Today is Wednesday, and I’m pleased to have J.J. Nite join us with her release, Beginnings of the Heart. J.J.’s book is a YA sweet romance in which a young pregnant teenage girl and her boyfriend travel the path to establishing themselves as a family. Caught between two very different sets of parents, this young family will go through a most trying test. You will have to read Beginnings of the Heart to find out what happens. It’s well worth an afternoon or night of reading! Dig in to the blurb below and then we’ll talk to J.J. about her process and what inspired her to write Beginnings of the Heart.

Blurb
When sixteen year-old Morgan finds herself unexpectedly pregnant, she’s not sure what her life will be like. With her boyfriend Cole, they try to navigate this new road that fate has set them on. Neither knows what to expect or how life will change.
Their family’s reactions to the news of their pregnancy are polar opposites. Cole’s parents are supportive while Morgan’s are much less making an already difficult situation even more so.
When tragedy strikes this new, small family, can everyone pull together or will it forever drive a wedge between them all?
CL: What inspired the idea for Beginnings of the Heart?
JN: If I’m remembering correctly, it was one of those moments that I was playing a “what if” scenario through my head. One thing led to another and I had a novel written!
CL: Tell us a little bit about your writing process. Do you outline before you begin to write or are you a pantster?
JN: The short answer is both, but I’m a writer so there is never a short answer. When I begin a new writing project, I just write. Once I have an idea of where the muse is telling me to go, I stop and do a very rough outline. Even then the story often evolves from where I thought it was going.
CL: What was the most difficult part of writing Beginnings of the Heart?
JN: There’s a scene where Morgan and her mother get into a huge verbal fight. It was very difficult knowing that some girls have these fights with their parents all the time. Trying to strike the right balance was so hard. I think I rewrote the scene about five times before I was happy with it.
CL: Tell us a little bit about your journey to becoming a published author.
JN: Well, I first started writing when my youngest was almost a year old. It only took three months to finish the first, very rough, draft. It took another 5 years before I found a home for one of my manuscripts with Astraea Press. You cannot let the no’s stop you.
CL: What advice would you offer aspiring writers on the writing business?
JN: Don’t stop writing!! Never lose the momentum you create by writing.
CL: Any special tips for writers who are juggling writing with raising a family, working a day job or just life in general?
JN: Do your best to carve out a little bit of time everyday to write. I find that it renews my soul a little and I’m a happier person when I can find the time to write each day. This of course doesn’t mean it happens and you often just need to roll with life.