Welcome Jenny! It's great to have you here and to be a part of your ongoing tour - love the title and cover for your latest release - so eye-catching. Wishing you lots of success with Another Cup of Coffee! Let's get start with the questions...
1) Did you set any goals for 2013?
Every year I try and set myself a target- to produce two
novels, or one novel, a novella, and a number of short stories in twelve months.
These books and stories are usually of the erotic persuasion, and are produced
under the pen-name of Kay Jaybee.
This year however, my goal was a little different. I wanted
to have my very first mainstream romance published- and to my amazement- I’ve
done it!!
I confess I was very nervous about stepping into a new genre
under a new pseudonym. It’s a little like starting out all over again!
2) Who or what has been your
biggest influence as a writer?
This is quite a difficult question, as so many
writers have inspired and influenced me over the years. I wouldn’t have got
nearly as far in the world of erotica without the good guidance of the
brilliant writer, Kd Grace, and I would never have written a romance if I
hadn’t been a lifelong fan of the book chocolate provided by Katie Fforde.
I think the biggest influence on my choice of
career however, came from my Nan. She was a truly amazing woman, who wrote
comedic plays, poems, and short stories for years, without telling anyone-
until in her later years when she began to write sketches for her local WI’s
amateur dramatic group. Her work was hilarious, and very cleverly crafted. If
she’d been born a generation later I have no doubt she’d have taken the world
by storm.
3) How long does it take you
to write a 50,000-60,000 word manuscript?
About three to four
months- I write for 2 hours a day, and edit for an hour after that.
4) Tease us with a blurb/short excerpt
Here’s the blurb to
Another Cup of Coffee-
Thirteen years ago Amy Crane ran away
from everyone and everything she knew, ending up in an unfamiliar city with no
obvious past and no idea of her future. Now, though, that past has just arrived
on her doorstep, in the shape of an old music cassette that Amy hasn’t seen
since she was at university.
Digging out her long-neglected Walkman,
Amy listens to the lyrics that soundtracked her student days. As long-buried
memories are wrenched from the places in her mind where she’s kept them safely
locked away for over a decade, Amy is suddenly tired of hiding.
It’s time to confront everything about
her life. Time to find all the friends she left behind in England, when her
heart got broken and the life she was building for herself was shattered. Time
to make sense of all the feelings she’s been bottling up for all this time. And
most of all, it’s time to discover why Jack has sent her tape back to her now,
after all these years…
With her mantra, ‘New life, New job,
New home’, playing on a continuous loop in her head, Amy gears herself up with
yet another bucket-sized cup of coffee, as she goes forth to lay the ghost of
first love to rest...
Here’s a mini extract from the very beginning of Another Cup of Coffee…
Shrugging
off her khaki jacket, Amy bent to pick up the pile of post that lay waiting on
her doormat. As her hand reached to retrieve the small brown package
half-buried beneath some junk mail, Amy froze. She knew that handwriting. She
also had a funny feeling that she knew what was going to be inside.
But why return it
now, after all these years?
The poorly-wrapped parcel broke open as her fingers fumbled
at the sticky tape, and a music cassette slipped into her hands. The cover was
unmarked, just as it had been when he’d taken it from her. Amy stared,
disbelieving, the blood draining from her already pale face. She remembered
recording at least two tracks onto it herself. Maybe there were more now.
Amy’s brother had given her the blank tape as she’d been
climbing into their parents’ car before being driven away to start her new life
as a student. ‘To record your musical memories along the way,’ he’d said with a
grin. Back then Amy had had every intention to fill her gift with every musical
memory associated with her student life, but the reality of actually living
those experiences had left her with little time to record more than a couple of
them.
Flustered, Amy shook the torn packaging in her hunt for a
note of explanation. A small white envelope fell to the floor. Jack’s familiar
spidery scrawl stretched across its front.
Dearest Amy. Please
listen to the tape BEFORE you open this. The letter will explain afterwards. J
x
With a feeling that she was outside of what was happening,
as if she was a spectre floating above herself, Amy walked into her tiny living
room and gingerly put the tape down on her coffee table as if it was an
unexploded bomb.
What was on it now? She knew she couldn’t avoid this
unexpected intrusion for long – but on the other hand, a brief delay in order
to clear her head suddenly felt essential.
Taking refuge in the kitchen, Amy placed her palms firmly
onto the cool, tiled work surface, and took a couple of deep yet shaky breaths.
Forcing her brain to slip back into action, she retrieved a bottle of white
wine from the fridge, poured a large glassful and, squaring her shoulders,
carried it through to the living room.
Perching on the edge of her sofa, her throat dry, Amy stared
suspiciously at the tape for a second, before daring to pick it up and click
open its stiff plastic box. Two minutes later, her hands still shaking, she
closed it again with a sharp bang, and drank some wine. It took a further five
minutes to gather the courage to re-open the case and place the tape into the
dusty cassette compartment of her ancient stereo system. It must have been
years since she’d seen a cassette, she thought, let alone listened to one. She
wasn’t even sure the stereo still worked …
Swallowing another great gulp of alcohol, Amy closed her
eyes and pressed Play, not at all
sure if she wanted to take this trip back in time …
If you’d like to buy a copy of Another Cup of Coffee, it is available from-
or
5) Tell us about a new author you’ve
recently discovered
A couple of weeks ago, while on holiday I read Kitty Peck and the Musical Hall Murders, by
Kate Griffin- I can’t praise this book enough. It was a truly breathtaking
adventure through the darker sign of Victorian London- it was a stunning debut
novel. It was one of those books you read and wish you’d written yourself. If
you like historical crime, this book is a must.
6) Name two romances you’ve read more than
once
I have read everything Katie Fforde has written more than
twice- she is just so comforting to read after a long day. My favourite, The Rose Revived, has been in front of
my eyes at least 8 times.
Vince and Joy by Lisa Jewell has also graced my
bedside table on a couple of occasions- moving, funny and gentle. It’s a
fabulous read.
7) Tell us about your first car
My husband and I didn’t get our first car until we were 25.
It was a little turquoise Nissan Micra that I called Maisie. I loved that car-
and boy did it do some miles. We bought it when we moved from Leicester in
England to a remote part of Scotland, where life without a car would have been
completely impossible.
8) Where can we find you?
If you’d like to keep up to date with news about Another Cup of Coffee, and the next
novel I have bubbling away in the pipeline, keep your eye on my blog- www.jennykane.co.uk
You can also follow Jenny on-
Twitter -https://twitter.com/JennyKaneAuthor
Many thanks for inviting me along to your site today Rachel,
Jenny x
Comments??
Many thanks for inviting me along today Rachel! Interview was great fun!! Jenny xx
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