Hi Jana! I think I'm right in saying that this is not your first visit to my blog but it was a long time ago since you were last here. Welcome! I am very much looking forward to catching up with you and learning more about the first book in your latest series RESCUE ME. Let's kick things off with my questions...
1. What was your first job? Did you
like or dislike it? Why?
My first job was as a waitress when I was seventeen. I don’t think I was a particularly good waitress, but I managed to work at the restaurant full-time over the summer shortly after I graduated from high school. I continued to work there a few months part-time while going to university. Though I had applied at a lot of different places, this was the only job I could get. This was back in the seventies, when there were oodles of us Baby Boomers all looking for jobs at the same time, so I couldn’t be fussy. Though I didn’t actively dislike the job, I didn’t want to be a waitress for the rest of my life either. Working that summer made me realize how important going to university in the fall was going to be!
2. Do you have a pet peeve? If so what
is it?
Intolerance of any kind. People who want to ban books in schools and libraries. People who discriminate against those of different faiths or races or sexual orientations. People who want to impose their beliefs on others.
3. Do you spend more time researching
or writing?
It depends. I mostly write contemporary romance so it doesn’t require as much research as a historical novel. In that case I would spend more time writing. That said, even a contemporary novel needs research. I’m always trying to find information on occupations or settings or dozens of other things that come up.
I’ve written a few novels set during or just after World War Two, and they require more research. But I find the research interesting so it’s never a burden. I can find myself going down a few research rabbit holes so I have to be careful not to get carried away! But I find that the research often suggests places for the story to go.
4. Tell me about your books, RESCUE ME and TAKE A CHANCE ON ME and where you got your inspiration
for them.
The inspiration for these books came from wanting to write a sweet
romance series with a bit of humor. I call these two books my Victorian Mansion
series because they’re set in a turn of the century, somewhat shabby, Victorian
mansion that’s been converted to apartments. Both sets of main characters, Matt
and Chelsea in RESCUE ME, and Darcy and Nick in TAKE A CHANCE ON ME, meet and
fall in love there. And in the case of TAKE A CHANCE ON ME, I wanted to pay
tribute to my dearly departed dog Lou who was the inspiration for the lovable
pug Stanley in the story.
I’m excited to let readers know that I’ve just made these two books
available in print at Amazon!
They’re available here:
Rescue Me - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Rescue-Me-closed-contemporary-romance/dp/1738016900
Take a Chance on Me - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Take-Chance-Me-contemporary-romance/dp/1738016919
The ebook version of RESCUE ME is currently on sale at Amazon UK. I hope you check it out!
5. How much of your book is realistic?
Aside from Toronto, the setting of these books, being a real city, the Victorian mansion is a wholly made-up building. All the characters come solely from my imagination. Stanley the pug is the only character based in reality. My dog Lou was almost as stubborn as Stanley is!
But as the writer of these books, even if everything is made up, a little bit of myself creeps into the characters and storyline. Even if I don’t mean for it to happen, I believe my characters often end up sharing my view of the world.
6. What are your ambitions for your
writing career?
I want to keep on writing books that I love, and that I hope readers also enjoy. My goal is to continue to grow as a writer and get better with every book. And if I’m really dreaming big, I’d like to make some money selling books!
7. Who is your role model? Why?
My writing role model has always been Nora Roberts because of how prolific she is. I’m not even sure how many books she’s written at this point. And even though she seems to write very quickly, her work is always very, very good. I also like that she writes in a few different romance sub-genres as well as mystery. She can write straight-up contemporary romance, romantic suspense and paranormal romance. As a writer, I really respect that. I’ve often heard that to succeed, we need to pick one sub-genre and stick with it. But I enjoy several different kinds of books and writing only one sub-genre for the rest of my life feels constrictive to me. If variety is good enough for Nora Roberts, it’s good enough for me!
8. Share one fact about yourself that
would surprise people.
Though I primarily write romance and probably always will, I’d love to
try my hand at writing a mystery series. I haven’t figured out what kind of
mystery yet, but I’m leaning toward cozy mysteries. All I have to do now is
find my main character. She’ll have to be adventurous, even if she doesn’t
realize it, and a little bit nosy, or maybe a lot nosy. She’ll have to have an
occupation that somehow puts her in front of mysteries and murders to be
solved. The main thing she’ll need is a keen sense of justice. She wants to
right the wrongs of the world. As soon as I figure out who this person is and
where she lives, I’m on my way!
(Take a Chance on Me is Book 2)
By Jana
Richards
Genre: Contemporary sweet
romance
Keywords: Sweet romance,
contemporary romance, neighbors, chef hero
Heat Level: sweet
Re-Release date: December 2022
Cover artist: Rae Monet
Blurb:
Chelsea Andrews can’t decide who’s more dangerous—the creep on the
Toronto city bus, or the handsome stranger who rescues her. Was he acting as he
claimed, or is he that weird in real life? She doesn’t stick around to find
out. Fate intervenes when her rescuer, out of work actor Matt Malone, sublets
the apartment across the hall. Chelsea soon discovers the most dangerous thing
about her charming new neighbor is the damage he’s inflicting on her heart.
Or is it? Soon after Matt moves in, creepy unsigned romantic notes begin
showing up at the art gallery where she works. Then she’s followed home from
the bus stop late one night, and sentimental keepsakes go missing from her
apartment. Though all the evidence points to Matt, Chelsea doesn’t want to
believe the funny, sincere man she’s falling in love with could be the culprit.
Matt is at a crossroads. He’s given up a lot for his acting career and it’s
given him little in return. Should he continue? When he moves in across the
hall from Chelsea, he begins to believe he could have it all, love and career.
But those hopes are dashed when he discovers what she believes he’s capable of.
Chelsea must decide whether Matt is the man of her dreams or her worst
nightmare. And Matt has to decide what, and who, is truly important to him.
Buy Links:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008WU7FEY
Amazon CA: https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B008WU7FEY
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B008WU7FEY
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/75381987-rescue-me
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/rescue-me-the-victorian-mansion-series-1-by-jana-richards
Short Links:
Amazon ~ Amazon CA ~ Amazon UK ~ Goodreads ~ Bookbub
Excerpt
Matt set her on her feet but
kept his arms around her, holding her close against him.
“You must be my good luck
charm. There’s an old Irish custom that says if you kiss your lucky charm three
times, your luck will triple.”
“You’re making that up.”
Matt called on every ounce
of acting skill he possessed to keep the innocent look on his face. “Would I
lie to you?”
Before she could answer, he
kissed her cheek, his lips lingering over the silky skin.
“That’s once.”
He kissed her other cheek,
moving as slowly as possible to make the moment last. His head filled with her
delicate fragrance, and his hands shook as he drew her closer. He felt her
small hands clutch at the fabric of his shirt.
“That’s twice.”
Her green eyes stared into
his, her confused thoughts shining through. Two matching spots of pink on her
cheeks made her look like a delicate porcelain doll. Her lips parted slightly,
as if asking him to kiss her.
They didn’t have to ask
twice.
Matt bent his head and
brought his lips to hers, fully intending the kiss to be short and chaste. But
when he heard her soft moan, all honorable intentions flew out the window. He
crushed her against him, plundering her soft mouth with deep, probing kisses.
Her arms wound around his neck, and her fingers tangled in his hair, pulling
him closer. Then suddenly she pulled away. Putting her hands on his chest and
pushing gently, she stepped out of his embrace.
“That’s three times,” she
whispered. She ran a shaking hand through her disheveled hair. “I hope it
brings you lots of luck.” She busied herself getting teacups and spoons.
“Chelsea?”
“Hmm?”
“I made up that stuff about
the kisses bringing good luck.”
Her hands stilled and the
smile she gave him was tense and completely fake. “I know. So, are we going to
eat that cheesecake or what?”
Was she trying to pretend
the kiss didn’t happen, that attraction didn’t burn white-hot between them?
Not possible.
Author Bio, Jana
Richards:
When not writing up a storm or dealing with dust bunnies, Jana can be
found pursuing hobbies such as golf (which she plays very badly) or reading
(which she does much better).
Jana lives in Western Canada with her husband Warren and two senior cats named Layla and Leelou. You can reach her through her website at http://www.janarichards.com
Social Media
Links:
Website:
https://www.janarichards.com
Blog:
https://janarichards.blogspot.com
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/JanaRichardsAuthor
Twitter:
https://www.twitter.com/JanaRichards_
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/author/janarichards
Amazon UK Author Page: https://www.amazon.co.uk/-/e/B002DEVWWG
Newsletter Signup: https://janarichards.com/contact.html#newsletter
Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2892274Jana_Richards
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/jana-richards
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/janarichards155
Thanks for having me on your blog, Rachel!
ReplyDeleteA fun interview! I always thought I'd be a good waitress except for the part about me being the clumsiest person on two feet. I love the mansion setting!
ReplyDelete