What does MJ stand for?
MJ stands for Mary Jo. My parents named me after my grandmothers, Mary and Josephine. I only use that name for writing, though. I've always gone by Jody.
How many books have you written?
I've lost count, but I think it's getting close to 40.
What's your favorite color?
For most of my life it was yellow. Now I think it's green, or maybe purple. Actually, I like most colors. You can see I have trouble making up my mind.
Do you have any pets?
Yes, I have two dogs, Clementine and Clancy. They are mostly lab and shar pei. I also have a calico cat named Carrie Chapman Catt. She was named after the suffragette (look it up).
Where do you get your ideas?
I think about what I'm interested in, and then I make up a story about it. It cooks in my head for a while before I let it out.
Where do your characters come from?
Who knows where characters come from? Sometimes they have mannerisms like people I know, but the characters grow from the same place in my brain where ideas come from. Sometimes I think the characters live in my brain, and they hatch the story plots, then let me in on it so I'll do their typing for them!
