#WriterWednesday with Jenna Greene

I’d like to welcome Jenna Greene back to the blog for #WriterWednesday!

Favorite thing to do when you have free time: Read or sleep.

The thing you’ll always move to the bottom of your to do list: Any household chore. Cooking, especially.

Things you need when you’re in your writing cave: A cup of tea, extra hot.

Things that distract you from writing: Any person capable of talking. I’m chatty.

Things you will run to the store for at midnight: The next book in a series, especially if it’s the final of a trilogy.

Things you never put on your shopping list: A cookbook.

Something you’re really good at: Public speaking.

Something you’re really bad at: Not talking. Not interrupting. Being quiet when I’m supposed to.

Something you wanted to be when you were a kid: A fairy princess.

Something you do that you never dreamed you’d do: Write about fairy princesses.

Things to say to an author: “You’re doing great!” “I read your book and loved it!”

Things to say to an author if you want to be fictionally killed off in their next book: “You’re a writer? I’ll bet that’s easy.” “I always thought about writing a book.”

Favorite places you’ve been: London, England.

Places you never want to go to again: Las Vegas. (10 trips is enough. Please tell my husband).

Favorite things to do: Dragonboat paddling/ drumming/ coaching.

Things you’d run through a fire or eat bugs to get out of doing: Skiing. (People get up early to fall in snow, go too fast, be scared and cold???!)

Most daring thing you’ve ever done: I went rappelling once. (I was coerced).

Something you chickened out from doing: Ziplining. Anything with heights, really.

The funniest thing to happen to you: Any time I’ve been forced to pee behind a tree, pillar, etc.

The most embarrassing thing to happen to you: See above.

The nicest thing a reader said to you: “I think you’re a good writer.”

The craziest thing a reader said to you: “Can you kill me in your next book?”

About Jenna:

Jenna Greene is a YA/ Children’s author from Alberta, Canada. She is also an elementary school teacher. When she isn’t reading or writing, she enjoys dance and dragonboat racing. Jenna is known for her Reborn Marks series, her Imagine series, and her pictures books.

#WriterWednesday Interview with Jenna Greene

I’d like to welcome Jenna Greene to the blog for #WriterWednesday!

Favorite thing that you always make time for: I always make time to read and write. I’ll sacrifice housework to make sure I can be creative.

The thing you’ll always do just about anything to avoid: The above-mentioned housework. The weather too nice? I can’t be inside doing chores. The weather is yucky? That’s the best time to curl up with a book.

Things you need when you’re in your writing cave: A cup of tea, preferably very hot.

Things that distract you from writing: Anything happening in the house. Usually, this means my children are trying to tell me something. They tend to ignore me unless I have something I need to do.

The thing you like most about being a writer: Being creative. Creating worlds. Going on a journey with my characters and discovering the story with them.

The thing you like least about being a writer: Editing. Yes, it is necessary. Yes, it’s important. Yes, it’s not as fun as a first draft.

Things you will run to the store for in the middle of the night: The sequel to a good book. Or the last in a trilogy.

Things you never put on your shopping list: This may surprise you, but cleaning supplies!

The thing that you will most remember about your writing life: The feeling of completing a book, having it published, and being able to hold it in your hands as an actual, physical book.

Something in your writing life that you wish you could do over:

Something you’re really good at: I’m a pretty good coach. I coach dragonboat paddling and racing and I’ve been told I explain things well. Plus, when the team gets really tired, I motivate them with very corny jokes.

Something you never learned how to do: Knit. I think it’d be good for me if I knew how. I tried learning to crochet once, but the lessons went very badly. I can kind of sew, so that’s something, right? I can’t make a fancy pillow, but I can repair stuffed animals, which is a skill that has come in handy over the years.

Something you wanted to be when you were a kid: Fairy princess.

Something you do that you never dreamed you’d do: Teach, which means talking in front of people all day long. I used to be a very shy child.

Things to say to an author: I’m proud of you!

Things to say to an author if you want to be fictionally killed off in their next book: I thought about writing a book once. It looks easy.

Most daring thing you’ve ever done: I rappelled once. It was terrifying. If I could have escaped from doing it, I would have. But I had to be brave for the children I was with.

Something you chickened out from doing: Scary rides at the fair that don’t have proper seat belts.

The funniest thing to happen to you: I’m fairly clumsy, so most days there are at least 5-6 funny or embarrassing things that happen to me. I walk into a lot of door frames. I am forced to pee in very unfortunate places. I’ve worn two different shoes to work multiple times.

The most embarrassing thing to happen to you: I think trying to get into someone else’s car (that looked like mine) is pretty bad. It’s happened a few times, but only once where the person was sitting in their vehicle and yelled at me.

The best job you ever had: Writing and teaching: The two best gigs in the world.

The worst job you ever had: Retail.

The one thing you cook/bake that is better than a restaurant dish: Um… nothing. I’m the world’s worst cook. My eight year old is now better at making spaghetti than I am … and everything else.

The one thing you cooked/baked that turned out to be an epic disaster: Any casserole I’ve tried. Most lasagna’s I make. I can burn microwave popcorn, so that’s not good. I’ve messed up soup. Sometimes I can re-heat things in the microwave.

About Jenna:

Jenna Greene is a teacher, writer, clumsy dancer, dragonboat coach and paddler, and semi-professional napper. She loves every part of her life and starts each day with a cup of tea.

Let’s Be Social:

Jenna Greene – Author

#ThisorThatThursday Author Interview with Jenna Greene

I’d like to welcome author Jenna Greene to the blog for #ThisorThatThursday!

A few of your favorite things: Tea, mugs for my tea, books to read while drinking tea

Things you need to throw out: All the half-finished craft projects of my child and the hoarding materials of my husband.

Things you need for your writing sessions: A cup of tea (surprise!) a comfy chair or couch, my laptop, and inspiration.

Things that hamper your writing: Being hungry.

Hardest thing about being a writer: Writing. (Imagining events, places, conflicts, settings).

Easiest thing about being a writer: Writing. (Communicating events, places, conflicts, settings).

Words that describe you: Quirky, creative, chatty, curious, loyal

Words that describe you, but you wish they didn’t: Loud, quirky, emotional, abrasive, sloppy

Favorite music or song: Anything Broadway! Yay Newsies, Hairspray, Billy Elliot!

Music that drives you crazy: Country music and rap.

Favorite beverage: Tea!

Something that gives you a sour face: Coffee (the smell… ugh!)

Something you’re really good at: Being creative, whether that be through writing, inventing games, drama, or dance.

Something you’re really bad at: Dancing without falling over or crashing into things – but I do it anyway because I LOVE it.

Things you’d walk a mile for: My child. If she needed me, I’d RUN 10,000 miles.

Things that make you want to run screaming from the room: Spiders. (Is there one around?!)

Things you always put in your books: A character discovering something about themselves – learning to do something they couldn’t do before, or discovering a strength they didn’t know they had.

Things you never put in your books: Excessive smut. I’d giggle too much while writing it.

Favorite things to do: Paddle a dragonboat, kayak, or canoe.

Things you’d run through a fire or eat bugs to get out of doing: Killing a spider.

The funniest thing to happen to you: Okay, there’s too many to list. I’ve accidentally got into someone else’s car, peed on my own foot, got my hair caught in a door jamb, ate a bee, went to work with two different shoes…

The most embarrassing thing to happen to you: See above.

Besides writing, what’s the most creative thing you’ve done: Wrote, directed, and choreographed plays and Christmas concerts.

A project that didn’t quite turn out the way you planned it: Anything with junior high students involved.

About Jenna:

Jenna Greene is a YA/ Children’s author from Alberta, Canada. When she isn’t writing or teaching, she enjoys dancing, dragonboating, and napping.

Let’s Be Social:

Website: www.jennagreene.ca

Twitter/X: @jgreenewrites