Today I have romance author Jennifer Wilck with me to tell a little about herself and her writing life and give us a glimpse into her latest release: The Seduction of Esther.
Here's Jennifer:
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). Since
then, I’ve published two contemporary romances with Whiskey Creek Press. The
Seduction of Esther is my first book with Rebel Ink Press, and I’m excited to
be part of their team.
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 and volunteer for way more things
than I have time to do. 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.
I asked Jennifer some questions about her writing life and this is what she said:
How long have you been writing?
It feels like I’ve always been
writing! But I guess I’ve been writing fiction seriously since around 2005 or
so, and my first books were published in 2011. Prior to that, I was a magazine
writer and editor.
Why did you choose the genres you write?
I’ve always loved reading romance
and grew up reading Danielle Steele, Judith McNaught and Kathleen Woodiwiss.
Although I write contemporary romance, my favorite genre to read is historical.
I’m just too afraid of all the research it requires to write it on my own.
How do you come up with your titles?
They usually strike me at some
point during the writing process. A Heart of Little Faith came to me after I
wrote a scene where the heroine told the hero to have a little faith in her.
Skin Deep popped into my head based on the subject of the book—it’s a beauty
and the beast type of book. And my upcoming release, The Seduction of Esther, relates
to the Jewish holiday of Purim.
Do you work off an outline or just wing it?
I’ve always “winged” it. The one
time I tried writing off of an outline was a disaster! Now I write my outlines
as I go so that I know at what point in the book different things happen.
How many drafts do you write before you submit to a
publisher?
At least three or four. My first
draft is just my writing the story from my head. Then I send it off to critique
partners and make changes based on their suggestions. Then I go through it at
least one more time to look for repeated words, “forbidden” words, character
arcs, etc. Depending on how confident I am with the story, I may proof it one
more time.
How many hours a day do you devote to writing?
I write part-time and I’m a busy
mom, so only about 2 hours a day. I wish I could spend more time on it, and
when my kids are away at camp during the summer, I get larger chunks of writing
time in.
Are any of your novels in print format as well as ebook
format?
The first two books I wrote,
published by Whiskey Creek Press, are in print and e-book formats. They are A
Heart of Little Faith and Skin Deep. The Seduction of Esther, which will be
released June 3 by Rebel Ink Press, will also be published in both formats,
although I’m not sure of the timing. The e-book will definitely be out first.
If your latest romance was made into a movie, which actors would you
pick for the role of your hero and heroine?
For The Seduction of Esther, I
envision Mark Feuerstein, from Royal Pains, for the role of my hero, Nathaniel,
and a young Amy Irving for the role of the heroine, Samara.
Do you have any guilty indulgences?
You mean ones I’m willing to
admit to? J
Yes, chocolate is a major weakness. I’m a sap for Hallmark movies and I love
reading TMZ.com to find out what train wrecks are happening to celebrities.
What did you find was the hardest or most difficult
part in your path to becoming an author?
The hardest part for me is
talking about it to people. I’ve always kept my writing quiet and my parents
didn’t even know about it until I showed them my first acceptance letter. Now
that I have books published, and continue to write and publish, I have to be a
lot more open about it. I’m an introvert, so that’s difficult for me. But I’m
learning!
Tell me a little about your novel and how it came to
be.
My upcoming book from Rebel Ink
Press is a contemporary romance with a Jewish theme. I wanted to write a
romance that was Jewish, in much the same way that so many romances are
Christian—even if they don’t have a Christmas theme, the characters go to
church or something is mentioned in passing. I enjoy all of those books, but
wanted to see if I could do something similar with my own religion. So this
book, The Seduction of Esther, is about two people who fall in love and the
story revolves around the holiday of Purim. For those that don’t know the
story, Purim is a joyous holiday that celebrates the survival of the Jews in
Persia. The holiday includes dressing in costumes (similar to Halloween),
putting on a play (which is how my characters meet), and making lots of noise.
Below is the blurb:
Blog:
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?
And here’s an excerpt:
“How
did you do that?”
Samara’s
eyes peeked over the top of a pastrami sandwich Nathaniel would swear to be
bigger than she. “Do what? Oh, that? Practice. There’s a kind of rhythm to this
place, almost like following the music in an orchestra. Once you get the timing
down, it’s just a matter of following it and not missing a beat.”
The
rest of Nathaniel’s thoughts disappeared as he took a bite of his corned beef
sandwich. The thin-sliced corned beef melted on his tongue. Brown mustard
cleared his sinuses before he knew they were congested. Fresh rye bread with
seeds added the perfect amount of texture. Who knew Heaven hid in a tiny,
crowded deli?
“Good,
isn’t it?”
Nathaniel
swallowed and stared at her, wide-eyed. “Good? Are you kidding? Good doesn’t
even begin to describe it. Calling this sandwich good is like saying Pavrotti
sings well.”
Samara
giggled as she took another bite of her pastrami sandwich. “So you like
Pavrotti?”
“I
didn’t say I liked him, I just said you have to recognize his tremendous
talent.” He licked his fingers and took a drink of cream soda.
“So
you don’t like him?” Samara put her sandwich down and frowned.
His
gaze wandered from the rim of his soda can and rested on her face. When she
frowned, a tiny line appeared between her eyebrows. He wanted to reach out and
touch it with his fingertip, to see if it felt as smooth as it looked. He
hadn’t had this desire with Liz. He clenched his hand into a fist and pushed it
into the scratchy denim of his jeans. What
are you nuts? Like any woman on Earth wants a wrinkle pointed out! As her
frown got deeper, he remembered he hadn’t answered her question.
“Ah,
no, I admire his voice, I’m just not a fan of opera. But I can recognize
amazing talent.”
His
answer must have reassured her, because she stopped frowning and the wrinkle he
admired disappeared.
“So
what music do you like?”
They
discussed their musical preferences, chided each other for not recognizing a
particular band’s or singer’s talents, and agreed on the merits of outdoor
versus mega-stadium concerts.
“Bruce
Springsteen is playing in Central Park this summer,” said Samara as she
polished off the last of her sandwich.
“He’s
awesome. We should get tickets.”
Where did that come from?
Samara’s
head jerked up and her eyes widened. His invitation had surprised her as much
as him. Nathaniel watched her cheeks deepen from pale peach to blotchy
raspberry. What did I do?
“Um,
yeah, okay.” She dropped her napkin on the floor, and before she could reach
down for it, another patron’s shoe ground it into the linoleum floor as he
hurried by. Nathaniel leaned across the table and blotted her cheek with his
napkin. She jerked back and knocked her glass of seltzer onto the floor.
Nathaniel
swore under his breath. Why did I do
that?
“Sorry,
I didn’t mean to startle you.” He focused his attention on the busboy, who
hurried over with a mop and swished away the bubbly liquid. Round, white swirls
brightened the otherwise grayish linoleum tiled floor. Nathaniel raised his
head and tried not to grin.
“Hey,
looks like we did them a favor. At least the floor’s clean now.”
Samara
craned her neck to look down at the floor and burst into a fit of giggles.
Nathaniel watched her curls bounce as she laughed. Resistance was futile. He
could no more resist his attraction to her than he could the urge to join in
with her laughter. Tears poured down Samara’s cheeks and Nathaniel’s body
shook.
Patrons
at nearby tables stopped their conversations and stared at the hysterical
couple, but for once, Nathaniel didn’t mind being the center of attention.
Thank you
Jennifer for the opportunity to host you today and good luck with your new
release.
