Jenny B. Jones, Interviewed

Today we’re chatting with Jenny B. Jones, author of Just Between You and Me, our She Reads February Selection. Since we’ll be stalking Jenny for most of the month, we figured you’d like to know a bit more about her.

Please tell us a little bit about yourself.

Here it is Twitter style:
I write, teach, buy shoes, read People mag, luv 2 laugh, have a mentally challenged cat

You typically write YA, so what made you decide to write Just Between You and Me for women?

Writing adult contemporary fiction has been in the works for a few years. But for this particular book, my editor at Thomas Nelson came to me with an idea to write a novel that ministered to people concerning the idea of fear. She said, “You know some people will never pick up a nonfiction book about it. Fiction might be the only way they get the message.” That really stuck with me. And we put our heads together and came up with Just Between You and Me. We’ve gotten a lot of emails about it hitting home for people—from a woman who works in a drug rehab facility to a woman whose husband lost his job. It’s very cool to see God working through fiction.

What is the book about?

It’s about Maggie Montgomery, a woman who lives a life of adventure. Her job as a cinematographer takes her from one exotic locale to the next. When Maggie’s not working, she loves to rappel off cliffs or go skydiving. Nothing frightens her.

Nothing, that is, except Ivy, Texas, where a family emergency pulls her back home to a town full of bad memories, painful secrets, and people Maggie left far behind . . . for a reason.

Forced to stay longer than she intended, Maggie finds her family a complete mess, including the niece her sister has abandoned. Ten-year-old Riley is struggling in school and out of control at home. The only person who can really handle the pint-sized troublemaker is Conner, the local vet and Ivy’s most eligible bachelor. But Conner and Maggie keep butting heads–he’s suspicious of her and, well, she doesn’t rely on anyone but herself.

As Maggie humorously fumbles her way from one mishap to another, staying with her father, and secrets from her past bubbling to the surface. To save one little girl–and herself–can Maggie let go of her fears and just trust God?

What takeaway value do you hope readers receive after reading your novel?

Just Between You and Me hits on a variety of fear issues and troubles. There are family issues, joblessness, fear of rejection, fear of relationships. And this isn’t overkill—this is reality. This is how many of us live each day—with all this anxiety on our shoulders. I think the book sends out the message that God knows my fear. When we’re going through something and having a little (or big) meltdown, He doesn’t look down and say, “Wow. I didn’t see that coming from her.” But a believer has the hope of Christ. So we press on and just keep going.

I think fear paralyzes us to stop—or stay in our comfort zone. But God wants us to come just a few yard lines more where He waits with His arms full of these abundant blessings. The big stuff. And I want a big life. Don’t we all? But as long as we’re playing it safe—like Maggie in the book does—that’s not going to happen.

What are you fearful of?

You know the ironic thing is, I am just a collection of fears and anxieties. And I think God sure knew what He was doing when He asked me to write a book about a woman who tackles her own fears and worries.

One of the more common fears I have is a fear of flying. I hate to fly. I love airports, but get me on a plane, and I’m a mess. It doesn’t stop me from flying, but as soon as I hit the boarding ramp, I’m convinced my life is moments away from ending. And so while other people sit there and enjoy a magazine or gaze out the window, I’m in my seat with my iPod playing “Jesus Take the Wheel” over and over. And I KNOW who is in control of my life and that plane. And if it’s God’s will that i’s my day to go, there’s nothing that’s gonna stop it. And if it’s God’s will that I live, then that would be a lovely outcome too. But it all boils down to the fact that I’m not in the cockpit. I can’t help them out if something goes wrong. Total control issue. Or maybe it’s just that they don’t serve pretzels anymore.

Why is humor so important to your writing?

Selfishly, I think it’s important because it makes it more fun for me to write. But I think it’s important because there’s just not enough reasons to laugh in the world. We’re bombarded with so much negativity. Every day on the news we hear about the flu, fighting in politics. We go to work and hear murmurs of job cuts. We come home to a dirty house. There’s negativity at school, on TV—everywhere. God really layed it on my heart that humor is a ministry. I wasn’t put on this earth to write Oprah’s next book club pick. Or something really deep and heavy. I want people to be entertained. And yes, I want readers to be ministered to as well and feel like they’re getting a word from God, but I want them to have fun doing it. When they finish my book, I want them to feel encouraged and happy. Making people smile or laugh is just my favorite thing in the world.

What do you enjoy doing when you’re not writing?

I am a movie fanatic—I go all the time. I also enjoy traveling. I went to Scotland and Ireland this past summer. Looooved Ireland. You won’t find nicer people than the Irish. I love to read, but I don’t get to nearly enough. My favorite reads for 2009 were The Help, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (adored that book!), and the YA book The Magician’s Elephant. I also adore plays, musicals (I sing show tunes all the time. It’s obnoxiously annoying.) and avoiding exercise and housework.

What are you working on now?

Right now I’m working on my next romantic comedy for women about a couple who are forced to fake an engagement. They are total opposites, the sparks fly, and of course they couldn’t be more ill-suited…or are they?

And in the spring my next YA novel hits the shelves—the last in A Charmed Life series called So Over My Head. It’s about Bella Kirkwood, a former Manhattan teen socialite, now living in rural Oklahoma. While working for the school newspaper, she walks into a murder and makes it her next assignment to find the killer of Betty the Bearded Lady, a member of the visiting carnival. And as if that’s not enough to do, her boyfriend’s ex is back in town, her stepdad is hitting the big time on the professional wrestling circuit, and she has her father’s wedding to stop. All in a day’s work for our stylish super sleuth.

Thanks for hanging out with us today, Jenny!

And if any of you are dying to interrogate Jenny about her work, her writing, or her addiction to breakfast cereal, just leave a question in the comment section below.