Introducing My Good Friend Janet Spaeth

I've known Janet a long time. We've written for the same publishing company, been online friends, been roommates at national conferences. Today I want you to get to know her.

Tell us how much of yourself you write into your characters.

There’s always a bit of me in each character—usually I draw their flaws from my own. Fortunately I have a lot to work with, LOL!

What is the quirkiest thing you have ever done?

Oh, wow. What a question! I’m either totally quirky or totally boring, and it’s scary that I can’t tell which.

Actually, I find you totally delightful, so maybe I'm totally quirky, too. When did you first discover that you were a writer?

When I was in high school, I wrote songs a lot, and when I began college, that moved nicely into poetry. But then my creative writing teacher told me that poets don’t make much money, and after thinking about that deeply for three seconds, I flung poetry to the winds and decided to try fiction instead, and it was a perfect fit right away. So from the worst of motives, I found my calling. Isn’t God great?

Yes, He certainly is. Tell us the range of the kinds of books you enjoy reading.

I love mysteries, romance, chicklit, and children’s and young adult novels. You can keep me occupied for hours by putting a cookbook in my hands, too.

I love to read cookbooks, too. My husband laughs about that. Even though I used to love to cook a lot, I like things nice and easy now. What other books have you written, whether published or not?

I’ve had 3 Heartsong Presents: Rose Kelly, Candy Cane Calaboose, and Angel’s Roost. Plus I’ve had 7 novellas in anthologies.

How do you keep your sanity in our run, run, run world?

My family keeps me together, and prayer is the glue that holds my sanity in place. Of course, it could easily be that I’ve lost this battle already! Eek!

We've all prayed for Janet this year when she lost her beloved husband.

How do you choose your characters’ names?

Interesting question! Sometimes a character is named in recognition of someone I know, but usually one name just “fits.” With Rose Kelly, I was sitting in church one morning and the name just popped into my mind. I didn’t have a story for it at the time, but that came quickly.

What is the accomplishment that you are most proud of?

My family, of course! They mean everything to me. They’re my blood and my breath, and I can’t imagine life without them. God has truly blessed me!

If you were an animal, which one would you be, and why?

I’d be a cat, and I’d be owned by me. She has the best life in the whole world. I feed her, I provide her a nice warm lap, and I tell her how beautiful she is. Sigh…

What is your favorite food?

Oh, a guilty pleasure! Cinnabon, of course! Get me to an airport! Fast!

I love Cinnabon, too. Did you know they have Cinnabon cheesecake at TGI Fridays? Janet, what fun to share this time with you. I look forward to the time we'll be together again.

Remember, Readers, leave a comment on the interview for a chance to win a copy of Rose Kelly. Also, there's still time to leave a comment on Richard Mabry's interview for a chance to win a copy of The Tender Scar.