I’m delighted to have fellow Wild Rose Press author Jennifer Wenn as my guest today.
Hi, Jennifer, welcome. Tell us a little about your historical romance, A Family Affair. I love the cover.
A FAMILY AFFAIR, the first in The Royal Family series, is the story of a young, sassy girl from an overbearing family who meets the man of her dreams, a lonely man who don’t believe in love and especially not family. There will be love. There will be laughter. There will be a hot kiss. Or two. And most of all, there will be discussions about how to stack chairs.
Blurb:
Lady Francesca Darling has been in love with Devlin Ross, the Duke of Hereford, since she was five years old. When they meet again at her debutante ball she finds her feelings remain the same, and to her joy he is mesmerized by her. To the gossipy matrons of the ton it’s the perfect match–the richest heiress and the most eligible bachelor.
But can their budding love survive her interfering family and the deep scars from his father’s abuse? Enchanted as he is with the delightful woman Fanny has become, Devlin intends never to repeat that abuse, vowing not to live with his wife and children.
Fanny is a determined young lady — she wants Devlin and a true marriage. Is her love strong enough to tear down all his walls?
What are you working on now? Do you have any releases scheduled for this year?
I’m currently editing the second novel in The Royal Family series, called NEVER HAD A DREAM COME TRUE. I don’t have a release date yet, but considering the amount of work we, the editor and I, have left I would guess it will be available through the KDP select next year. More information about this will be found on my website www.jenniferwenn.com.
What are your writing goals for this year?
My goals for this year was 1) get my second novel, NEVER HAD A DREAM COME TRUE finished, 2) submit my third novel in The Royal Family series to the publisher for consideration, and 3) finish the first draft of my fourth novel in the same series. I think I will at least complete the first two goals and maybe, with the help of NaNoWriMo complete my third.
How do you come up with ideas?
Most of my inspiration I get from music and then especially the lyrics. Sometimes it only takes one good sentence in a song to start the wheels of my fantasy moving.
What do you enjoy most about writing?
That I am the one and only dictator over my characters’ lives. That I with one word or one sentence can change the direction of their story, or what kind of person they are. Words are powerful.
Where do you start when writing? Research, plotting, character, or…?
I think of a hero and/or heroine first and then I continue from there. I start by asking them questions. Who are they, what’s their drive, their goals, their fears. What makes them humble? What makes them loveable? What makes them real?
Do you have a favorite time of day for writing?
I do. I love writing in the morning, when my mind is clear and unaffected by other things. But unfortunately being home with toddlers doesn’t make that happen so often. Mostly I write after 9 pm, when all the kids are asleep.
Do you have a favorite hero and/or heroine in your books and why?
I’m embarrassingly enough in complete favor of my hero in my second novel, NEVER HAD A DREAM COME TRUE. His name is Lord Richard Darling, but is more commonly known as Rake, and you know what – he is one too! He’s the uncle of my heroine in A FAMILY AFFAIR and best friend of the hero, so he tends to interfere. A lot.
What is your favorite scene from this story and why?
I love the ending. I’m a real sucker for happily ever after and hate when a novel ends and let you guess what happened next. I don’t like that at all. Therefore I’ve made sure that my heroes will be disgustingly happy and that the reader will be well aware of it.
How do you balance writing and everyday life?
Being a stay-at-home mom for now makes that balance extremely hard. My writing has to wait until the kids’ needs have been taken care of and as I have four… You could say I struggle to find an hour here and 30 minutes there. I envy those authors who can spend the whole day writing and finish a draft in a couple of weeks.
Where is your favorite place in the world?
Our kitchen. Sorry. Nothing more spectacular than that I’m afraid. Our kitchen is the center of my family’s life and also where I sit and write. A room filled with creativity in so many levels.
What do you like to read?
That I love romance novels isn’t that hard to figure out I guess. But I also love mystery books and would never say no to a good detective story.
Do you listen to music while you write? What are you listening to now?
No I don’t, when I write I write. I wouldn’t hear the music anyway . I’m used to have all kinds of sounds surrounding me that I try to ignore. As for now it’s my oldest son telling me he wants lunch and Storage Wars on TV. Yuuup!
Who first introduced you to the love of reading?
My mother. She’s never too far from her books and so for me it was as natural to start reading as it was to start eating. It’s something you just do.
Who influenced your decision to become a writer?
I have always been a writer, ever since I first held a pen (or a crayon) in my chubby hand. But my husband was the one who told me to stop talking about it and instead do something about it. I can’t thank him enough for it because he gave me a gift I didn’t even know I needed – the satisfaction to put the stories in my head on paper. Or rather on my laptop, but you get the picture.
These are few of my favorite things:
1. Coffee – I’m such an addict, can’t live without it.
2. Travelling – I love to travel. This autumn I plan a trip to London to do research for my novels.
3. Storage Wars – Dave Hester, you rock!
And now, Jennifer has a question for you all: So what are your thoughts about endings? Do you too want the ending served on a plate, like I do, or do you want it to be open for the reader to fill in the blanks?
Excerpt:
“I’m not fond of balls. I find them rather boring. But I have been abroad for a couple of years and thought it would be a perfect way to announce I’ve returned for good. But most importantly I hoped I would meet up with some old acquaintances.”
“I will give you some advice,” Fanny said, giving him her most innocent smile. “It is really hard to meet good friends when one is hiding in the shadows of the balcony.”
His laughter filled the air, and she could see heads turning their way. Some people were slowly moving closer to them, and she guessed they wouldn’t be alone more than a short while longer. There were just too many eager mamas out there, ready to throw their daughters at his feet, and they wouldn’t let something like a quiet chat between two acquaintances stop them.
“Well, I wouldn’t really call it hiding. It’s more like trying to remember why I thought it was such a good idea to be here in the first place.”
“So what do you think now, when you have actually entered the ballroom, although from the wrong entrance. Was it such a bad idea?”
He leaned closer to her, and the warmth of his arm pressed against hers. “Now I think it was the best idea I ever had.”
Bio:
Jennifer Wenn has been a great lover of romantic books since she read her first historical romance at a tender age. When not enjoying life with her husband and their four children, she spends every last precious minute writing.
You can find Jennifer at:
www.goodreads.com/jenniferwenn
You can find A Family Affair at:
babettejames.com 
I don’t mind ambiguous endings, especially if the author is setting up a series. – Mary Gillgannon
I read a series by a Norweigan author, which consisted of 47 books. Yes, 47 books. The first 30 or so had real endings but the last ones didn’t because they led up to the final battle – the big ending. It was a bit frustrating though to have to wait for three months every time, Before a new book was published.
JW
I enjoyed your post! Best wishes for a successful series – quirky characters are the most fun!
HEA? Yep – but endings that allow for the reader to infer future personal growth rather than spelling everything out are my favorites.
Thank you so much for the success wishes! As I am currently editing my third book in the same series I desperately hope it will find its readers, I have so many more stories about the Darling family bouncing around in my fantasy, LOL.
JW
Enjoyed the post, Jennifer. I’ll definitely be picking up A Family Affair. I absolutely can’t resist discussions about how to stack chairs, lol.
Thank you, nice to know you liked the interview and I hope you’ll enjoy the book. And I can so relate to not being able to resist such an interesting subject worthy a lengthy discussion. LOL
JW
I need my endings wrapped up as well. Good luck writing with toddlers! That’s a challenge in anyone’s book. Great interview.
Yes toddlers. Phew… I really need a good luck with that! Both taking care of them and finding time to do some serious writing, LOL. Nice to hear that you enjoyed the interview!
JW
I’m a day late but wanted to leave a comment. First, I enjoyed the interview. I always like to learn about other writers’ processes and how they got started. As far as the HEAs, I like my tied up neatly in a bow. I don’t like it when I’ve finished reading a book and I’m left wondering if the couple is going to make it long term. One book I read, I was left wondering how long the guy was going to stick around once things got difficult again.