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~ Rhonda Jackson Joseph ~

Rhonda Jackson Joseph was born in Richmond, Texas in 1971. Her earliest foray into writing was during junior high school when she produced numerous romance short stories in which she and her best girlfriends were the heroines. The stories were circulated and garnered quite a following. Thus, she found that romance writing came rather natural to her.

Her focus shifted toward horror writing when the elevated hormone levels in her body during pregnancy brought on terrifying nightmares during the scant hours she could find sleep. The dreams demanded to be placed on paper, and she hoped they would then be exorcised. To no avail, as they never completely disappeared. In fact, they multiplied.

Rhonda currently lives in Houston, Texas with her husband and four children. Her first novel, a contemporary romance entitled Call It What You Want, was released by Tea and a Tome Publishing in March 2007. She is currently working on several other novels and a screenplay.

 

Hi Rhonda, Welcome to Sensual Reads and Reviews. Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to be with us today.

Thank you, Crystal, for having me.

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

Sure!  I am what I like to call “A Lover Of Words”.  I have always been an avid reader, and writer.  My family would add that I’m an avid talker, too.  I live in Houston,Texas, with my husband and four children.  There is always something interesting going on in my house!

Have you always wanted to be a writer or was this something you came to desire in later years?

I have always wanted to be a writer.  I’m just glad it was something I happen to be good at, also, because if it wasn’t something I could realistically pursue, I think I would have been heartbroken.  As a child I often wrote screenplays for my siblings to act out with me.  Once I got to middle school, I began writing romance short stories which I circulated among my friends.

When you are not writing, what are some of your past time favorites?

I love to read.  When I’m not behind the pages of a book, I like to dance and fish.  All of this is of course with the activity of “Kid Wrangling” in the background at all times.

What inspires you to write contemporary romances?

I am completely in love with love.  I’m a pure romantic at heart, and I love to give other people “happily ever afters”.  Also, I have always been intrigued by the relationships between people, whether they be of a romantic nature or not, and writing about current issues that affect these relationships is something I think is very important.

Is there any other genres that you plan on writing?

I also dabble in horror writing.  I’ve only had short stories published in that genre so far, but I’m studying to work up to novel length at some point.  I also write women’s fiction and urban fiction.

Could you tell us a little more about Call It What You Want.

Call It What You Want is the love story of so many women I have known in my life.  Cishawn Simpson is very independent, and because she blames the restrictions placed on women in our society for the death of her mother, she bucks these conventions at every turn.  Of course her dating experiences don’t help matters any, and she decides she just doesn’t want to lose herself in any one.  Tonzell Jones is the consummate rescuer, and he is always rescuing somebody or fixing something.  When he and Cishawn hook up, he realizes very quickly that she needs rescuing from herself, even if she doesn’t own up to it.  But because they are both trying to build businesses, they decide they only want a physical relationship with one another.  Of course this fire burns out of control, and they soon find themselves headed for the inevitable “real relationship”.

Is there anything that you are currently working on that you would like to share with us?

Around the end of this month, I have a romance short story coming out with Amazon Shorts entitled “The Act” about a widowed mother attempting to thwart her three daughters’ matchmaking attempts with a made up relationship.

In your Bio it states that you are currently working on a screenplay, can you tell us how that is coming along?

That is definitely a learning experience!  Every step of the way, I learn something that makes the script much better, but usually requires me to tighten up earlier bits and pieces.  Needless to say, it will be work in progress for a minute.

How does it feel to be a published author and own a publishing company?

I am loving it!  I have so much love and respect for the writing and publishing communities, and I am so proud to be a member of both.  I created my publishing company to publish Call It What You Want, but even then I knew I wanted to help other people become published as well.  This was one thing I had to look at realistically: my ability to take on other writers, and at what pace.  I am currently contracting another author so that we can get his book out by the middle of next year.  I hope to have another book out by then as well. And that’s not to say I don’t respect the traditional publishing route.  With writers writing for so many different houses at the same time, I’m anticipating being published by bigger houses as well as my own.  The promo is all the same!

How do you manage them both with a family?

It’s quite a job.  I have little kids at home (aged 5, just about 3, and 18 months—the fourth is a teenager, almost 14), and they just don’t get the whole “Mommy is busy doing something else” thing all the time.  Goodness, my husband doesn’t, either!  The teenager is the only one who really understands that sometimes I have to be buried in the laptop, but I think that’s usually because if I’m busy I can’t question/harass/hug and kiss him.  I definitely had to set some boundaries and just get the work done.  Since I am the author and the publisher, all the promo and production are totally up to me, and because it is so important to me, I’ve learned how to squeeze things in around our household schedule.  That meant putting the two little ones in daycare three days a week so I could get business things done, as well as rearranging my five year olds’ therapy schedule.  It also means sticking to the schedule, even when I don’t really feel like it.

What genres and authors would we find you reading when you are not writing?

I absolutely love Brandon Massey, Tananarive Due, and John Saul (horror and suspense).  I also like Tina Brooks-McKinney, Zane, Sylvia Day (erotica), and Cheryl Lacey-Donovan (Christian/self help). Although these are my favorites, I will and do read any and everything.

What has been your greatest challenge as a writer?

My biggest challenge was shedding the need for validation.  My decision to self publish was not an easy one to make, and for a long time I felt I needed a contract to really “be a writer”.  Then one day, I realized that even if I never got that contract, I would still write.  Without it, I was still a writer. At that point, I had to also face up to the fact that getting a contract was difficult for other reasons than poor writing skills, and the lack of an offer did not mean the work wasn’t worthy of publication.  Once I overcame those challenges, I hit the ground running.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years from now?

Five years from now, I see myself the mother of four kids in school all day, and a multi-published author with several houses.  I will also have built Tea and a Tome’s catalogue to include at least four other authors.

Anything you would like to add for your readers?

I love to meet new people, so please drop me a Line. And I get excited about good books, too, so let me know about the good books you’ve read so I can pick them up.  

Thank you Rhonda for being here with us today, we really enjoyed it.

Thank you, again, Crystal.  I’ve enjoyed talking with you, and I wish you and Sensual Reads and Reviews all the best.

Interview conducted by Crystal Stone
Sensual Reads & Reviews
October 2007

 

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