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Welcome to our New Faces column, where you can meet brand-new romance authors and find out about their books. This time we're visiting with Jeannie Watt, whose first bok is A Difficult Woman from Harlequin Superromance. Jeannie, welcome to TRR! Tell us about yourself. I'm originally from North Idaho, but I have lived in Northern Nevada for the past 20 years. I live in a nice ranching community where many of my neighbors are working cowboys. We live far enough off the main road that we have to generate our own power. One of my biggest thrills was to get a laptop so I could write when the generator was off. I have degrees in Education and Geology. My husband was also a geologist, but now he teaches with me. I teach science, he teaches math. We have two children who are both Engineering students. My mom raises cattle in Montana and my dad works in Russia. I love animals and have horses, ponies, parakeets, dogs and cats. I enjoy sewing, painting and reading when I'm not writing. Are you coming to romance writing from another job? I teach junior high school. I live my life in the eighth grade, lol. Actually, I enjoy teaching this age group. I have also been a gymnastic instructor, a gardener and I worked in an underground mine while pursuing my geology degree. What led you to write romance? I discovered Georgette Heyer in high school and decided to write a Regency romance. My first characters were named Dove and Lord Sterling. They were a little stereotypical, to say the least. I discovered contemporary romance during college and decided that my voice was definitely more contemporary than Regency. I have been writing since high school, but I didn't start seriously submitting for publication until a few years ago. Tell us about your road to publication. My first submission was to Superromance in 2003. It was rejected, but the editorial assistant asked to see more. I submitted again in January of 2004. This time I got a request for a full from an editor, followed by a rejection but…there was a note at the end of the rejection saying that the editor would read it again if I chose to rewrite. It wasn't a real revision request, but it was close. I rewrote, submitted, got another rejection, but this one came in the form of a phone call. I resubmitted and eventually, on January 6, 2006 I got The Call. I never had anyone other than editors read my manuscript. I was too shy. I missed feedback opportunities by not pairing up with a critique partner, but I feel more comfortable working alone. The only problem with working alone is that sometimes it takes longer to recognize trouble spots. What kind of research was involved for your first book? Since my hero is a police officer who was involved in a critical incident, I did a lot of research on police stress and post-traumatic stress syndrome. My heroine is renovating her house, but I didn't have to do any research there. I grew up with a father who could build almost anything, and I have tackled a few renovation projects of my own. Tell us about your debut book. Tara Sullivan is a woman who is trying to make her place in a community that is prejudiced against her family. She's inherited the house she grew up in, along with a huge renovation loan and decides to make the house pay for itself by turning it into a bed and breakfast. Unfortunately her ex-boyfriend and his family are actively working against her. Police officer Matt Connors is visiting the area while dealing with the lingering effects of a critical incident. He ends up helping Tara with her house. As they work together, they develop a rapport, which eventually grows into love. They have to decide then whether to go their separate ways, or to deal with the painful issues in their pasts that keep them from staying together. Who are your influences as a writer? I particularly admire Beverly Bird, Elizabeth Peters, Virginia Kantra, and Carla Neggers. There are many others, but these are the authors I read and re-read as I'm working on my own writing. What does your family think of having a published romance author in their midst? They are thrilled. My husband has attended two RWA National Conventions with me and he gets a kick out of hanging with the romance writers. My kids are very proud. Tell us about plans for future books. I have a contracted Superromance, which is scheduled for release in 2007. The EASY WAY (tentative title) is the story of Will Bishop, a man who successfully trains and rehabilitates horses, but has trouble controlling his own headstrong daughter. Regan Flynn is a teacher who moves to his small town for a fresh start. Will's number one priority is to provide his daughter with the stability he lacked during childhood; however, he has a secret that could forever change his relationship with his daughter—a secret that Regan unwittingly brings to light. I am also working on a book featuring characters from A Difficult Woman (Rafe and Hailey), which I will be proposing as soon as I've finished THE EASY WAY. How can readers get in touch with you? I have a website: www.jeanniewatt.com and I can be reached by email at jeanniewrites@gmail.com
Jeannie, thanks for joingin us and best of luck! Readers, we have a review of A DIFICULT WOMAN here at our website.
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