Have you
ever been in a situation when you felt the walls of your life closing in on
you; pressing against your hope, your faith, your peace?
I know what that feels
like. My family suffered a series of back-to-back blows. My son was diagnosed
with autism on a Thursday, and the next day, my husband
lost his job. We were pawning, scraping and doing everything we could think of
to keep our heads above water and provide the expensive therapies my son
needed.
In those
seasons, you sink a little, swim a little, and in between, you sometimes flail.
Yet, those very situations; those same adversities, if we walk through them the
right way, hold the potential to catapult us into something great.
This was my
perspective when I first encountered Jasinda Wilder. I’m a writer. Obviously,
you’re reading me now! But I am just breaking into fiction, and was looking for
authors with whom I could identify and, to a degree, follow.
Almost from the
beginning, I knew Jasinda would be one of these people. It wasn’t just her
writing, though if you are looking for emotionally evocative, richly layered
stories that tear your heart out and heat you up, she’s your girl! She is one
of Amazon’s Top 100 authors and her latest novel, Alpha, just hit #4 on The New
York Times bestseller list!
What first drew me to Jasinda was the TRUE
story of how she went from being in the desperate place I described above, to being a
New York Times, USA Today, and
Wall Street Journal bestselling author. How she and her husband
navigated their family out of terribly difficult circumstances into where they
are today – thriving!
This is
where they were: One of their five children was gravely ill. Jasinda’s husband, forced to stay home and provide care. Jasinda’s salary significantly cut. Bills
piling up and their home about 30 days from foreclosure. But instead of wallowing,
instead of giving up, instead of whining, they used their gifts and WROTE their
way out of this mess. They self-published a series of racy novels that not only
helped them get by, but opened up a whole new world for their family. Here’s
how!
“Find A Way To Get Paid For Doing What You Love”
Tina: You and
your husband literally wrote yourselves out of a hole. You locked
yourselves away and just didn’t stop until you were done. You tapped into your
creativity to save your family from financial ruin. What made you think to
write?
JASINDA: It was
something my husband and I had both been thinking and talking about for years,
and we’d been writing just for a creative outlet as well, but it was when
desperation really set in that we decided to try writing as a viable career
option. Thank God we did!
Tina: In just
three years, you’ve gone from a family facing foreclosure and financial ruin,
to a bestselling author. How is your life different now? How has it affected
your family? Your children?
JASINDA: Our lives
are totally different in some ways, and the same in others. We’re still us. The
dynamics of our family haven’t changed because of all this, but we’re a lot
happier, I think. We’re not facing financial ruin anymore, which is an amazing
feeling. Obviously stress never goes away, because running a publishing company
is hard work, as is raising a family of seven people. But it’s all worth
it.
Tina: What are the lessons you hope your children are learning watching the path mommy has taken?
JASINDA: Do what you love; find a way to get paid for doing what you love. Work hard. Don’t give up. Don’t let anyone tell you it can’t be done. Be true to yourself. Use the talents you have been given to make the world a better place.
“Heroines That Real Women Can Relate To “
Tina: I love
that your first novels were about “real size” women. What made you
write spicy fiction featuring heroines reflecting more realistic sizes than
most romance novels?
JASINDA: Honestly,
it started when I read Fifty Shades of Grey. Those were fun books
to read, and they had a massive effect on the publishing industry, but I
personally just didn’t relate to the heroine in any way. I’m not five-foot-two
and barely a hundred pounds. Not that I have anything against women who are
that body style, but I remember thinking through all the books I’d read and
realizing none of the heroines in any book I’d ever read were anything less
than the Hollywood/marketing industry idea of feminine perfection, i.e.,
skinny. And I knew, because of my own experience and that of many of my
friends, that it’s hard to identify with books and movies that feature a
skinny, so-called “perfect” heroine when you simply aren’t built that way.
So I
thought, “No one else is writing about curvy, ‘plus size’ women, so I will.”
And I put “plus size” in quotes, because I HATE that label. I hate that because
my clothes aren’t sized under a certain number that I have to shop at different
stores and look for clothes with a certain label, from a certain department.
Anyway, I decided then that there was a huge untapped market of women that had
to be—as I was—hungry for spicy, steamy, sexy books with heroines THEY could
relate to. I would write about relatable characters going through real life
situations, and it would be dramatic and sexy and fun, but it would be
something that any woman could identify with, situations she would want to put
herself in to escape for a while. That became a huge part of my brand.
Tina: From the
outside in, one would look at you and assume you had overnight success. Is
there such a thing? What do you say to that?
JASINDA: Overnight
success? There simply is no such thing. Not for anyone in any industry. Never
has been, never will be. Anyone with a dream of succeeding, especially in any
kind of entertainment industry, must have the initial seed of talent, and they
then must work every single day to foster that talent. They have to practice
endlessly to perfect their talent, and they have to work tirelessly to position
themselves to be ready for a big break. “Overnight success” is often a large
portion of luck, being in the right place at the right time, but you have to be
ready for that moment, you have to have your art perfected and be in position
to jump in when the moment comes. “Falling Into You” was our
breakout book, the one that put us in the spotlight, but we’d written and
published about 20 titles before FIY. And when that book took
off and became super popular, we were in position to take advantage of it. We
had a system down, a process of producing quality books quickly so we could
capitalize on our success. That part of it, the sudden popularity, that is
overnight in a way, but getting there certainly is not.
Tina: What has
been the sweetest moment in this new, exciting chapter of your life?
JASINDA: I think
honestly one of the best things for Jack and me is getting emails from readers
telling us how our books have affected their lives. We’ve gotten a ton of
emails saying that the Big Girls series especially helped
women own their sexuality. That they’ve been inspired because of the heroines, Anna’s
and Jamie’s, stories and learned to love themselves and their bodies, to be
confident, which has in turn inspired and turned on their husbands and
rejuvenated their sex lives. In some cases, saving their marriages. That, to
me, is the most amazing and humbling thing. It’s emails like those that make
every sacrifice and all the hard work we’ve put in worth it, if even one person
finds their lives enriched because of our books.
Tina: You are
part of a new breed of writers who are doing it for themselves. You
self-publish all your novels, which makes you an authorpreneur. What advice
would you pass on to moms considering starting their own business?
JASINDA: Ha!
Authorpreneur. I love that term. I’d say first and foremost, if you’re going to
start a business, the most important thing is to take it seriously and approach
it from a professional and business-like mindset. Be a professional. Work hard,
have a plan, and stick to it. Find someone who has had success in your field
doing it themselves and pick their brain—and if you do ask for advice from
someone who has been successful, USE THE ADVICE. I can’t tell you how many
people email me asking me basically to write a book for them, to give them some
kind of magic formula that will bless them with instant success that
requires no hard work or sacrifice. Success simply does not come
with those things. It just doesn’t. Nothing worth doing is easy. Be prepared
for that, and if you’re determined and stick to it and approach your business
as a business instead of a hobby, hopefully you’ll find yourself succeeding!
Find all things Jasinda, including Facebook, Twitter, books
and appearances at jasindawilder.com.
