On Me
Firstly, my name isn't really Jasmine. I know, I know, you totally had me pegged as a tiny-waisted, doe-eyed tiger owner in poofy turquoise pantaloons. So sorry to disappoint.
I use a pen name because I find that a it gives me the compartmentalization that is so useful to my sanity. It helps me separate my writing from the other things I do in the same space, like raise my children and entertain guests and make stir-fry. Writing is, effectively, my second job (with the kiddos being the first). The pen name reminds me that I'm "at work".
I live in Eastern Washington, where it's hot and dry in the summer, and cold and drier in the winter. It's notta so good for the skin, but the sky here is glorious. And the windstorms are fun as long as you're indoors. No one likes to smile dirt.
I graduated late last millennium with a B.A. in English Literature from a college atop a volcano. Between slaying dragons and rescuing princes from towers, I also wrote. A lot. The local bard guild was begging me to join. I was granted a set of pearly wings from the sky god for saving his pet sea monster from boaters in a nearby lake. I was hunted by a serial slayer and learned the fighting arts from a secretly wicked warlock who was out to rule his own empire. Naturally, I escaped the first and toppled the second. Are you still reading this? Yeah, I don't care about this part either. This is why I write fantasy.
My reality is filled with things like the twisted spine of scoliosis, hypoglycemia, and recurring migraines caused by one too many concussions. My son gets eczema and is allergic to peanuts. My husband suffers from Crohn's. This, too, is why I write fantasy. Because everyone needs to know that happy endings exist.
On My Writing
I'm a grammar geek. I was raised with two English teacher grandmothers; the rules of the craft were hammered into my parents, who nailed me with them as well. I'd say that my SPaG (that's Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar) is always going to be the best part of anything I write. It's probably also going to be the most-overlooked aspect of my writing. But I'm all right with that, see, because if people are stopping to admire my finely-crafted sentences, then I've done something wrong.
I love stories. I read as often as I can. The best way for me to better my own craft is to see how others perform, then decide if I can improve by defining a technique and adopting it. No one writes in a vacuum. Unless they're a very small house elf who got sucked in there by accident and is composing a rescue letter.
My writing has tended, over the last few years, to pull closer to the YA standards of writing than full, gritty, realistic, dark adult writing. I love to use various synonyms, but always in context. It's almost like learning! :P And I refuse to dumb down my writing. Therefore, I call my writing YA compatible. It's written on a reading level for adults, but I don't do erotica or anything that casts similar shadows on the walls, I don't use Earth-based profanity, and any blood spilled is in due course of my battles or duels or the like--of which I usually have several. Those things aren't needed for me to enjoy a story I'm reading, so I don't take the time to add them into my own works.
