Hey guys! First of all, thanks to all of you who bought Joni, Underway today! (Or had already preordered it.) This has been a great release day. Jonathan and I had a great launch party on Facebook where we did a Q&A. There were so many questions about co-authoring this book since it was a new experience for me, I thought I'd post that interview here. Enjoy!
Kelly Oram wrote her first novel at age fifteen--a fan fiction about her favorite music group, The Backstreet Boys, for which her family and friends still tease her. She's obsessed with reading, talks way too much, and likes to eat frosting by the spoonful. She lives outside of Phoenix, Arizona with her husband and four children.
Jonathan Harrow left a career in Hollywood to pursue his dream of writing novels. He has an author crush on Charlotte Bronte, and a real crush on his author wife, YA bestseller Kelly Oram. They live in Phoenix with their four kids and their cat, Mr. Darcy.
Q. What's it like to
co-author a book for the first time?
Kelly: Very difficult. We have very different writing
styles! And very, very different voice. We had to let him do the actual writing
so that the book would sound consistent. If we switched off back and forth, it
would have been a nightmare.
Q. What was your method in co-writing a novel?
Jonathan: We knew right away that in order to work
together, we would need to have one of us take the lead. Otherwise, every
single decision would end in a stand-still. So, in the case of Joni, the
original idea was mine, so it made sense for me to be the lead. I know some
writers who switch off scenes, or whatever, they literally share the writing,
but that would never work with us. Our idea was for me to write the first draft
(with all Kelly's input) and then together we'd do the real work, which is
rewriting. That's when Kelly would really be able to get her hands on the
material and make it hers. Well, not surprisingly, the first draft was pretty
light on romance. So Kelly really got in there and did her thing in that department,
which made all the difference in the world, of course. The next biggest thing
was going back in and getting the actual writing to sound like both of us,
which was a challenge, as we have very different writing styles. In the end, I
feel that the book is a great blend of both our styles. So the image of both of
us sitting side-by-side writing is not accurate. It was more like taking
turns.
Q. Do you have plans to continue writing novels
together?
Jonathan: Hard to say. We don't have plans
for anything right now. After Joni, we were both excited to get back to our own
projects. It's so much easier to feel like you have total control over the
content. But I feel like Kelly and I collaborate on all our books, to some degree.
She is the first to read my stuff and she gives the feedback that really
improves my stuff. And sometimes I've been able to provide that help for her,
as well. So while we may not be co-writers all the time, every one of our books
has been influenced by the other.
Q. Was it hard to collaborate together on
certain scenes? For instance, maybe one of you felt more passionate for a
certain part then the other. Or did you run into any difficulty?
Jonathan: It indeed was difficult to give up a lot of
control. Some things were easy, like anything to do with the romance, I
immediately deferred to Kelly and trusted her choices.
Q. Did you two ever argue over how you wanted the story
to go?
Jonathan: Yeah, there was some of that,
mostly having to do with the romance. Kelly and I have very different love
languages, lol, and different ideas about what is romantic. So I'd write
something and be like, "Oh, that's so romantic!" And Kelly reads it
and she's like, "Seriously? They're just sitting there talking." And
I'm like, "I know, right? Getting to know each other." And she's
like, "Move outta the way." Hahaha. It took me a while to come around
to her way of thinking, but eventually I got it, and after reading her stuff, I
was like, "Ohh, okay, I see. Yeah, that's awesome." So if you love
the romance in the book, you have Kelly to thank!
Q. How did you two come up with the idea for this
novel?
Jonathan: “Joni, Underway” started as an
idea I had while watching “Deadliest Catch” about lobster fishermen. The job is
so difficult, and that whole world is so foreign to me, and I remember
thinking: “What if a city guy like me had to go work on one of these boats, and
the experience changed his life?” That sparked an instant comparison to “City
Slickers,” a movie I have always loved. So it’s “City Slickers” on a lobster
boat, that sounds awesome! The idea sat in my mind for years, and then when
Kelly and I were looking for a romance/drama to work on together, the “City
Slickers on a lobster boat” idea morphed into “Joni, Underway.” Kelly was sold
as soon as I said, "She falls in love with the hot boat captain!"
Q. Which character in Joni, Underway do you most relate
to?
Jonathan: I relate to Joni, I think. At
least when I was her age, anyway. I had a lot of inner strength, but I needed
the right experience to bring it out in me. If left to my own devices, I
wouldn't try new things.
Kelly: I had to think about this one, but I think maybe I'd
go with Reid, actually. I have total wander lust and a need for adventure. I
want to see and experience everything. And I want to visit and learn all about
all different kinds of people and cultures. If I could sail around the world,
going from job to job just to get to the next journey, I totally would.
Jonathan is definitely the more stable on win our family. But I also have a bit
of his compassion and empathy. I was always that friend who would go out of my
way to take care of my friends who were having trouble.
Q. Kelly: What part of the creation of this novel will
you cherish the most?
Kelly: Um.... my husband? lol. I think just the experience as
a whole. (And come on, lets be honest, I cherish the creation of Captain Reid!)
For real though, I also really love the character of Murray. He's based off of
Jonathan's grandpa who was quite the character. We loved him so much and I love
that a part of Boompa will always live on now.
Q. Do you
have different jobs too, or just write together?
Kelly: Now we don't. I was always a stay-at-home mom while
My husband worked in the film industry. Thanks to my writing, Jonathan was able
to quit his job and is now going to write full time as well. We are super happy
about that, and super blessed!
Q. Kelly: were there certain things that you found out about
your husband that you might not have known without working on this piece with
him?
Kelly: Hmm. I mostly saw a lot of things I already knew
about him. For one, he's WAY more disciplined than me. He needs a schedule and
routine, where I'm all over the place. He's way more thorough with research,
but he's always been really book-smart. I did learn that he's a much slower
writer than me. It takes him WAY longer to write a first draft than me. But I'm
more patient with the rewriting process. I guess he just wants to get it right
the first time. He's more of a perfectionist than me. But again, after 14 years
of marriage, I already knew that too!
Q. How did you know that the other was The One?
Kelly: Actually it was pretty clear. A booming voice shouted
down from the Heavens and said, "Hey, you! Yeah, the stubborn one who
never dates seriously! HE'S THE ONE!!!!!" We met through my family. He was
trying to date my older sister while I was away at college. I came home and she
totally tried to pawn him off on me. Two weeks later we were engaged. Two and a
half months after that, we were married.
Q. Jonathan: How did you propose to Kelly?
Jonathan: It was nothing planned out, I
can tell you that, lol. Very casual, which is my style. We had been dating for
2 weeks (yes, that's 14 days) and we went to Disneyland together (Kelly had
never been) and in a quiet moment afterward, Kelly joked about how fun it was
hanging out together and I said, "How about we keep hanging out forever
then?" or something really lame like that. The truth is, I'd been looking
for a way to propose for a couple days, and that seemed as good an
"in" as any, so I took it! I remember Kelly smiled and just said,
"Yeah, let's do it." That was it! Very low key. But then she dropped
the bomb: "But you have to call my dad and ask for permission!" I was
scared of her dad, lol. Anyway, I was 21 and Kelly was 19.
Q. Who are your favorite authors?
Kelly: Oh, man, where do I start???? Meg Cabot is my
all-time favorite. I totally admire her so much. Then there's John Green, Sarah
Dessen, Jen Wylie, Julianne Donaldson, Simone Elkeles, Cinda Chima Williams,
Cassie Claire, Cassie Mae,
Jennifer L. Armentrout, Stephenie Meyer, Karen Lynch... I know I've left out
like a million authors... but I could chat books all day...
Jonathan: Michael Crichton and Charlotte
Bronte. I know, that's a weird combo, but it's the truth!
Q. Jonathan: Which is your favorite novel written by
Kelly?
Jonathan: Serial Hottie is def my
favorite!
Q. If you guys had Harry Potter's
Invisibility Cloak, what would you do?
Kelly: This makes me think of that Clay Aiken song LOL. Um...
with invisibility? I'd so sneak into concerts and go back stage! I want to see
the band in their unscripted moments. (And I'm not talking about the changing
room you perves!) I'd just like to see what people are like when the world
isn't watching them. Also, I could get much better seats to the shows!
Jonathan: If I were invisible, I'd go to
Pixar/Disney studios and watch them make their films. I'm a huge fan of
animation and I love watching the creative process unfold.
Q. Jonathan: What are your plans thus far for future
writings?
Jonathan: I am now writing a sequel to my
first novel "Dolls", which is a supernatural horror/thriller in the
NA age range. I love creepy/dark stories. But I like haunted horror, NOT
slasher horror.
Q. Kelly, can we look forward to another book in the Supernaturals series?
Kelly: Yes! There is one more still to come. Book #4 is
called Priestess and it's Clara's story. Just don't ask me when it's coming
lol. Sometime next year... I still have to write it.
Q. Kelly, do you plan on writing any sports romance
books? And when I say "Sports" I mean SOCCER!
Kelly: I will definitely write a sports romance someday. I
don't know how soon I will get to it, but I have two ideas plotted already. one
for a women's fiction/chick-lit baseball book and a soccer book that is
actually a companion novel to my book Cinder & Ella. It's a Robin Hood
retelling that has soccer as the focus. Again though, I have no clue when I'll
be able to get to those books. SO many stories, so little time!
Q. Kelly...what is your favorite genre?
Kelly: Young adult anything. The more romance the better.
I'm a huge high-fantasy geek though, so probably YA fantasy is my very
favorite.
Q. Kelly: We all know you love frosting,
but what is your other favorite dessert?
Kelly: Frosting!
Nope, I'm not kidding.
I totally
eat cake just so I can have frosting. And I used to keep some in the fridge in
college so I could just have a spoonful when I needed it. Nothing de-stresses
like a spoonful of sugar! Okay, maybe white chocolate chip macadamia nut
cookies, cheesecake, and candy corns.
Q. Kelly, I like the jamie baker series and I know that
inspiration just hasn't happened yet for the rest of her story. My question is
are you upset that it hasn't happened yet?
Kelly: Oh, how do I explain Jamie.... It wasn't a lack of
inspiration really. I just knew what had to happen, and there were so many
different ways it could go. The first way didn't work, so I scrapped it and
tried again... after like seven different versions of the first 150 pages I was
frustrated and burned out and still nowhere near finishing. Then I started to
feel a lot of pressure to have it finished because people were waiting for it
and I'd expected it to be done sooner. And then I started getting anxiety
attacks when I tried to work on it. It was very strange. I've never experienced
anything like that with any other story. I was so upset for a long time. I was
upset with the story, and upset with myself. It broke my heart to have to put
the book on hiatus. And, to be honest, I had a rough couple of years the last
two years, overworking myself in all aspects of my life, and I went to therapy.
(Which did wonders, btw!) And yes, I actually worked with my therapist about
the issues I was having with this specific book. And that of course helped me
get a much better grip on this new career I'd stumbled onto. Now, I'm in a much
better place, and I feel much better about my manuscript. I'm still a little
anxious to pick it up again, but at least my love for the book and the
characters is back and I'm feeling confident in it again. I'll let you in on a
little secret... I've been slowly working on it for the last month or so and
I've made big progress. I hope to have the book out sometime next year. Cross
your fingers for me!
I definitely needed the time out with Jamie. It was
hard to do, but it was honestly the best thing I could have done. I'm ready to
start on it again, but while I'd set it aside, I committed to a few other
projects. (Like Joni, and Libby, and my upcoming If We Were A Movie...) so now
I've had to go and finish those before I could start Jamie again. Good news is,
I'm finished with almost everything. I need a couple more weeks with Movie, and
then the only projects I have left are Jamie #3 and Supernaturals #4. Of
course, knowing me, I'll probably write something random and completely new for
my annual nano project. But November never counts in my writing schedule!
