Jessica’s here today, talking about both books in her Taking Advantage series!
Tell us all about your main characters—who are they?
Since I’m promoting two books in the Taking Advantage series, I’ll take them one at a time and in order. 🙂
In Board Stiff, John Dorsey is an independent and strong businessman who doesn’t feel challenged by the women who throw themselves at him. He needs a woman that can carry on a conversation while putting him in his place. Now that would turn him on!
Elizabeth Wright is a hard-working, determined attorney who left a large firm and big bucks to find a job that suited her and the life she wanted. The days of sacrificing her personal life for work are over, but she didn’t know how true that thought really was until John Dorsey bursts into her life.
These two are entertaining and erotic with their quick banter and immediate attraction to each other.
****
In Board Approved, Greg Snow is a forty-two year old corporate attorney that is at the top of his career. After a failed marriage, he put his heart into his job and hasn’t looked back until Tessa Mills turns his head.
Tessa is a twenty-seven year old yoga instructor who has had anything but an easy life. Growing up with an alcoholic mother that only saw her as a means to an end, Tessa has been fending for herself for years. She isn’t sure how to deal with Greg’s gentlemanly ways or his desire to take care of her.
I really enjoyed writing these two. It was my first attempt at a May-December romance. I find them heartwarmingly sexy.
They sound like a fun group to read about!
Where did the inspiration for these books come from?
The first book in this series, Board Stiff, came to me while I was sitting outside of a boardroom preparing to go in front of some pretty powerful men and present to them on some recent legal developments. I was sitting there nervous, as it was my first time presenting in front of the board, and then I started thinking… what if I walked in there and one of the board members was an attractive, brooding man that caught my eye?! I started jotting down little notes on my presentation outline about this particular scene that was playing out in my head. Elizabeth Wright and John Dorsey were created just minutes before I gave my presentation.
Once I started writing Board Stiff, the idea of the series came to me and I started weaving other characters into the story. And that was the beginning of the Taking Advantage series.
Hmmm…I’ll have to try that technique for battling nervousness…wait, did you picture this imaginary man in his underwear too? Because I always heard you should picture your audience in their underwear… 😉
How long have you been writing, and what (or who) inspired you to start?
I have been writing most of my life. I would hand write stories in my younger years and even illustrate them. (Just an FYI – illustration is not my strong point. 🙂 ) Then when I was thirteen, my parents bought me my very own Brother word processor. I had a small desk in our basement where I put the word processor and my large stacks of blank paper. I spent many hours drafting all sorts of shenanigans.
My sophomore year of high school I had an English teacher that asked me to join her senior level Creative Writing course. Mrs. B told me I needed to submit my writings. At sixteen, I had no idea how to do that, and I got absorbed in the typical high school things… sports, friends and boys! 😉 But Mrs. B stayed in touch with me…and every six months or so, she’d send me an email that would inquire as to my well-being and then simply state at the end: submit your work. I feel like I owe her so much for always encouraging me, even years and years after graduating high school.
That’s a fantastic inspiration story! English teachers FTW!
What do you like best about being a writer? What is the most challenging part?
I love having the opportunity to be creative. To invent a world with my own little characters. It’s fun and it allows me to get some of the voices out of my head. 😉 But I think the best part of writing is really when a reader sends me an email or posts on my FB that they really liked my book! It’s an amazing feeling!
The most challenging part for me is setting aside enough time to dedicate to my writing. I’m an attorney, a wife, a mother of three young children, a daughter, a sister, a friend, a soccer coach…and the list carries on. I have to find creative ways to work my writing into my chaotic schedule.
I’m with you on your “most challenging” part, that’s for sure!
What are you working on right now? What can readers look for from you in the next year?
I’m working on two romantic novellas that should be wrapped up before the end of the year and hopefully ready for submission early in 2015. The first one is called Loving Thy Neighbor and deals with a relationship that blooms between a thirty-something romance author and her neighbor friend’s twenty-four year old son. It’s a touching story that goes well beyond sex.
The other novella is tentatively entitled Delayed. It involves a thirty-something marketing director for an insurance company and a British Beer Company distributor that end up stuck in the Grand Rapids, Michigan airport in February. This one is sexy and fun.
I have also been plugging away with a full-length novel currently titled Country Bent. It’s about a twenty-something girl that ran to Florida from Ohio to hide herself from an abusive ex and runs right into a small town player. There’s more to his story than meets the eye and their relationship blossoms from friendship to maybe something more. But what happens when her ex finds her? It’s exciting. I’m hoping to have Country Bent done in 2015.
Wow, you’re busy–great!
What authors and/or books have inspired you?
This is a hard question because I love to read and I gain inspiration from so many, but I’m a huge fan of Sylvia Day, Julie Ann Walker, DC Stone, Tessa Bailey, Laura Kay, and Roxanne St. Clair. But my favorite book of all time is The Bronze Horseman by Paullina Simons. God, I love that book!
Oooh, that’s on my TBR. I’m looking forward to reading it.
What are you currently reading? What are your thoughts about it so far?
I recently returned from the New Jersey Romance Writers’ conference and Julie Ann Walker gave me an ARC copy of Full Throttle. I couldn’t wait to start it! I’m loving it, but then again, I love The Black Knights series.
So lucky! Enjoy 🙂
If you had to “sell” this series in a single Tweet, what would you say?
Haha! I’m horrible at Twitter! Let’s see…
Take Advantage of Every Opportunity in Love! #TakingAdvantage @JessicaJayne13
Sounds good to me! Thanks so much, Jessica!
Keep reading to find out more about Jessica and her Taking Advantage series–and a giveaway!
About the Author:
I am a born and raised small town Ohio girl, who moved to the Sunshine State after graduating from college. I graduated with a bachelor’s degree in English. What college major could possibly be better than one that requires you to read novels and write about them! After spending a year traveling, I attended law school and use that knowledge wisely.In the journey of life, became a wife and a mother of three children. So, life is always an adventure.
Author Links:
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Giveaway: