Blog:
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jessica-Khoury/343602012334568
Goodreads author page: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5625945.Jessica_Khoury
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/jkbibliophile
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Origin-Jessica-Khoury/dp/1595145958/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1331147202&sr=8-1
Smashwords:
Other:
What format is your book(s) available in (print, e-book, audio book, etc.)?
Website: www.jessicakhoury.com
Blog:
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jessica-Khoury/343602012334568
Goodreads author page: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5625945.Jessica_Khoury
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/jkbibliophile
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Origin-Jessica-Khoury/dp/1595145958/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1331147202&sr=8-1
Smashwords:
Other:
What format is your book(s) available in (print, e-book, audio book, etc.)?
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