Dear Readers,
Welcome to another installment of Meet the Author. This month, I’m thrilled to introduce Jane Doucet. Jane is an Author of the irreverent novels Fishnets & Fantasies, The Pregnant Pause and
Lost & Found in Lunenburg.
I came across Jane Doucet on Instagram. I found the name of her book “The Pregnant Pause “ very intriguing. I went and had a little peek over her website.
This caught my eye.
She never planned to write fiction, but when she looked for a light-hearted novel about motherhood indecision that didn’t end with “She had a baby and lived happily ever after,” she couldn’t find any. That’s when she got the (absurd!) idea to try writing one.
Being a childfree, this sentence really echoed in my heart. I have often found not much representation of CF protagonists in books or movies with a fun and positive spin. I knew I had to reach out to her if she would like to be part of Meet the author on my blog. And she graciously agreed.
Let’s dive in and get to know the person behind the books !!!
Usha : Welcome Jane, why don’t you start by telling us a bit about yourself ?
Jane : I am Jane Doucet. I am a Haligonian, chocolate loving author. I have written and published the irreverent novels The Pregnant Pause, Fishnets & Fantasies and Lost & Found in Lunenburg.
Two fun facts about me :
- I love to bake—it relaxes me, and cookies, cakes and muffins are delicious!
- My husband and I recently adopted a sweet 13-year-old dog who needed a home.
Usha : What do you prefer reading, and do you have a favourite genre?
Jane: My favourite genre is humour, whether it’s memoirs, cozy mysteries, spy thrillers or women’s fiction – as long as a story is told with humour and heart, I’m in!
Usha : What do you prefer: paperback, hardback, e books or Audiobooks?
Paperback first, then hardback (some of them are heavy to hold!). I don’t have an e-reader and have no plans to get one.
Usha : What was the first book you read that you remember?
Jane : As a child I read the Anne of Green Gables series by L.M. Montgomery, The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis and novels by Enid Blyton, among many, many others. My mother instilled my love of reading and always ensured that my sisters and I had plenty of books to read. As soon as we were old enough, we got library cards. And books to keep were gifts for birthdays and Christmases.
Usha : What’s your favourite and least favourite part of writing a book?
Jane : Favourite: Writing funny scenes that make me laugh. I always write a book I’d want to read myself, then hope it finds readers with the same sense of humour.
Least favourite: Getting stuck in the plot and figuring how to move forward. Usually what I do when this happens is take a break and come back to the scene later.
Usha : What is your current writing genre and is there a reason for choosing it?
Jane : All three of my novels are contemporary humorous fiction. I hesitate to say “women’s fiction” because men enjoy them too, but women are my primary readers. I chose it because those are the novels I most enjoy reading. The book that made the biggest impression on me when I was younger was Bridget Jones’s Diary. I first read it in 1997 when I was 28 years old, and I’ve read it a few times since. It’s crammed full of irreverent humour and heaps of heart. Several years later, it was the inspiration for The Pregnant Pause.
Usha : If you were to meet one of the characters from your book, what would you say to them and why?
Jane : Rose Ainsworth in The Pregnant Pause. I’d say, “Thank you for letting me tell your story.” That’s because it was my personal story of motherhood indecision in my mid-thirties
Usha : If you could spend a day with another popular author, whom would you choose?
Jane : Lesley Crewe is one of the most popular authors in Canada, and I’ve been lucky to spend a day with her. Actually, it was an entire weekend, as we were both appearing at a book retreat at a resort in Nova Scotia, on Canada’s East Coast. I’ll be spending another weekend with Lesley this spring at another book retreat, lucky me! I’ve read all of her many books; most are novels, but some are non-fiction.
Usha : If your books were made into a movie, which one would you choose and which actor would play the protagonist?
Jane : Actually, my second novel, Fishnets & Fantasies, has been optioned for TV! If the producer lands a development deal with a network, they’ll be choosing which actor plays the protagonist, and I’m quite happy to leave that decision up to them.
Usha: Which of the characters from your books do you relate to the most and why?
Jane : Almost all of my characters have a bit of me in them. But since The Pregnant Pause was semi-autobiographical (light on “semi,” heavy on “autobiographical”), then I’d choose Rose Ainsworth from that novel. Her story was my story when I was in my mid-thirties.
Usha : How do you celebrate when you finish a book?
Jane : If you mean when I finish writing a book, it’s often anticlimactic—plus, I know there are several rounds of revisions with my editor on the horizon before it goes to the printer. When that’s done, my husband buys me flowers and dinner. And I breathe a huge sigh of relief!
Usha : What’s next? Any upcoming projects?
Jane : I’ve started writing my fourth novel, a cozy mystery, but I need to finish a big freelance-writing project (those projects pay my mortgage) before I can truly focus on it.
Usha : A cozy mystery sounds fascinating. I do love a cozy mystery and will look forward to it. I have “The Pregnant Pause “ on my to read Pile and really looking forward to reading about Rose s journey in the book.
Thank you very much Jane for your time on this Meet the Author and letting us get to know you. It
was an absolute pleasure chatting with you.
Find out more about Jane Doucet’s writings on her website
Do give her a follow on her Instagram page
Jane Doucet (@janedoucetauthor)
That’s all folks from me on this edition of Meet the Author.
Until next time, Happy Reading.
Le Coin Des Bobby 