Allow me to introduce you to SJ Wilke, who has spent a lifetime or two in the world of IT and Psychology. She’s traveled the physical world and explored the psyche of herself and those around her, and now creates stories that make you lose time, fall into another place, and leave reality.
What got you into writing your own stories? I’ve always had an overactive imagination. Being a shy child, I wrote a lot because I could write my own friends. But many years ago, a cat sat me down and told me to write a story. Maybe I dreamed that. Since then, I’ve found my voice and have been writing as much as I can. I’ve never run out of ideas and always have books in the pipeline, waiting to come out.
What genre do you write?
I write in a number of genres. Fantasy, Thriller/mystery, and Romance
Tell us about your WIP.
I have three books I keep going back and forth with. Bitten Origins is book 6 of my Bitten series. I'm supposed to write that first according to my fans. Bantering With The Evidence, book 6 of the Banter series is next. But I have been toying with a mystery title, She Didn't Do It, about a woman whose husband is murdered and she is the number one suspect.
How would you describe your writing style?
I have the ability to take the mundane and make it interesting. When I write about a character, I look at all aspects of the person's life, including food, hygiene, idiosyncrasies, and more.
What is your "writer's den" like?
I have two. My “office” is a large chaise lounge chair. I use a table to hold a lamp and munchies. I have a turned over box that holds my laptop when I’m not using it. The room is adorned with a cat tree and one to two cats. And a southern facing, sunny window. My second is my couch in the living room. I use a chair to hold the laptop when I’m not using it. Another chair to hold munchies. And I have a grow light nearby because I have an inside garden.
What is your personally most significant achievement as a writer, and why? Offering my books for free. At the start of Covid, I decided to put out all my books for free on Inkitt.com. I wasn’t getting any sales and I wanted feedback to figure out why. Since then, my sales have grown. I no longer have all my books for free. My problem was no one knew about me. That is changing.
What are you most grateful for as a writer? I am most grateful for my imagination and my ability to pull out a story just by watching day-to-day life.
Do you have a day job? What is it? I do not have a day job, unless you count writing.
Has a real-life experience informed your writing? Share the scene it inspired. Every aspect of real-life has influenced my writing. I get all of my ideas from real life, but I add a few twists, turns, and daydreams to make it more interesting.
Do you read the same genre you write? Why, or why not? Since going full time into writing books, I don’t read much at all other than my own writings. I can be easily influenced by what I read, and I don’t want that to happen. However, before that happened, I did love reading mystery and fantasy fiction.
Give us three fun facts about yourself.
I grow gardens in my house until spring comes. Then I grow almost all of my own vegetables.
I own… I mean… I have four cats that own me.
I love walking on the beach (Lake Michigan), but I hate sand. Or rather I hate where sand finds its way into.
What is something about you that few people know? I am autistic, shy, and dyslexic, but high functioning, and very intelligent.
Do you have any hobbies? Gardening and writing are my hobbies. However, I live in a fixer-upper and I am a carpenter’s daughter, so I love remodeling projects.
What's your favorite season?
Summer is my favorite season, because I can do more. However, I love all the things that the different seasons offer.
Tell us about your cats.
All are pure bread Bengals. Two are marble, one is a snow, and one is brown spotted.
Connect with SJ Wilke here to find out more about her books.
Book Feature: Crossing In A Heartbeat
Why would you like to feature this book?
This is an underrated, heartfelt book about a woman who gets thrown into unusual circumstances, and thrives.
About Crossing in a Heartbeat:
Kara keeps hearing voices and seeing images that aren’t there. Perhaps she is working too hard at her dull engineering job where she spends hours a day correcting documentation. Her love life is non-existent. Her friends just want to drink and get drunk. Life is dull and boring. However, the voices talk of war and espionage. There are moments she feels intense love or like she’s flying. But then there are the moments where she feels a heart stop and she finds herself experiencing what she calls an out-of-body experience. Whatever it is, it’s more exciting than her current life. And then there is that odd smell. It’s a faint musty smell of peppermint. No. It can’t be. Dragons?
Cherk chuckled. “I’d marry you tomorrow if I could. A woman who knows this stuff is worth her weight in silver.” “Marry her? You have a wife. What would you do with her?” Clanger said. “Feed her to a dragon.” There was laughter all around. “When is the last time a dragon ate a troll?” Dirgen said. “I think my brother said someone got eaten once.” “You think,” Kara said. “I have the feeling a dragon would rather have a fine hog than a troll.” “My wife’s a hog. He’d love her.”
Who was your favorite character to write and why? Thistle was my favorite character, because she had a large part to play, but kept to the background.
What was your favorite scene to write and why? Any scene that included a dragon, especially the dragon, Crystilla. She's rather cranky, and a bit hard to control. Everything she did was instrumental in the plot, even if it didn't seem so.
What was the spark that started this book? Remembering a dull, boring office job, and daydreaming about what if something unusual happened. Like blending the world we know with another fantastical world.
What was the most interesting random fact you researched for this book? I researched weeds. I was looking for generic plant names to use to name children. I had fun creating a cultural norm for Trolls, where all girls are called Thistle and all boys are called Wort. When they reached the age of maturity, then they select their own adult names.
What's the message you worked into this book?
We're all in this together.
"I would give more then 5 stars if possible...great book. I loved the main character. Keep writing" ~ Inkitt Review from Carmen