Let's meet Jane Caroll today! Her wonderful character, Bertha, has given me great words of wisdom!

Here's Jane!

Describe yourself in one word –

Evolving

What super power would you like to have –

To jump out of bed in a single bound…smiling and ready to face the day.

What do you do to keep yourself going when you aren’t motivated?

Don’t laugh but sometimes…I just read Bertha. It’s funny that even though I wrote the stories I can still find inspiration from them when I need it. I also write through my frustration a good bit of the time…journaling…not stuff that you would ever read or want to read.

Which comes first the chicken or the egg… I mean the plot or the characters?

Hmmm…for me they came at the same time. Bertha-Size Your Life! is a little different since it is essentially a series of life lessons but even for my novel in progress the character and the plot came to me at the same time. I can already tell that both are taking on a mind of their own…so who knows!

When you set your characters do you use character bios/ sketches or do your characters just land on the page?

Bertha just landed on the page with a big SPLAT! I never did a character sketch per se on her…but I know her very well.

How old were you when you finished your first book?

I was fifty…which makes me really old now. ;)

How long did it take you to write it?

It took about two years from beginning to published.

If you could do everything over (writing your book, or publishing, etc.) would you change anything?

I sold my house when Bertha-Size Your Life! was first released and determined that I could live off the equity until I was making enough money as an author to support myself…I figured two years should do it and I’d have money left over. WRONG. Two years found me broke having spent not only my equity but my 401K as well. I totally felt foolish for a while for having wasted all my money…until I realized…living your dream…even for only two years…is never a waste.

So it would be easy to say that I’d change this or that…that I would have been an immediate success story…been on Oprah…all that kind of thing. But I know that things have progressed just as they were supposed to. I have grown so much as a person…as a writer…I have no regrets. But…I do hear that Oprah regrets not having interviewed me…just saying. ;)

Jane, you have been a fun guest today! Thank you!

Here's a bit more about Jane and Bertha!

Jane Carroll Bio and Links

Links:

Website: http://www.janecarrollauthor.com

Amazon: http://tiny.cc/zgaafw 

Facebook: https://facebook.com/janecarrollauthor

Twitter: https://twitter.com/janecarroll10

Book Synopsis:

Bertha-Size Your Life! reads like a series of humorous short stories but it is so much more. Bertha, a zany redhead, mysteriously appears into the narrator’s life while walking in the park. Quicker than a man can hand off a baby with a dirty diaper, she has moved into her new friend’s empty nest and the fun begins.

Bertha is always up to something and delights in standing on a soapbox while dispensing down-home wisdom and perky advice. She explains The Law of Attraction in a refreshing, humor-filled, practical way that has you going hmmm instead of humph.

Throw in a conniving nemesis, an antagonistic cat, lime green spandex, and high-heels and you’ve got a book that’s sure to tickle your funny bone and leave you wearing your thinking cap as you read and reread each vignette.

Who knew personal transformation could be so much fun? “Bertha, that was a rhetorical question. Get off your soapbox…”

Bio:

Jane Carroll, Author of Amazon Bestselling Bertha-Size Your Life!, is a Life Coach, Registered Nurse, Reiki Master, Mother, Grandmother, and long-time student of life. She has seen the focus of her over 30 year nursing career change from illness to wellness to wholeness, a philosophy that permeates everything she does. While she enjoys all aspects of her life, writing is her passion and she is currently working on Bertha’s latest adventures.

Bertha-Size Your Life! recently received the MK Traditionally Published Best Book of 2012 Award.