Around the Fire Welcomes Jessica Lauryn.

Hello, everyone! If you're in US,  I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. We ate too much and played a lot of UNO. Now full tilt toward Christmas. I'll be posting some fun photos in the About Me section, but before you head over, please help me welcome my fellow NJ author Jessica Lauryn. 

Hi, Jessica. I'm so glad you could join me Around the Fire. While I pour us a hot cider why don't you introduce yourself by telling us who you are other than your bio?
My life has changed drastically over the last several years.  I went from being single and dreaming of finding a hero (or villain!) like the ones in my stories, to being the happily married mother of an adorable dare-devilish one year old girl.  Anyone here familiar with the 1987 movie Baby Boom starring Diane Keaton?  I used to say I’d played out every part of that movie with the exception of the part about being the mother of a toddler while trying to juggle life’s other challenges.  Now, I can honestly say I’ve lived the entire experience!  
When Lilah isn’t keeping me on my toes (which is not particularly often) I’m working from home (I do commercial real estate sales) and writing.  Writing remains my passion and my escape.  I am blessed to have discovered my love of books and writing early in life, and I’ve been writing full-length romance novels since I graduated from college.  When I’m not writing, I’m chasing after my daughter and enjoying everything autumn has to offer around the beautiful rivers, reservoirs, and gorges near our home.
         
I totally get what you meant about the rivers, reservoirs, and gorges. Often visitor only thing of NJ as cities or beaches. We live near the Appalachian Trail. Bears, bobcats, foxes and other wildlife are quite abundant here. Tell us what interests besides writing do you enjoy? For instance, what do you read or hobbies you have?
Of course, my time these days mostly revolves around my daughter, who enjoyed her first swim classes this summer and is currently having a blast in gymnastics.  But I do try to carve out time for myself as well.  I love hiking and I’m making it a priority this fall to get outside for a brisk walk in the fresh air every day that it isn’t raining.  I love decorating for the holidays and I have a beautiful collection of décor which includes a mix of modern day fun, and antiques.  I love cameos, but I’ll purchase any antiques that inspire me!  
When it comes to reading it’s got to be a romance!  While I enjoy writing suspenseful contemporary, I’ll read in any sub-genre, and I often find myself picking up a paranormal, historical or romantic suspense. 

My DH is a huge supporter and helper in my writing career, who is your network or support system? 
My parents have kindly acted as beta readers for me, reading my work before I share it with anyone in the writing and editorial world.  My mom is especially good at catching typos I miss in manuscripts I’ve read a hundred times and hear correctly in my mind—I often cascade right over what is actually on the page.  More recently, I’ve added my husband to our team.  Bill reads my entire book out loud with me (which we really enjoy), allowing me to hear how it sounds and catching things in a way reading in my head cannot provide.
Inspiration-wise, many people I’ve met in my personal and professional life have inspired my writing.  As they say, don’t mess with a writer or she just might turn you into a character in her book! 

Yay for Bill and your parents. Wow your read aloud together that's impressive. Who or what books or authors are your inspiration?
You never know when your going to find your new favorite book – they often pop up when you least expect them to!  Some favorites that stand out in my mind are Master of Pleasure by Jessica Trapp, where the hero kidnaps the heroine from her wedding bed to Mr. Wrong, The Making of a Gentleman by Shana Galen, where the hero, who was held captive for years must learn to speak again and is highly responsive to/turned-on by his attractive tutor, Dreaming of You by Lisa Kleypas, where the hero, gaming hell owner Derek Craven unsuccessfully fights his dangerous attraction to the country mouse who seeks to use him as inspiration in her next novel (are we noticing a pattern here?) and Stings So Sweet by Stephanie Draven, an erotic romance (I don’t generally read them, but this one snuck it’s way into my TBR pile) in which the characters will do almost anything in the name of pleasure.  I’ll also credit Nicola Cornick’s Lord of Scandal as being one of the first novels to make me aware I’m often more attracted to the villain than the hero, even when he’s creepy and weird.  

Got to love a bad boy at times. Do you have any fun or outrageous talent?
Though you’ll often find me in jeans and a hoodie these days (hey, we’re still post-pandemic and I am the mom of a messy toddler!), I can coordinate an outfit like nobody’s business!  I haven’t done a lot of art since high school (writing more or less fills that void) but I have a strong sense of what I find visually pleasing, and I put that talent to very good use in our home and landscape.

What is your neighborhood like? Are there any places you frequent? What makes them special? 
We’ve got more pretty places to visit than I can count – I am SO grateful to live where I do!  State parks, rivers and gorges within walking distance of our home, ice cream hangouts with a picturesque view, mills and a dam within minutes by car, and a little playground for babies that my daughter has a lot of fun playing at.  My husband and I always loved spending time outdoors and when the pandemic hit it was the only thing we could do.  With things back in full swing, it’s still our preference any day that it isn’t raining.  We have our top five favorite local spots, and as often as we get out, it always feels like we’re doing something different.

If you could only choose one song to play every time you walked into a room for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Everywhere, by Fleetwood Mac.  Its beautiful melody brings me instantly back to the simplest time in my life and the 1987 music video portrays the reading of a romance novel.  I play it often and my daughter enjoys it, too.

If you could eat anything in the world right now, what would it be?
Chicken Francaise over rice, of course!

We all start somewhere, what was your first job?
There are several ways I could answer that question, but my first real job post-college graduation was a very brief tenure as a “front-desk clerk” at a hotel that was being renovated.  When I wasn’t folding linens, cleaning really disgusting floors or having tense encounters with my overbearing boss I was imagining how the whole scenario would be a lot more exciting if something suspenseful was happening behind the scenes and there was a really cute guy working beside me on our staff.  The ramblings of my imagination in overdrive later became my fourth novel, Dangerous Secret.   

Do you do research for your books? What kind and how long do you spend researching. Is it before beginning a book?
I do as little as I can get away with (I’d much rather be making something up than reading about anything real!) which, as I write more and more novels, seems to be more and more.  I research as I go, not before, otherwise I’d probably never get past the research stage.  I write about what inspires me and oftentimes a setting idea kicks off a series, in which both the setting, and what’s happening there, are things I’m totally unfamiliar with.  I’ve online researched (and taken out the occasional library book on) everything from diamond smuggling to witchcraft, musical theater to restoring a lighthouse and how to cheat at poker.  I dance around what I don’t understand, and I have a lot of fun bringing random ideas to life out of nothing whatsoever.

What was your hardest scene to write?
In Dangerous Ally, the hero’s father (the villain) sneaks into the heroine’s bedroom while she’s sleeping, and, intending to intimidate her, comes onto her in an aggressive way.  It’s as frightening as you might imagine, and while I found it uncomfortable to write I pushed myself through it, hoping to create that emotional set-up which brings the reluctant heroine and hero closer in the pages to come. 

Jessica, thank you for joining us today. Before you head out into the wilds of New Jersey, will you tell us more about your book and where to find it?​

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An Enchanting Song
by 
Jessica Lauryn

Will mutual aspirations for vengeance be incinerated in the raging fires of passion?

Sebastian Nathanson has been plotting to take control of Rabourn Theater since he was barely out of high school.  He’s close to achieving his end game when a mysterious enchantress stops him in his tracks.  Seduction seems the appropriate method of defense where this cunning vixen is concerned.  But when he finds himself on the receiving end, Sebastian begins to come apart.  As he attempts to up the ante, he falls harder and harder, becoming lost and vulnerable, at his ethereal enemy’s mercy.

Madelyn Bennett has lived a sheltered life. Determined to get justice for the mother who died before her time, she’ll do whatever it takes to become Rabourn Theater’s star performer.  But when a dangerous man takes a keen interest in her, the perfect plan comes apart at the seams.  Sebastian Nathanson is a serpent in prince’s clothing. And Madelyn has never been more afraid—or tempted—in all her life.

Get your copy today
Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B79DWJMG
Barnes & Noble - https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/an-enchanting-song-jessica-lauryn/1141861570

What others are saying.
An Enchanting Song concludes the Rabourn Theater Series nicely. Readers are introduced to new and engaging characters with their own stories that unfold. Still, the history of the Rabourn Theater and the lives it affected will forever linger in the background. Like the others in the series, Enchanting Song has love, heartbreak, and profound family ties, but there is one difference. 
There are plans to breathe new life into Rabourn Theater, and it’s something that transforms into an unforgettable moment. An Enchanting Song is a part of the Rabourn Theater Series but can be read as a stand-alone. Readers who are into romance, love, and action should check this book out, and if you are a fan of Jessica Lauryn’s The Rabourn Theater Series, you won’t be disappointed. ~Morgan Lee Reviews

More about the author.
I was born and raised in New Jersey, where I live to this day. My husband and I make our home in a rural part of the state where we enjoy hiking and exploring our local gorges, waterfalls, reservoirs and arboretums. A born-again antique collector, I love hitting up the local (and sometimes not so local!) antique stores in search of pretty, Victorian treasures.  I’ve worked in a variety of jobs, where I’ve met a number of interesting people, several of whom have found their way into my stories.  I’m obsessed with upbeat 80’s music but try to stick with classical while I’m reading and writing. I like to listen to ‘Butterfly Comb’ from the movie Titanic, particularly when I’m writing a love scene. It’s a beautiful song and I find it incredibly inspiring!
Follow Jessica
Website – www.jessicalauryn.com
Newsletter - eepurl.com/ck5-O9
Twitter: @JessicaLauryn
Instagram: @jessicalaurynauthor
Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@JessicaLauryn
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/jessica-lauryn
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5081732.Jessica_Lauryn
Facebook Friend Page: https://www.facebook.com/romancebyjessicalauryn

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