Cafe Chit Chat: Jess C. Scott + Character Post: Jade & Novan

Hello! Welcome to the next Blogoversery Bash post!! Today's author is Jess C Scott the author of the book, Eyeleash...Check it out!

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Wdebo: Can you describe a typical day?

Jess: I always have breakfast (cereal + milk = good meal for any time of the day). I need some level of physical activity too, or I just go nuts. I spend a lot of time reading and/or writing. I will soon be continuing my tertiary education. I foresee having to brush up on my time management skills.

W: How did you come up for the idea for EyeLeash?

J: In the second chapter, there's a scene where the two lead characters exchange a certain kind of "look". That happened to me in real life, and I suppose it set things off for the rest of EyeLeash (both the real-life experience, and whatever I mixed and matched to result in the final blog novel itself).

W: Could you give a short summary of EyeLeash?

J: No problem -- I've been using this summary since 2007!

Jade Ashton is a sassy virgin. In her private blog, she vents about "fitting in" a world where superficiality reigns supreme.

Suddenly all logic flies out the window when she meets Novan: the former geek, who's morphed into a delicious songwriter-musician.

They decide to be "friends-with-benefits". But it's Novan--with his poems and riddling passages on his own blog--that backs out.

EyeLeash captures self-discovery in the 2000s, and showcases the colorful, intricate drama in two youths' relentless search for themselves--and what's really in their hearts.

W: Are any of your characters based on anyone you know?

J: The lead guy character in EyeLeash is roughly based on someone I know -- physically they share quite a few similarities, but the real guy is slightly more...psycho. As for the characters in my second book (a short story collection) -- most of them are completely fictitious. I derive equal enjoyment from both basing characters on actual figures, and letting them come to life (of their own accord) in the story.

W: What is your favorite thing to do (apart from writing)?

J: I seriously like to have a good night's rest. I like going on long, aimless walks...zoning out to music (rock, classical, dance)...drawing (can get very tiring though)...and spending time with pets/animals. I like to bake and indulge in good food too.

W: What's your favorite color?

J: I'm not Onch, so I'm not going to say that my favorite color is "rainbow" -- however, I do have a problem picking one out of the million available colors.I might go with midnight purple (for the allure and mystery), or red (for the passion, vibrancy, and energy).

W: If you were stranded on an island and could only bring five things what would they be?

J: 1. SPF 45 Sunblock & Moisturizer 2. Water bottle (SIGG bottle, preferably) 3. The maximum amount of paper and pen I'm allowed to have (for the duration of the stranded island course!) 4. Swiss Army Knife 5. A small pot/tin to boil water, and/or cook various "stuff" in...

W: Who are some authors you look up to?

J: They are mostly classic authors -- I'm a bit of an old soul in this department, which is quite ironic, because my writing tends to be contemporary. Some of the writers that I look up to include Vladimir Nabokov (utterly wicked style), Roald Dahl (also very stylish -- both his works for children and adults!), Anais Nin, D. H. Lawrence (OMG), Leo Tolstoy, Sylvia Plath, Vivian Vande Velde, and I cannot leave out my top two favorites -- Edgar Allan Poe and Oscar Wilde.

W: Do you have a new project you are working on? And if so, can you tell us a bit about it?

J: There's usually something or other that I'm working on. I'm working on a less-radical-than-my-debut-blog-novel YA series -- I will give more details later ;). But here's a very short excerpt (from my first draft):

“Are you wearing cologne?” I ask. I want to know what brand of fragrance it is. I might even buy a scent that I think would complement his well.

He doesn’t hide a smile. “Kenzo Pour Homme. Do you like it?”

“Yes. It’s not too...overpowering.”

“Ah, that gets annoying sometimes,” he says, which makes me so glad I’ve never been one of those sorts. “How about you, which brands do you like?”

Oh shoot. What do I say?

“Chanel,” I reply. Because there’s a huge billboard advertisement of Chanel No. 5 by the side of the escalator we’re traveling on.

W: I heard you lived in Singapore for your first twenty years (that means you were born there right? haha sounds stupid, sorry!), how different is it from Maine (where you currently reside)?

J: Not a silly question at all -- yes, I was born there. It is quite starkly different from Maine. Singapore's an urban city (and there aren't four seasons there -- it's mainly hot, or rainy); Maine has a lot of wild countryside (with very nice summers, and very cold winters)...the differences are quite extreme. But eh, perhaps I'm someone who finds balance amidst extremities.

W: What is your FAVORITE book in the world, the one that you think everyone should read before they die?

J: Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina -- if I had to pick just ONE book, that's the one I think everyone should read before they die. The human experience is captured in such a wonderfully captivating and realistic way -- I remember feeling my life had changed, when I finished the novel. It is not a book to be casually flipped through; I spent 3 months reading it.

PS: Shout-out for Edgar Allan Poe's and Oscar Wilde's collected works too (I cannot ever leave those two out!). And Anais Nin and D. H. Lawrence if you like something more provocative. Vivian Vande Velde's Dragon's Bait, a fantastic fantasy compact-sized novel. George Orwell's 1984 for an eye-opening "the future is here" read. I know I've ended up listing more than one book, but it's only so that each person can make their individual selection from my personal recommendations...

W: Finally, do you have anything else that you would like to say?

J: Don't be afraid to be who you are. We are constantly bombarded by the mass media on what we should do/what we should be like/how to wear our hair/how to dress -- a unique self-identity is something that the outside world cannot influence (or brainwash). Knowing what you're about will give you direction and meaning in life, along with the drive and focus to live your dreams.

Thanks Jess!

To learn more about Jess check out her Wordpress HERE!

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Now, we have a real treat as Jess writes an IM between two characters, Jade and Novan from her book Eyeleash, talking about what? My blogoversery! Yeah, I feel special...Check it out!!

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Conversation started on [21 Aug 2009, 7:37PM]

¤Jade¤: hey, first time i’m hearing of this word

¤Jade¤: “blogoversary”!

[novan]: oh yea

[novan]: there’s also monthsaries, vlogversaries, twitterversaries...

[novan]: ur blogversary?

¤Jade¤: not yet. mine’s wayyy eaerlier. 2 Jan

[novan]: oh right. how cld I forget... ROFL

¤Jade¤: this blog run by Wdebo

¤Jade¤: have u seen her blog?

¤Jade¤: http://theelectricalbookcafe.blogspot.com/

[novan]: wow funky name

[novan]: icic. k tnx for the link J

¤Jade¤: omg Super Junior! tt 13-member boy band u told me abt?

[novan]: yea

[novan]: largest boy band in the world

[novan]: u shld check this guy out too

[novan]: se7en... watch this MV - www.youtube.com/watch?v=FeyMLGMN_vA

[novan]: tt’s some slick dance moves, man

¤Jade¤: ZOMG, super hot

[novan]: haha

[novan]: very talented dancer and singer too

[novan]: wow, i don’t know how many hours ive spent on youtube

¤-Jade-¤: yep

¤-Jade-¤: u watch one video

¤-Jade-¤: before u know it, 3 hours have passed!!

[novan]: yea oh btw... im looking @ the txc museum’s website

[novan]: theres some dinosaur bones exhibit thing going on

[novan]: wanna get up close w dinosaur bones 2nite?

¤-Jade-¤: hey why not

¤-Jade-¤: tho i feel like watching a movie

¤-Jade-¤: n throwing popcorn at the screen...

¤-Jade-¤: ok that was random

[novan]: well maybe we cld do both J

[novan]: wow i rem us throwing popcorn the other time

[novan]: coz the show was SO BORING

¤Jade¤: YESSS!! boredom shld be illegal

[novan]: indeed

[novan]: hey uhm, i think we gtg soon...

[novan]: the museum closes at 10pm i think

¤Jade¤: ok

¤Jade¤: just gonna send Wdebo a gift first!

¤-Jade-¤ sends: “hyde_reading.jpg”

¤Jade¤: tt’s what i’m sending her

[novan]: ooh, cool

[novan]: love the simple lines on that

[novan]: hyde rocks man!

¤Jade¤: yeah, got tired with fashion illustration

¤Jade¤: so tried smth new with this one

¤Jade¤: anything to say to her?

[novan]: Wdebo?

[novan]: hm, i dunno her very well

[novan]: what does she like

[novan]: ?

¤Jade¤: describes herself as a “Taiwanese drama addict”

[novan]: ah ok

[novan]: erm

[novan]: off the top of my head...

¤Jade¤: she likes C-pop too

[novan]: alrighty. lets see. a haiku poem?... smth short + sweet¤Jade¤: finish it in 2 mins :P

[novan]: k

¤Jade¤: writing now>?

¤Jade¤: 1 min more...

¤Jade¤: zzzrrrreeppoooooooooo

¤Jade¤: oh ur back!

[novan]: YEA

[novan]: u can send her this

[novan]: [Taiwanese dramas:] <-- that’s the title, n also 1st line

[novan]: [Taiwanese dramas:] / Addictive as C-pop is / Ever infectious.

[novan]: not my best, but decent for 2 mins

¤Jade¤: i’m sure she wldn’t mind ;)

[novan]: k, cya l8r i guess?

[novan]: wish her a happy blogoversary too

¤Jade¤: sure thing!

[novan]: J

~ Conversation ended on [21 Aug 2009, 8:02PM] ~

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EyeLeash is Jess’s debut blog/IM novel.
Her website is http://www.jesscscott.com/.

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Awesome!!! Bahaha such a great guest post...Love your haiku Novan :)

Thanks so much Jess for all you did!!

Hope everyone can check out Eyeleash.

Remember, if you comment on this post you get TWO extra entrees into the contest HERE, and don't forget to join in! Where one of the prizes is one of four Eyeleash bookmarks and an e-book copy of Eyeleash.

Wdebo :)