Please help me welcome today's guest, Jessica Jefferson. Jessica will be giving away a $50 gift card to one commenter on her tour. Register using the Rafflecopter at the bottom of the post.
Here's Jessica's interview:
Caroline: Where did you grow up? Siblings? Locale? Were you considered a “bookworm” or a jock? Married, single? Children?
Jessica: I grew up in small town America – a town called Westville in northern Indiana. I graduated with less than 50 students, and I can tell you what happened to almost all of them – that’s how small of a town it was. I have three younger and three older siblings. Growing up I would consider myself a bookworm, but I did try and failed miserably at most sports. I really wanted a Varsity letter so I did join everything, though. I was more of a class clown type – I actually was awarded ‘funniest’ and ‘most excuses’ in my Senior yearbook.
Caroline: I like fun people more than jocks, so I think you did well. Who are your favorite authors and favorite genres?
Jessica: I love historical romance. My favorites are authors like Judith McNaught – even though I LOVE her contemporary, and the queen of all HR – Kathleen Woodiwiss. I do read some contemporary/new adult now. Lisa Renee Jones is probably my new favorite author. I actually met her at the Romance Times Convention, and lost it. I went total ‘fan girl” on her.
Caroline: What’s your favorite way to relax and recharge?
Jesica: I love home improvement projects. I know they’re not relaxing at all and it’s full of stress, but for some reason that kind of stress is enjoyable to me. I’m a regular at my local Menards.
Caroline: Do you have a favorite quote that sums up how you feel about life?
Jessica: No favorite quotes as they pertain to life. Except maybe ‘put on your big girl panties’. I realize it’s not the prolific quote you were probably looking for, but it’s just so applicable to so many situations.
Caroline: It’s a quote my youngest daughter and I use a lot. How long have you been writing?
Jessica: I wrote a lot as a kid and all through high school and college. I was in Speech and Debate in high school and college and I wrote and performed my own speeches. After that, I took a really long break from writing fiction, but branched off. I worked in healthcare, so I was writing articles for newsletters, or preparing speeches for conferences, so I really never stopped writing. It wasn’t until just a couple years ago that I decided to sit down and purposefully write a book.
Caroline: Where do you prefer to write? Do you need quiet, music, solitude? PC or laptop?
Jessica: I write on my laptop because I need to be mobile. I have two kids – ages 3 and 8, and to get some solitude I sometimes need to find a place in my house to hide. I like to write in my bedroom, especially on my balcony. I do have an office though, and that’s really where a lot of the “writing work” is done.
Caroline: I write in my office. Are you a plotter or a panzer?
Jessica: I plot every chapter so that I know what’s going to happen. I also capture lines or scenes in my head on post-its. I’m not very good at writing out of sequence and trying to fit it all together, so the post-it notes help a lot with that.
Caroline: That’s the way I plot, too. What did we do before post-it notes? Do you use real events or persons in your stories or as an inspiration for stories?
Jessica: I create collage characters of people I’ve met over the years. They may have the traits of one person’s personality, but no particular character is ever the exact same from my personal life.
Caroline: Do you set daily writing goals? Word count? Number of chapters? Do you get a chance to write every day?
Jessica: I recently turned writing into my primary day job, so I just started creating goals for myself. Currently, I’m doing about one chapter a night during the week, less on the weekends.
Caroline: That’s a nice, steady output. What do you hope your writing brings to readers?
Jessica: You know those books that you wait for the pre-order to become available? The books where you’ve been waiting nine months since the last one came out and you’re almost desperate to get the next one in the series? That’s what I want from my readers. I want my books to make readers laugh, and then at the end I’d love a tear or two.
Caroline: Me, too. What long-term plans do you have for your career?
Jessica: I’d love to keep doing what I’m doing now. Potentially, I’d like to write some contemporary romance, but I’m really happy writing my historical romance.
Caroline: Would you like to tell us what you’re working on now?
Jessica: I have two projects in the pipeline. The first is book three in the Regency Blooms series. This is the story of Lilly, which actually predates all the other books. I’m also working on another Regency outside of the series about a good girl gone bad. It’s a lot of fun!
Caroline: What advice would you give to unpublished authors?
Jessica: Learn as much as you can about the industry. Listen to more experienced writers – find out what worked for them, what didn’t. Establish a social media presence, and make sure you engage readers. And most of all – WRITE!
Caroline: Sound advice. What’s a fun fact readers wouldn’t know about you?
Jessica: When I was eight, my family moved into prison housing. My dad worked for the prison, and that’s just where we lived. So, my house was actually on prison grounds. There was a van that patrolled all night, making it nearly impossible to sneak out (note that I said ‘nearly’). And the inmates actually maintained our lawns and did the repair work on our home. All this means is that I’ve seen a lot of tattoos and I have a pretty thorough understanding of the penal system.
Caroline: Share something about you that would surprise or shock readers.
Jessica: I have Mr. Darcy tattooed on my foot. Yep, Mr. Darcy. Why would I tattoo my husband’s name, when Mr. Darcy will be around forever?
Caroline: I hope your husband shares that opinion. Is your book a series?
Jessica: It’s a series about four sisters. It’s called the Regency Blooms series since they’re all named for plants.
Here’s more about Jessica and her book:
TAMING MISS TISDALE
By
Jessica Jefferson
TAMING MISS TISDALE Blurb:
Miss Tamsin Tisdale believes herself to be completely unsuitable for London life. After a myriad of social mishaps, and the potential ruination of her family name, she’s shipped away to her cousin’s northern estate. Only after she comes to her senses will she be welcomed home.
Marcus Winston, the Duke of Grayson, has a lackluster reputation. The last in a dying line, he’s endured a protected life—rank with privilege, encumbered by isolation. After a brief encounter with rebellion, he learns the devastating consequences of his carelessness and willingly accepts living life from inside his gilded cage.
However, a chance meeting with the brazen Miss Tisdale gives Marc the opportunity to reinvent himself into the man he’s always dreamed of being. When his deception comes to light, and ghosts from both their pasts threaten to unravel the intimacy they’ve come to cherish, will either of them set their fears aside long enough to embrace love? Or will Miss Tisdale’s stubbornness divide them?
Excerpt of TAMING MISS TISDALE:
Marc watched the faint outline come across the dense morning fog, becoming more discernible as it approached. The tall, thin figure was riding along at a perilous speed, given the morning’s lack of visibility. He thought perhaps it was some gangly young man misguided in the fog. It wouldn’t be the first time someone accidentally stumbled upon the vast property that made up his family’s immodest estate.
Then the fog parted in an almost biblical manner, revealing his gross inaccuracy.
Were those ... breasts?
Marc closed his eyes and thought for a moment. Typically, women didn’t ride alone at such an hour and they certainly didn’t wander unexpectedly across his property. It’d been quite a while, his last birthday to be exact, since his last intimate encounter with a woman—a gift, compliments of St. Regis—so there was always the possibility that perhaps his half-drunk, sex-starved mind had conjured up the sensual image.
He shook his head, opened his eyes, and looked back again toward the horizon.
Yes, those were most certainly breasts.
And she was most definitely not a young man. The woman’s riding habit pulled taut against her body as she raced toward him. Her hair was blowing behind her—various hues of auburn and gold, like wild flames curling about in the wind. Then a decidedly feminine voice burst through the morning’s silence, interrupting his self-doubt.
“Oh, thank goodness I found you!”
This was no mirage. She was indeed very real.
And very loud.
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| Jessica Jefferson, Author |
Jessica Jefferson makes her home in northern Indiana, or as she likes to think of it—almost Chicago. She is heavily inspired by classic sweeping, historical romance novels, but aims to take those key emotional elements and inject a fresh blend of quick dialogue and comedy. She invites you to visit her at jessicajefferson.com and read more of her random romance musings.
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