Welcome to YA Books Central’s “Indie Superstars” column. This monthly event will spotlight the best and brightest of the indie community.
You don’t want to miss out on these talented authors!
This week we’re interviewing J.P. Sterling, Author of Water and Stone.
Caitlin Haines: Can you tell us a little about Water and Stone?
J.P. Sterling: Water and Stone is a duet about Peter Arnold, a child music prodigy. The first book, Ruby in the Water, is his coming-of-age story where he must solve a mystery to save his life. The second book, Lily in the Stone, is his love story.
Caitlin: Where did the inspiration come from?
J.P.: I had an extremely hard transition to motherhood. My son was colicky all the time. He never slept unless I was holding him. He would wake up if you dropped a sock in the room. He did not eat any food until he was over the age of two. It was mentally exhausting because I had family telling me he was the way he was because I was doing everything wrong. They crazy thing is that before I had kids, I worked as a nutritionist who specialized in infant and child health, so I knew all the book smart answers. They just did not work for my son. I spent hundreds of hours reading sleep studies, and food studies, and it was a challenging time in my life. However, I learned a lot and wrote a book to show the world how special some kids can be.
That was all I was ever going to write, but as soon as I published it, I got emails from readers thanking me for his story and asking for the sequel. I did not even know there was a sequel. I thought I did a nice job of telling that story, but all my readers said I left it on a cliffhanger. So, I wrote Lily in the Stone.
Caitlin: What is it about mysteries and romance that calls to you?
J.P.: Personally, I love mystery books because I prefer to read books that keep me guessing the plot. When you write a lot of books, or even read a lot of books, you can guess the plot twists easily because there are only so many ideas out there.
However, it was the feedback I got from Lily in the Stone, which made me pivot to romance. Lily in the Stone was Peter’s romance, and I had even better feedback on that book. I saw that is what my readers wanted. I write clean and wholesome romance which means I leave out most of the scenes that can be controversial, so it is a very universal genre.
Caitlin: Who is your favorite character in this duology and why?
J.P.: I would say Gwen because of the growth she had. In the beginning of the book, she was mostly giving up on her situation. After Peter challenged her to think about her decisions, she took painful steps to help herself. She had put limitations on herself and learned to step beyond that. I love the message that is braided into her story arc about taking control of your life and not being a victim.
Caitlin: If you were thrown into this world, what role would you like to play? Would you be a main character, side character, etc.?
J.P.: I always saw myself as Anne, Peter’s mother. Not because it was a choice thing, but more just because of the stage of life I am in and how it is so relatable.
Caitlin: What’s one thing you have to have while writing (music, quiet, snacks, coffee, etc.)?
J.P.: As a busy mom who homeschools, I have learned to write in all situations. Usually, Minecraft is playing in the background, and I get interrupted about every ten minutes to get someone a snack. I can honestly say I can write in any situation.
Caitlin: Can you give us a hint at what’s to come next? What are you currently working on?
J.P.: Yes! I have three more books planned for this year, but they are all adult. One cowboy romance, and two light romcom Christmas releases. One of the Christmas books is already up for preorder. It’s called Holidaze in Amesbury, and it is part of an amazing, shared world with nine other authors. My next YA book will be next year (2024). I have a boy-next-door romance planned, as well as the third book in the Water and Stone series.
Meet J.P. Sterling
It was clearly an accident.
After spending hundreds of hours researching my own child’s sensitivities, I was inspired to write a fiction novel to show the world just how special some kids can be. Thus Ruby in the Water was born. Like the astute student I had always been, I crossed “write a book” off my bucket list and set off to learn to speak Greek.
That was supposed to be the end of my publishing journey. However, Ruby hit #1 on the Amazon chart. I started receiving emails from readers thanking me for Peter’s story and asking when the sequel was coming out. I was the last person to find out that there was a sequel, but now I was curious too. Somehow, one became two . . . And I published Lily in the Stone.
Then I knew I was done. However, I got more emails from more readers asking for more books. You can see the pattern now. Apparently, I also have a writing addiction and I released another series in 2022. If life cooperates, I also have four books scheduled for 2023. Who knows what will happen next? I never planned any of this and owe it all to the amazing readers who tolerate my books.
Aside from writing, I’m also a wife and homeschooling mom, a holistic nutritionist, a jewelry designer, a professional archivist, former college instructor and lover of all things dark chocolate.
Author Clean Code: I like to make my stories about the story and not about a bunch of profanity, mature content, or graphic violence that are only there to shock you. I write my stories to be family-friendly.
For free audio books please visit: https://www.youtube.com/c/
Giveaway
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in this (International)
Hmm, wonder what happens in this one.
looks great
Fascinating!