A Moment With AJ

This is a very special moment for me. I met AJ via an online Critique Group. She was the first to respond to my query and it has been the biggest blessing of my writing career. Without her guidance, wit, and none-too-gentle nudges, Seducing His Wife would still sit on my hard drive, as well as a few other stories. AJ's critiques also prepared me for the editorial process.  She was harder on me than my editor. :-)

I've babbled on long enough. Take it away AJ!

Thank you so much for having me on your blog, Telly! I can’t tell you how thrilled I am to share in the promotion of Seducing His Wife! 

Tell the readers a little about yourself.

Well, I was raised the middle child of three girls, and contrary to the old adage “middle children are always ignored”, I preferred a solitary lifestyle growing up. My mother likes to tell stories of how I often hid out in my bedroom with a book or journal, completely content to be left alone behind the closed door. In fact, whenever she came to check on me (food, water – you know, the necessities), I usually said, “Thanks, now go away.” Every Christmas I found a blank book waiting for me beneath the tree, and after I left home for college, I started buying them myself. I dabbled with writing a little during my early twenties, but soon realized I needed life to knock me around a bit before I settled into a serious writing career. 

As an author, do you take time to read? If so, what do you like to read and who is/are your favorite author/s?

I think it is imperative that each author MAKE time to read. Nothing sets my teeth on edge more than this sentence. “I don’t have time to read.” Are you kidding? Who does have time to read? But that’s like a baker saying I don’t have time to eat, or an artist saying I don’t have time to visit galleries. If you want to be a good author, reading is a requirement. My favorite authors include Jacqueline Carey (the Kushiel Series), Patrick Ruthfoss, C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, Anne Rice, Stephen King, Terry Goodkind – as you probably gathered, I’m sort of a paranormal junkie.

If you could go anywhere in the world on a romantic getaway, what would you do and where would you go? 

Oooo…this is a toughy. I’ve always wanted to go to Hawaii and tour the active volcanoes. I find natural land formations fascinating. But, for a romance get-away, I think my first choice would be the city of love, Paris. My husband and I could just walk around the city, see the architecture, have coffee at an outdoor café, visit the Louvre and stroll along the Champs Elysees. I can’t think of anything more romantic.

If you could live the life of one of your characters who would you be? 

Okay, what the heck kind of trick question is this? How could I possibly ever decide? I think I would want to be Jillian Parkes, from my latest WIP, entitled Flicker. She’s had a tough time, lived through a lot of heartbreak and disappointment. But, she also gets to spend her nights with Grayson Greer, local fireman and devastatingly handsome heart-throb.

The tag line on my blog is ‘Indulge Your Inner Romantic.’ What do you do to indulge? 

I have several guilty pleasures. Big gaudy rings for example, chocolate, shoes, books, writing… But mostly, ever since my husband and I put a large swimming pool in the backyard, and especially since the nights have been so…er, warm (?), skinny dipping has been our romantic indulgence. Does that count? 

If you only buy one book this summer, make sure you buy a copy of  Jezebel's Wish. I absolutely LOVED this book. Keep reading for the blurb and excerpt. Or watch the awesome trailer.

Jezebel’s Wish Blurb:

Haunted by nightmares, tormented by guilt, Jezebel came to Redemption Ranch to escape the past—except now she's stuck in the middle of nowhere with no redemption in sight. When her mother pushes her into riding lessons with local veterinarian Matthias Saunders, Jezebel balks. Sure, the doctor is gorgeous, but he’s completely obnoxious and knows how to push every one of her buttons.
Only her deep connection with The Reverend, a gentle stallion who guards her darkest secrets, has her agreeing to spend any more time with Dr. Saunders. Caring for the stallion is the first bright spot in her life in months, and if being around the horse means she has to deal with Matthias Saunders, then so be it. Surely a city girl like her can handle one country vet—even one with disturbing blue eyes. Can't she?

Jezebel’s Wish Excerpt:

Jezzy stopped. “I thought I was having a riding lesson.”

“You are.” He nodded toward the empty paddock. “Go in.”

“Go in?” Jezzy propped a hand on her hip. “You sure you know what you’re doing? Because it was my understanding that an actual horse is needed for a riding lesson.”

“Don’t you think it would be wise at this juncture to leave the understanding up to the professionals?”

Jezzy rolled her eyes. “You’re making this way too easy. Professionals? Please. Don’t get me started.”

“Why not? Getting you started is exactly what I’m here for.”

Jezzy’s jaw dropped. She didn’t quite know how to interpret that remark.

He held out the rope. “Now go in. And take this lead line with you.” Steely blue determination glinted in his eyes. There was no way he was going to give in. 

Jezzy snatched the lead line from his hand and stormed through the gate, then turned when he closed it behind her.

He put a foot on the bottom railing and rested against the gate, facing the horizon. “Take the chair to the center of the paddock and sit down.”

“And just exactly how is that supposed to teach me to ride?”

He cocked an eyebrow. “You want out of the deal?”

Jezzy’s fist clenched tight around the lead line. What she wanted was to march back to the fence and smack his face.

AJ Nuest lives in northwest Indiana with her loving husband and two beautiful children. She is the author of two contemporary romance novels.

Visit her on the web at:

http://ajbooks.blogspot.com

http://www.twitter.com/ajnuest

Email:  ajnuest@yahoo.com

Facebook: Tattered Pages http://tinyurl.com/3qvxyn6

Jezebel’s Wish Buy Links:

The Wild Rose Press:  http://tinyurl.com/446f7r3

Amazon.com:  http://tinyurl.com/3b89ogb