Hi! Since you and I are about to enter into a relationship of trust (you know, reader and author), I figured I should answer some basic questions for you.
Are you an optimist or a pessimist? If you ever saw my “goals and objectives” for a writing year, you would be certain that not only was I an optimist, but also completely insane. Sometimes the realist bit of me kicks in, but I try to keep her under wraps.
What’s your favorite clothing brand? Comfortable. Seriously, if you’re expecting rich descriptions of clothing, designer bags, shoes or even hats, you’re in the wrong place. And if that ever happens in one of my books, know that I Googled everything, or I asked a friend.
How much PDA is acceptable? Well, I’m totally okay with you reading my books in public. Show them off. Open them up. Let people see them. Praise them. Heck, kiss them if you want too, but try not to droll on the pages—they tend to warp. That and it might short out your electronic device.
Christmas or Halloween? Expect much more Halloween than Christmas. I do love a happy ending, but getting there is usually a special Hell orchestrated by me.
What’s your philosophy in life? Boys are stupid, and when you forget they remind you. Girls are evil.
Which was the worst phase in your life? The fan-fiction phase. It’s cute to run around with your childhood friends playing out Star Wars or Gatchaman or Voltron, but writing yourself into the story? Almost every author has done it—I tried to win a Naruto Fanfic contest once—but move on as quickly as you can. Build your own world. Trust me. It’s more healthy there.
Do you judge a book by its cover? Duh. Yes. Why do you think I pay so much for my covers? I mean, that’s what they’re for! Romancy people should look at the covers of my book and say, “I don’t think I’ll read anything by her.” If they don’t, I’ve done something horribly wrong.
Do you plan your life or live for the moment? Both. I outline for a long time before I start writing a book, but once I get going, spontaneous things often happen. At that point I hang on and enjoy the ride.
Are you addicted to anything? Diet Coke, chocolate, writing, oxygen (my husband feels this is unhealthy…he’s so strange),water, making to-do lists and then crossing things off of them, sleep, movies and people who make me laugh.
What’s an absolute no-no in a relationship? When the going gets rough for the characters, don’t stop reading! See the story through to the end, I promise, it will be worth it.
Jo Schneider grew up in the wild west, and finds mountains helpful in telling which direction she is going. Her lifelong goals include: travel to all seven continents, become a Jedi Knight and receive a death threat from a fan. So far she’s been to five continents, has a black belt in Kempo and is still working on the death threat.
Being a geek at heart, Jo has always been drawn to science fiction and fantasy. She writes both and hopes to introduce readers to worlds that wow them and characters they can cheer for.
Jo lives in Salt Lake City, Utah with her adorkable husband, Jon, who is very useful for science and computer information as well as getting items off of top shelves.
