An Interview with Author T.D. Jones, Take Two!

Buy it HERE!

Another Take Two interview for you to beat the Mundaze!  T.D. Jones, author of Hot Days, and a story (Just a Little Too Late) in the recently released anthology Curious Hearts is back for another interview on Unwritten.


You may remember my first interview with T.D. HERE, and my review of Hot Days HERE.


Without further ado or rambling, say hello again to T.D. Jones! Thanks for coming back, and please tell us what life's been like since our first interview in February.


Life has been busy. Editing Curious Hearts which was released July 24th. I also have two big books over 60,000 each coming out in early Feb 2012 that I'm editing. Even though it's been crazy I'm loving it. 


Tell us a little about Curious Hearts and what kind of stories we can find in this 7-author anthology. Can we expect the T.D. laugh-out-loud humor we've come to love in Just a Little Too Late?

The anthology is about lost loves and what if you got a chance to go back and do it different, would you?

Since my story Just a Little Too Late is only around 11,000 words I had to be tight with the words so there isn’t a lot of humor in this story. It’s just a sweet love story and about making peace with your past.

In our first interview, you were working on a series called the Tootles McGee Mysteries. How's that coming along?

Tootles is going great. I love this character and she reminds me of Lilly, the grandma from Hot Days. This is where you will see a lot of the humor I love to write. The first story is complete and is called Marital Mishap and I’ve got it floating around to see if Tootles can get a bite from publishers. I will keep you updated.

Since I haven't mentioned it much, let's spill a few beans about the project you, me, Anna James, and Olivia Ritch are working on. Are you looking forward to it as much as I am?


Yes, I’m so excited about this project. I’m always planning in my head how my part will go and hope to get started on writing it soon. I think this will be a great book due to the other writers that are involved in it. 

Buy it HERE!

I love to share wisdom as I grow as a writer.What lessons have you learned writing-wise over the past months since Hot Days was released?

You can never self edit enough. I was really naïve as a new writer going in and thought if I don’t catch something the editors will, which in today’s times they can’t always do. You have to look over a story several times before things are caught. Don’t ever assume it’s perfect.

I think the other thing that I’ve learned is that as a writer you change as each story gets done. You hear your writing voice louder and louder, you learn what you love to write and what you just can’t write. 

You know I have to throw in a random question. So yours is: If you were to perform in the circus, what would you do?

This is a great question and I loved to go to the circus as a kid. I would be the elephant handler behind the scenes. Bath them, feed them, all that stuff. I got to get up really close to an elephant one time and I feel their soul is in their eyes. She just looked at me and my heart feel in love with her.

Now, Ms. Jones, would you do the honor of sharing an excerpt from Just a Little Too Late in Curious Hearts?

Sujo Crane glanced at the white dress strategically placed in the corner of her bedroom. In another month she would be Mrs. Sujo Monroe. She wiped a tear from her cheek.

“Sujo, are you there?”

“Yes, I‘m here,” Sujo said. She had been on the phone with him for over an hour. He had been explaining the accident and the details of the funeral. She felt she was still in shock over the news.

“Please, say you‘ll come,” Jason Beckman said, “For Gerard.”
Sujo let out a loud sigh. “I‘m really busy with the wedding and all. I just don‘t know if I can make it.” She knew she wasn‘t being all that truthful; there was really nothing else to do for the wedding. It was going to be a simple affair with family and friends. Neither she nor Mark was into big weddings with all the crazy details that went along with them. So there was really no details left, she knew in her heart the real reason was she wasn‘t sure if she could handle facing Jason again after all these years. She thought she had closed that door to her heart but when she picked up the phone and heard his voice, emotions of the past came to the surface.

“Too busy to come to an old friend‘s funeral. That doesn‘t sound like you…the old Sujo I knew would drop everything for a friend.” Jason paused and then said, “Hell, bring what‘s his name too…just come.”

“His name‘s Mark Monroe.” Sujo glanced over at the wedding dress again. She remembered the day she tried it on. It fit perfect, no alternations needed at all. It was as if it was made for her. Not a thing was wrong with it…just like Mark. She wasn‘t the type of girl to like perfect. She was the girl who liked the quirky side of life. She was the girl who did the opposite of her friends, never fitting into that perfect mold. So it was surprising to her and everyone else that she went for the perfect guy who always did everything right and had his…their life planned out perfect for them down to the day they would start trying to have kids.

“Sujo, you and Gerard were the best of friends. Hell, sometimes I wondered if you two had something going on behind my back.”

Sujo smiled when she thought back to the three of them together. They were young and had no cares in the world. She thought they would always be close, but Jason changed all that.

“Gerard was always there for me.”

“Remember when I gave you that ring? I think he was actually happier than you were. He said we were meant to be together.”

“Don‘t do this, Jason.” Sujo felt the tears starting to run down her cheeks again.

“We were great together. Please come. I need you. I don‘t want to bury our friend without you.”

Sujo tried to look at the dress again but her eyes wouldn‘t move that way, instead they looked at the old photo album she had lying on the bed in front of her. She outlined the picture of her and Jason and Gerard together on the beach. It was during spring break in her first year of college and Jason had called and convinced her into coming down to where he was working and spend her vacation with him, and Gerard had a new girlfriend he wanted her to meet. She ran her fingers along the picture and outlined Jason‘s blond, wavy hair. It was on that beach where Jason took back the ring he had given her and said he never wanted to marry her. He wanted his freedom and didn‘t want to be tied down. She went home broken-hearted but knew if she gave him some time he would change his mind and call her and say he was sorry for the mean things he said. He never called and her heart finally healed and she moved on...or so she thought. 

Thanks so much, T.D., for being here again today. I hope you make many more appearances!  


Thank you for having me and I look forward to coming by again.


For more information on T.D. Jones and her writing, please visit/follow her blog: http://writingonthego.blogspot.com/ and  website: www.tdjones.weebly.com