Q&A with Jenna Petersen

1) Can you give us a blurb about your current book?

My current release is SCANDALOUS, available now from Avon.

Katherine Fleming has lived her life without even a hint of indiscretion. So she is devastated to discover the nobleman she's engaged to has a secret he's kept from her: a wife! Suddenly Katherine's enmeshed in a scandal that has the ton buzzing -- and forced to accept a most unconventional proposal from the notorious seducer Dominic Mallory, her faithless fiancé's brother… and precisely the sort of rake she has sworn to avoid!

Charming and dangerously sensual, Dominic has desired the stunning beauty from the first moment he spied her. Now, with Katherine's reputation in tatters, it's the ideal opportunity to bed her -- though it will take wedding vows to do so. But can a rogue be reformed by the unleashed passion of a normally reserved lady? And can a marriage made for all the wrong reasons flame into the love match of the season?

Click here to read an excerpt

2) Tell us about the first time you saw your book on a shelf in a store. Was it the best moment ever?

Well, the day my book was officially released I called my local bookstores (we have two) and asked if they had shelved it so I could sign stock. Barnes and Noble had, so my husband picked me up at lunch and we went over together. It was really, really cool to see it there on the shelf and the manager was really nice while I signed. But I don't know if it was the best moment ever. I think I got a bigger thrill when I actually sold the book. Or when the first reader emailed me to tell me she had read and loved the story. Seeing the book on the shelf was more surreal and crazy and made me feel a little numb and tingly...

3) How did get started writing regencies? Do you have an extensive background in it?

I just wrote what I loved to read. That's the beauty and curse of being new. You aren't trying to chase the market or anything. I loved Julia Quinn and Suzanne Enoch and a passel of other romance writers. They all wrote Regency-era romances, so I started doing some research and wrote one of my own. Over the years I've collected more and more information about the times. But I wouldn't say I have an extensive background.

4) Who is your movie star boyfriend?

I used to say Brad Pitt, but now I wouldn't want him. Who knows what ugly, icky diseases he's picked up from Angelina! I'm fond of Viggo Mortensen. Also Russell Crowe, but I'm not sure I'd want to talk to him. He might hit me with a phone, after all. Sean Bean is nice, too... Oh, it's too hard to pick just one!!

5) What is your favorite thing about being an author?

I'm going to be one of those annoying authors and say everything. I actually get a kick out of every part of being an author. I love that I get to work in my pajamas and I can call watching Pride and Prejudice with Colin Firth 'research'. I love getting a spark of an idea. I love molding that spark into a real book. And I love finding ways to interest readers into buying the book. There are days when I whine and moan and groan. And there are days when I write utter crap and completely believe that I'll never work again, but for the most part, I really love my job.

6) Tell us about the most romantic date you’ve ever been on.

You know, my husband is really the only man I ever dated. And we never 'dated' in a traditional sense. We were friends and then... we were more than friends and then we were married. But every day with him is romantic.

7) When you write a book, how much do you know about the plot, the characters and all the little twists and turns before you start writing?

I'm a big time plotter, so I know a lot about the characters and the plot before I start. However, there is almost always a scene or a moment or a character who surprises me when I'm writing. I try to be flexible enough to hear my characters if they tell me something I plotted has ceased to make sense.

8) How about a sneak peek at your next book?

In August 2006, I'll be releasing the first of a new series called Lady Spies. These are three Charlie's Angels/James Bond-inspired Regency-era romances about a group of three female spies and the men they fall in love with. The first is called FROM LONDON WITH LOVE:
Meredith Sinclair is everything a lady of society should be. She sparkles at every party, men fall at her feet and every woman longs to be like her. But beneath that popular exterior lurks a serious spy. And her newest assignment is very personal. She is sent to investigate Tristan Archer's involvement in the robbery of a painting that may have hidden secret information about the British Army's movements in France. Meredith knows she shouldn't grow to close to a potential traitor, but many years ago Tristan save her life. And it's harder and harder to believe he could be so wrong when his kisses are so right. Will the evidence break her heart... or will her heart set them both free?

The second will be out in February 2007, the third in August 2007. I'm very excited about this series and can't wait to hear what readers think of these stories, the women who star in them and the men who steal their hearts.

**********************************
Jenna Petersen
Scandalous (Avon) -- Available Now!
From London With Love, 8/06 Avon
www.jennapetersen.com

posted by Stephanie Rowe @ 8:48 AM