Romance Debutante DJ Parker Breaking Out With Sinn (Interview)

If there is one thing that I've learned from reading countless romance novels is that there are hundreds if not thousands of published authors out there, and honestly I don't know exactly how they managed to get published. But if you look them up they have quite a few works under their belts. After reading DJ Parker's "Dipping Into Sinn, I knew she wasn't one of those authors, but I would never have guessed that this book was her debut project. No sooner than I finished with book one I was chaffing at the bit to dive head first into book 2 Dipping Deeper Into Sinn, which had just come out. Read my review here - Who Knew That Sinn Could Be This Good! D.J. Parker Dipping Into Sinn 2 (Dipping Deeper Into Sinn)

From the cover to the last page, these are two books that you seriously need to have on your "To Be Read" List. As a matter of fact, I'll wager that everything that DJ Parker writes will end up on that list. But you didn't start reading this to listen to me wax poetic. So without further ado, let's hear from DJ Parker, debut author from Jessica Watkins Presents.

PE - Dipping Into Sin is was your debut novel. Talk to us about your journey to romance writing?

DJ - My journey into writing came from reading. Ever since I was in elementary school, I’ve always had a fascination with story telling. At first, I would recite my stories to my mother, get her opinion, and then write it down. Unlike most other writers, I never participated in any contests—mainly because I was always shy and self-conscious. Even in writing Dipping Into Sin, I wrestled with the idea of sending my manuscript to Jessica Watkins Presents.

When I entered high school, I decided to be apart of the newspaper committee. For fours years, I did not do any other form of creative writing that was outside of my English assignments. I lived, ate, and breathed my high school newspaper. I became the International News Editor and my primary focus was writing about public policy and politics on all of the countries outside of the United States. Even my choice of books changed while I was in high school.

By my senior year of high school, I had decided that I wanted to pursue journalism. Upon entering college, I started to become less interested in writing about international news and more focused on trying to define myself outside of my high school newspaper. For two years, I only wrote when it involved school assignments.

As I approached my senior year in college, I won a Kindle from a raffle. Instead of storing the Kindle in my desk drawer, I decided to research how to use a Kindle. The first book that I purchased was from the author, Brenda Jackson. Realizing how convenient and accessible my Kindle was, I decided to purchase more books. In less than a month of having my Kindle, I had purchased over twenty novels and managed to read every last one. I fell in love with story telling all over again. I forgot how truly amazing it is to have the ability to paint a story together and create a masterpiece. After reading my first interracial novel by Theodora Taylor, I decided to try my hand at writing again. At first, it was difficult trying to outline, format, and place all of my ideas into one story. I suffered a dry spell in which I did not know how to be my own writer. This stemmed from the years that I spent only tailoring my writing to fit that of a newspaper and college assignments. So, I put my story away and decided to spend the next year free writing and being creative.

PC - How long did you work on Dipping Into Sinn and Dipping Deeper Into Sinn?

DJ - Dipping Into Sin was my second attempt at writing a novel after failing the first time. The premise of the story and the characters seemed to flow out as I developed an outline on January 19^th, 2015 at 11:25PM. I left the outline alone for a week before deciding to actually write my story. I spent a little over two months writing Dipping Into Sin. After receiving the response for my debut novel, I knew that I had to write Dipping Deeper Into Sin. As much as I wanted to take my time with writing the second installment, I could not help but take heed to the numerous emails that I received from readers who were eager and filled with anticipation. Thinking back now, I should’ve waited longer in order to ensure that the second installment was flawless.     

PE -I know that there is going to be third book, can you give us a sneak peek into what’s going to happen?

DJ - Readers can expect to see a different side of Andriano when his family is in danger. I will have five sneak peak chapters of Dipping Into Sin 3 at the end of Nicolai Balducci and Reign Johnson’s story, Loving Her In The Shadows.

PE -This is a question that I have been dying to ask. Do you as the author have any input on your cover art?

DJ - Absolutely! In creating the cover, I had an image in my head about how I wanted the title and the design to encompass uniqueness with a smidge of sexy. I was able to describe the scene, choose a color scheme, and choose the picture of the people who closely resemble Andriano Balducci and Simone Sinn. My publisher worked alongside with a graphic artist and they put my vision into an actual cover.   

PE - According to your bio you’re currently working on a Master’s degree. How do you find the time to write?

DJ - While I was working on my debut novel, Dipping Into Sin, I was able to manage writing while attending school because I was not employed. However, when I started working full time again while going to school, I struggled with time management. I did not realize just how limited I was when it came to time.   

PE - How well do you feel you have been received by your readers?

DJ - Honestly, I’m still shocked about the general response that I received since releasing both of my novels. I respect all readers and appreciate positive and critical reviews. As a result of some issues that occurred upon the release of the second installment, I knew that there were going to be many negative reviews. I was prepared; yet slightly discouraged. Before releasing Dipping Into Sin, I never realized just how many people detested cliffhangers. I vowed that after the Dipping Into Sin trilogy is completed, I will only write standalones.

PE - What is your favorite part of the writing process?

DJ - My favorite part of the writing process is changing up my ideas. Even though I created an outline, my ideas changed as I continued writing. I love the creative freedom when developing characters and a plot.

PE -Tell us one thing that most people don’t know about you?

DJ - I hate romance movies! I love to read romance stories; but I absolutely detest all romance movies.

PE - Who is(are) your favorite author(s)?

DJ - In the genre of romance, some of my favorite authors are Brenda Jackson, Theodora Taylor, 

S.K. Lessly, Eve Vaughn, Kenya Wright, Sienna Mynx, and Sheniqua Waters.

*S.K. Lessly's Ruined is incredible. I've included it on my favorites and notables list.

PE- What is the last book that you read?

DJ - The last book that I read was Never DieAlone by Lisa Jackson. This is a suspenseful thriller mystery novel. My husband actually picked out this novel for us to read together.  

PE - What is the one thing that you MUST have while you’re writing?

DJ - Silence! While writing, I enjoy peace and quiet. I’ve tried listening to music and watching television while writing, but I cannot seem to function in a room filled with noise.

PE - Where do you want to go with your writing from here?

DJ - When I decided to write this novel, I did not think that I would have many readers. In fact, I did not think that my debut novel would have generated a large audience. I’m truly grateful for the encouragement and support that I received from readers. I would love to continue to write novels. I do plan on writing short stories on my website (that will be for free), as well as, release more novels from an array of different types of romance. (Although I don’t foresee this occurring) If God intends for me to be a full time author and devote the majority of my time into writing, I would gladly accept that as a career. But, until then, I will continue to weave stories together and allow readers to escape into my world. I only hope to improve as a writer and release even better novels. 

Big thanks to DJ for taking the time to hand out at Foot Notes, "The Last Word"