My writing friend ( and wonderful human being) Jennifer Wilck, is visiting me today, talking about writing, marketing, and her new book release. Please, give her a big show of love!
Here’s Jennifer….
One of the first things I do when it’s time to market a new book is contact my writer friends to see if they have any guest spots open on their blog. I love meeting new readers, and blog visits are the perfect way to do this. Peggy is always extra generous with her time and enthusiasm, and I’m so grateful that she offered me a guest spot.
She and I are both authors at the same publisher—The Wild Rose Press. We were lucky enough to meet in person at a writer’s conference in New York City two years ago. Ahh, the good days, when we could go places and do things and hug people. Anyway, I was so excited to finally meet her in person, after spending lots of time speaking virtually over social media and on our publisher’s author loop. She is even more joyful and supportive and fun in person as she is online.
While writers might be known for being solitary creatures, we can’t do our jobs without the help of other people. I’m lucky enough to have a host of people who support me in so many ways—whether it’s help with plotting, critiquing my writing, marketing my books, or just cheering me on. The support system is essential, and I couldn’t do what I do without them.
For my latest book, A Reckless Heart, another one of my writer friends helped me with the backstory for my heroine, Meg. I needed a reason for Meg to be rebuilding her life. My friend told me about a story she’d read in the newspaper about a publicist to the stars who caused an accident at a club. We then started brainstorming—what if… I can’t tell you where we went from there, because it will give away part of the plot, but I can tell you that it’s because of the help I received from my friend that I was able to tie everything together so nicely (although it took a lot of work to get there!).
A Reckless Heart is the first in a four-book series, Scarred Hearts. Friends play a huge role in the entire series. I hope you enjoy reading the books, and I hope you are lucky enough to have a group of friends who support you when you need them. I couldn’t do this without them.
A Reckless Heart
Meg Thurgood, former society girl, took the blame for her friend and paid a steep price. Now all she wants is solitude and a chance to rebuild her life. She thinks she’s found that in an isolated house she rents from a mysterious stranger.
Simon McAlter has hidden in his house on the coast of Maine since a fire left him scarred. A successful landscape architect who conducts his business and teaches his classes remotely, he’s lost his inspiration and is trying to pretend he’s not lonely.
Simon’s new neighbor is more than he bargained for. When he learns Meg’s secret, will he retreat into the shadows or will he learn to see past the surface and trust in Meg’s love?
Simon opened his email to find a new message from Claire. “I met your tenant today. You didn’t tell me she was our age! She seems nice. Do you have her phone number? I want to invite her over for coffee.”
Simon shook his head and responded. “Oh. You didn’t ask. Okay. Yes. Why?”
He was difficult on purpose. Claire was one of his oldest friends. They’d both gone away to college and returned, although for different reasons. His family’s wealth never fazed her; she was the only one who continued to try to get him into the world. He admired her useless tenacity.
Scrolling through his other emails, he responded to clients and students and sent inquiries to contractors over the next few hours. None of his projects inspired him. Not even the project he worked on for Claire. Especially that one, truth be told. All he saw when he looked at the drawings were plants and flowers. They didn’t speak to him, didn’t provide dimension, offer a creative outlet, or touch his soul. They didn’t convince him to bear the scrutiny he’d receive if he provided alternate plans to Claire for the town’s open land. He already regretted agreeing to design the land into a community park.
Meg distracted him from all of it.
She’d run away from him. Despite her actions, he thought about her all day. It was annoying.
He didn’t let Claire see him. Why in the world would he interact with a complete stranger, regardless of how pretty she was? Because the sound of her voice, other than the shriek, intrigued him. Because he needed to thank her for the zucchini bread. Because he’d scared her. Because he was a complete idiot.
His email dinged, and he opened Claire’s response. “Because.”
Annoying female. His mouse hovered over the trash icon. What if Claire didn’t take no for an answer and came over to his house to get Meg’s number? She often went to great lengths to get what she wanted. And he could further imagine Claire deciding he needed a visitor. Or several. She would shatter his seclusion and peace. He responded.
“410-555-4819”
A moment later, she responded. “J”
With a sigh, he stalked toward the old mansion.
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Jennifer started telling herself stories as a little girl when she couldn’t fall asleep at night. Pretty soon, her head was filled with these stories and the characters that populated them. Even as an adult, she thinks about the characters and stories at night before she falls asleep or walking the dog. Eventually, she started writing them down. Her favorite stories to write are those with smart, sassy, independent heroines; handsome, strong and slightly vulnerable heroes; and her stories always end with happily ever after.
In the real world, she’s the mother of two amazing daughters and wife of one of the smartest men she knows. When she’s not writing, she loves to laugh with her family and friends, is a pro at finding whatever her kids lost in plain sight, and spends way too much time closing doors that should never have been left open in the first place. She believes humor is the only way to get through the day and does not believe in sharing her chocolate.
She writes contemporary romance, some of which are mainstream and some of which involve Jewish characters. She’s published with The Wild Rose Press and all her books are available through Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
You can connect with Jennifer, here:
Website ~ Facebook ~ newsletter ~ Twitter ~ Instagram ~ Bookbub
Peggy Jaeger, Author 