Books-n-Kisses is pleased to welcome back Jayne Fresina to the blog.
Jayne, can you please share with us a little about yourself
JF: I’ve lived half my life in England and half in America. It’s great to have that experience, but I often feel as if I don’t really belong in either place anymore! I work for a large, international company and divide my day between them and my writing. I write every day – yes, as my sister recently said to me in a shocked voice “even weekends and holidays???”! I’m the mother of three Sussex spaniels and usually one of them is always sitting on the chair behind me, battling for space when I write. I’m shorter than I wish I was and I have no willpower when it comes to cake. Sewing machines scare me and I don’t like seafood.
Have you always wanted to be an author?
JF: Yes, but I’ve also wanted to be a lot of things over the years (including Prima Ballerina) and so far author is the only one that’s come to fruition! I think it is what I was meant to do.
What is your most interesting writing quirk?
JF: I’m not sure I have any that are original to me. I hold conversations in the shower with my characters, but I have feeling other writers do that too. I can’t sit at my computer every morning until I’ve brushed my teeth. I might not have a spotless house, but I have clean teeth!
Can you please tell us about your latest book(s)?
JF: Lady Mercy Danforthe Flirts with Scandal is book three in the series about the fictional village of Sydney Dovedale. It’s not necessary to have read the first two books, but Lady Mercy does make an appearance in book two as a very naughty ten year-old. People who have read that book will doubtless remember her! Book three takes place twelve years later and she’s trying to keep her life as structured and on schedule as she thinks it should be. She’s also busy managing the lives of other people – whether they want her to or not. When she arrives in Sydney Dovedale for the wedding of her best friend Molly Robbins, she discovers that Molly has got cold feet. Mercy tries to help bring about a resolution to the problem, but she already has some history with the groom, Rafe Hartley. A history that she’s kept secret for years. And he’s just waiting for the chance to accuse “Lady Bossy Drawers Danforthe” of ruining his life a second time. While Molly runs off to London to follow her dreams, Lady Mercy remains in Sydney Dovedale to repair the situation as best she can and put Mr. Rafe Hartley firmly in his place once and for all.
How did you come with the idea for this story?
JF: Well, the principal characters all met in book two when they were children. Rafe and Mercy instantly annoyed one another, as did Molly and Mercy’s brother, Carver. It seemed to me as if I had to write their stories next. I have actually had readers email me about Molly and Carver, asking when they get their story. That’s coming in book four, folks!
Can you share with us your current work(s) in progress?
JF: I just started working on my second series for Sourcebooks Casablanca, which is set earlier in the Regency period and follows the romantic misadventures of five young ladies from the village book society.
Who is the one author that you would love to meet someday and why?
JF: I would love to have met Jane Austen, of course! Too late. I’m sure Anne Rice would be a fascinating person to meet. I do love to meet authors so we can chat about the things other people – like family members – don’t really “get”.
What is the best piece of advice you would give to someone that wants to get into writing?
JF: Write as much as you can, every day, and learn to self-edit. The first manuscript I wrote and started querying was over 500,000 words! I had no idea there was such a thing as a word count restriction. I really had to learn to say more with fewer words. And I had to be ruthless and stop my characters nattering away too much, even if they thought they were tremendously witty, smart and indispensible to the plot.
Can you share with us something off your bucket list.
JF: I’d love to take a trip on the Orient Express!
What is in your To Read Pile that you are dying to start or upcoming release you can’t wait for?
JF: I don’t have a lot of time to read these days, but I’m looking forward to Grace Burrows’ next book, Ethan. I believe it’s out around the same time as mine, so I can take a little break to read! Also Connie Mason and Mia Marlowe’s One Night with a Rake.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
JF: I hope readers enjoy my characters and watching them fall in love. It took me a long time to get up the courage to share my work with strangers, so now that it’s happened I love to hear from people who’ve read something I wrote. It still amazes me to think that someone I’ve never met, in a faraway country, can pluck my book off a shelf, or a website, and read about characters from my tiny mind.
Please feel free to contact me through my website www.jaynefresina.com
I also have a blog http://jaynefresinaromanceauthor.blogspot.com
And I tweet occasionally. @jaynefresina.
LADY MERCY DANFORTHE FLIRTS WITH SCANDAL
by JAYNE FRESINA
IN STORES JUNE 2013
Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Books-a-Million | IndieBound | Chapters/Indigo| Discover a New Love |Sourcebooks
When a Perfectly Proper Lady…
Lady Mercy Danforthe always has a plan. It’s what makes her such a successful matchmaker, and why she’s obligated to spend a great deal of time generously organizing the lives of her friends and family. But there’s one man beyond her help. One man whose recklessness she can’t rein in; whose chaos she can’t contain. Her ex-husband, Rafe Hartley. Her one—and only!—mistake.
Flirts with a Reckless Rogue…
Rafe has never forgiven Mercy for running out on him. Their hastily annulled marriage may have one lasted three hours, but that doesn’t mean he needs her help finding a proper wife. Someone needs to teach little Miss Know-It-All a lesson about keeping her adorably freckled nose out of other people’s business. And it just so happens that Mercy “Silky Drawers” Danforthe still owes him a wedding night…
A Scandal’s Never Far Behind!
Hello to you, Jayne! I am so glad to be introduced to you today. I’m always looking for new authors to feed my regency romance addiction. The bits about this newest story of yours that I just read make your writing sound so inviting, and your “quirkiness” on your website make me believe that I will end up having every single one of your books on my shelf or in my e-reader. I can’t wait to dig into them. Thank you for sharing some about yourself so that I could get to know you better. Happy writing to you and happy reading to me! jdh2690@gmail.com
Thanks for hosting me on your blog today!
You can’t go wrong with a shirtless Thierry Pepin on the cover. 😉
I have ridden on the Orient Express, way back when, but only on the western bit of it (Munich to Paris) so no romance or intrigue. A friend of mine once rode the entire length of the Trans-Siberian Railway which I thought was way cooler.
Good interview! I too would like to ride The Orient Express some day:) i love Regency historical romance books – Jayne is a new to me author so I’ll be starting with the first book in the series – thanks for the spotlight
Great interview. Th book looks really good
Congrats on the new release. Love your dream of riding the Orient Express, sounds cool. I can understand having to have fresh brushed teeth, definitely more important than a clean house, lol.
Nice interview
Love the title!
I like the cover and the title. Very catchy.
bmndshuler(at)hotmail(dot)com
I enjoyed the interview; it sounds like a great book!
Hi Jayne!
I was so excited when I learned that Mercy was the “heroine” of Lady Mercy Danforthe Flirts with Scandal! I fell in love with Mercy when I read The Wicked Wedding of Miss Ellie Vyne because she reminded me of myself when I was young and I think that I identified with her managing ways even I was her age – if you don’t believe me just ask my husband and sons! I think they would identify with what I cane just imagine she’ll make Rafe go through but then after being married for almost 40 years I’ve found that’s what makes for a wonderful marriage!
I was curious if you found the inspiration for Mercy’s persistence from your own life or from someone you know?
PS: I didn’t “meet” you until a read The Most Improper Miss Sophie Valentine but was thrilled to find out that your previous books were available on Amazon and have been trying to “catch up”!
Hi Jeanne! Lovely to meet you. 🙂 I hope you enjoy Lady Mercy as a grown-up! I don’t think I’m anything like her, actually – but then I suppose I can be very annoying at times – as many would tell you! I’m definitely not as tidy and fashionable as Lady Mercy and I only wish I could be as self-possessed. I very much enjoyed writing her character, although as she got older she’s learned to keep a more tactful rein on some of the things she says. Thanks for letting me know how much you’re enjoying my stories. 🙂
Looking forward to reading more Lady Mercy.
Hello Jayne. It’s very nice to meet you. And after reading the interview, I do feel like I’ve met you. I especially liked the comments: “I’m shorter than I wish I was . . . ” and “I might not have a spotless house, . . . “. I identify with both!
Why have you lived half your life in England, and half in the US? Is it because of the International company you work for? but that wouldn’t be as a child. Or, is it for another reason?
I ask because my hubby was USAF and we got to live in Europe for several years.
Hi Donna, I married an American who was in the USAF and based in England for two years(which is where he met me). That’s how I came to be in the US!