Hi there,
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Today I’m talking to Gill Jackson about her taste in reading.
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Hi there, Gill. I know you’re an avid reader.
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Gill: Hi Trish. You’re right! I can’t imagine being without a book. On average, I read about 2-3 books per week. I do suffer with insomnia so that’s when I do most of my reading. In the past couple of years, I’ve read hundreds of books. Last year I set myself the challenge of reading 130 books and managed 148.
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Trish: Wow! I’m impressed! What kinds of books do you read?
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Gill: Generally, I choose romance which can include witches, vampires and shifters. I like something that is easy to read and grabs your attention quickly. I can’t be doing with laborious detail and I soon lose the plot if there are a cast of thousands.
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Trish: What makes you choose a book?
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Gill: A blurb may catch my attention but I usually go to authors I already know or those that have been recommended. I use my Kindle to read from so I generally don’t pay attention to the cover. I trawl through the recommendations firstly by authors I know and then I’ll read blurbs from new authors to see what catches my eye.
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Trish: Do you go for a longer book or a shorter one?
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Gill: Many of the books I read are short reads of about 250 pages but it’s not what I focus on when buying books. I’ve read some books that should have been condensed but I was determined to finish and then there are other that you never want to finish because they are so good.
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Trish: I know exactly what you mean! I love it when I find a book I just can’t put down, but then there's that hollow feeling when it’s finished! Though, if it’s one of a series, you have the next one to look forward to. Do you like a series or a stand-alone book?
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Gill: I like a good series but much prefer if it’s already completed rather than waiting for the next one to be finished. Sometimes I will go back and re-read a complete series when I have all the books. Stand-alone books are great – I just like to read a good book.
Trish: It’s like waiting a year for a follow up film in a series, very annoying. Does the size of the font used affect your choice?
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Gill: With my Kindle, this is not a problem because I can alter the text to the size I want. Reading books generally means I have to get my reading glasses on. I’ve just grown used to using my Kindle and prefer it to books.
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Trish: Do you think there are enough good books that interest you?
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Gill: Most of the books I read are from Independent authors and there is generally something new coming out from one of them, but if there is a book drought that’s when I go back and choose a favourite to re-read until something new catches my eye.
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Trish: Mmm, I’m not really into re reading books once I know what happens! What kind of books would you like to see more of?
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Gill: I love books centred on a family/group who have their own stories to tell. You know when you have finished reading one story there is more to follow.
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Trish: How do you find new books to read?
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Gill: Usually friends on FB will share good books or promote authors that they like and that’s what I use as a starting point. Also, I use Amazon and see what they recommend from my previous purchases.
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Trish: What books would you recommend others to read? Have you an all-time favourite, or does your favourite change as time goes on?
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Gill: These are my two favourite adult authors:
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Dannika Dark – The Seven Series, Crossbreed series and Mageri series
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Deborah Harkness – A Discovery of Witches is a great trilogy
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In YA books there is:
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Tillie Cole – A Thousand Boy Kisses
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Dawn Sullivan – Blayke
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Susan Ee – Penryn and the End of Days series
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RJ Anderson – Faery Rebels series
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Aprilynne Pike – Wings series
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Maggie Stiefvater – all her books
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L A Weatherly – The Angel trilogy
Trish: Quite a selection! Is there anything that really puts you off a book?
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Gill: Repetition in vocabulary is a pet hate and using words that you normally wouldn’t use but it looked great in the thesaurus! I’m not over keen on when authors describe everything that a character is wearing – for every character in the book – I tend to switch off and gloss over those parts. Too much detail puts me off books. I want action and a fast pace to make the story move along.
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Trish: Is there a book or books that have made an impact on your life or opinions?
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Gill: No not really. I like a book to take me away from reality, to be able to escape from normal everyday life.
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Trish: I find reading and writing is a great way to escape. The world in my head is often a lot more interesting than the real world.
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Gill: I’m looking forward to the third book in your Clones series. I think it’s time to do a re-read of books 1 and 2 to refresh my memory.
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Do you have any plans for your next book or series yet?
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Trish: I hope you enjoy book three! There’s plenty of action and romance! I really enjoyed tying up the ends of the story, with Greg, my editor keeping me on track. I have actually got plans for a spin off, moving more into AI, but it’s in note form only at the moment.
I’m also editing a YA paranormal novel and writing the first in a series of a paranormal /fantasy, with a new twist on Merlin!
Thank you so much for sharing your ideas with us today, Gill.
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Happy reading!
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I’ll be looking up some of your recommended titles on my kindle later today!
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That’s all for the moment, everyone. Let me know if you would like to tell us about the books you enjoy.
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