Hey there Book Monsters!
Book
Monster Reviews is very pleased to welcome
author Jennie Bentley/Jenna Bennett to our site today.
Jennie Bentley is the author
of the New York Times bestselling Do-It-Yourself Home Renovation mysteries from
Berkley Prime Crime, while Jenna
Bennett writes the Cutthroat Business mysteries for her own
gratification. Jenna is also the author of the upcoming Soldiers of
Fortune series of futuristic romances from Entangled Publishing. The first book
in the series, Fortune's Hero, will debut in November 2012. In
addition to futuristic romance, Jenna also has the first books in
a contemporary romantic suspense series and a paranormal series coming
from Entangled Publishing in fall 2012.
A former Realtor® and renovator and current full-time author, Jenna/Jennie lives in Nashville, Tennessee, with a husband, two kids, two frogs, two goldfish, a killer parakeet, and a hyper-active dog. Originally from Norway, she has spent more than twenty years in the US and still hasn’t been able to kick her native accent.
She's a member of Sisters in Crime (SinC), Romance Writers of America (RWA), the Music City Romance Writers (MCRW), the International Thriller Writers (ITW), Women's National Book Association (WNBA), the Author's Guild, and two different PTOs.
A former Realtor® and renovator and current full-time author, Jenna/Jennie lives in Nashville, Tennessee, with a husband, two kids, two frogs, two goldfish, a killer parakeet, and a hyper-active dog. Originally from Norway, she has spent more than twenty years in the US and still hasn’t been able to kick her native accent.
She's a member of Sisters in Crime (SinC), Romance Writers of America (RWA), the Music City Romance Writers (MCRW), the International Thriller Writers (ITW), Women's National Book Association (WNBA), the Author's Guild, and two different PTOs.
Today
we are helping Jenna promote her new paranormal romance book "Tall, Dark
and Divine" which was just released on July 20, 2012 from Entangled
Publishing. Let's see what this new
release is all about, shall we?
"Tall, Dark and Divine"
Entangled Publishing
July 20, 2012
Purchase Links:
Eros,
the Greek god of love, swore off the useless emotion after his ex ran off with
some Viking godling. He's lost all interest in his matchmaking business, Made
in Heaven, until he spots the sweet baker who works across the street. Before
she stirs his sullen heart, he'll match her and get back to his ambrosia-laced
wine in no time.
Lonely baker Annie Landon has given up on finding Mr. Right. What she needs is Mr. Right Here, Right Now, and this so-called “Greek God” she’s heard is on the rebound sounds exactly like the perfect kind of distraction. But picking up the bitter, workaholic is easier said than done…especially when he seems unreasonably determined to match her with someone else.
Can a woman looking for love, and the matchmaking god who wants her to find it—with someone else—have a shot at a happy ending? May the best god—or mortal—win.
Lonely baker Annie Landon has given up on finding Mr. Right. What she needs is Mr. Right Here, Right Now, and this so-called “Greek God” she’s heard is on the rebound sounds exactly like the perfect kind of distraction. But picking up the bitter, workaholic is easier said than done…especially when he seems unreasonably determined to match her with someone else.
Can a woman looking for love, and the matchmaking god who wants her to find it—with someone else—have a shot at a happy ending? May the best god—or mortal—win.
Sounds great right!? Before you run off to download your very own
copy, let's get to the interview so we can learn more about Jenna and what else
she has coming up...
Book Monster Reviews:
Hi Jenna! Welcome to Book Monster Reviews! Thank you for sitting down to chat with me. I'm so happy to have you here today!
JENNA: Thank you for
having me; I appreciate the help in getting the word out, and I’m looking
forward to chatting with you!
Book Monster Reviews: We always like to start out by getting to
know you a little bit better.
Q1):
Can you tell us 3 things
about yourself that we can't find out on the internet, in your bio, etc?
JENNA: Whoa. My favorite color is purple. I’m deathly afraid of
insects, especially long-legged ones. And once upon a time – many years and
just as many pounds ago – I did exhibition ballroom dance. You know, Dancing
with the Stars? In Europe, competitive and exhibition ballroom has been a big
thing for as long as I can remember; here in the US, it has only recently
caught on.
Q2)
What are some hobbies and interests you like to do when you're not
writing?
JENNA: Writing used to be a hobby, back when I was working full
time and raising kids. Now it’s my job (although the kid-raising is still going
on) and it’s almost all I do. I guess we can making reading a hobby, although
to be honest, it’s really more a part of the job. You can’t be a writer without
reading a lot. I grew up being a knitter – my mother was very, very good at it
– and I still do a bit of knitting when the mood strikes me. I don’t watch much
TV, but I’m somewhat addicted to Criminal Minds. And I do like to travel a lot.
I also like to dance.
Q3) How long have you been writing and who or what
inspired you to start?
JENNA: I’ve been writing my whole life, but in Norwegian for the
first half of it. It wasn’t until I got married that English became my first
language, and the one I used every day. It took ten years after that before I was
comfortable enough to try to write professionally in it. I switched over in the
late nineties sometime, thinking I would write romance, after some idiot told
me it was “easy” to get published in romance.
But then I started having kids, and all the romance left my
life. When I got back to writing, after my second little bundle of joy started
sleeping through the night and entertaining himself during the day, I had
switched over to murder mysteries. I finished my first manuscript in 2006, had
an agent six months later, and a book contract within a year of that. My first
book (a mystery called Fatal Fixer-Upper) was released in 2008. It wasn’t
anything in particular that inspired me to start; I’ve just always written.
Q4) If you could have one super power, what would
power would you want and why that one?
JENNA: Invisibility. Just
think of the conversations you could eavesdrop on if you were invisible!
Q5)
Can you
please tell us about your newest release "Tall, Dark & Divine"?
JENNA: It’s a paranormal romantic comedy – category romance with
a paranormal twist – about Eros, the Greek god of love, who’s on the rebound
after Psyche left him, and a woman named Annie, who tries to pick him up for a
one-night stand. Obviously, she gets a lot more than she bargained for!
Q6) Is this the first book of a new series? If so, can you please tell us what's coming
up next?
JENNA: I would love the opportunity to write more TD&Ds –
unfortunately, it depends just a little on sales. But if I do get the
opportunity to turn it into a series, I have plans for Adonis (Tall, Dark and
Delicious... or maybe Dreamy), Alastor (Tall, Dark and Deadly), Dionysus (Tall,
Dark and Devastating), and of course Harry (Tall, Dark and Dull). And maybe a
few others. I added a lot of secondary gods and goddesses to Tall, Dark and
Divine, so there are plenty to choose from for further books!
Q7): What was the inspiration behind
TD&D?
JENNA: Like most books, it was a mixture of things. I’ve always
enjoyed Greek mythology. When Gena Showalter started the Lords of the Underworld
series a few years back, of course I started reading them. They’re great, but a
good bit darker than I’m comfortable with, especially when you read them one
right after the other. I can only handle dark in small doses, in reading as
well as writing. Sooner or later I gravitate toward light and funny again. So I
started playing with the idea of writing a series based on Greek mythology, but
light instead of dark. Eros, God of love, and his matchmaking agency, was the
first thing that popped into my head. I set the action in Astoria, Queens, New
York, because I lived there for a while in my twenties, and it’s a heavily
Greek neighborhood. It seemed like a perfect place to drop a bunch of ancient
Greek gods and goddesses to see how they’d handle the modern world.
Q8) What are your
favorite types of scenes to write (i.e dialogue, action, sex, etc) and why?
JENNA: Dialogue. Totally. I LOVE writing dialogue. That’s where
the falling in love happens, you know? I don’t mind writing sex scenes,
although I’ll readily admit some turn out better than others. My least favorite
thing to write is transitional scenes. The ones where not much happens; they’re
just there because you can’t go straight from the previous scene to the one
coming up without something in between. As far as the process goes, I love
writing the first draft, and I hate editing. Hate it with a passion. The
further into the process it goes, the more I hate it.
Q9)
What's next for Jenna Bennett/Jennie Bentley? What do you have planned in the upcoming
months for both pen names?
JENNA: A lot of stuff! The 6th Do It Yourself home
renovation mystery, called Wall To Wall Dead, will be released on September 4th.
That’s a Jennie Bentley book. We hit the NY Times list with the last one, so
I’m keeping my fingers crossed we can do it again! Then, in October, there’s a
contemporary category romance called Friends With Benefits coming, about a
pregnant waitress who marries her nice but boring neighbor for his health
insurance, and ends up falling in love with him. Friends with benefits, see?
That’s a Jenna Bennett book, also from Entangled; the Indulgence imprint this
time. And on November 13th, the first book in my (Jenna’s) science fiction
romance series will be released. It’s called Fortune’s Hero, it’s a full length
95,000 word book, and I’m SO excited about it. It’s a bit darker than the other
stuff, but still funny - gallows humor – and I can’t wait to share it with the
world. My editor says it reads like “Indiana Jones meets Star Trek,” and I’ll
totally take that!
As far as what I’m working on, I’m halfway through writing the
second SFR, called Fortune’s Honor – which will be released in the summer of
2013. Once that’s done, I’ll have to look at what’s selling and decide where to
focus next. There are two more SFRs left in the Fortune series after that – 4
total – and there may be more TD&Ds as well as another Indulgence or two.
We’ll have to see. There’s a mystery rattling around in the backbrain, too. Too
many ideas; not enough time!
Q10)
Is there anything specific you would like to say to the readers out
there?
JENNA: I love you guys! Without all of you – you who buy books
and read them – none of us would have a job, and the world would have a lot
less stories! Thank you!
Book Monster Reviews: Thank you so much Jenna for taking time out
of your busy schedule to sit down and talk to us. We'd love to have you back anytime to promote
your next release.
JENNA: I would love to come back next time! Thanks so much for
having me!
To keep up with Jennie Bentley/Jenna Bennett's latest news,
you can find her online here:
Jenna
is graciously giving away an eBook of
TD&D to a winner from Book Monster
Reviews
a Rafflecopter giveaway
13 comments:
NEVER read it. :(
This sounds like lots of fun! A stubborn Greek God hero should make for a great read!
i love the idea of greek gods and mythology. i hope this turns into a series.
The book sounds good. I'd like to read it.
The book sound interesting. Would love to read it.
We readers love you right back! Can't wait to read this, sounds terrific. Also looking forward to the new DYI book.
I think Tall Dark & Devine sounds like a fun story. I'm looking forward to seeing how she portrays the god of love as a man falling for a lonely lady baker.
The book sounds great! Thanks so much for the awesome giveaway!
I think it sounds great. I am looking forward to reading it.
It really sounds like an awesome read and something I could be very interested in. sdylion(at)gmail(dot)com
OOO thats sounds good thanks for the interview and giveaway :)
Charity Costa
Awesome! I love a book where the heroine needs to overcome some irritating obstacle and this one sounds right up my alley!
Tall, Dark and Divine sounds like a fantastic read!
Thanks for the giveaway!
elizabeth @ bookattict . com
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