In the Moment by Jennifer Wilck #Interview

Blurb: Cassie Edwards, a former foster child, purchases an 1870s Victorian mansion, the one home from her childhood where she felt like part of a family. She’s spending her summer lovingly restoring it, with dreams of one day raising a family of her own here. Rayne Tucket, a photojournalist, is haunted by the death of his best friend in Afghanistan, a death he thinks is his fault. He survives day to day. Forever is not in his vocabulary. Swearing off photography, he answers an ad for a handyman—mindless, no emotion involved. As the two of them renovate her house, can Cassie show Rayne that love is strong enough to heal all wounds?

Social Media:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Jennifer-Wilck-201342863240160/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JWilck

Website: http://www.jenniferwilck.com

Blog: http://jenniferwilck.blogspot.com

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/jenniferwilck/

Buy links:

The Wild Rose Press: https://catalog.thewildrosepress.com/all-titles/5219-in-the-moment.html?search_query=jennifer+wilck&results=4

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Moment-Jennifer-Wilck-ebook/dp/B073XYRMG7/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1503174144&sr=8-2&keywords=jennifer+wilck

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/in-the-moment-jennifer-wilck/1126972509?ean=2940158847929

What is your writing environment: I’m kind of a nomad, partly because moving around provides me with a distraction and partly because it helps me to think. Ideally, I write at my desk in the living room, which is covered with inspirational quotes and photos. But since I have a laptop, I move to the dining room when I want to eat and the family room sofa when I want to be comfortable. If it’s nice weather, I’ll sit on the deck under the umbrella. And of course, when my laptop battery runs out, I go wherever my charger happens to be at the moment.

Do you plan all your characters out before you start a story or do they develop as you write?: I usually have at least some inkling of my characters before I start writing. I’ll either hear dialog in my head or I’ll see a scene that they are in and write it down. Based on either of those two things, I start to get an idea of what my characters are like. For whatever reason, I’m usually more sure about the hero than the heroine. As I write, I learn more about both of them. And I use Roxanne St. Claire’s method of writing—write the first 100 pages and then go back and edit; write the next 100 pages and then go back to the beginning and edit; and then write to the end. This method allows me to catch up with my characters and fully understand them before I get to the end.

One of your favorite quotes.: You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.

What type of book have you always wanted to write?: I’ve always wanted to write a sweeping family saga based loosely on a story about my family. I’ve hesitated to write it, though, because of the amount of research it would require.

How did you get the idea for this particular novel?: There is an old Victorian mansion in the next town that was for sale and it had an open house. My daughters and I went and I fell in love with it—the architecture, the history, etc. Since I didn’t have a spare couple of million dollars lying around to purchase and decorate, I decided I’d have to write about it. So it became the setting of my newest book, out yesterday (September 1), In the Moment. The heroine grew up in foster care and the house is the one place she felt most at home. When she grew up, she bought it and is renovating it so that she can raise a family there.

Flirting Questions 

Which actor or book character do you have a crush on? Way too many to name!

What’s your favorite body part of the opposite sex? Arms and hands.

Hey, baby! What’s your sign? Pisces

When was your last kiss? Earlier today, with my husband.

How did you meet your significant other? We met in Alpha Phi Omega at Washington University in St. Louis.

Flirting Quickies: 

Boxers or Briefs? Boxers

Facial hair or clean shaven? Clean

Alpha or Beta? Combination

Planner or Panster? Pantser

White wine or red? Red

Coffee or tea? Both, depending on time of day

Vanilla or chocolate? Chocolate of course

Sleep in or get up early? Sleep in!

Laptop or desktop? Laptop

Winter or summer? Summer, I hate being cold

Cat or dog? Dog

Twilight or Fifty Shades? Twilight

Spotlight or In the Shadows? In the shadows (aka, power behind the throne)

City or Country? City

Clubbing or candlelight dinner? Candlelight dinner

Backpacking or luxury hotel? Luxury hotel

Morning or night person? Mid afternoon?

Optimist or pessimist? I think I’m an optimist, but my husband thinks I’m a pessimist

[VBT] The Seduction of Esther by Jennifer Wilck

The Seduction of Esther

by Jennifer Wilck

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BLURB:

Samara Goldberg has a problem even the most beautiful singing voice can’t fix. She’s a walking disaster, especially when she’s around handsome men. To make matters worse, she’s in desperate need of someone to play the character of Mordecai for the Purim spiel she’s producing and the new congregant, Nathaniel Abramson, is a perfect fit. Nathaniel is a divorced dad who’s recovering from the biggest public scandal of his life. The last thing he needs is a relationship with the choir director at his new synagogue, who also happens to be playing the lead female role of Esther in the very play he’s been coerced into joining.

Woven around the Jewish holiday of Purim, The Seduction of Esther is a story of two people whose lives mirror the plot of the Purim story. Like Esther, who had to hide her Jewish identity from the King of Persia, Samara and Nathaniel are hiding key pieces of themselves. Evil Haman wanted to destroy the Jews, and the nasty Josh will do anything to keep Samara and Nathaniel apart. Will their love survive, like the Jewish people in Shushan, Persia, or will their fear keep them apart?

Nathaniel tucked Zoe into bed for the night, scrunched the daisy print quilt under her chin and behind her shoulders, smoothed her bright red hair off her forehead and planted a kiss on the tip of her nose.

“Good night, Stinky.” He reached for the green and white gingham bedside lamp and hid a smile as he anticipated her reaction. Ever since he’d read her I Love You, Stinky Face as a toddler, Stinky had been his pet name for her. She was reluctant to let him use the nickname, even in private.

“Daaaad.” The drawn-out word and the roll of the green eyes, while expected, gave him a glimpse of what she’d be like as a teenager, and he shuddered.

“I love you, Zo.”

“I love you too, Daddy. And I am not stinky.”

He chuckled as he doused the light, picked a discarded purple sweater off the floor, patted the head of her battered elephant and left the room, leaving the door open a crack. He cleaned up the dinner dishes, grabbed a Sam Adams from the fridge, the latest Dan Brown book from his shelf and sighed in relief as he sank into his recliner.

Endless meetings and conference calls, in addition to the normal demands of a seven year old, made him feel like an old man. With his book open on his lap, he took a swallow of beer and savored the flavor as he put his head back and closed his eyes.

Like an old-fashioned film reel, images of black, curly hair, angry brown eyes, luscious curves and potatoes danced behind his eyelids. He opened them and looked around. He half expected to see ugly spuds rolling around the floor under his feet. But all he saw was blue Berber carpet. He leaned back in his chair and opened his book. Instead of words, he saw the flush creep up her neck when the produce guy yelled at her, the surprise in her gaze as she slipped on the potato, the curve of her ankle in the black high heel as she rushed away.

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

When I was a little girl and couldn’t fall asleep, my mother would tell me to make up a story. Pretty soon, my head was filled with these stories and the characters that populated them. Each character had a specific personality, a list of likes and dislikes, and sometimes, even a specific accent or dialect. Even as an adult, I think about the characters and stories at night before I fall asleep, or in the car on my way to or from one of my daughters’ numerous activities (hey, anything that will drown out their music is a good thing).

One day, I started writing them down (it was either that or checking into the local mental hospital—the computer was way less scary) and five years later, I’ve gotten two book contracts from Whiskey Creek Press. A Heart of Little Faith came out in June; Skin Deep is coming out in November.

In the real world, I’m the mother of two amazing daughters and wife of one of the smartest men I know. I enjoy spending time with my family and friends, reading, traveling and watching TV. In between chauffeuring my daughters to after-school activities that require an Excel spreadsheet to be kept straight, I serve on our Temple Board, train the dog we adopted from a local shelter, and cook dinners that fit the needs of four very different appetites. I also write freelance articles for magazines, newspapers, and edit newsletters.

When all of that gets overwhelming, I retreat to my computer, where I write stories that let me escape from reality. In my made-up world, the heroines are always smart, sassy and independent. The heroes are handsome and strong with just a touch of vulnerability. If I don’t like a character, I can delete him or her; if something doesn’t work, I can rewrite it. It’s very satisfying to be in control of at least one part of my life. My inspiration comes from watching the people around me and fantasizing about how I’d do things differently.

I can be reached at www.jenniferwilck.com or http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jennifer-Wilck/201342863240160. I tweet at @JWilck, my blog (Fried Oreos) is www.jenniferwilck.wordpress.com and I contribute to Heroines With Hearts at www.heroineswithhearts.blogspot.com.

My books can be purchased through Rebel Ink Press http://rebelinkpress.com/our-titles.html,

Whiskey Creek Press www.whiskeycreekpress.com, Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Jennifer will be awarding a $25 Amazon gift card and chocolate to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour (international giveaway).

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