OBS Staffer Annabell had the opportunity to interview Jennifer Willis.

Read Annabell’s review of Valhalla here.

Jennifer Willis: I don’t know that it was really a decision that I made consciously. One day I suddenly got the idea that it would be funny if Thor had to work as a photocopier repairman. I didn’t know all that much about Norse mythology at that point. It took a lot of research for me to familiarize myself with the major and minor players and to get acquainted with some of the many legends associated with them. But I’ve always been drawn to mythology in general and was happy to have an excuse to dig into a pantheon that was relatively new to me.

Annabell: You add a very modern twist to a very old tale. What type of research did you have to do in order to merge the Norse gods into the modern world?

Jennifer Willis: The research material wasn’t that difficult to find, but it did require a lot of time at the library and researching online. I read both scholarly and children’s books on Norse mythology, paged through all manner of reference books — and I found a great resource in Encyclopedia Mythica, for those times I needed to look up something in a hurry.

Annabell: Why did you decide to place the story in the Pacific Northwest? What appealed to you about the Pacific Northwest that caused you to feel like it would be right as a setting for your book?

Jennifer Willis: This was partly a matter of convenience — I happen to live in Portland. But I’d also long had an attraction to the giant Sitka Spruce out on Highway 26 and was saddened when this ancient tree finally succumbed to old age and a pair of windstorms. I’m not sure exactly how I first made the connection between that tree and the legendary Yggdrasil — the Cosmic World Tree — but once I had, it made a great deal of sense to explore the rich possibilities here in the heavily forested Pacific Northwest. Also, I liked the metaphor of old gods making a new start in the New World. The fact that the Portland State University mascot is the Viking is something that I honestly didn’t even know until I was nearly done with the first draft of Valhalla.

Annabell: Will there be a sequel? How many books will there be to the tale of Sally and the Norse gods?

Jennifer Willis: I’m working now on volume 2 (“Iduna’s Apples”), and hope to release this ebook in the early fall. I have a rough sketch for a third and possibly a fourth installment. After that, who knows?

Annabell: David, the Berserker, consumed huge quantities of junk food. I was jealous of his stomach! Are there some favorite snacks you really enjoy while writing or are just addicted to?

Jennifer Willis: I actually wrote a short piece for The Writer magazine not too long ago about writers and junk food. A personal vice of mine: Goldfish crackers. They’re quite easy to munch on when you’re on a deadline! I will usually reach for something salty and crunchy over a sweet snack, since sugar generally puts me to sleep.

Annabell: If you could become any one of your characters from Valhalla for a day, who would you choose to be and why?

Jennifer Willis: That’s a great question! Probably Freya — I really like her calm and steady confidence, even in the midst of chaos. I also like the dark mystery that is Loki, but I don’t think I could handle the level of random chaos that exists around him.

Annabell: You specialize in writing about religion/spirituality and sustainability. Can you explain what Green Soul Guide is for your fans to better understand?

Jennifer Willis: I haven’t been too good about keeping The Green Soul guide up-to-date of late, but that particular blog focuses on the intersection of spirituality and sustainability. I’ve covered how to “green” religious holidays and how different observances relate to caring for the planet we share and to caring for our own bodies. I’ve also related spiritual philosophies (like the Golden Rule) to sustainable practices (e.g., recycling, community building), and vice versa. I’ve tied happenings in the world to the phases of the moon, and even the waxing and waning of personal energy and creativity to the seasonal cycles of the year.

Annabell: Are you working on any new projects that fans can look forward to?

Jennifer Willis: You can always look for my byline on newspaper, magazine and website articles. On the fiction side, I’m currently working on a rewrite of “Witches Brew,” a tale of two cousins who inherit their crazy old uncle’s estate (and an unusual plant in his garden) in Richmond, Virginia, which I hope to release as an ebook this summer. After that, I’ll turn my attention more fully to “Iduna’s Apples.” There’s another series I’m developing, about a witchy Portland girl, her friends, her feuding aunts and various paranormal catastrophes. I hope to have the first volume of that series available some time next year, depending on how the rest of 2011 shapes up.

Annabell: Who are some of your favorite authors? Have they helped to influence what you write and why you became a writer?

Jennifer Willis: The first writer who always springs to mind is Kurt Vonnegut. I love his work. From him, I learned that in your writing you can be funny, edgy, outrageous and just plain weird and still produce excellent work. I learned more about urban fantasy — a genre I didn’t even know existed until recently, even though that’s what I’d been writing — from reading authors like Patricia Briggs, Jim Butcher and Tanya Huff.

As for the second part of your question, I don’t know when I set out to become a writer. Honestly, writing was something that I was simply always doing, so I didn’t think about it that much. Instead, I have at one time or another aspired to be an astronaut, an actress, a math teacher and a superhero. As I stepped out into the world as a working adult, I found that each of my employers tended to turn to me for help with writing projects. It started with company brochures and museum signage and the next thing I knew I was writing business plans, user guides, newspaper and magazine articles and more. It wasn’t until about 12 years ago that I really looked at writing as a career — that’s when I left my last full-time position (technically, I was forced out, as my entire work group was laid off as part of a HUGE corporate merger). I started supporting myself through contract technical writing and journalism, and I went to work on my first novel, “Rhythm,” which was released in 2001.

So there wasn’t a moment when I was ten years old, under the blankets with a flashlight, staying up past my bedtime to read, coming across a passage in “Misty of Chincoteague” or “A Wrinkle in Time” and thinking to myself, “Dang! I want to be a writer, too!”

Annabell: Outside of writing, what are some other things you enjoy doing?

Jennifer Willis: Playing with the dogs! I used to do a lot of belly dancing and rock climbing — not at the same time, which I know is hard to believe — and I’d like to make more time for both of these activities. I do read an awful lot, not just because good readers make good writers, but because I’ve always had a love affair with books. One summer when I was ten, I spent an entire day on the couch reading, even though it was a glorious day and all my friends were outside running around and playing. My parents were worried enough about me to force me to take a walk around the block with them. Now I just read outside.