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Hi, Vivian.
Thank you so much for inviting me over to Joyfully Reviewed.
I’m THRILLED to be here!
How long have you been
writing?
I began
writing seriously when I arrived in Australia six years ago.
That’s when I started Photo Opportunity. I’d been desperate
to give romance writing an honest shot for years before
then. I even completed one book in my early twenties—which
really stank. Arriving in a new country, with new horizons
and new opportunities, was a perfect time to start a new
career.
Where were you when you got
your first contract?
In my
office, at home. I had my baby on my hip, and had breezed in
to check my emails - in the hope that the elusive response
to my submission to an editor would have arrived. And there
is was. Sitting innocently in my inbox, as though it had no
plans whatsoever to rock my world.
What was the first thing
you did? Scream? Cry? Sit in stunned silence?
Boy was
I excited. I danced around the house, singing and screaming.
I must have yelled, “Oh, my God” about a million times or
so. My baby thought I was nuts, but he smiled the entire
time.
J
Who did you tell first?
No one,
for a good few hours. I was too busy digesting the news. I
could not believe it was really happening. My book was going
to be published. Then I phoned my hubby at work and told
him. He was so proud. He even came home with flowers to
celebrate. (Yep, he’s romantic that way.)
Does music influence your
writing? If so, do you have a playlist that goes with each
book?
Not
really. With Photo Opportunity, I obsessively
listened to Robbie Williams and Brian Adams while I wrote.
But since then, I’ve found music kind of distracts me. I
can’t remember playing any songs at all while writing the
Circle of Friends Series (Only Tyler and Steve’s Story). I
do, however, find myself inspired by songs that are hits at
the moment. For example, Won’t go home without you,
by Maroon 5, was definitely playing in my mind when I wrote
A Question of Trust. And Jason Mraz’s I’m yours,
is the inspiration for the latest manuscript I’m toying
with. (Damn, I love that song.)
If your books were
optioned for a movie, who would play your characters?
Well,
I’m not sure about all my characters…but Adam Riley, from
Ask Adam would have to be Colin Firth (the dashing Mr.
Darcy,) and hunky Jason Lewis (Smith, from Sex in the City)
(Yummmmmm) would fit Connor Regan, from A Question of Trust
beautifully. ;)
Do you like a neat
workspace? Or are you comfortably disorganized?
Um, well
my office is a complete mess. Papers all over the place.
Scraps of notes everywhere. Tea mugs and chocolate wrappers
scattered around my computer. And dog toys all over the
room. (Yep, I write best when Luigi, our pug x beagle, keeps
me company.)
Tell me a little
about A Question Of Trust. How long did it take you to write
it? What are your favorite things about these characters?
A
Question of Trust was a complete surprise for me. I never
had any intentions of writing a ménage story. And then one
day, while browsing through the Samhain blog, I read the
call for submissions for the Ménage and More Anthology. That
was all it took. The story exploded out of me. One month
later, it was written. (I usually spend about a year working
on a book.) I completed it the day the submissions closed,
and was blown away when it was accepted.
I think
my favorite thing about these characters was their ability
to stay true to themselves. When I began the story, I had
the ending mapped out very differently. Maddie, Gabe and
Connor fought me all the way. The ending was the only one
that could have been possible for them, given their
circumstances.
Tell us something
about you that nobody knows…
This is
gonna sound ridiculous, you know because I’m an erotic
romance writer and all, but the truth is, I cannot talk
about sex without blushing. (I told you it was
ridiculous.) And you know those words I sometimes use to
describe various parts of the anatomy? I can’t say them out
loud. Not without turning scarlet anyway. (Oh, okay.
Laugh if you must.)
Thanx
again, Vivian, for having me over at Joyfully Reviewed.
Also,
thank you for your wonderful review of A Question of Trust.
http://www.joyfullyreviewed.com/reviews/RRs/Oct08RR/AQuestionOfTrust.JD.html
J
If
anyone is interested in reading more about me, you can visit
my website:
http://www.jessdee.com
or my
blog:
http://jessdee.wordpress.com |
