Good News

I had some good news this week, my editor wants to purchase a contemporary romantic comedy from me. Details to follow.

I'm happy becuase it gives me a chance to stretch myself and do something out of my comfort zone.

Historical fans should not run away screaming. I am still writing historicals. I'll have a historical out in February and I'm working on a new one even as we speak (see below).

Trying something new is both scary (can I do it?) and fun. I'm looking forward to it.

It will still be comedy, though. I can't get away from that!

I am going to share a truth that I've learned since becoming an author. A secret no other author will tell you...

That is: Whether I get good deals, bad deals, or no deals ... I still have to clean up the cat barf.

Which is where I'm headed now. (I told her not to lick the carpet.)

Jennifer
www.jennifersromances.com

Anniversary

Today is my wedding anniversary. Won't say how many years, but--lots. And you know, it's still fresh, still fun, and when he walks into a room, I'm still happy to see him.

We're not going to do anything spectacular, just spend the day hanging out together. You don't have to have candlelit dinners and jewelry and flowers and chocolates to celebrate being in love.

You just gotta be in love.

Jennifer
www.jennifersromances.com

New Cover

I saw the cover art for my upcoming "Care and Feeding of Pirates". It's gorgeous! Don't have the actual cover, but the painting is too cool.



Lovely, no? The hunk's name is Stefan.

Enjoy....

Jennifer
www.jennifersromances.com

Writing dilemmas

I woke up this morning realizing that the hero in my current manuscript all wrong.

Which is a bummer because I wanted to finish the proposal this week and send it off to my agent. I had fifty pages already!

But he's just wrong. So I'm starting over. Fortunately, I can save some of the funny bits, so I don't have to flush all fifty pages.

What was the problem? He was too normal! Can't have that! He's going to be more like my hero in The Pirate Next Door, though not quite.

Also the tension between the hero and the heroine just wasn't there. It has to sizzle sizzle sizzle.

Started writing again this morning, and it's already sizzling.

Sometimes you do have to cut off your arm and grow a new one. It hurts, but it's necessary.

Back to writing...

Jennifer
www.jennifersromances.com

Welcome

Ok, I've finally gotten a blog. (They should go out of style tomorrow.)

Who am I and why am I blogging?

I'm romance author Jennifer Ashley, published with Leisure books, which are available in any bookstore. A little bibliography:

PERILS OF THE HEART (Nov. 2002)
THE PIRATE NEXT DOOR (Oct. 2003)
THE PIRATE HUNTER (May 2004)
and Forthcoming:
THE CARE AND FEEDING OF PIRATES (Feb. 2005)

I'm a writer. I write. I love it. I never in my wildest dreams thought I'd be a romance writer. Never thought anyone would actually buy my romances once I wrote them. And never, ever thought anyone would like them.

But they do!

So I continue. I'm working on my next book, which involves no pirates, but there is a handsome prince. I tried, tried, tried to write about normal people doing normal things, and I just couldn't do it. My books will always have a little bit of the zany in them.

But if my plots are wacky, my characters are real. They live the best they can in the worlds I plop them into. They're three-dimensional, they have feelings, they perservere.

If you want to know more about my books, visit my Web site: www.jennifersromances.com.

If you came here from my Web site, the blog will get more interesting, I promise.

Best wishes and hang in there,

Jennifer Ashley