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Welcome to your New Faces column, where we are delighted to introduce debut romace authors. This time we're visiting with Jenna Petersen, whose first book is Scandalous, a historical romance from Avon Books. Jenna, welcome to TRR! Tell us about yourself. Well, let's see... I was born outside of Philadelphia, but lived in Idaho for most of my life. I'm the oldest of two kids. My brother is three years younger than I am. He's also very creative and has been in bands (one was an incredibly popular underground band in Seattle) and written songs for a long time. I went to Boise State University for two years, then transferred to University of Washington for the last two years of college when I moved to Seattle. I got a degree in Psychology with the intention to get a Masters in Counseling Psychology and eventually go into Family and Marriage Counseling. I married my high school sweetheart and love of my life in 1999. We lived in Seattle until 2002 when he transferred to a job here in the Midwest. We now live in Central Illinois with our two cats (Harley and Quinn, who have their own page on my website). Are you coming to romance writing from another job? I had every intention of becoming a Marriage and Family Counselor, but when we were poor college students, I hadn't been able to get the hands-on experience needed to get into the school I wanted to attend. So I took a year off in order to get that. I worked in a hospice and as a therapist for an autistic child, but found myself taking the emotion home at night (which is not a good quality in a therapist... At least not for her mental health). My husband said the words that changed my life one night when I was crying. "You're only really happy when you're writing. Why don't you just do that?" So I did. What led you to write romance? To be honest with you, I was one of 'those' people for a long, long time. You know them. The ones who think romance is easy, who think it's silly. I thought it would be an easy way to break into publishing (foolish, foolish girl). Then I actually starting READING them to learn the market. And I got hooked. There is nothing easy or silly about creating two likeable yet conflicting characters, build a realistic yet romantic relationship between them, and work out all the obstacles you've thrown at them to create a satisfying ending. Love is not easy, neither is writing about it. But both are most definitely worth the effort. Now I'm a huge defender of romance and have actually introduced scoffers like I used to be to the genre successfully (I firmly believe once you read a great romance, you'll become a romance fan). Tell us about your road to publication.
Well, there I was, a complete ninny who loved to write and somehow thought
it would be easy to do it. That was in 1999. In late 2003, I sold a novella
to Red Sage Publishing under my other name, Jess Michaels. And it wasn't
until late 2004 that I finally got the call that changed my life, that Avon
Books had bought two historical romances from me (under my second name,
Jenna Petersen). Getting from aspiring to published took: But I learned from every moment and enjoyed most. So I can't regret any step in my journey. That journey is also chronicled at my site for aspiring authors, The Passionate Pen http://www.passionatepen.com . I have a diary there that I started in 2001. What kind of research was involved for your first book? For my first published book, SCANDALOUS, I wasn't dealing with a lot of real historical events, so I really just needed that basic Regency-era (late Regency) feeling. Clothing, titles, that sort of thing. But Katherine and Dominic's story is very internal and emotional, so that came just from getting to know them as people and realizing what a strong and powerful match they would be if they could overcome the pain that stood between them. Tell us about your debut book. Katherine Fleming's fiancé just found out his wife isn't as dead as everyone thought. To salvage her reputation, her fortune and to fulfill an obligation she knows nothing about, she must marry her fiancé's brother. But Dominic Mallory is much more dangerous than the man she originally planned to wed. And as passion slowly turns to love, Katherine feels two powerful urges, to help her new husband ease the pain of his past, and to run from the obsession she fears will overtake her. There is also a longer description and excerpt available at my website, www.jennapetersen.com Who are your influences as a writer? Well, Julia Quinn and Maggie Osborne hooked me on romance, so I'd say their books made me realize what a fool I'd been to not read romance all that time and realize I wanted to be that good some day. Then I started to glom books. I'm a huge fan of people like Suzanne Enoch, Lisa Kleypas, Amanda Quick, Jacquie D'Alessandro, Lorraine Heath... Actually my biggest favorites are almost all Avon Authors, so it's such a thrill to be in their ranks. Outside of romance, I've always enjoyed a wide variety of authors. Tolkein's Lord of the Rings trilogy was one of my favorites as a high school student and remains so today. Stephan King's THE STAND never fails to make me feel like I have a cold and freak me out entirely. I love L.M. Montgomery, especially the Anne series, of course, but also things like A TANGLED WEB and JANE OF LANTERN HILL. All these books contain romantic elements, and I think I liked those things even if I didn't realize I was reaching for them. I also admire their complex plot building and character development. I could never write like anyone except me (and wouldn’t want to), but I'm always striving to reach a higher quality thanks to the authors I read and respect so deeply. What does your family think of having a published romance author in their midst? I'm extremely lucky in that aspect! My husband is my number one cheerleader. He sat on the floor with me the day I got the call about Avon and cried tears of joy right with me. And he was always the one telling me not to give up. My Mom is now an avid romance reader herself and so she gets what I'm writing. I'm convinced she and my father probably hand sold most of the copies of the book that sold in Idaho. My brother is a creative type, as well, so he's very happy to see me reach the first part of my dream. Tell us about plans for future books. Well, I'm very excited to say that my next book, FROM LONDON WITH LOVE, will be an August 2006 release. This story launches my new series, Lady Spies. The other two books in the series will be released in 2007. I've really been in love with this series and its three heroines (not to mention their ubersexy heroes) for a long time. I can't wait until readers get to them and see how they react.
Here's a very quick blurb for LONDON: In addition, I'll be starting a second You Tell Me the Story romance called A SCANDAL TO KEEP on March 5, 2006 at my website. I'll post the first chapter of a historical romance novella and let readers decide what should happen next. This will last until late July 2006, just in time for the release of FROM LONDON WITH LOVE. There is more information about the program, as well as the entire first novella that I did last year in this same program. It is FREE at my website. How can readers get in touch with you? The best place to find out all the Jenna Petersen news is at my website, www.jennapetersen.com . If you want to talk to me, email me at jenna@jennapetersen.com . I always love to hear from fans! Once you've visited me there, though, you can also find me at my site for aspiring authors, The Passionate Pen www.passionatepen.com . My weekly diary there is mostly about writing. I also have a daily blog where I talk more regularly about life in general and answer a question from aspiring authors every week. Finally, I'm an active participant at the Avon Authors cooperative website . I really love interacting with readers, authors and aspiring authors, so please don't be shy to say hi if you see me around in the cyber-ether or in person! Jenna, thanks for visiting with us, and best of luck! Readers, we have a review of SCANDALOUS in our Historical section.
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