Today at Tessera Guild, authors J Edward Neill and Jaylene Jacobus go head-to-head in their first ever e-interview.
Unlike most of our super friendly interviews, this one got a little colorful. 🙂
The blow-by-blow is right…here:
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J EDWARD NEILL: Today’s creative interview is with Seattle author Jaylene Jacobus. Hello Jaylene, and welcome to Tessera!
JAYLENE JACOBUS: Hi J! It’s great to join you here.
J: You just published your debut novel, The Midnight Circle. Tell us about it.
JAYLENE: Hold up, J. I thought we were being interviewed. As in, you and me. Together. Cowriters. Partners in crime. East Coast Hustler and West Coast Enchantress. Internet besties.
J: Nope. None of that. I’m interviewing you.
JAYLENE: Why do you get to ask all the questions?
J: Because I’m good at it. It’s my thing.
JAYLENE: True statement! I love all your Coffee Table Philosophy books. You’ve written hundreds of thought-provoking questions, which makes you inquisitive, analytical, and investigative. But when you ask all the questions all the time, you become…
J: What?
JAYLENE: An askhole. 🙁
J: An askhole? 🙂
JAYLENE: Fear not. I’m good at asking questions, too. And I’ve softened your image. You know, with that book we wrote together.
J: 101 Questions for Single People! That was a lot of fun. Let me just say that writing a book for singles kept my image fully intact. I’m all about dating…as many women as possible. At once.
JAYLENE: Good times, indeed! But I wasn’t referring to that book. I was referring to our other book. 101 Questions for Couples! I’m all about romance and true love. Together forever.
J: In all honesty, I enjoyed writing about couples. Almost as much as writing about singles.
JAYLENE: And I enjoyed writing about singles. Almost as much as writing about couples.
J: One thing’s for sure. They were both a blast to write.
JAYLENE: The funny thing about both books is that our readers can’t always figure out which questions I wrote versus which questions you wrote. I can see why. We’re practically the same person. Except I’m the girl version of you.
J: Wait. Wouldn’t that make us opposites?
JAYLENE: Potato, Potahto. Tomato, tomahto. Let’s prove how similar we really are.
J: Or dissimilar. How?
JAYLENE: By answering questions about…
A FEW OF OUR FAVORITE THINGS
1) INDOOR HOBBY
J: Sex
JAYLENE: Reading. But I read this. So we’re one for one.
2) SUPERHERO
JAYLENE: Captain America. He’s the quintessential hero.
J: Yawn. Don’t like ’em.
3) VILLAIN
J: Dracula
JAYLENE: Dracula!
4) DINNER
J: Steak and potatoes
JAYLENE: Tofu and kale
5) WEATHER
J: Cold rain on a warm evening. Such that the steam rises from the still-warm grass.
JAYLENE: Cold rain on a humid day. Such that perfumed steam rises from still-warm magnolias.
6) SPORT
J: Baseball
JAYLENE: Ballet
7) NEO-NOIR PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER
J: Se7en
JAYLENE: We’re Se7en for Se7en!
8) BROADWAY MUSICAL
J: None of them
JAYLENE: All of them
9) TV SHOW
J: Nada
JAYLENE: None
10) COLOR
J: Black
JAYLENE: White
11) ADVENTURE NOVEL
JAYLENE: The Count of Monte Cristo
J: The Count of Monte Cristo
12) SEASON
JAYLENE: Winter
J: Summer
13) HOLIDAY
J: Halloween
JAYLENE: Halloween!
14) OUTDOOR HOBBY
J: Running, alone, in the wilderness
JAYLENE: Walking, in good company, through the forest
15) POET
JAYLENE: Edgar Allan Poe
J: Poe
16) SPORTS TEAM
J: Chicago Cubs
JAYLENE: Whoever the Seattle team is
17) BAND
J: Danzig
JAYLENE: Danzig!
18) ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE
J: Balvenie 17 Doublewood with a single oversized ice cube
JAYLENE: Probably what J said. But I don’t drink, so I don’t know.
19) ROMANTIC COMEDY
JAYLENE: Breakfast at Tiffany’s
J: Terminator
20) FINAL QUESTION. THE GLASS: HALF-EMPTY OR HALF-FULL?
J: There is no glass; therefore it’s neither half-empty nor half-full.
JAYLENE: There is no half; therefore my glass is always brimming full.
JAYLENE: Well, J, I think we just proved how similar we are.
J: Actually, Jaylene, I think we just proved how dissimilar we are. Half of our answers didn’t match.
JAYLENE: Which means half of our answers did match. But weren’t you listening to me? There is no half, and if you don’t have a glass, take mine. It’s brimming full with Balvenie 17 Doublewood.
J: I’ll drink to that…
JAYLENE: Ok, J. The party’s over. Let’s get back to work. We have more books to write. Together and singularly. Rumor has it, you’re plotting to end the world…
J: And rumor has it, you’re plotting to save it.
JAYLENE: In other words, we make a great team.
J: I’ll drink to that as well…
