An Interview with Jeanne Skartsiaris

Award-winning author Jeanne Skartsiaris spins stories about life, digging into the souls of her characters while they deal with real-life challenges. Many readers identify with her stories, making them laugh as well as cry.

By day, Jeanne Skartsiaris works as a sonographer in an OB/GYN office. Working in sonography helped her get her BA degree in photography, with a goal to get a Master’s in Medical Illustration. After graduation, she was offered a job as a medical/legal photographer for a plaintiff’s law firm. Instead of completing the graduate program, she worked as a photographer and art director for seventeen years in the legal community.

She attended creative writing courses at Southern Methodist University. Her novel, Dance Like You Mean It, is a coming-of-middle-age story. Jeanne is also the author of the YA novels Surviving Life and Snow Globe.

The Magdalenes, which speaks of shedding the past and reinventing oneself after a trauma, won first place in the San Antonio’s Writer’s Guild in 2019 and received a five-star review with Readers’ Favorite in 2019. Dance Like You Mean It was a finalist in the humor category in the 2017 Best Book Awards by American Book Fest and received five stars in the Readers’ Favorite Awards.

Who/what made you want to write? Was there a particular person, or particular writers/works/art forms that influenced you?

I’ve always loved books and creating stories. I was that kid in school who would turn in five pages on a one-page essay story. Daydreaming got me through school. Especially during math class.

What other professions have you worked in? What’s something about you that your readers wouldn’t know?

I’m currently a sonographer for an OB/GYN office. I did sonography to get through college so I could get a bachelor’s in photography. I was a medical/legal photographer for a plaintiff’s law firm. I did that for seventeen years before going back to doing sonograms, all the while writing books.

Tell us the story of your book’s title. Was it easy to find, or did it take forever?

The Magdalenes was originally called “The Magdalene Sisters.” But there was a movie with the same name so I shortened it. The story is about a halfway house to help women get back on their feet after living on the streets. A friend worked at the Magdalene Home in Nashville many years ago and that’s what sparked the idea for this story. Nuns and prostitutes make for interesting characters.

How did it feel when you first saw your book cover? Or when you first held your book in your hands?

Like I had an out-of-body experience. (I only wish I’d landed back in a younger, thinner body!)

If your book had a soundtrack, what are some songs that would be on it?

I love to walk with music. It helps me think of the story while I’m walking. “Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters” is one that always made me think of The Magdalenes. Joni Mitchell and the Beatles are great music too.

What is one thing you hope readers take away from reading your book? How do you envision your perfect reader?

The Magdalenes is about overcoming abuse. Jude appears strong but is broken on the inside. With strength and a great plot twist, she overcomes the abuse and finds peace.

What was the most rewarding/meaningful part of publishing your book?

I was honored to have The Dallas Morning News feature The Magdalenes in a Sunday edition. And I was on a regional morning news show That was cool—I felt like a star!

What new writing projects are you currently working on? Or, other projects that are not writing?

I’m working on a historical story about polio in the 40s. The research is a challenge. Interesting but I tend to get bogged down reading. I’m also working on another YA. It helps to keep my brain in writing mode.

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