Please welcome our interview guest, best selling Author Jennifer Probst. Thank you for joining us at Romance Books 4 Us.
1. How did you get started writing? I’ve always wanted to be a writer since I was a child. I just knew the moment I read this would be my career, and I began writing my first young adult romance book at twelve years old longhand. I became obsessed with my story, and writing was always my own True North, though it took me many, many years to be able to write full time without a day job!
2. Why did you choose the genre(s) you writer in...or did it choose you? I loved everything about the romance genre the moment I picked up a book. I would read endless Harlequin romances I’d buy from the supermarket, and stalk flea markets and yard sales for any books I could find because I never had money! It wasn’t even a thought to write something else, there were so many stories I had in my head revolving around the romantic journey of a man and a woman.
3. What actual event or real person/people from your own life have you used in a novel? In my new book Searching for Someday, I include a dog named Robert who is real. His legs were crushed and he was sentenced to death, when my local pet shelter saved him. He was operated on, saved, and given into a wonderful home. I learned so much from his story – and I wanted to share him with my readers. The theme of the book is disabled doesn’t mean disposable. Robert even has his own facebook page Rockin Robert! My readers say he was one of their all time fave characters and I loved writing his story.
4. What part of the book is the easiest for you to write? Why? The beginning. It’s like a new love affair, hopeful and passionate and the future is spread before you in all its glory. The possibilities are wonderful. How can you not get excited by typing those first few lines and introducing new characters? I never get stuck in the beginning lol!
5. What part of the book is the hardest for you? Why? The middle. Always the middle! I think it’s where my story can get stuck because I don’t plot very specifically- I love to find the twists and turns as I write which is a bit more difficult. My poor husband knows when I hit the middle of a book because I grumble a lot and mutter under my breath and tell him my career has tanked with this specific book. I push through though – there is no other choice lol!
6. What is your writing routine? How many hours a day to you spend writing? I am extremely lucky to be able to write full time and have both kids in school. This was not always the case, so I got used to writing around nap times, late at night, or during half hour television shows! It was great training. Right now though, as soon as the kids get on the bus I do promotion and email for a good hour, then dive into my manuscript. My goal is 2k per day so I can measure my production. It depends on how many hours it takes to get there – could be a few or I could be writing at night while my family hangs out and watches tv lol! Sometimes I can go for 5k, and other times I struggle with 1k.
7. I you could mentor a beginning writer, what would be your 3 or 4 key points of advice? Ah, this is so important! First off, if writing is your dream you can never give up. Ever. So many people will discourage you, get into your head, and rejection can hurt your heart. Dig deep and believe in yourself because no one else will.
Second, write as much as possible. This is not a career you can learn by reading books or taking workshops or going to school. You need to learn it by writing. The more you write, the better you will get with story. My books always get better and that’s the way it should be. Finally, take the craft seriously. Go to workshops, network with other writers, learn, always learn. Steep yourself in the process of story and reading other books. This is a soul work – if you want to get rich or just be able to have a flexible job to work from home, find another career. But if you love it, and want it, and work at it, everything is possible.
8. If I was a first time reader of your books, which one would you recommend I start with and why? Either The Marriage Bargain or Searching for Someday since they’re the first books in new series. Of course, all books are standalone but they give you a taste of my voice and writing and can get you hooked – hopefully!
9. Out of your entire backlist, which book has the best opening line? What's the line? I love this question! It’s tied between two!
The Marriage Bargain: "She needed a man. Preferably one with $150,000 to spare." Searching for Someday: "It was official. She was on the date from hell."
10. What hobby do you enjoy when not writing? Reading and drinking wine!
11. Who are some of your favorite authors? Love Susan Elisabeth Phillips, Nora Roberts, Linda Howard, Jayne Ann Krentz, Kristen Higgins, Jill Shalvis for contemporary romance. I have tons more I adore and that doesn’t include my faves for erotic fiction and new adult too but you’d need an extra page for me!
12. Coffee, tea, wine, beer, or the hard stuff? Coffee in the morning. Wine at night!
13. What is the one accomplishment you are most proud of? My kids. They are kind and beautiful and I’m humbled they belong to me.
SEARCHING FOR SOMEDAY
By Jennifer Probst
Blurb:
In charming Verily, New York, Kate Seymour has a smashing success with Kinnections, the matchmaking service she owns with her two best girlfriends. But Kate’s more than a savvy businesswoman: She’s gifted with a secret power, a jolting touch that signals when love’s magic is at work. It rocked her when she picked up a strange volume of love spells in the town’s used bookstore...and it zapped her again when she encountered Slade Montgomery, the hot-tempered— and hot-bodied—divorce lawyer who storms into Kinnections demanding proof that playing Cupid won’t destroy his vulnerable sister, Kate’s newest client.
The only way to convince this cynic that she’s no fraud, and that love is no mirage, is for Kate to meet his audacious challenge: find him his dream woman. Can Kate keep their relationship strictly business when her electrifying attraction nearly knocked her off her feet? Or has the matchmaker finally met her match?
Excerpt:
“I don’t want to forget this conversation,” he said softly.
He moved slow and deliberate, reaching out to calmly
stroke her hair, enjoying the way the silky strands lifted
and jumped under his touch. He used his voice to wrap her
in a cozy blanket of security.
“Don’t t-t-touch me.”
“You’re not afraid of me, are you, Kate?”
She lifted her chin and spat the words out. “Don’t be sexual content ridiculous. I’ve dealt with bigger snakes than you.”
His lips quirked and he kept stroking her hair with gentle motions. “Good. I don’t want your fear. I can’t seem to get you out of my head. I keep thinking about that kiss. Have you thought about it?”
“No.”
“I have. Every single night. Wanting more.”
She gave a tiny moan and seemed to try and muster the energy to fight him. Slade didn’t give her the opportunity. He placed both hands on her bare arms in a firm grip so there was no barrier between flesh to flesh.
And then it happened.
Slade expected a slight tingle, but the explosion between them rocked his sanity. Burning heat raced through his palms and burst in his gut, as if the simple touch set off a crazy array of currents that blazed one by one. Her slight cry told him she felt it too, and immediately his brain shut down in a raw urge to arouse, possess, pleasure. His dick swelled to full staff and the blood thickened in his veins, driving every rational thought from his head.
This time, he was prepared. This time, he let the energy take hold and flow through every cell. Her scent swamped him, a delicious hint of sugar and musk that rose to his nostrils and made him want to stamp and snort like a thoroughbred about to mate. Those gorgeous blue eyes darkened, and her pale pink lips opened as she fought for air, the stab of her nipples tempting him through the delicate silk. Her body shook and trembled, but he already knew it wasn’t fear, but the knowledge she couldn’t hide any longer.
“No,” she moaned, in one last attempt to deny him.
He lowered his mouth and stopped inches from hers.
“Yes. Oh, yes.”
His lips covered hers.
BIO:
Jennifer Probst wrote her first book at twelve years old. She bound it in a folder, read it to her classmates, and hasn’t stopped writing since. She took a short hiatus to get married, get pregnant, buy a house, get pregnant again, pursue a master’s in English Literature, and rescue two shelter dogs. Now she is writing again.
She makes her home in Upstate New York with the whole crew. Her sons keep her active, stressed, joyous, and sad her house will never be truly clean.
She is the New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of sexy and erotic contemporary romance. She was thrilled her book, The Marriage Bargain, was ranked #6 on Amazon's Best Books for 2012. She loves hearing from readers. Visit her website for updates on new releases and her street team at http://www.jenniferprobst.com/
