Danita Minnis

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Jenna Jaxon will be awarding a $20 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

Author Interview: Jenna Jaxon

1. How did you choose your genre? What made you write this book?

I’m not sure if I chose my genre or my genre chose me. Until I started writing historical romance, I’d always read authors like Stephen King, John Grisham, Patricia Cornwall—all contemporary authors in very different genres. But I happened to pick up a historical romance after Christmas one year and was sucked into it hook, line, and sinker. So I decided I needed to write historical romance. I’d always loved history, was a history major in school and got my Ph.D. in Theatre History. So the melding of my historical background with romance isn’t as strange as it might seem. I can’t imagine writing anything else. And I wrote The Widow’s Christmas Surprise simply because it was book 5 in the series. And that particular widow had more of her story to tell.

2. Writers write what they know, and must observe the world. Are you a firstborn, middle or last child, and how does this shape your view of the world?

I am an only child, so I suppose that means first born. In my case being first/only meant I had to entertain myself a lot of the time. So I always had to be creative with inventing games for one person or competing against myself in games like croquet (I’d time myself and try to beat my best time). Being first/only for me meant I had to be the best and that has transferred itself to my writing. I strive to write the very best books I can. I love to work on edits because it’s a chance to make the book better. In the end, I guess my view of the world is that you need to always strive to be the very best because otherwise, you’re just wasting your opportunities in life.

3. Where is your favorite place to write?

Currently, my desk is in the computer/bunny room and I do most of my writing there (I also like to write at Starbucks when my muse needs a break from the house). But my absolute favorite place to write is a rustic cabin in upstate New York without electricity or running water. It’s completely off-grid and the peace and quiet up there is the best atmosphere for writing—at least for me it is. I’ve written there for a week almost every summer for the past 20 years (except for COVID years and this summer). It belongs to a dear friend and mentor who taught me how to write when I was in grad school. I can’t wait to go again!

4. How do you feel about killing your darlings, and what do you do with the remains?

I often save them and use them as “added value” scenes or outtakes for my newsletter subscribers. Once I saved a whole chapter that I loved from the first book of a series (but the editor didn’t think was necessary) until I used it as the prologue for the final book of that series. So, the remains get recycled very handily sometimes.

5. You are introduced to your favorite author. Who is it, and what is that one burning question you must ask them?

I did meet my favorite author years ago at my first RWA National Conference. It was Jo Beverley and I asked her if I could get a picture with her. LOL Now I’d ask how she creates such fabulous characters? From life or from pure imagination.

6. Inquiring minds want to know…tell readers something about you that no one knows.

I actually just did a post for this tour that has 10 things no one knows about me. But I guess something else that no one knows about me is that my favorite food is a baked potato (with butter, vegan sour cream, vegan cheese, and bacon bits).

7. You are stranded on a deserted island with only a backpack for company. What three items are in your survival pack?
I used to watch Naked and Afraid, so I’d have a fire starter, a pot to boil water, and a satellite phone to get me out of there!

8. If you could have one superpower in your existence, what would it be?

It would have to be to go back in time. As a historical romance writer, how cool would it be to bop from one period to another to see how people actually lived back then.

9. Favorite snack?

Potato chips (preferably Zapp’s VooDoo Chips)

10. Indy 500 – Do you know how to get where you’re going or do you drive the speed limit?

I almost always drive the speed limit. Only got 1 speeding ticket in my life (knock on wood). My opinion is that rules are there for a reason. And I have such a wretched sense of direction that if I’m at a crossroads and think I should go right, so I decide to go left because I always choose the wrong way, the correct way would have been right. At least in driving, that’s true. In life, I know pretty much where I’m going most of the time.

The Widow’s Christmas Surprise

by Jenna Jaxon

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GENRE: Historical Romance

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BLURB:

The death of her husband has thrown Lady Maria Kersey’s future into doubt—and her heart into the arms of a man she cannot have. But Christmas with the Widows’ Club will bring choices—and surprises–that may change all her holidays to come . . .

Maria just gave birth to her first child, a beautiful daughter—but the event is shrouded in sorrow.  A month earlier, Maria’s husband, Lord Kersey, was killed in a duel under compromising circumstances. Worse, Maria’s failure to provide a male heir has stripped her of any hope of an inheritance. Scorned by the ton, one of her few allies is her late husband’s steward, Hugh Granger. Hugh is everything her husband was not—warm, charming—and penniless. . . .

Hugh has fallen desperately in love with Maria, but has little to offer but comfort. As their attraction becomes impossible to resist, Maria flees to London to spend Christmas with her dearest friends, a group of widows who lost their own husbands in the Battle of Waterloo. Little does she know the holidays will reveal a twist of fate she never expected—proving that the greatest Christmas gift is the magic of true love . . .

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NOTE: The book is on sale for $0.99.

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Excerpt:

“I see the skating came back to you,” he steered them down the center of the frozen pond toward the bulrushes at the end, then turned to head back up the far side.

“It did–this is so marvelous–I did not realize how much I had missed it until I started to skate.” Maria’s excitement was infectious. He’d not thought of skating since last year, but now the thrill of the speed—almost like flying—seemed one of the most exhilarating things he’d ever done. “Take my hands like this.”

He clasped her hands, left in left and right in right, until they faced one another, then he began to spin them around, faster and faster until the world sped by at a dizzying pace.

Maria leaned her head back, laughing up to the cloudless sky, her face more beautiful than he’d ever seen it.

He slowed them down until they stood facing one another, panting. “I love you.” Hugh managed to get the words out before he sank his mouth onto hers.

The kiss was quick—they were still both gasping for breath—then a gulp of air, then he kissed her again. Longer this time, pressing against her even as he wrapped his arms around her and drew her to him. Another breath and he settled in for a lengthy kiss that he deepened, delving through her lips, into her mouth, tasting all the entrancing flavors that were uniquely her. God, he would never get enough.

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Jenna Jaxon is a best-selling author of historical romance, writing in a variety of time periods because she believes that passion is timeless. She has been reading and writing historical romance since she was a teenager. A romantic herself, Jenna has always loved a dark side to the genre, a twist, suspense, a surprise. She tries to incorporate all of these elements into her own stories.

She lives in Virginia with her family and a small menagerie of pets–including two vocal cats, one almost silent cat, two curious bunnies, and a Shar-pei mix named Frenchie.

Blog:  www.jennajaxon.wordpress.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jenna.jaxon

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Jenna_Jaxon

Instagram: passionistimeless

TicTok: @jennajaxon1

BUY LINK: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B2B8KLB3

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a Rafflecopter giveaway