Author Interview
Jane Simon Ammeson joins us today to share an insider's view into how writes professionally while being the author of 16 books. Among her most recent books are Lincoln Road Trip: The Back-Roads Guide to America's Favorite President (a bronze winner in the travel book category for the 2019-20 Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Competition). Her latest true crime is America’s Femme Fatale: The Story of Serial Killer Belle Gunness. Jane lives in a small town of Lake Michigan but she is always willing to travel. Visit Jane @: https://janeammeson.com -&- https://shelflife.blog
Q: Tell us something about yourself.
A: I grew up in a steel mill city on Lake Michigan called East Chicago. It is east of Chicago and is in Indiana. The section of the city I lived in is Indiana Harbor and it’s where all the mills are (because they need access to water for shipping, and everything else you can do in a city like Chicago-museums, parks). Because we were so close to Chicago, I was able to take art lessons on Saturday at the Chicago Art Institute, go to restaurants there, that’s where our family doctors were, etc. When I was older and didn’t have to rely on my parents to take me, I would ride the South Shore Line, the only remaining Interurban in the United States. During the late 1800s and into the 20th century, Interurbans which are electric trains were everywhere, connecting small towns and big cities. This is the only still running. I have a brother who was a professor at Notre Dame University and is now emeritus. He taught accountancy there (their word for accounting). He got all the math skills but I got the social skills! So there.
Q: Did you choose writing as a profession, or did it choose you?
A: That’s a great question and I really don’t know the answer. All I do know if that from as long as I can remember I’ve wanted to be a writer. I started my own little newspaper when I was ten or so, making copies on Hectograph my parents got me. It’s so weird. You pour this gel into a box that’s the size of a standard piece of paper and you must use some type of special paper to type on and you lay it flat on the gel and it makes a copy. So you just do that over and over again and then you go out and sell it to the neighbors for 10-cents a copy and the neighbors probably immediately throw it away. I also wanted to be Nancy Drew and asked for and got a magnifying glass for Christmas so I could look for clues. But then there were no clues to look for so I guess I had to settle for being a writer.
Q: What are, in your opinion, common mistakes that you have seen other authors make?
A: We all make mistakes. But I get upset (and this is so nitpicky) when a writer makes a historic reference and it is wrong. But hey, I’m frequently wrong so I can’t really complain.
Q: What are your greatest obstacles and motivators when it comes to writing?
Deadlines! I know I have to meet them. If I’m on a long term project like I have a book contract, it’s very easy for me to not focus on it the way I should.
Q: What is your favorite memory in your career as a writer?
A: Do you use a publisher or are you confident with self-publishing? How do you feel about your publishing journey so far?
My books have been published by traditional publishing companies—Indiana University Press, Arcadia, The History Press and so I’ve done any self-publishing. I feel very comfortable with having someone else publish, market, send out copies, etc. I do try to support that with my social media posts.
When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?
Q: Why did you decide to write?
A: I don’t think I had a choice. I mean it was just that I was going to write. I wanted to write. I felt most comfortable when writing.
A: I enjoy many different things. I love to read particularly history and mysteries. I love to cook and dine out. I like to garden and swim. I like to spend time with family and friends. I’m into historic preservation and support several groups that are into preserving old structures including one for old mills as well as the Indiana Historical Society and Indiana Landmarks. Growing up outside of Chicago I am a political junkie and watch a lot of news shows. I like Notre Dame football and also some basketball. I’m addicted to British dramas like Downtown Abbey, Bridgerton, PBS, etc. I love old movies especially the noir movies of the 40s and 50s. And I love taking photos and love Instagram because of that. And I love travel.
Q: If you had the opportunity to go back in time and do anything with your book(s) differently, what would you want to change?
A: I don’t even know where to begin answering that, except yes, I would. I cringe every time I find—or someone else-finds an error. And I’m always thinking oh I could have done that this way or done that better…
Q: What is your work schedule like when you're writing?
A: It’s rather chaotic which is why I sometimes get in trouble with deadlines. By that I mean, I might be working on a story and then decide to cook dinner or read a chapter in a book. I think I have a touch or more of ADD.
A: I am a research geek. I love going through archives, old newspapers, small town historical societies (that’s where you find a lot of stuff that hasn’t been digitalized and so isn’t readily available online). To me, that’s like finding a pirate’s treasure chest. But to summarize I subscribe to several newspaper data bases (newspapers.com; newspaperarchives.com) and also use the free data bases of newspapers most states have, I belong to Ancestry.com and Familysearch.com, I use sites like Creative Commons to find photos and I also contribute my photos to them as a thank you. It’s something we should all do to help researchers. I do tons of Google searches. I think Google is the best search engine out there but I also run things through Bing just to see if I hit something different. I make lots of phone calls.
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Thank you Jane for dropping by to share your experiences !
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