Hello Jacqueline Sweet! Thank you for being here today!
Hey there, I am Jacqueline Sweet, USA Today bestselling paranormal romance author and honored to be here for this interview.
I love to write sexy, thrilling stories. My stories are either paranormal, or contemporary and steamy. I love to write about werewolves, succubuses, witches, dragons and everything else that has magic pumping in its veins. Broadly speaking, my stories are either centered on the paranormal community of California's Bay Area, or take place at my sexy, dangerous Penrose Academy, a university for wizards too dangerous or odd for the better wizarding schools.
Stay on top of all new releases and receive exclusive word of free books and giveaways by signing up for my mailing list. I promise not to spam you.
For a free story set in my charming yet mysterious town of Bearfield, sign up for my mailing list:
http://eepurl.com/M7RPb (can take up to 24 hours for the story to arrive)
Stay up to date on my new releases at my blog:
therealjacquelinesweet.wordpress.com
Welcome aboard Jacqueline! Let's get started!
How long have you been a writer and how did you come to writing?
I’ve been a writer for over twenty years now, off and on. I spent a long time playing the traditional publishing game of submitting to magazines and journals, chasing agents and publications. I wrote literary fiction and magical realism and not very good fantasy shorts. But that all changed when indie publishing became viable. I’ve been publishing paranormal romance for almost three years now, and every year is more amazing than the last.
What are the best and the worst aspects of writing?
The best part of writing is—let me say two things please—the best part of the process of writing is when I get into a serious flow state and it’s like I’m living inside the story, the characters are all just talking to me and kissing who they’re supposed to kiss and fighting who they’re supposed to fight and I’m essentially just acting like a documentarian, taking it all down. So much of my personal process is about trying to lay the right foundation for a story, so that I can get to that flow state in the final third of a book.
But the best part of having written a book is by far the reader reactions. The glowing reviews and the gushing emails and the pride I feel when I share it with someone. That feeling is pretty great.
What inspires you to write?
I spent seven years working with this writers’ group in San Francisco (sadly, now defunct) and one of the things we did every Wednesday when we met was to sit down and write a story based on a prompt. We all took turns with the prompts, of course, and at first I thought it was a ridiculous waste of time. Why spend ten or fifteen minutes writing a story when we could be workshopping the pieces we were there for. But the point is pretty clear, right? Anything can be inspiration. Which is dangerous, because then everything becomes inspiration. Like most writers, I have a journal of plot bunnies that keep popping up and that don’t fit into my current story. If I ever get stuck, I just flip through it until an idea makes me laugh. I like romances that have heat and humor to them, spice and sass.
What is the title of your story included in Alpha Fever? How did you come up with this story?
My story is “Fake It Til You Mate It,” it’s a friends-to-lovers story, which I always love. This one is a paranormal romance, set in my fictional town of Bearfield. Danny Morrissey, our hero, is a bear shifter and an alpha, living in San Francisco. He’s a gentleman who is always playing the field with the excuse that he’s searching for his fated mate. His best friend is Sarah, who has just been dumped by another in a long string of less than impressive boyfriends. For the first time ever, Danny and Sarah are single at the same time. And Danny has been called home, to a meeting of all the bear clans, and he’s been ordered to present his mate. If he can’t, he’ll be packed off into an arranged marriage, so Sarah has no choice but to pretend to be his mate. And of course, that never goes according to plan, does it?
How did you conduct your research for “Fake It Til You Mate It”?
The idea came partly while having lunch at a seafood place up in Bodega Bay, while watching a couple on a seriously awkward date.
What are 3 of your favorite lines/quotes from “Fake It Until You Mate It”?
“Is it weird wearing underwear after running around as a bear?”
“Explain yourself, Danny Morrissey. Or I will fling nachos at you. And I love these nachos. The fact that I would waste good nachos by hurling them at you should serve to show you how serious I am.” She hefted one experimentally, testing its aerodynamics. “I’m in a delicate place right now and have no patience for your tomfoolery.”
“You win. You blew my mind. You were totally right. You are sex heroin and I’m already craving more of you. But I think I need to take a break tonight. No more. If I come one more time like that I will forget my name. I’ll change shape. I’ll explode into a thousand pieces and never be able to be put back together.”
What would your friends say is your best quality?
My generosity. But I hate saying that, because I grew up in the midwest and tooting your own horn about anything was expressly forbidden. But yeah, I’m a very generous friend. I recommend books that people love. I volunteer to watch their kids so they can go on date nights. I invote them over for dinner. And so on. Just don’t tell anyone in the midwest I said so.
Are reader reviews important to you?
Reader reviews are so important. Critical reviews are one of the best ways to know when you’ve not quite satisfied reader expectations, and positive reviews are basically heroin for writers.
Do you have any blogs/websites?
I have an author website, but I only list new releases there. (It’s this
https://therealjacquelinesweet.wordpress.com/)
I’m pretty active on Facebook though and love to chat with readers and other authors.
What do you do when you don’t write?
I design book covers in the evenings. I started off designing just for myself, but soon branched out to design them for dozens of other writers. I also take care of my five-year-old boy, which means playing with Legos and teaching him all the best spells from Harry Potter.
Tell us about your other books?
Well, there’s a companion piece to “Fake It Til You Mate It” in the freebie bundle, Alpha Heat. It’s a slice of the same story, told from the perspective of the bride of the arranged marriage. Though honestly it’s pretty much one big crazy sex scene.
My main series right now are the Honeybear books, set in Bearfield. They tell the story of three brothers who are shifters, and how they all meet their mates. They’re funny, and adventurous, and easy to gobble down one after another, with smart ass heroines who help save the day and sexy, generous heroes who will do anything to prove their love. The first is “A Slice of Honeybear Pie” and it feature a recipe for the titular pie in the back. One of the best things about the book is that readers send me photos of the pies they’ve baked based on my recipe.
If you could share one thing about yourself that you would like readers to know what would it be?
That I’m deeply grateful they enjoy my books. I know it’s sappy, but it’s the most raw truth about writing. Without readers, we’re nothing. So, yeah, thank you.
Thank you Jacqueline! There is nothing "sappy" about it! We appreciate your candidness!
http://naughtynightspress.com/nnpstore2/
Naughty Nights Press (NNP) is dedicated to providing our readers with the best in adult digital reading.
NNP is where you will find the scorching adventures you are looking for, written by authors who are not afraid to push the limits of romance and erotica.
We create high quality eBooks that will take you to that edge of intensity you crave, without crossing the line.
Naughty Nights Press is one of the best small publishers for steamy erotic romance on the Internet. We specialize in Erotic, Paranormal and Contemporary Romance, from Fantasy to Science Fiction, to the wildest of Kink; we do so much more then you may expect.
We have in-house editors who will work with you to make your books the best they can be, graphics artists who will design a cover that almost tells the tale of the pages within.
We may be small, but we can do big things! Do yourself a favor, don't let your manuscript sit on the virtual shelf collecting dust, submit your books to Naughty Nights Press today!
We offer our authors the chance to work with NNP to market their book as fully as possible. We take care of our authors, and help them share their work with the world!
Please check our open submissions and formatting requirements on our website under Author Information at http://naughtynightspress.com/
Naughty Nights Press reserves the right to modify/cancel/close our due dates for submissions calls at our discretion.
Find NNP on FB
Thank you for joining us today with guest author Jacqueline Sweet!
We hope you'll come back as we continue to introduce the rest of the stories and their authors from this book set!
Have You Read A Good Indie Book Lately!?
Send Us Your Review And We Will Show The World!
Follow These Great Blogs
For Up To Date Book News
Want To Be Part Of This List?
We run this list with every blog, join today!
You Can Join Our Blogger Team Here!
Follow US On Twitter
@fredsdiary1981
@RichardSmithTT
As always, please remember to leave a review, even a few words of positive encouragement could mean the world to an author!
Your Comments Encourage
♥ Thank you ♥
Please Feel Free to Share
The views in this post and interview are "opinions" based from professional authors, and book promoters. We welcome your opinion but please be mindful of others. This interview session will be monitored for correct content and we reserve the right to delete any offensive posting.
