Please welcome author Jo Kessel to A Passion for Romance!!!
Hi Jo, so great to have you here. Can you tell us a little about yourself?
Hello
and thank you so much for having me. Well, what’s to say about myself? I’m a
Londoner born and bred. I’ve got three small children who keep me on my toes
which makes my life pretty chaotic, so it’s just as well I’m a mad yoga fan. I
practice yoga a lot and it really helps clear my head and keep me calm. I’m a
big fan of traveling too. For me, it’s a real treat to plant myself in a remote
part of the world and soak up a new culture – it also gives me lots of fresh
ideas for writing. Most people don’t know that I have really curly hair which
I’m forever straightening and my sense of logic and direction is dire. I’m also
exceptionally bad at mathematics – my husband sometimes despairs. Oh, and I
love skiing. I’m not particularly great at it, but I love it all the same. It’s
all the mountain scenery and fresh air.
What
did you want to be when you were growing up or did you always want to be a
writer?
My
father’s a doctor and so was my grandfather and when I was growing up I really
wanted to be a gynecologist. Sadly, to become a doctor you have to be good at
sciences at school and I was terrible. So instead I concentrated on the arts
and had to give up the dream of a medical career. What I really wanted to be
was a journalist because I loved writing, but for some bizarre reason (I’m
still not sure how it happened) I ended up qualifying as a lawyer. I never
worked as one though, because I immediately realized it wasn’t for me and did
my best to try to get into journalism. Which happily I eventually did……..and
then from writing newspaper articles to writing novels didn’t feel like too big
a stretch, so I gave it a go, and here we now are.
When
did you first start writing?
I
first started writing short stories when I was five years old and my mother and
sister loved reading them and kept asking for more. I never really stopped
writing after that, but I didn’t start writing novels until I was pregnant with
my first child – or should I say children, because my firstborns are twins!
What
is a typical writing day like for you?
I
still work as a journalist and so my novel-writing has to fit in on the side. I
wouldn’t want to ‘write’ all day though anyway. I like to write in concentrated
spurts of a few consecutive hours and then stop. That could be in the morning,
the afternoon or the evening - whatever happens to work on any given day.
Do you
have any specific routine you follow or specific items you need with you when
you write?
First
I have to answer all my e-mails and then I have to boil the kettle and make
myself the biggest mug of strong tea (when I say ‘big’ – I mean that my mug is
enormous) and only when I have my
drink ready and by the side of my keyboard can I start to write. As soon as the
cup of tea is finished I make myself another one………………you’ve probably guessed
that I’m a major tea drinker, although it doesn’t always have to be conventional
tea. Herbals work well too.
What
is your favorite part of writing? Is
there anything you don’t like about being a writer?
Hum,
my favorite part of writing is dialogue. I love writing conversation and
putting myself in the heads of the characters and really emoting with them as I
work out what they might say, and how they might physically react to what they’re
hearing. I close my eyes a lot and try to really transport myself into their
souls. What I don’t like about being
a writer is when I get stuck on something, but when that happens to me I always
stop and take a breather. Often going for a walk really helps. Sometimes I
think it’s a shame I don’t have a dog. They would really enjoy accompanying me
on all those many, many walks!
What
is your favorite length of book to write?
(Short story, novella, full length novel) Why?
My
favorite length of book is about 80 – 100k words. I’m not sure why. It just
seems to be the length I need to tell a story.
How
does your family feel about your writing and you being an author?
My
family is very supportive of my writing and my children (who love reading)
think it’s really cool that mummy has written some books – plus they love their
mentions in the acknowledgments. Actually I’m not the first writer in my family.
I’m related to a celebrated French author who was called Joseph Kessel – he
wrote the book Belle de Jour which was made into an amazing film starring
Catherine Deneuve.
Is
there a to-be-read waiting on your bedside table?
Knight
and Play, Sweet Thing and When I Look to the Sky (The Rock and Roll Trilogy)
are all waiting to be read on my kindle. However my husband has just handed me
a physical paperback which he has told me I must read – ‘Remarkable Creatures’
by Tracy Chevalier.
Just for
fun, I have a few personal questions,
Favorite
5
1)
Favorite
Holiday - Christmas
2)
Favorite
Drink - Champagne
3)
Favorite
Author – Jane Austen
4)
Favorite
Book – Pride and Prejudice
5)
Favorite
Animal – Hamster – I have to say that because my youngest daughter has a pet
hamster called Lucky who we all absolutely adore.
And
for a bonus: What is a typical mood for
you? And is your mood different when
you’re writing?
Interesting
question! Actually, there is no such thing as a typical mood for me. I can
swing from calm to stressed-out pretty quickly depending on external factors –
like if my children are being naughty! But if the sun is shining (often a rare
commodity in London) I tend to feel much happier. Writing also keeps me calm,
because I tend to lose myself in it. Skiing has the same effect on me. When I’m
skiing I think of literally nothing else other than each physical turn I’m
making and the track I intend to take down the mountain.
Where can our readers find you??
Website: http://www.jokessel.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kesseljo
@jo_kessel
Is
there an upcoming or current release you would like to share with us today and
where can we find it?
Weak
at the Knees
“We got so busy living
life that we forgot to live our dreams.”
Danni Lewis
has been playing it safe for twenty-six years, but her sheltered existence is
making her feel old ahead of time. When a sudden death plunges her into a
spiral of grief, she throws caution to the wind and runs away to France in
search of a new beginning.
The moment
ski instructor Olivier du Pape enters her shattered world she falls hard, in
more ways than one.
Their
mutual desire is as powerful and seductive as the mountains around them. His
dark gypsy looks and piercing blue eyes are irresistible.
Only she
must resist, because he has a wife – and she’d made a pact to never get
involved with a married man.
But how do
you choose between keeping your word and being true to your soul?
Weak at the Knees is Jo’s debut novel in the new
adult, contemporary romance genre – a story about love, loss and relationships,
set between London and the heart of the French Alps.
Buy Links:
Rafflecopter Giveaway (Gift Basket including: a signed
book, a signed bookmark, a giant pen from the Wimbledon Tennis Championships, and
several French goodies featured in Weak at the Knees including a French
manicure kit, an Edith Piaf CD (one of France's greatest international
singers), personalized merchandise from Montgenevre, the village in the French
Alps where Weak at the Knees is set, as well as a bottle of
Chateauneuf-du-Pape - a gloriously rich (and expensive) red wine produced in
the Rhone wine region in southeastern France. It is a wine that should be drunk
to celebrate a special occasion.
One last thing before we let you leave u s. Do you have a favorite recipe you'd like to share? I like to cook and am always looking for new recipes to try and share.
Actually, I’m not a great cook, but there are a couple of fun (and sexy) recipes that feature in my new release Weak at the Knees. This is one:
Hot Chocolate with cognac
****Olivier’s hot chocolate recipe: serves 2:
1 x small carton milk, 1 x small carton of single cream, one bar of milk chocolate (melted). Warm cream with milk and remove from heat before it starts to boil. Add melted chocolate, stir vigorously with a wooden spoon and then pour into two mugs to serve. Optional (add cognac/brandy).
Jo, what a pleasure to have you with us today, thank you so much for sharing things about yourself :) We hope you come back again soon !!
Until next time, happy reading !!
Krista
Thank you so much for having me and my new release Weak at the Knees on your blog today Krista. I hope you and your readers enjoy the 'exclusive' hot chocolate recipe which features in the book - who KNEW that hot chocolate could be such a perfect, seductive beverage...............!
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