MY INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR JENNIFER WILCK

 

 

What’s your name and what genre would you consider your books to be?

 Jennifer Wilck, contemporary romance

 

Tell me about your book. How did you come up with that (story, angle, idea)?

 Learning to Love is the third book in my Serendipity Series, although each book can be read on its own in any order. The hero, Adam, has been a minor character in the previous books and I wanted to give him his own story. I also wanted to give him a chance to redeem himself, as he’s kind of a “player” in the other books, and not shown in the most positive light.

 

 

How did you get interested in writing this particular genre (historical novels, mysteries, sci-fi, children’s books, etc.)?

 I’m a pantser, which means my ideas and characters just appear in my head and if I’m lucky, I get the chance to write them down and form them into full-length books. Everything that appears in my head lends itself to contemporary romance, since the characters and ideas are current day.

 

What kind of research did you do for this book?

 My heroine, Dina, spouts random trivia when she gets nervous, so I did a lot of research into a variety of things, such as whiskey, Louis XV and even baseball. And since she’s a librarian, I did some research into what librarians actually do, aside from letting readers check out books. 

 

Can you tell me about your Series?

 The Serendipity Series follows three Jewish couples who are loosely connected, as they fall in love. Book 1—Addicted to Love, focuses on Dan and Hannah. Book 2—Five Minutes to Love, follows Hannah’s best friend, Aviva, and Jacob. Book 3—Learning to Love, follows Jacob’s best friend, Adam, and Dina. The stories take place in New York City and New Jersey and weave Jewish traditions into each story.

 

 

Do you have a favorite book out of this series?

 Oh that’s really hard. I think Addicted to Love is my favorite book, but I think Dina in Learning to Love is my favorite character.

 

Where did you get the inspiration/idea for your series?

 I’m not 100% sure. I started writing Addicted to Love and I knew I wanted to further explore Aviva. It sort of blossomed from there.

 

What’s a typical working day like for you? When and where do you write? Do you set a daily writing goal?

 I get up early and get my daughter off to school. Once she’s gone, I tend to do marketing and blog posts, etc. in the morning and then move onto writing in the late morning/early afternoon. Once I’ve gotten in my word count, my daughter comes home and once she’s settled, I try to work on editing while she does her homework. That’s in my ideal world, of course. Inevitably, something comes up to throw a wrench in those plans. I write on my laptop, so I move around a lot—table to sofa to desk and back. When I’m writing, I aim for 1,000 words a day. Some days are more successful than others. When I’m editing, I try for a five chapters a day.

 

 

Do you have a new book in the making and if so, what’s the name of your upcoming book?

 The next book I’m working on is the first in a different series, about four wealthy wounded heroes who use their money for good, and the women who bring them to their knees. Book 1 is A Reckless Heart and I’m in the process of editing.

 

How important are character names to you in your books? Is there a special meaning to any of the names?

 Character names are very important to me. I either like to pick names with meanings or ethnicities or something that works with the story. For the first book I ever wrote—A Heart of Little Faith—my hero was in a wheelchair. I wanted to show his strength, though, so I named him Gideon. For my Jewish romances, I tend to go with either Biblical or Hebrew names.

 

 

Where do your ideas come from?

 They come from everywhere. Sometimes when I’m watching TV I’ll see a minor character pass across the screen and something about him or her will inspire me. Other times it’s a billboard that intrigues me, or a person I pass on the street and I think, “I wonder what would happen if…”

 

Is there a genre that you’ve been wanting to experiment with?

 Someday I’d like to move into Women’s Fiction so that I can experiment a little more with other relationships beyond the hero and heroine who fall in love.

 

What is the hardest part of writing for you?

Right now it’s keeping my attention span focused on writing. With so much going on in the world and my life, it’s too easy to get distracted by every little thing. I have to really block everything out and force myself to get into the zone.

 

What do you think of book trailers? Do you have a trailer or do you intend to create one for your own book?

 I love trailers! I’ve created a few on my own (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCs45–VfWoxfvYrlSQgnxA?view_as=subscriber) and hope to create more in the future. I think they’re a great, visual way to entice readers and give them a feel for the story.

 

 

What do you consider to be your best accomplishment?

 Aside from my family? Sitting down, writing, trying to get published and actually succeeding. I set a goal and I accomplished it. I may not be the most popular author out there, but I’ve done my best and I hope readers find my stories entertaining and satisfying.

 

What’s the best thing about being an author?

 The best thing is being able to create a world where everything works out the way I want it to. Unlike in real life, my characters always ultimately know what to say and how to act. It might take them a while to get there, but they always succeed in the end, and love always wins.

 

Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

 I hope to see myself on a bestseller list. 

 

Have you always liked to write?

 Yes, from the time I was a child. I was always writing, but I rarely finished anything. And I had tremendous difficulty with dialogue. I seem to have corrected both of those problems, for the moment.

 

 

What writing advice do you have for aspiring authors?

 Don’t give up and don’t stop learning.

 

If you didn’t like writing books, or weren’t any good at it, what would you like to do for a living?

 I’m fascinated by historical buildings and the people who lived in them, so I’d love to be an archaeologist.

 

Do you read reviews of your book(s)? Do you respond to them, good or bad? How do you deal with the bad?

 I always read them because I truly believe I can learn from both the good and the bad. I don’t respond unless someone has said, “Hey, I reviewed your book.” Then I thank them for taking the time to read and write, but I don’t respond to individual issues that they mention. Reviews are subjective and everyone is entitled to their opinion. I’m just glad they took the time to read and review.

 

What is your least favourite part of the writing / publishing process?

 The marketing is my least favorite part. I’m terrible at talking about myself and at trying to convince people to read my books.

 

 

Can you give us a few tasty morsels from your work-in-progress?

 Here’s a short excerpt from Learning to Love: What the hell just happened?
She wanted to be friends.
The only kind of “friend” he wanted to be with her had “boy” attached to it. No, that wasn’t true. He enjoyed her friendship because he loved talking to her, hearing her opinions, sharing himself with her.

But he was becoming more attracted to her. So far, they’d only kissed, but that one kiss, that unbelievable kiss, haunted him. His lips still burned where they’d touched hers, his insides still turned to jelly when he thought about it. In fact, he’d been hoping there would have been more kissing in her apartment once he’d apologized for his gaffe.

But she’d focused on their arrangement and her overreaction, and here he was pulling away from the curb into rush hour traffic.

She thought he was dating her only to impress his father. If he were one hundred percent honest with himself, he’d acknowledge the partial truth in that statement. But the more time he spent time with her, when he wasn’t royally screwing things up with her, the more he wanted to move beyond their arrangement.

His head was another matter. It was still focused on not making a fool of himself, on maintaining the right reputation, on spinning the right message.

But listening to his head was probably what had gotten him into this mess in the first place. As unbelievable as it might sound, it was time to follow his heart.

 

Where did your love of books come from?

 My great uncle used to send me books every year for my birthday from the time I was born, and my dad would read them to me every night at bedtime. So I don’t remember a time I didn’t love books.

 

 

Do you have any favorite authors or favorite books?

 Jane Eyre is my all-time favorite.

 

Of all the characters you have created, which is your favourite and why?

  Gideon from A Heart of Little Faith, and Dina from Learning to Love. I love Gideon because he’s strong and vulnerable. And Dina is so quirky that she was a blast to write.

 

Does writing energize or exhaust you?

 It energizes me. I love being able to disappear into my writing.

 

 

Do you try more to be original or to deliver to readers what they want?

 I try to write the best stories I can write. Hopefully, they end up both original and what readers want.

 

What other authors are you friends with, and how do they help you become a better writer?

 I have four amazing critique partners, all of whom are published authors. They make me a better writer because they all spot different issues. And I’ve made a lot of author friends through social media.

 

If you were writing a book about your life, what would the title be?

 She Always Tried Her Best

 

 

Where can your fans find you and follow??

 I love meeting readers—please stalk me!

Website: http://www.jenniferwilck.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Jennifer-Wilck-201342863240160/

Facebook Readers Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2055470311366345/

Newsletter: https://www.jenniferwilck.com/contact.html#newsletter

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JWilck

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authorjenniferwilck/

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/jennifer-wilck

 

 

Thank you for taking your time to do this interview ❤️