Janis Thomas dares you to "Say Never"...plus a book giveaway

"Never say never." 

 It's a phrase I often utter.  Especially when I think about all the things I've done that I swore I'd never do.  This is not to say I don't believe in using the word "never;" however, from an early age I was taught to be careful when using such definitive words, and as time has passed I have understood why.


Today, our guest Janis Thomas is happy to utter the words Say Never as it is the title of her latest novel. And as a special treat, Janis has TWO copies for some lucky readers anywhere in the world! Janis currently resides in Orange County with her husband, two children and dog Rudy.  Additionally, she is fortunate enough to have her parents, siblings and treasured loved ones nearby. You can find her at her website, Facebook, and Twitter.

Synopsis of Say Never:
Sometimes the last thing you want is the one thing you need…

Snarky radio personality Meg Monroe thinks she has the perfect life: no husband, no kids, and best of all, an Upper West side apartment three thousand miles from her family and her childhood demons. But when her brother calls to ask for Meg’s help with his three kids, she is forced to do the unimaginable: go home and step into the dreaded role of ‘parent.’

With no maternal skills whatsoever, Meg is thrust into a world of diapers, tantrums, and projectile vomit, and her decision not to procreate is stunningly validated—she could never be a mom. But as the days go by, and she starts to connect with her nieces and nephew, Meg discovers that her family is not the nemesis she feared, and she might not be the person she always thought she was. 

After writing three novels, what is the greatest lesson you’ve learned about the writing process?
I wrote the first draft of SOMETHING NEW in six weeks, from start to finish. The story unfolded exactly as I wanted it to. With SWEET NOTHINGS, I wrote 54 pages before I realized that something was amiss. I trashed the pages and started fresh. I wrote 121 pages of SAY NEVER and ended up dumping every last one. Both of those novel beginnings were fine, well-written, entertaining. But I didn’t feel I was writing the story I wanted to write. The greatest lesson I’ve learned is to tell the right story. If it’s not working, if it feels wrong, and if no amount of tweaking can help, I’m probably not telling the right story.

What do you feel is the greatest misconception about writing books?
“You’re a writer? Oh, that sounds like so much fun!” Giggle, giggle. “But really, what do you do for work?” A lot of people think that writing a book is a piece of cake and that being a writer is the Disneyland of careers. It’s not. Oh, don’t get me wrong. I love it. Compared to being in combat or cleaning sewage pipes or working in a biochemical lab trying to keep all those killer viruses from escaping, writing is easy. But it’s not easy easy. It’s a lot of work. It often requires blood, sweat, and tears to create an engaging story. It can take years to produce a halfway decent manuscript. Rejection and brutal criticism are constants in the writer’s life. And there is no guarantee of success no matter how hard you work or how fantastic your novel is. Woohoo! Doesn’t that sound like fun?

How do you handle writers block?
Okay, I’m going to be one of those annoying people who says she doesn’t believe in writers block. I don’t. For me, it has to do with discipline. The daily routine. Forcing myself to park my butt in front of the computer and put my fingers on the keyboard and ignore the phone and the texts and the dogs and the Facebook pokes. If I can get myself in front of the computer, the words come. They may not be brilliant. They might be utter crap. They might get thrown in the trash the next day. But they come. It’s Discipline Block I have to contend with.

What is something you said you’d never do, but then ended up doing?
This is going to sound totally boring, but I always claimed I would never read books on a Kindle. “Never in a million years,” is what I said. But darn it, the Kindle is so easy! One click shopping and instant gratification. I can make the letters bigger, which is great for my middle-aged eyes. I can read at night without a light. I can carry twelve books without breaking my back. I’m hooked. I’m ashamed, but hooked.

My favorite form of caffeine is:
For a while, I really went crazy for the Starbucks Mocha Frappuccino (with whipped cream, of course. Need you ask?). But then I noticed that my waist was expanding in direct proportion to how many Fraps I was drinking per week. My favorite form of caffeine is the first cup I drink in the morning, strong with cream and Sugar-in-the-Raw. That’s my husband’s favorite form of caffeine also—he won’t bother trying to have a conversation with me until I’ve downed the entire mug.

What animal do you feel best represents you?
Oh, wow. That’s a doozy. I don’t think there is one particular animal that represents me. Maybe a combination of lion, dolphin, sloth, and turtle. (What an extraordinarily ugly animal that would be, huh?) But I’ll explain. Lion: I’m loyal and fierce when it comes to protecting my family and friends. Dolphin: I love to spend whole days swimming and frolicking in the ocean. Sloth: I can be extremely lazy and just want to hang out and examine my navel. Turtle: I jog more slowly than a snail on downers, but I keep going and going and going. The Lidoslortle. That’s me.

Thanks to Janis for a fun interview and for sharing her book with our readers.

~Introduction and interview by Tracey Meyers

How to win: Use Rafflecopter to enter the giveaway. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us.

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Worldwide. Giveaway ends October 20th at midnight EST.