On the Window Seat with Jennie Jones!

Today, I have the pleasure of sharing my window seat with romance author, Jennie Jones - a woman I know better as my Diamond sister! Jennie's fabulous debut rural romance, The House on Burra Burra Lane was release in June this year and has been doing fabulously on the amazon charts as well as hitting number one on iTunes! So if you haven't already snapped up a copy, be sure to grab one after finding out a little bit about the woman behind the romance :)

First things first, Jennie could you tell us five things about yourself as a person and as a writer (genre, hobbies, personality, are you a little on the quirky side?)

I write contemporary romance. I’m a romantic at heart. I’m a Leo so I’m all lioness (when happy or angry!). I like to think I’m a little quirky because that means I’m different. :)

(Haha, I've seen Jennie in both these states. Definitely living up to her Leo expectations hehe.)

 

When did you first start writing, Jennie? Was it just an unbridled urge to write or had it been a matter of ‘it’s now or never’?

I’ve always had a bit of the theatrical in me but I didn’t expect to become a writer - although it was an obvious choice for me, having been an actor for so many years, to move to writing when I found myself without an arty outlet.

Is there a reason as to why you write? And what’s your favourite part about being a writer?

There’s no reason why I write - I just write. I mean, I want to write - can’t envisage not writing now. But the connection, camaraderie and essence of being involved with other writers is an added pleasure.

(I believe many people mistaken the writerly life as a 'Lone wolf' kind of profession. If you've been behind the scenes or even attended a signing or a conference, you'll quickly adjust your opinion hehe)

Now, what inspires you? The novels you read? Other authors? Life itself?

 

People with spirit and courage inspire me and you find those in all walks of the daily grind. It’s always a pleasure to meet them or be surprised by them.  I don’t have much time to read these days but when I do, I love to be inspired by the characters in the story which means I’m inspired by the author.  (Double the pleasure.)

Tell our readers when your writing dream become a published reality? I sure remember :)

February 2013 - my novel The House on Burra Burra Lane (Book 1 in my Swallow’s Fall series) had been through a number of competitions and did wonderfully well but I knew it was out of the main frame for most publishers. Harlequin (Australia) digital-first imprint Escape Publishing changed that for me. They published my book in June this year - and they are fantastic to be with.

 

(Isn't her cover gorgeous!?)

 

What was the hardest part of the publishing process for you?

The hardest part was also the best part. Not giving up - I pushed myself to keep learning, keep changing and re-writing my story until I felt I had a chance.

(What was your mantra? 'If you build it, they will come'?)

 

Do you have any inspirational words for aspiring writers?

If you really want it, you’ll get it but it’s not easy. It takes courage and perseverance of a personal nature to keep moving forward.

Can you pitch your current/upcoming release to us in ten words or less?

Oh heck do I have to?  I loathe doing these! 

 A story of resistance: will Ethan’s past ruin Sammy’s future?

I think those writers who capture a storyline in anything under ten words are absolute geniuses.

Who is your favourite character in The House on Burra Burra Lane?

Ethan. I love him to bits.

(Oh, I've acquainted myself with Ethan hehe. Wouldn't mind if he was my vet :P)
So what’s next for Jennie Jones?

RWA conference in Fremantle, Perth in August. I’m involved with the committee and it’s so exciting to be a part of the organization that helped me become a writer.
After that - it’s on to Book 2 of the Swallow’s Fall series, Trouble on Main Street, where you’ll meet two newcomers in town.

(I wish I was going to the conference with you. The memory of last year's is etched in my mind. Can't wait to hear more about Trouble on Main Street!)

If you were about to encounter the rakish charms of an Irishman, what would you arm yourself with?

A book that might give me some insider clues - let’s say What Happens in Ireland by Whitney K-E. That should do it!

(Ooo, that sounds like a great book :P ) 

  If you had to write a warning to your readers about your novel, what would you say?
e.g. Warning: This novel contains a bounty of Irish Charm and side effects include drooling, terminal daydreaming of naked Irishmen and runaway heartbeats.

Wow Whitney! That’s so good I can’t beat it. I’ll have to join it …

The House on Burra Burra Lane

Warning: This novel contains a masculine veterinarian with quiet charm and side effects include falling in love with him or terminal daydreaming of naked male vets in general. (There’s also a runaway pig in the story - but you might not find that so sexy.)

(I don't know about that. The pig's got a little something, don't you agree readers?)

Now, for all writers, there’s something magical about creating a novel. What is your favourite part of creating a novel? Are you a Happily-Ever-After kind of writer, a cheeky black moment maker, or a first-sight-and-first-kiss kind of writer?

My favourite part is where abstract scenes come to me and I have to write them, even though I don’t know what affect they’ll have on my characters or the story. I find that magical. I’ve been known to write Chapter One and the Epilogue first, then fill in the middle bits with those magical, abstract scenes.

(Wonderful :))
Now, I’ve had some strange encounters where I’ve met my characters in real life. After I had created them! Has this ever happened to you?

No, but I wish it would! (Not such a good thought if you write crime or suspense though, huh? Dark alleys and evil men with weapons.)

(Hehe, I don't know. I wouldn't mind it as long as Daniel Craig was swooping in to save me :P)
Well, that's the end of my chat with the fantastic Jennie Jones. As always, thanks for joining me Jennie. :)

 

Thanks for having me in the window seat Whitney. There’s a grand view of the rolling hillsides. Is this where you wrote What Happens in Ireland?

Darling, we are siting in the very cottage itself hehe.
A quick thank you to all the readers who've come along to meet my dear friend. And don't forget, The House on Burra Burra Lane is a must read. If you like hunky vets and rural romance, it's definitely a must read. :)

 

Where to buy The House on Burra Burra Lane:

Harlequin (Australia) Escape Publishing (all where to buy links)

Amazon.com
iTunes

 

Where to find Jennie Jones:

 

Jennie Jones Romance
Facebook
Pinterest
Twitter (@JJRomance)
The Romantic Muse Blog

Whitney K-E... The Aspiring Romance AUTHOR!!!

It's finally happened. After eighteen months of writing, editing, subbing and learning everything I can about the publishing industry, I've finally signed my first contract for What Happens in Ireland, with Secret Cravings Publishing!!

So in a matter of hours, I've gone from being an aspiring writer of romance to an aspiring romance author!

'Still aspiring?' you might ask. Well, of course I am. There is so much more to achieve from her. I have only just tackled my first bend on the rocky road to publishing. From here on, I intend to go onward and upward!

I think it's important to always be 'aspiring'. I think as authors and writers we should always be thinking about how we can make ourselves better authors and writers. If we all believed our first book was the best book we wrote, how are we to continue entertaining our readers if we cannot continue to surprise and amaze them?

I'm so excited to be starting the next part of my publishing journey and am glad that those who have helped me here, will be here to help me now. :)

Now back to the book!

Much to my delight (perhaps later when I am ripping my hair our trying to keep up with things, anxiety), What Happens in Ireland will be coming out in ebook at the end of April this year!! Yep, just two months! And much to my greater delight, it will also be released in paperback in October! imagine that! I'll get to hold my first novel in my hands before the year is out!

I would like to thank my writing critics and friends at The Romantic Muse, RWA and the wonderful authors and writers I have made friends with over the last eighteen months for your support. I couldn't have done it without you all!

I can't wait to share What Happens in Ireland with you all, but for now, I'm afraid you will have to make do with the blurb and get yourself as excited for the release as I am.

Ever wondered what happens in Ireland?

When Australian, Kate Barrow, meets a handsome Irishman in a Dublin bar, she has no idea that he’s about to turn her world upside-down and inside-out.

In Ireland to take on a position on a thoroughbred stud, Kate is shocked when her manager-in-co reveals himself to be the same man she’d met in Dublin.

Jack is drawn to Kate. The problem is, she won't have him. But Jack has always loved a challenge and the intriguing woman from Oz is one he cannot resist.

Harbouring the sting of another man’s betrayal, Kate is certain she wants nothing to do with love and nothing to do with Jack O’Reilly. But when naked torsos, Mother Nature and dysfunctional umbrellas start plotting against her resolve, she realizes the charms of an Irishman are going to be hard to resist.

W

Interview: Alissa Callen

This week, I have Rural Romance author, Alissa Callen, joining me here on the blog to talk about her writing journey and the books that saw her through on to publication. Alissa is an author for Escape Publishing and Random House.

A picture of Alissa beautiful thoroughbred, Banjo.



Welcome, Alissa!

Thanks so much for having me. :)

Well, let's get started. First, tell us how your journey began and a little about how you got here?

I’ve always written, but it wasn’t until my youngest started school that I had the time to glue my fingers to the keyboard. Once a teacher and a counsellor, I remained interested in the life journeys that people take. Life doesn’t always deliver a happily-ever-after and so romance was the perfect genre to make sure that no matter what happens to a character, they are guaranteed a happy ending. I’m a country girl and love the Australian bush, so it was also only natural that my settings are rural and small town ones. :)

That's great. :) So, what was your reaction to getting The Call?

Disbelief. As it was an email, I kept staring at it thinking I’d missed something. Whenever a submission reply came in, I always looked at the last paragraph as that contained ‘the verdict”. But when I didn’t see the words I was expecting I really was thrown (but in a good way :) ).

It's a bit like that isn't it. You can always believe the rejections, but never the acceptances.
Now what was the hardest thing for you to learn during the writing/publishing experience?

Navigating cyberspace. I am still not on twitter and am only just getting my head around Facebook and blogging. For someone who didn’t even have a website pre-publication it’s been a very interesting ride. The publishing landscape is changing and so too is the need to be cyber-savvy. As both my new releases are eBooks, I have also been delving into such things like digital-specific promo as the world really is a worldwide marketplace.

You're not wrong there! I know a lot of writer's who struggle to navigate the cyber world. But it really is vital for them to do so.
Tell us, what's your favourite part of the process (editing, the revealing of a cover, meeting your readers)?

Each part of the publishing process brings with it, its own rewards. It is magical to see your cover for the first time and so heart-warming to learn that a reader has enjoyed your books. And despite the ongoing hair-pulling, I must confess, I actually rather like edits too. I know. I need to get out more  :)

I'm sure you're not the only one haha.
Do you preach plotting or pantsing (yes, I think I just made up a word :P)?

How a book unfolds is very much an individual process for each writer, but I personally like road signs so would call myself a plotter. But if I do go down a side road that isn’t on the grand plan, then I am very open to just pantsing (great word :)) and seeing where it will take me.

Pantser moments can add a little magic, I have to agree. Now, out of your two novels, Beneath Outback Skies and What Love Sounds Like, who is your favourite hero and why?

Tait, the city-boy who isn’t all he seems, from Beneath Outback Skies would my pick by a margin from Kade in What Love Sounds Like. :) Even though Tait might come across as a little heavy handed at first, he only ever has the heroine’s best interests at heart.

 
Haha, he sounds intriguing. Now, I hear you are the creator of facebook group, Books for Country Girls and Guys. Can you tell us a little about the group?
Yes.
We are so lucky to have rural fiction as a home-grown genre and the idea of the Books for Country girls and Guys facebook page it to locate all the rural fiction news in one spot. Pinned to the top of the page will always be a list of all the upcoming releases so readers will know exactly what is coming out and when. It would also be fabulous to share rural fiction with the world and am thrilled to say we have many overseas likes from such countries as Canada, America, UK, South Africa, Mexico and France.

What a great idea. So there you have it readers, if you're looking for what is coming hot of the press, head on over to the Books for Country Girls and Guys facebook page.
Now lastly, and as always, do you have any words of wisdom to share with the aspiring writers out there?
Am far from an expert let alone being wise :) , but one thing I have to say is, to believe in, is to be true to yourself. Write your story your way as if there is no-one else who will write quite like you.

Thanks so much for joining me on the blog today Alissa. I will you all the best with your novels and look forward to seeing more from you in the future. :)
As for my readers, I'm glad to see that you have popped by today. If you have enjoyed this interview and would like to find out more about Alissa and her novels, feel free to explore any of the below links!

 Beneath Outback Skies
Book/buy link: http://www.randomhouse.com.au/books/alissa-callen/beneath-outback-skies-9780857980397.aspx
What Love Sounds Like
Book/buy link: http://www.escapepublishing.com.au/product/9780857990129

Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Alissa-Callen-Author/355366704552838

Website: www.alissacallen.com

Books for Country Girls and Guys: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Books-for-Country-Girls-and-Guys/409351725807505

 

 

 

 

Rural Panel: What Makes Rural Romance?

In August, I attended the RWA Diamonds are Forever Conference. It was one of the most exciting, nerve-racking four days I've ever experienced and one were Rural Romance was given a voice in the Diamonds in Dust Panel. It was great to share opinions and ideas, but one question really showed just how subjective Rural Romance is.

Rural Romance is a relatively young genre, but I believe it has hit the shelves with a bang. New authors are imerging and the genre is growing. And every story, is unique. Different opinions, new voices and yet they are all connected by something.

So, I just wanted to ask our authors, what is it about Rural life that inspires you to write RuRo? And what makes are Rural romance to you?

For me, it's the characters. It's old mate sitting out the front of the post office with his scruffy dog at his feet. It's battered hats, quirky senses of humour and tales that go for days. It's strong, passionate individuals who are fighting for something or against something. When I pick up a rural novel, I want to read and find the people I have met IN these novels. And I want to make a few more friends. That's what Rural Romance is for me.


Now for what everyone else has to say...

First up, we have author, Jenn J Mcleod (whose debut novel, 'House For All Seasons' is out next year). Jenn had this to say about what inspired her to write about Rural life:

'Country living to me is about the sound of silence. (With respect to Simon & Garfunkel!)
There is a crispness to the country, and I’m not referring solely to a what we see and feel. It’s the sharp silences, the stillness, what we hear--or don’t hear without the whirr of white noise that comes with city living.
That’s my kind of country.'

And how right she is. If you have never lived in the city, you might not understand this. But for me, a country girl at heart stuck in the city, this silence really is a sound. Not a lack of it.

For the Author of The Road Home, Fiona Palmer:

'Rural life for me is the close knit community full to the brim of bush characters that all have their own quirks. Yet we all live together, tolerating and supporting each other as a community wouldn't survive otherwise.'

Whilst Fleur McDonald doesn't write Rural Romance, but Rural literature, Fleur understands the impact rural life has had on the stories she writes. And on the world she lives in.

Farmers feed everyone and to me, it's the most important job in the world. That is what makes me passionate about writing Rural Lit. I simply love sharing my world with people who don't have the opportunity live it.

You all know the saying: If you ate today, thank a Farmer.

For Loretta Hill, whose fabulous novel 'The Girl in the Steel-capped Boots' has had great success in today's market, she had this to say about what makes a rural romance for her:

'Three things make a rural romance for me. Firstly, a strong, capable female lead. I think what attracts readers most to Rural romance are the feisty heroines who are often not just falling in love but also testing the limits of their own capabilities. These heroines don’t need the hero to triumph at the end of the story but he certainly makes the journey more interesting. I love the fact that rural romance heroines are often thrown out of their depth or put in situations which test them emotionally and sometimes physically to the limit. And yet they rise up and meet the challenges. The second thing, I believe makes a rural romance is of course the setting, not necessarily a farm but definitely not urban. Both books I have written for the Random House are set on the Pilbara on construction sites. I think it’s important that the setting is almost like another character in the book - that it interacts with the heroine as much as the hero does. And last but not least, I think the strong sense of community in rural romance is a big draw card in this genre. Rural romances always contain strong relationships. Not just between the hero and heroine but often between family, comrades, work mates, local townspeople or other farmers etc. They are the kind of relationships that are harder to find in big cities where people sometimes don’t even know their neighbours. I think readers really love that sense of “family” in small towns or workplace communities where everybody looks out for each other. There are many other great aspects of rural romances that I love but these are definitely the top three.'

Strong Heroines are my favourite. I love sarcasm and they all wear it well.

For Penguin Author Cathryn Hein (author of Heart of the Valley):

Besides a well-developed rural setting, I like my rural romances to feature characters who are passionate about the land and country life. They don’t necessarily have to be from the land, but it’s important that they feel a deep connection, so much so that the land becomes intrinsic to their happiness. Take them away and they’ll survive well enough – they are, after all, resourceful sorts - but their world won’t turn quite right. Return them to the place they love most and, despite suffering hardships and traumas (because where is the fun without those to test our hero’s or heroine’s mettle), the characters find home and a place that fills their hearts.

It also doesn’t hurt to have a broad-shouldered hero who looks damn sexy in a pair of moleskins!

We do love our broad-shouldered men haha.

Next in line we have Jennifer Scoullar, whose novel Brumby's Run was released in July. This is what Jennifer had to say:

A rural romance, like any other, requires a passionate love story. But it also requires much more. For me, a good rural romance is anchored in an equally passionate love story with the land. Rich, natural settings set these books apart. Australian readers find independent, tough-minded women coexisting with the land more appealing than the self-absorbed shopaholics who dominate chick-lit. The characters in rural stories are strong women who are not desperate for a new man.
Australia’s native flora and fauna are my main influences, together with wild landscapes. These are powerful settings. In cities, many people live lives so far removed from nature, that they rarely even touch the earth. But at what cost? The cost to our declining environment? The cost to our hearts? I think the world is hungry to re-engage with nature, to ground itself. Rural lit taps into this vein. The wildly successful movie Avatar did the same thing. Losing touch with wildness is losing touch with ourselves.

As a city dweller, I understand exactly what you're saying. As a country girl at heart, the best part of my day is walking to feed my horse who lives just down the road from me. It's 7am, the air is cool and the gums tree look magnificent against the sunrise. Some, don't understand the contentment I feel during that ten minute walk. Others, understand completely.

Breathless Publishing author, Ann B Harrison has just release her novel 'Taming the Outback' and today she will be sharing what influenced her to write a Rural Romance:

Apart from growing up a country girl quite simply the struggle my characters go through and how they come out the other end.

I like to pit them against their greatest fears and see how they cope. Life on the land is hard enough as it is but adding the emotional aspect can only makes the story better. It drags me in as a writer and I hope it does the same for my readers.

With my first book Taming the Outback I took a widow with an unruly teenager and a little lost girl and threw her the challenge of taking on two stations at a profit or risk losing it to the guy next door. That was enough of an incentive for Libby to pull out all the stops and show us what she was made of.

 

Well said Ann. :)

And last but not least, we have Jennie Jones. Jennie is unpublished, but has recently finalled in the Rebecca!

I didn’t set out with the intent of focussing on Rural Romance, but as I write, my characters are finding themselves in small town country environments where they fall in love, so my stories are turning out to be rural and romantic. The country image is of space, freedom and fresh air; a chance to start again perhaps. My characters might be building something, finding something, saving something or running from something. Of course, their dreams don’t come easily because living in the country is hard. There are a whole new set of rules. My little towns are fictional, but the areas I set them in are mapped on Google, and although I want readers to feel that they recognise the settings I also love to add a bucket of make-believe to the atmosphere and quirkiness of my towns and my characters.

 

A Rural novel isn't the same without its quirky characters!

So there you have it. What makes a rural romance. And what it is about Rural life that inspires these great tales.

I'd like to thank all the women who participated in this post. It was really interesting and I'd love to have you all back at the blog soon.

If you're a Rural Romance lover and would like to find out more about these wonderful authors, just click on their names and you will find their websites. The Rural Romance Writers and Reader's group on facebook is also a great place to get to know these authors, and discover many more.

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you enjoyed this post.
Whitney

The Rural Five!

Five lines from page 66 of my novel 'What Happens In Ireland'. Enjoy! I won't explain what is happening. I'll leave that up to you to decide or to dream up. :)

The second she’d stepped out a torrent of rain had descended. The heavy drops sent her racing back in and straight to her bedroom. She’d been soaked to the bone.
Just my luck.
Heaving the shirt that clung to her skin over her head, she froze at the sound of knuckles rapping on wood.

Happy reading,

Whitney