Q&A With Jennifer Jabaley

Jennifer Jabaley is the author of two young adult books Lipstick Apology & Crush Control & coming out on August 5th her adult debut, Whats Yours Is Mine. I’m so happy to be doing this Q&A with Jennifer & I can’t wait to get my hands on What’s Yours Is Mine.

Q: Jennifer, would you please give brief descriptions of each of your novels beginning with What’s Yours Is Mine?

A: WHAT’S YOURS IS MINE: (Adult suspense) Mothers with diabolical secrets live vicariously through their teenage daughters – who appear Instagram perfect yet are anything but on the inside. When a violent attack prevents one daughter from performing in a competition, her mother ignites accusations and an explosive town scandal. This twisty novel of suspense is set within the cutthroat world of dance filled with rivalry, revenge, and unrealized dreams.

LIPSTICK APOLOGY (Young Adult) When Emily’s parent’s plane crashes, the media finds her mother’s last words scrawled in lipstick on a tray table:

Emily, please forgive me. Moving to New York to live with her aunt, Emily is desperate to leave the tragedy behind, but she’s haunted by the mysterious message. She must uncover its meaning; only then can she choose between the two boys in her life: one that makes her forget, or the one who helps her remember, and ultimately, heal.

CRUSH CONTROL (Young Adult) After living life with a famous hypnotist mother, Willow decides to secretly try and use hypnosis to get what she wants, namely, a boyfriend. But what starts off as a harmless experiment soon spirals into chaos and Willow is forced to wonder: Is the heart really something you can control?

Q: What made you want to transition from writing young adult fiction to adult fiction? Was the transition easy or difficult?

A: Many years ago, when I first started writing, I had an editor critique at a conference for an adult manuscript. She told me my natural voice was very teen-like and I should switch the book to young adult. I flipped the point of view from the aunt to the niece and my first young adult novel; Lipstick Apology was born. After writing a second young adult novel, I really felt pulled to go back to the adult space – that was what I read, that was where all my ideas generated. I didn’t want to try and force myself into the young adult world anymore. Interestingly, What’s Yours is Mine does have a teen point of view in addition to the two mothers, so I guess there is a place inside of me that is eternally a teenager.

While I still very much enjoy exploring the ideas of young adult novels – coming of age, self-discovery, first love – the older I get (sigh) the harder it becomes to tap into the current real-life experience of teenagers. I didn’t have a phone when I was in high school. My parents didn’t track my location on GPS. There wasn’t helicopter parenting and huge pressure with sports that current kids endure. I was of the free-range generation! Writing Colette’s character in What’s Yours is Mine required a lot of research and running things by my daughter to see if they were authentic. Writing in the adult space, now comes a lot more naturally.

Q: How long does it take you to write a book? Are there any messages and emotions you hope readers come away with after they read your work?

A: That’s a difficult question to answer because it greatly varies. I wrote LIPSTICK APOLOGY very quickly, in about six months. I was experimenting. I had no formal writing education, but I am a huge reader. I just told a story. I wrote CRUSH CONTROL quickly because I was under deadline, but it was a much tougher process. When I first wrote, I wasn’t thinking about genres or readers or publication. With my second book, I felt a little uncomfortable, bound by the young adult genre, rather than just telling the story I wanted to tell. When I began writing WHAT’S YOURS IS MINE, I wrote it as a young adult novel, but it wasn’t working. I shelved it and stopped writing for a while. I was knee deep in raising my kids and working more at my optometry practice. I kept getting the urge to write and finally gave in to the idea that I needed to switch to the adult genre (where I originally intended to write). I dug out my draft of WHAT’S YOURS IS MINE and flipped it to the mother’s point of view and it flowed much quicker. The novel I’m working on now originated as an adult manuscript, and it’s been a seamless project. Well, I say that without receiving any edits yet. But this draft was written in about six months, working typically two days a week on the project. Interestingly, I make very detailed outlines, then draft by hand (archaic! I know). Then I voice dictate (with some typing) to get the draft into the computer. By the time I have an official typed manuscript, it’s more like a third draft. With all my books, I always like to start with a question in that murky area of morally grey. If you discovered a secret about someone you loved, does it change how you feel about them? If you could control an outcome, would you use unethical means to do it? If you could pave the way for your child’s success, how far would you go to do that? I hope my readers wonder if they would make the same decisions my characters choose. Ultimately, I write to entertain, and I do like to insert humor, so I hope my readers feel swept away.

Q: Will your next book be a young adult book or will it be an adult book?

A: My plan is to stay writing in the adult genre.

Q: If Lipstick Apology, Crush Control & What’s Yours Is Mine were to get sequels, what would the characters in each book be doing right now?

A: WHAT’S YOURS IS MINE: I hope that Valerie has found love. I hope Kate has made it to a famous dance studio. I hope Elise is in therapy (ha!) I hope Colette has found a new calling and has calmed her anxiety.

LIPSTICK APOLOGY: I hope Emily is off to college where she’s found freedom from her past. I hope Jolie has found love and continues to thrive in her career.

CRUSH CONTROL: I hope Willow has found true love that has happened organically and that she’s put all hypnosis shenanigans behind her.

Q: If/When Lipstick Apology, Crush Control & What’s Yours Is Mine were to get adapted into movies, limited series or a regular series, who would be your dream cast to portray the characters you created?

A:WHAT’S YOURS IS MINE:

Valerie: Selena Gomez

Kate: Jenna Ortega

Elise: Reese Witherspoon

Colette: McKenna Grace

Andrew: Justin Baldoni

Chad: Liam Hemsworth

This was insanely hard, lol!! The only character who I “saw” as a famous person while writing was Reese Witherspoon as Elise. The other characters were fully fleshed out in my mind, but not from a famous actor or actress. I had to ask my daughter for input on teen actresses that were popular now. As for my two young adult books, when I wrote them, I did have certain actors in mind, but now so much time has passed they would be too old! I’m going to leave those casting decisions up to the reader!