Jill Marie Landis ... living and writing on Kauai
Jill Marie Landis
Just the other day I talked to my friend, romance novelist Jill Marie Landis, and asked her what it was like living the life of a writer on Kauai.
Jill is the bestselling author of over 20 novels, two of which hit the New York Times extended bestseller list. She has won numerous awards for her heartfelt characters and sweeping emotional romance that include Summer Moon and Magnolia Creek from Ballantine.
Toes in the sand and head in the clouds, she is now living the dream in Hawaii with her first husband, Steve. You can read more about her or contact Jill at www.jillmarielandis.com.
Q. So, Jill, how is it there, living the life of a writer on the beautiful island of Kauai?
Jill: I’m not sure what other working writers would say—and we have our fair share of them on Kauai—but for me the circumstances truly change with the weather. If it’s a lovely day, that makes it even harder to buckle down and sit at the computer working.
I’d definitely rather be out in the garden or at the beach. Sometimes I take my notes and reference books outside with me and I work in my beach chair, but I really relish the rainy days—and Kauai has more than its fair share of those.
Hawaii’s writers are six hours behind New York, the hub of the publishing world. Since we finally moved here full time in 2005, I’ve noticed that I’m not as manic anymore about the business of writing. By the time I get to work, it’s already 3 p.m. in New York. Editors, agents, and publicists are winding down for the day.
Now I’m less worried about who’s who and what’s going on, who is making the bestseller lists and what are the trends—which still seem to be Vampires of every kind, which pretty much sucks. Living this far away, I’m able to focus more on the one and only thing we can control in this business and that is the writing we put on the page.
Q. What do you hear from your readers?
Jill: The Internet has made it possible to stay in touch with publishers and readers. I receive emails daily from readers who sign onto my Guest Book page on my website at www.jillmarielandis.com. A great reader comment is the best motivation to help me stay centered and focused on work when I’m tempted to stop and slip outside. Most of them are wonderfully inspiring.
There are a few that are more memorable than others. Once I received an email from a gentleman from Montana who said that he and his eighty-five year old wife had reenacted all the love scenes in one of my novels. Try as I might, it was an image I couldn’t shake, so heading to the beach for a float around the bay was the only way I could get through the rest of the day .
Q. What are you writing now?
Jill: Over the past couple of years I’ve gone back to writing historicals. Three of them, Homecoming (Steeple Hill 2008), The Accidental Lawman (Steeple Hill 2009), and recently completed Heart of Stone (Zondervan, March 2010) are all set in a dry and dusty fictional town in Texas in 1875.
It really takes imagination, discipline, and a lot of research to pull that off while I’m looking out the window at the waterfalls of Namolokama and the lush landscape of North Shore Kauai.
Every bit as full of the page turning drama and deep characterization my books are known for, these newer novels are for a wider market than traditional historical romance. There are no explicit love scenes in them.
Maybe writing romance for over 20 years is the reason for the change, but deep down, I think it may have been that email from the 85 year old in Montana that inspired the change.
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Next: On Friday, Jill gives her answers to the 10 questions most asked a romance writer.
Tags: Jill Marie Landis, Kauai, Romance
October 8th, 2009 at 10:15 am
Jill, now that you're in Hawai'i have you thought of writing historical romance set here? A group that interests me but to my knowledge has not been explored are the daughters of the merchants and seamen who migrated to Hawai'i. Moke Kupihea of Kauai wrote in his book, The Seven Dawns of the 'Aumakua, about his Norwegian grandmother. I wonder what she must have been like as a young woman growing up in this place.
October 8th, 2009 at 7:42 pm
Aloha Makana,
In 1998 I had a novel come out entitled GLASS BEACH, which was set on Kauai in 1888. It's about a paniolo, the estranged, illegitimate son of a plantation owner, who inherits half of the plantation after his father dies. His lovely, very young step-mother inherits the other portion. You can imagine what happens, since it's a romance. It's out of print now, but there are copies to be had out there. I'd love to read The Seven Dawns of the 'Aumakua. I'll have to look for it.