Books-n-Kisses is pleased to welcome Jenna Bayley-Burke to the blog today. We are looking forward to learning a little more about Jenna and her book For Kicks (release 1/24/12). Jenna, I have to say it was an extreme pleasure to meet you up at the Emerald City Writers Conference in October. I am so excited to share you with my followers.
Jenna: Thanks so much for letting me stop by. And for coming to chat at the ECWC book signing. It’s so great to be able to put a face on a cyber-friend.
Q1) Please tell us a little about yourself
Jenna: I could live on chocolate and champagne, but my days are actually fueled by copious amounts of tea and the kids’ schedules. I think that’s why I write romance novels, I want to be whisked away somewhere to have schmexy adventures.
Q2) Tell us a typical writing day for you
Jenna: I wake up too early so I can chat with the husband before he heads to work and get a shower in before the kids stir. While they breakfast, I check email, Facebook, Twitter…Three mornings a week I’m able to have all of them in school, so I’ll come home and put on my lounge pants (zebra for serious writing days, leopard for research and revisions) and either play #1k1hr on Twitter (writers challenge one another to write a thousand words in an hour, it’s actually what we do for fun) or turn off the internet and work on a story. If I am disciplined, I can get two solid hours. At lunchtime I get my girl back, so we eat and chat about her morning. On mornings she doesn’t have school, I volunteer at the elementary school or head to Zumba. While she naps I manage another hour of writing before the boys come home. Between homework, scouts, and whatever sport they’re playing, there isn’t time to work until after dinner when the husband comes home. He handles baths most nights, while I catch up on email, Facebook, Twitter… Once the kids are in bed and quiet, I try to work for another hour or three.
Q3) Have you always wanted to be an author or what made you become an author?
Jenna: I love to people watch, and have always made up grand stories about their lives. I wanted to be an author, but really, who does that? I played with the idea after I had my eldest and had his naptimes free. After our second son, my husband got laid off and though he managed not to have an employment gap, I was scared enough to start writing a book so I’d have some way of making money for the family. (That book became Compromising Positions). The following year I had a health scare. It’s odd what comes to mind when you think your time is short. I hated the thought that my boys might someday find my collection of started stories, and wonder why I never finished anything. With bravery from pain meds, I signed on for NaNoWriMo, a program to draft a book in a month. With the support there, I finished a novel for the first time. And sold it six months later. (Just One Spark, Mills & Boon, 2006)
Q4) Tell us a little about your new book For Kicks:
Jenna: For Kicks is my therapy for years in retail management. I was able to ‘what what you know’ and also change things so they had a better outcome. My mom likes this story best, probably because after writing the book I stopped talking about retail!
Q5) How did you come up with the idea for this story?
Jenna: David Beckham. He could inspire mud to write a novel. I wanted to bring him more down to earth, so gave him a damaged past. I knew he’d want to try to save the damsel in distress, so was sure to pair him with a woman more than capable of saving herself, thank you very much.
Q6) What is your current work in progress?
Jenna: Right now I have two projects going – a series of stories about bridesmaids at a wedding, and a different take on a marriage of convenience. I’m expecting edits on my next release, Drive Me Crazy, any day.
Q7) Who are some of your favorite authors?
Jenna: Vicki Lewis Thompson. Managed to sneak into her limo for a ride back from the Harlequin party at RWA Nationals in NYC. Made my night! Everything she writes is fresh and witty and…wonderful. She’s told me so many great stories, I consider her a friend though we’ve barely met.
Q8) Have to ask because I am nosey. That is in your to be read pile that you are dying to read next?
Jenna: Right now I have two projects going – a series of stories about bridesmaids at a wedding, and a different take on a marriage of convenience. I’m expecting edits on my next release, Drive Me Crazy, any day.
Books-n-Kisses: Jenna, thank you for taking the time to stop by the blog today to chat about yourself and your books
Jenna: Thanks so much for letting me come hang out!
Find Jenna here:
Website http://www.jennabayleyburke.com/
Twitter https://twitter.com/jennabb
Jenna is offering a $5 e-gift card to either Amazon or Barnes & Noble, winner’s choice. To enter fill out Rafflecopter form below.
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