Lessons of a Student Midwife book 1
Life Lessons is a new adult chick-lit medical drama, with splashes of clean romance.
Expect an unputdownable emotional page-turner that will take you deep into the life lessons of a student midwife.
Violet wants to be a midwife, but she has struggled with anxiety throughout her teenage years.
With her best friend Zoe at her side, she gets a place at University and starts training for her dream job.
Can she overcome her fears and find the self-confidence to make it through her first year?
Will Zoe’s romance with their housemate spell dating disaster?
This book is a prequel to Ghosted, the bestselling novel.
Q&A
– When and where do you prefer to write?
I tend to be more of a night owl and write my best after midnight. It is probably my past history of being a midwife (like Violet in the novel!) that initially offset my body clock, as I have worked many night shifts in my time! I sit at my desk when the house is quiet, and that’s when the words flow.
– Do you have a certain ritual?
I don’t have a particular writing ritual as such. What I do, however, is make sure I am at my desk every day. I write something, no matter how little, each day now. It look me seven years between writing my first book and my second, and that is way too long if I want to complete all of the stories that I want to write! I am more disciplined and focused as a writer now.
– Is there a drink of some food that keeps you company while you write?
I don’t tend to snack a lot, but I do usually make a hot drink and a cold drink to have on my desk at the start of my session. I am obsessed with Beanies coffee at the moment. I never used to drink instant, but they make little jars in amazing flavours that always feel like such a treat. (I’m not sponsored to say that!)
– What is your favourite book?
My favourite book for many years has been “The Secret History” by Donna Tartt. I have read and reread it many times. I love the characters and the plot. It’s so well written. For me, the sign of a good book is that it leaves me thinking “I wish I had written that”.
Earlier this year I read “A Little Life” by Hanya Yanagihara, and it is now my joint favourite. I am not sure that I will reread this book in quite the same way, as it is very bleak and emotionally difficult to read at times. I can’t remember ever having been moved by a book in the same way though, and I absolutely loved it.
– Do you consider writing a different genre in the future?
I have actually started to write some psychological thrillers. My previous novels have all been chick lit/ women’s fiction, but I read a lot of psychological thriller novels, and I enjoy them very much, so I am writing in that genre too now. I have a psychological thriller novel called “I Can’t Sleep” available for pre-order.
– Do you sometimes base your characters on people you know?
It would be unfair to put someone I know into my novels. I sometimes take elements of people’s characters or snippets of situations that I have encountered into my books, but I have never straight up based a character on someone that I know.
– Do you take a notebook everywhere in order to write down ideas that pop up?
I used to always carry a notebook with me. Now I have my phone with me at all times, so a notebook is not so necessary all of the time. I use the notes app to jot down things that I hear or see, or ideas that I have. They don’t always make sense in isolation when I look at them later, so I try to write Future Me a little explanation.
Sometimes my notes are only a couple of words. Examples from the past month: “someone known”, “can we still be friends”, “imaginary boyfriend”. Behind each of these is an idea for a story. Maybe I will write one of these next!
– Which genre do you not like at all?
I read from most genres, and I try to make sure I get a lot of balance into the books that I read. If a book is well written, the genre doesn’t really matter to me. I recently read a bully romance novel for a review group though, and I didn’t like it at all. I don’t know if it was the individual book or whether all books from that genre would be as bad. I have enough books on my TBR pile to last me; I don’t need to read those that I don’t enjoy.
– If you had the chance to co-write a book. Whom would it be with?
I don’t think I would make a good co-author. I like to plan in my own way, and collaborating, for me, would end up being a stressful pursuit.
– If you should travel to a foreign country to do research, which one would you chose and why?
I would love to take a road trip across America. I have spent some time out in the States before, and looking at the country through a writer’s lens would be incredibly interesting. I think I would come up with a lot of great ideas, and have an amazing holiday!
Thank you, J.E.Rowney and Rachel’s Random Resources
About the author
J.E.Rowney spent several years in the cold Yorkshire hills, which brings the flavour of the moorland countryside into her work. She now lives in Dorset, and the sun and sea are slowly creeping in as influences.
“Charcoal”, her first novel, was published in 2012 to wide critical acclaim, and was a bestselling novel across the whole of Amazon within days of release.
Ms Rowney has recently been awarded the Dinesh Allirajah Writing Prize 2020.
Her third novel, “Ghosted”, was released in January 2020 and quickly also became a bestseller.
She spends lots of time writing in coffee shops, so if you see her, say hello.
Ms. Rowney says: “I always dreamed of being a writer, until I realised that I was. Then I started to write.”
Author Links
Website: http://jerowney.com/
Mailing list http://jerowney.com/join-me
https://www.pinterest.co.uk/jerowneywriter/
https://www.instagram.com/jerowneywriter/?hl=en
https://twitter.com/jerowneywriter?lang=en
https://www.facebook.com/jerowneywriter/
Book Link
http://mybook.to/lifelessons
