Jennifer Weiser: Author Spotlight + Recipe

Jennifer Weiser, author of the YA paranormal dystopian novel, The Touched shares her insights on writing. In the spirit of Thanksgiving, she's also shared a festive pie recipe. I'm thrilled to host this delightful writer on my blog today!

  

What is your process for plotting out your novel?

I actually don’t have one. As much as I’ve tried to plot before writing, I just can’t seem to do it. I tend to take an idea and run with it, allowing the story and plot to unfold as I type.

What is your greatest challenge as a writer?

Greatest challenge…hmm, that’s a great question! I suppose my greatest challenge as a writer would be not being able to plot out a story before I sit down to write it. I imagine if I could, I would be able to write more and faster.

Do you write in one genre or multiple genres? Why?

I’ve only ever written one book that wasn’t YA. And even then it felt off and odd to me to write a genre that was out of my element. To me, writing YA is fresh and exciting. It’s the time in a young person's life where they experience so many firsts. Love, heartache, loss, revenge…drama. It never gets stale to me. I know they say that college is the best time of a person's life, but I tend to disagree. For me, high school days held some of my favorite memories and I wouldn’t trade them or my experiences for anything. It’s because of those memories, I write YA. I don’t think I will ever truly grow tired of YA or write outside of it… but I suppose you should never say never. ;)

What was your path to publication like?

My path to publication was filled with a lot of ups and downs and filled with the dreaded grossness of self-doubt. I never set out to publish a book when I fully started writing full time. Writing had always been something I loved doing, but I never saw it becoming more then me writing fun stories and keeping them to myself…but out of the blue one day, I found myself writing “End of Book One” and feeling this amazing feeling over accomplishment. I’ve written tons of short stories but never a full length novel. I was besides myself. It wasn’t until a friend and fellow author persuaded me to pitch to literary agents that I actually thought about publishing. From there it was two years of rejections and full manuscript requests that never lead anywhere. In May of this year, I made the decision to pitch one final time…and that was to Limitless Publishing. I expected it to go no where…except it did. :)

What advice do you have for someone who dreams of writing and having a book published?

My biggest advice would be not to give up, even in those moments of utter weakness when you just can’t handle another rejection letter. There are going to be days where this advice will make you want to scream, but trust me, keep pushing to make your dream a reality because it will happen. And when it does, there isn’t a true word that will describes the feelings you get  that moment when you see your book in print and your name on its cover. 

THE TOUCHED in a nutshell:

The first sixteen years of Arabella Penthallow’s life have been a lie… In a world where deception is the key to survival, Ara has kept up the charade of being a perfect Legion Leader’s daughter. But a darkness stirs, and she discovers she is Touched, a mortal gifted by the Gods. The Touched are as rare as they are feared, and Ara is forced to leave Union City for neighboring Midnight City to protect herself and those she loves, leaving Tove Thorn, the boy who has always known her heart, behind. 
Buy The Touched on Amazon

Author Bio:

Jennifer Weiser is a young adult author who has always been a book nerd and a bit chocolate obsessed. Writing has always been a favorite escape, but quickly became a passion not long after the birth of her daughter. When she isn't combing the shelves of her local book stores or blogging about newest book obsessions, you can find her nestled in her nook creating worlds she hopes that one day will inspire her daughter, who not only has given her the courage to follow her dreams--but offers the inspirations that help color their worlds together.

Website: http://www.jenniferweiser.com

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jenniferweiser

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/authorjenniferweiser

Double Layer Pumpkin Pie

In the tradition of Thanksgiving being upon us, I thought I would share my favorite, yet festive pumpkin treat that will keep them coming back for more. My husband isn’t a fan of pie. It’s a travesty, I know. What person out there doesn’t like pie? Okay, correction, he doesn’t like pies with flaky crusts or that are filled with fruit. Give him a chocolate silk pie or a cream pie of any sort and he’ll eat it the entire thing before you can blink. But Thanksgiving is all about the pumpkin pie for me. Thanksgiving just isn’t the same without it. So with my husbands dislike for flaky pies that are so awesome, he misses out and my love for pumpkin, a few years ago I found a solution. A cream pumpkin pie! This bad boy has the works…cream cheese, pumpkin, graham cracker crust and the yumminess of that traditional favorite—with no baking time at all! *Note, I can’t take credit for this recipe. But I will take credit for stumbling upon it’s awesomeness. Thanks Keebler Recipes!

Prep Time: 15 minutes ( I know! That’s it! Now you can get back to those cyber deals!)

Total Time: 4 hours and 15 minutes

Servings: 8

Ingredients

4 Ounces of Cream Cheese, softened

1 tablespoon of milk

1 tablespoon of sugar

1 1/2 cups frozen non-dairy whipped topping, thawed

1 Ready Made Graham pie crust

3/4 cups cold milk

2 packages (4-serving size) vanilla flavor instant pudding

2 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice

1 can (15 oz) Pumpkin

Directions:

In a medium bowl whisk together cream cheese, tablespoons of milk and sugar. Gently stir in whipped topping. Carefully spread in crust. In a large bowl beat 3/4 cup of milk, pudding mix and spice with wire whisk for 1 minute. Whisk in pumpkin. (Mixture will be thick) Carefully spread over cream cheese layer. Refrigerate at least 4 hours or until set.

Garnish as desired. Enjoy! :) Store in refrigerator.

*Note: May substitute 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger and 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves in place of pumpkin pie spice.