Monday, September 2, 2013

Author Interview With Jennette Green, and a GIVEAWAY!

I recently had a 24-hour obsession with a book. Couldn't put it down! The Commander's Desire by Jennette Green totally sucked me in. I started it at 8:00 pm the other night thinking I'd read one chapter and then get on with the night, go to bed early, etc... Well, I was over halfway into the novel before I finally turned out the lights at 1:00 am!

The romantic tension took me by surprise, blew me away. SO good. I appreciated that this novel was a clean romance while also being so gripping. The plot, characters and vivid writing all drew me in and held me there! I finished the book the next day. Captivating!

Today I'm excited to have Jennette here on my blog for an author interview! And don't forget to enter the Rafflecopter GIVEAWAY below to win an eBook copy of The Commander's Desire

First of all, let's introduce Jennette and The Commander's Desire:

Princess Elwytha wants revenge on the monster who murdered her brother. In a false exchange for peace, she offers herself in marriage to the enemy Prince. The plan? Kill the Prince's battle-scarred Commander-the man who ended King Thor's life with one filthy sword thrust through the back. To her horror, the Commander agrees to take Elwytha as his bride. Worse, the wedding date will be sooner than expected. Not all is lost, however. Now she has more opportunity to be alone with him-and exact justice. But the deed becomes difficult to carry out. Fighting her innate sense of honor, she begins to see the ironclad integrity of the man behind the scars. And with this knowledge comes doubt. Did he slay her brother? What exactly is the new king's plan? Whom can she trust? Elwytha must decide well, for more than her life is at stake. Soon she must betray either allegiance to her kingdom-or the man who is quickly claiming her heart.

Jennette Green

Welcome, Jennette! Thank you for taking the time to interview on my blog. What books inspire your writing? Can you share with us your five favorite novels?

I love romance novels by Lisa Kleypas--she writes absolutely fantastic attraction/sexual tension between characters. They can be a bit steamy, however! I prefer to write clean romances that my older teenaged daughter can read. I also love the witty dialogue of Julia Quinn’s books, and the warmth of books by Debbie Macomber and Betty Neels. Five of my very favorite romance novels are:

1. Devil in Winter, by Lisa Kleypas
2. The Secret Diaries of Miss Miranda Cheevers, by Julia Quinn
3. Here Comes Trouble, by Debbie Macomber
4. Husband Next Door, by Anne Ha
5. The Silver Thaw, by Betty Neels

I love book recommendations. Thank you! I will add them to my Goodreads. Jennette, your book drew me in and wouldn’t let go! You play with your reader’s emotions very well, keeping them hooked. Can you share your tips on writing captivating romance?

I like to place my characters in an emotionally charged dilemma; one that compels me to write and figure out exactly what will happen, and how they will resolve their difficult situation. I hope if I’m intrigued, then the reader will be, too. Sometimes, the premise for a novel just comes to me, out of the blue. Others, it’s as a result of watching several movies, or television shows. Typically, a few small things in the shows catch my imagination. From there, the ideas gel in my mind and the plot is born.

How did you come up with the premise for The Commander’s Desire? Where did the idea start?

Believe it or not, I think (it’s been about eight years ago now) the main idea for The Commander’s Desire came from a medieval movie I watched. I think it was Tristan and Isolde. One of the characters in that movie just appealed to me on some strange level. I don’t remember his name, but he was a big, hulking guy. His character, combined with aspects of Marke’s (Rufus Sewell), unrequited love for Isolde, somehow mixed together in my mind, and the character of the Commander was born. The premise of the book came at the same time.  

How awesome! I love hearing about how novels took shape. I remember watching the 2006 version of Tristan and Isolde and really enjoyed it. I am intrigued with the historical setting of your novel. I want to see Scotland someday! What kind of research did you have to do while writing this story? What was the hardest part?

I did a ton of research for the book. The hardest part was finding historical data for the time period around 715 A.D., when the book takes place. Very little information could be found, although what I did find was fascinating. King Osred of Northumbria was a debauched young man, and petty kings did fight amongst each other in Galwyddel and in other areas of Scotland at that time. It was all very intriguing!

Are any of the characters in The Commander’s Desire modeled after someone you know?

No, not really, although in some ways, Elwytha is a little like myself--a little too good at protecting her heart. :)

The Commander totally won me over. At first, I wasn’t sure what I’d think about him (like Elwytha!). By the end? Major hunk. Honestly, I can see your book as a movie. If it were to be made into a movie, would you have casting suggestions? Which actor would be your dream choice to play the Commander? Elwytha? The Prince? Elwytha’s brother, Richard? Any others?

Thank you so much for your kind words about the Commander! Over the years, I’ve been surprised and thrilled to discover that he has touched the hearts of quite a few people. A few years ago, he won a “Readers’ Favorite Hero” of the year award, which was awesome.
It’s funny that you ask about a movie, and actors who might play the parts. Back in 2009 two wonderful fans of the book, Miranda Hetherington and Clancy Fraser in Australia made a fan video trailer of the book, by putting together music and movie clips. It can be found here: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIW0upII0zM

They chose great actors to play the parts of Elwytha (Keira Knightly), the Commander (Clive Owen), the Prince (Dougrey Scott), and Richard (Rufus Sewell (from a different movie--not Tristan and Isolde)). They did a fantastic job, and I feel forever grateful and blessed that they took the time to make this video trailer. It’s really something special to me.

Clive Owen                          Keira Knightley             Dougrey Scott

Congratulations on the "Readers' Favorite Hero" of the year! I'm not surprised at all. That is fantastic and well deserved. And what a neat video! I just watched it. I can totally picture those actors in those roles. Clive Owen would be perfect as well as the others. I hear you have some exciting news about The Commander’s Desire being made into an audio book. Can you tell us more?

Yes!  Currently Christy Lynn of www.CLVO.net is narrating the book--and, may I add, doing a fabulous job!!! She is really talented. The Commander’s Desire will be available as an audio book at Audible and iTunes in late September/early October 2013. 

That is great news. Thanks for sharing. Last of all, please tell me there is a sequel!

I do have notes and a few scenes for a sequel! However, they have sat on my computer for a number of years now. I’m still waiting for that special idea to gel, and bring the whole storyline together. I love Rex, and I want his story to be something unique and special. One day I do hope to flesh out the manuscript and write the sequel. 

Right now, I don’t have much time to think about that book, though, for I have about nine writing projects going on, concurrently. LOL. Crazy, I know. Most are fully written, although two are in the works. Then there are edits, etc. Now that the kids are back in school, I’m buckling down to get more books out there, which is what readers have been asking for. Currently, I’m writing the long promised sequel to Ice Baron, a science fiction romance. Besides that book, I have a historical romance, several Christian romances, including a new adult romance, and a paranormal series that has been on my heart for many, many years, and which is close to being ready to be published. It seems like there aren’t enough hours in the day. :)

Ditto on not enough hours in the day. Your passion for storytelling is evident in your writing, Jennette. Thank you for providing such a fabulous book to read and for interviewing on my blog today!

Now. GIVEAWAY time! Get as many points as you can by following the directions on Rafflecopter below. The giveaway will end Monday, September 9th, at midnight (Eastern Time). Best of luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Some of Jenette's other books:

                                    Her Reluctant Bodyguard          Ice Baron

18 comments:

  1. Laura,

    Thank you so much for having me on your blog, and for writing up such a terrific article on The Commander's Desire! I'm thrilled to be here. I'll be stopping by throughout the day, just in case anyone has any questions about the book, writing, publishing...etc.! :)

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    1. Jennete, you deserve the great review. Thanks again for interviewing on my blog and for doing this giveaway!

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  2. Awesome interview!!! I downloaded the book while on vacation to Canada and could hardly put it down, too. It was fabulous. It was so nice to read a book with romantic tension, interesting characters, and quality writing.

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    1. Thanks for stopping by, Kelly! And thank you for the great recommendation :)

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  3. Loved reading this interview, and I love finding new authors! Can't wait to read this!

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  4. Kelly, thank you so much for your kind words for The Commander's Desire! I am so thrilled that you liked it so much.

    Brittany, thank you so much for stopping by! :)

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  5. I love finding new authors! The interview was a lot of fun to read. It makes me want to read the book that much more. ;) Also, I know I shouldn't judge a book by it's cover, but seriously, who doesn't at least a little... and I really like the book's cover.

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    1. Ditto on the cover! Thanks for stopping by and for entering, Camille!

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  6. That was a great interview. I'm super intrigued now and I definitely need to check out this book! Thanks for posting this interview and the giveaway. I'm going to have to take a look at her list of favorite books too!

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    1. Thank you for the kind words! And thanks for entering the giveaway! :)

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  7. I totally want to read this book! From the moment you first told us about it at book club I went home and added it to my goodreads and then looking further into the author and her books I discovered that another one of her books is in my goodreads. This interview has made me bump it up further on my list!!!!

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    1. Hey, Tiffany! I'm so glad! Thanks for entering :)

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  8. Wow! what a great sounding book. I'm very intrigued by the casting and especial that the video was done by some of Jennette's readers. I love asking authors who they imagine playing the part in a movie. The only problem is Hollywood never listens to the author, but one can always dream.

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  9. Your synopsis was great at book club and I definitely want to try it out!

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  10. I am excited to read this book! I love finding a book that you just can't put down!

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  11. Great interview! I so want this book now! I appreciate clean books, whatever the genre!

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  12. Great interview. Sounds like a fabulous read and one I will definitely add to my 'to-read' list.

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