Jane Ward
Author Interview - Jane Ward
Author of In the Aftermath
After David Herron takes his life in the wake of the bursting lending bubble of 2008, those left behind—his wife and daughter, the detective who investigated the suicide, and the banker who called in the loan—learn, as they struggle to remake their worlds, that there is power in forgiveness and unlimited possibility in the unknown.
Author Interview - Jane Ward
Author I draw inspiration from: Laurie Colwin’s writing – in her modern-day novels of manners as well as her food essays – sparkles. I first discovered her in the pages of Gourmet magazine and her column there led me to her books. Her work is a source of great delight; I read her novels over and over.
Author Interview - Jane Ward | Author I Draw Inspiration From
Favorite place to read a book: In bed, winding down after a long, full day.
Book character I’d like to be stuck in an elevator with: I’m picking four who come together as a package deal: Anthea, Cyril, Robert, and Jane from E. Nesbit’s Psammead Trilogy. These four children approach each day with courage, a spirit of adventure, and are open to the magic and wish granting of the Psammead. Those qualities would come in handy if stuck in an elevator.
Author Interview - Jane Ward | Book Character I’d Like to be Stuck in an Elevator With
The moment I knew I wanted to become an author: I’ve been writing stories for almost as long as I’ve been reading them, but I didn’t start to think that I could become an author until one day in a college creative writing class. It was my turn to read an excerpt from my year end project, and when I finished, my classmates erupted in applause. It felt within reach in that moment that I could entertain people with stories that I wrote.
Hardback, paperback, ebook or audiobook: I was an exclusively hardcover-paperback person until I lived in Switzerland between 2015 and 2018. The only English language books I could easily access without paying a fortune were e-books. I thought I’d suffer through the experience, but it was fantastic! So easy! I’m now a convert to all e-books all the time! Where I used to travel with a dozen books, I now travel with one tablet loaded with a dozen digital books.
The last book I read: Lorna Mott Comes Home by Diane Johnson
Author Interview - Jane Ward | The Last Book I Read
Pen & paper or computer: I write my first draft by hand, stopping every so often to turn what I’ve written into a Word doc. It takes some additional time but the physical aspect of brain to pen to paper is something I need to reinforce the story in my mind. There have been studies done that conclude handwriting information aids in remembering the information.
Book character I think I’d be best friends with: I can picture myself taking a turn around a garden or drawing room arm in arm with Elizabeth Bennet from Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.
Author Interview - Jane Ward | Book Character I’d be Best Friends With
If I weren’t an author, I’d be a: I started college as a physical therapy major. In junior high school, my best friend was treated for scoliosis and I used to go with her to her therapy sessions. The work the PTs did inspired me. If writing stories didn't have such a hold over me, I imagine I'd be working in a hospital helping people rehab from injury or surgery.
Favorite decade in fashion history: The 70s. I want my hand-knitted peace sign vest and bell bottoms back. Oh, and the “War is not healthy for children and other living things” medallion. It was strung on a long piece of rawhide. I’d wear it now if I still had it.
Place I’d most like to travel: I love solo travel. But before I go anywhere new after being grounded for almost two years, I really want to go back to London and develop blisters by walking everywhere.
My signature drink: It’s a toss-up between peppermint tea and grapefruit seltzer. I think tea has a slight edge over seltzer because we have so many months of chilly weather here in Chicago.
Favorite artist: Wassily Kandinsky in his landscape and Blue Rider years, 1900-1914. The Art Institute of Chicago owns a couple of gorgeous landscapes, Houses at Murnau and Landscape with Two Poplars. They are modern explosions of color, full of energy and passion. I look at these landscape paintings and my body floods with happiness. There’s a particular Kandinsky, a German landscape, at the Stadtische Galerie in Munich and it is so small it could fit in a handbag. I understood in that moment of staring at it why some people steal art.
Number one on my bucket list: Someday I will get to Australia and New Zealand.
Anything else you'd like to add: Support your independent bookstores and your public libraries!
Find more from the author:
Website: www.janeaward.com
Twitter: @authorjane
Facebook: @janealessandriniward
Instagram: @authorjaneward
Author Bio: Jane Ward’s third novel, In the Aftermath, releases on September 21, 2021. She has worked as a baker, an events planner, and as a contributing writer and occasional host of cooking videos for online food blogs and newspapers. She lives in Chicago.
