Meet the amazing, talented and feisty Jes Alexander, Publisher of the Herald de Paris et Cie., and owner of Editions Rue de l’Opéra et Cie. (Rue Books)
A former writer at the San Francisco Chronicle, Jes Alexander has previously been a magazine editor, a university lecturer, an architect, a photographer, and a public speaker.
 Her book THE HOLLY BROWN CHRONICLES is a big hit! “Like Hemingway meets Bridget Jones,” says a reader.
You can also join  Jes for the world’s only fully interactive morning news and infotainment program Le Morning Show.

Where are you answering these questions from?
My home office, which is adjacent to the breakfast room, and has a gorgeous and sunny Southern exposure to the creek.

What are you wearing?
Hahaha, bare feet, khaki shorts, and a gauzey-thin black, long-sleeved cotton tee over a tank.

How did you get started in writing?
I was always a writer – as long as I can remember. I was actually trained as a playwright. Of course, that was before the only plays to actually get to Broadway were revivals and musicals on roller skates.

What are your fondest childhood memories?
I grew up in New York City, in the shadows of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Guggenheim. My fondest memories of childhood are sitting under the waterfall at Paley Park, with my mother and my sister. I also used to adore the NBC studio tour. At home? I was petrified of the end of the apartment, where my sister’s room was. If it was dark and nobody else was there, I stayed away from it.

What are your favorite things to do?
I love the beach, to sail, scuba dive … anything related to the ocean. I actually love to cook, too – I have that creative gene, so I like to create things. I am also a GLEEK – no use in denying it.

What current event has your eyes and ears?
This nightmare in the Gulf has my full attention, right now. Not only is this an ecological disaster, but the longer it progresses an economic one, as well. This hemorrhaging crude oil will have lasting economic repercussions not just for the Southeast, but for the entire country. What am I doing about it? I have been very vocal, both in the print media and on the radio about this. I feel BP owes it to the people of the Gulf States, in particular, to be forthright with them, and that isn’t happening. When I find discrepancies, I am bringing them to light. Unfortunately, BP is acting like a proverbial deer in the headlights right now, and seem to be saying anything they feel they need to say as a means of damage control to their public relations reputation. It’s failing miserably.

How do you use Social Media in your industry for productivity?
People might be surprised how important the social media is to all that I do. At the Herald de Paris, Twitter and Facebook, in particular, have become something of a “Virtual Newsroom” instantly connecting correspondents, writers, and editors around the globe. So, too, we’ve taken the stance that the print media really isn’t dying, the way our peers like to say it is. It has just moved. For example, there are 250 million people on Facebook. They read content every day. So we’ve made the Herald de Paris available on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, even Kindle, in addition to on web and mobile platforms. Just like putting a newsstand next to a Subway station used to make sense, we’re going where the readers are. The other thing about the social medias is that they allow us to play not just on a level playing field with the other daily print media companies, but with the 24-hour broadcast media, as well. Almost exactly a year ago, we were right in the thick of reporting the latest events unfolding in Iran, during the unrest that followed their presidential elections. In some cases, we beat the broadcast news guys to stories by as much as three hours, and all because the social medias put us on the ground in Tehran.

As an author, the social medias keep me in close contact with my readers.

What inspires you when you write?
Insomnia. Really, I find I write best in the middle of the night, when the house is still. In the end, however, whether it is journalism, novels like my current title, The Holly Brown Chronicles, or even radio and public speaking that I do, at the core I am a storyteller.

What is your favorite website?
Why http://heralddeparis.com, of course! There are no bad websites, only bad writers.

If you had a Super Power what would it be?
Sarcasm (and I have it!).

Which famous musicians do you admire?
I am currently enamored with Bob Marley and Mozart.

What is your favorite movie?
Anything by French director Jean-Pierre Jeunet (Amélie, etc.). Nobody uses color and light like Jeunet. He is able to pull more depth from even the most insignificant characters. He is truly unequalled.

Favorite snack?
Seedless black grapes. BECAUSE THEY’RE GOOD!

What are 3 items you CAN NOT live without?
My mobile phone. I must be connected to the world at all times; My wristwatch. It is stainless steel with a diamond bezel and a mother-of-pearl face and it is a constant reminder that beauty and function can peacefully co-exist; My hair. I have a self-hair fetish. There, I said it.

How do you balance your life?
I refuse to compartmentalize my life. Sometimes it is necessary to attend to personal matters at work. So, too, sometimes it is necessary to step away from a dinner party to take a business call. I have, in the past, held power meetings with a sick toddler on my shoulder. Life is a delicate balancing act, and forcing people to swing all the way to one side or another is, as far as I am concerned, unnatural.

If you could meet anyone in the world dead or alive who would it be, and what would say to them?
Simple, I would want to meet Thomas Jefferson. What would I say? Probably, “I can’t believe I am standing here talking to a corpse.”

What is your hobby or do you collect anything?
I was going to say something snarky, but I do collect art. I think it’s important to surround ourselves with things of beauty that inspire us.

What chore to you hate?
Cat litter. I hate changing cat litter. If you have to ask why, you’ve never had a cat.

Do you have an animal/s?
We have 2 cats, Zoey (the little monster), and Sam (the neighborhood Mayor)

Apples or Oranges?
C. All of the above

Mac or PC?
PC

Ginger or Mary Ann? Which one are you more like?
Ginger Ann

Craziest thing you have ever done?
Once in college, I took a course on stage lighting and design. As part of the course, we were required to work as the technical crew for the college’s production of, “Fiddler on the Roof.” Being on a technical crew was, for me, rather boring, so one night about halfway through the run, when the actors were beginning to drag on-stage, I decided to spice up their night. There’s a bar scene, and of course we had water in all the Vodka bottles, so I thought it would be devilishly good fun to replace that with … vodka. So I did.