Many people dream about writing a novel someday, but Jennifer Youngblood has actually written more than 90 of them. The Alabama-born, Utah-based author has built a remarkable career in independent publishing, turning a lifelong passion into a full-scale creative enterprise, one character at a time.
It started with a family legend. Youngblood's debut novel was inspired by her great-grandmother, a larger-than-life woman who raised cotton on a rural Alabama farm before the Great Depression. When Youngblood discovered a page of notes her mother had jotted down about the woman, something clicked. “Let's write this thing together,” she told her mother.
The seeds for Youngblood’s writing career had been planted much earlier, in a fourth-grade reading class. Her teacher assigned a novella to be read during a one-hour period each day. Youngblood read voraciously, looking around in bafflement at classmates who were goofing off rather than riveted.
That passion didn't translate immediately into a career. Life intervened with marriage and two sons. It was her husband who provided the impetus for change. “What are you waiting for?” he asked. “Why not start now?" After a week of deliberation, Youngblood got up at 5 a.m. one morning and confronted a blank computer screen. “It was a do-or-die moment,” she recalls. A few words became more, and more became a novel. “It's only when I'm writing a story that I feel complete,” she says.
Today, Youngblood’s days begin with yoga and cardio before she starts work, half the day is spent managing her publishing business, half spent writing. Her process is character driven; she writes personality profiles, observing what makes each person tick. Then she identifies the climax and works backward. “I'm all about letting the characters dictate the story,” she explains.
She is a committed researcher, interviewing people in relevant fields and traveling to settings when possible. After a trip to Italy, she wrote several novels set there. Her popular Navy SEALs Romance Series, now six books deep, reflects the same thoroughness.
Asked why she never tires of romance, Youngblood lands on something a fellow author once said: “We all have ups and downs, but I prefer to end my stories on the up.” Youngblood's response? “Exactly.”
Still with a bottomless well of stories to tell, Youngblood shows no sign of slowing down. “From the time I was a little girl, I wanted to be a writer,” she says. “And now that's what I hope to keep doing, well into my golden years.”
“It's only when I'm writing a story that I feel complete."