JAIME SAMMS (Cont.)
INTERVIEW
MFRW:
JS:
MFRW:
JS:
MFRW:
MFRW:
5
Do you feel humor is important in fiction
and why?
I think having a sense of humour
about life in general is very important. Life
can be stressful, so you have to learn to
laugh. That carries through to fiction. Get
too heavy too long, and your reader will
need a break. If you don’t give them a mo-
ment to laugh, they’ll put the book down,
and that’s never the goal.
What about your family? Do they know
not to bother you when you are writing, or are
there constant interruptions? Are they, espe-
cially your significant other, supportive of
your work? Do you ever ask them for advice?
It’s the long standing joke in our
house that people come knock on my of-
fice door and say “I don’t want to inter-
rupt you, but… .” Of course, by then, it’s
already too late. Overall, though, yes, my
family is very supportive. My husband and
I talk about my writing all the time, and
yes, he offers advice. He also realizes that
this is a process, and sometimes, even the
best advice is much easier said than done.
Thankfully, he has a sense of humour
about it!
What do you do to relax and recharge
your batteries?
JS:
As well as being
a born story teller, I have always
been creative in many other
ways. I took Fine Art in college,
with a major in Fiber Arts. That
has carried over, and I still cro-
chet, sew and carry a pencil and
sketch pad around with me.
When words get hard—and they
do—I turn to other creative out-
lets to take my mind off it. I also
listen to A. Lot. Of audio books,
and I watch a lot of television. I
like stories. I always have, and
I’m not fussy about what form I get them
in.
Who are some of your other favorite au-
thors to read? Favorite books? Favorite series?
JS:
MFRW:
JS:
Who, if anyone,
has
influenced
your writing?
Oh, the list
is
endless.
Tanya Huff is
near the top,
though. She’s an awesome Canadian fan-
tasy author, and I absolutely love both the
Blood and Smoke series, but the Smoke
ones most of all. Rhys Ford is another,
and she writes paranormal mystery ro-
mances, or some combination thereof.
Not all her books are romance, not all are
paranormal, but almost all have some level
of mystery in them. I adore her story tell-
ing. Clare London has been a favourite of
mine a long time. Her romances are just a
little off the beaten track and I’m never
disappointed. And of course, J.R.R.
Tolkien. I first read The Hobbit in grade
six, and I never looked back.
I have a lot of author friends as well.
Mary Calmes, Amy Lane, Rhys, they have
all taught me so much about the craft and
the business of writing, and all have given
me something positive to emulate, nit just
with my career, but as a person as well.
Bubble baths
or steamy show-
ers? Ocean or
mountains? Pup-
pies or kittens?
Chocolate or cara-
mel?
Showers,
Mountains, Too
hard to choose,
and they do this
new thing where
they put the
caramel inside
the chocolate, so
I don’t see a
point in picking just one when I can have
both.