Cassidy: Welcome, Jenny! Please give our readers an introduction of yourself and a little about your book, Christmas Caralyn.
Jenny: Hi, everyone. I am a sweet romance writer from Utah, an avid licorice eater, and a clog dancer. Christmas Caralyn will be my eighth published book and is a Christmas Carol retelling with a splash of romance.
Cassidy: Congratulations on publishing your eighth book! That is no small feat. What inspired you to write Christmas Caralyn?
Jenny: Christmas time is a special time of the year, and I love the original Christmas movies you watch every year. Christmas Carol is one of my favorites, so I wanted to try my own spin on the story and add a touch of romance.
Cassidy: New perspectives are always needed. *smile* Is there a message in your novel you want readers to grasp?
Jenny: Caralyn can’t move past the death of her mother, which has turned her into a bit of a Scrooge. So this story is powerful in the fact that it shows how love heals broken hearts and teaches you to live in the present to honor those who have passed on. Despite the serious tone of the book, it does have sweet, fun moments.
Cassidy: Ah, I see. In that vein, what five words best describe your book?
Jenny: Romance, Holiday, Christmas, Healing, Moving on (okay that’s two 😉
Cassidy: *laughs* That’s okay. Moving on is certainly a theme connected to the holidays.
Would you mind sharing a highlight from the book?
Jenny: Because this book lightly follows the original story, Caralyn is visited by her mother who has passed, and one person, Bobby, an imagined ghost with a mission is sent to do her mom’s bidding. Bobby shows her memories from the past, present, and future throughout the month of December where she also learns her feelings for the real Bobby in the present.
Cassidy: Which character or part of the book was the most fun to write? Which part was the hardest?
Jenny: Kissing scenes are always my favorite. Kissing scenes are tricky. You can’t do them too soon or take too long to let them have their first kiss, but they run a mistletoe farm near LA, and conveniently, I use its presence in the story. And since I write clean romance, determining how much is too much and how much is not enough is also important.
Cassidy: Good point. Balance is key.
Let’s switch gears a bit. For the readers who are fellow writers, would you mind telling us how you combat writer’s block? And do you have any advice for other writers?
Jenny: I run accountability groups on Facebook where writers check in every night. I started doing this almost a year and a half ago because I myself hadn’t written or published in two years and felt upset I couldn’t find the motivation. It has helped so much to have partners to check in with every night and every week to share goals.
Cassidy: I concur. Accountability partners help a great deal. I often get random text messages with the questions, “Are you writing?!” It usually kicks me into motion. *laughs*
Now, with eight books in publication, I’m sure readers would like to know what marketing techniques you used to sell your book and which ones have been most successful?
Jenny: I am still working on this. You get what you put in, and I haven’t been able to do this so far. I make enough to pay for my editing jobs, my covers, and any software I need to write. But I am always learning new and better ways to market myself.
Cassidy: Juggling writing, marketing, and running accountability groups… I’m sure your schedule is packed.
Are you working on any new projects?
Jenny: Phew, I am working on a lot. I have the last book in my Fake Engagement collection, Something Blue, coming out in January. I have a reader magnet that complements book 3 in the collection and needs to be revised and edited. I am publishing a medical romance in October with my mom, and I have a Valentine’s book, which will hopefully be out by February. There are a few other projects that are written, but I am not sure what to do with them yet. So, those are the only big, planned pieces.
Cassidy: Seems like you have a lot coming down the pike. I’m sure your readers are anxiously waiting. *smiles*
I noticed you referred to yourself as a sweet romance writer. What motivated your decision to write clean romance?
Jenny: Honestly, this one is a big one for me. I was sexually abused when I was younger, and I have lots of triggers, especially when I read. And so, one of the reasons I chose to write clean romance is to show how beautiful and fulfilling a relationship and love can be without all of the physical aspects. There is a place for those kinds of things with a spouse or significant other, and I would rather see them in my own relationship and not through the eyes of another person.
Cassidy: Thank you so much for your transparency and openness. I’m sure readers will be able to glean from what you shared.
I would like to thank you again for your time. Please share your social media and book contact information with us. We would like to support your work and reshare your information where we can.
Jenny: Of course! Here are ways readers can contact me:
authorjennyflakerabe@gmail.com
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