You cannot imagine
how thrilled I am to introduce today's special guest. This best selling author and I met when we
were fledgling writers with stories swirling through our imaginations. Her newest book, The Matchbaker is full of fun and spice. Please say hello to Regency Best Selling
author, Jerrica Knight-Catania.
Jerrica, I'm so glad you're here.
What can we look forward to in your newest book?
~A Romantic Comedy with a Magical Twist and Delicious
Recipes~
Ingredients
1C Chaos
1Tbsp Romance
3Tsp Betrayal
2C Comedy
1Pinch Magic
**Includes Cupcake Recipes from Erin Knightley, Polkadot Cupcake Shop & Sugarcain Cupcakes**
Ingredients
1C Chaos
1Tbsp Romance
3Tsp Betrayal
2C Comedy
1Pinch Magic
**Includes Cupcake Recipes from Erin Knightley, Polkadot Cupcake Shop & Sugarcain Cupcakes**
Candace Cooper is living the life she set out to live. With a posh apartment in Manhattan, a high-powered job that takes her all over the world, and designer clothes that most women would kill to have in their closet, she's definitely living the high life. But when her best friend drags her to a seedy section of Paris to meet with a crack-pot fortune teller, she hears things she doesn't want to hear. She desperately tries to ignore the unsolicited advice, but that becomes nearly impossible when her perfect life starts to unravel.
Excerpt…
I glare at Madame. I’m so over
being polite right now.
“You are angry with me,” she says.
She should get a medal for her
ability to state the obvious. I say nothing.
“I understand,” she continues.
“Your friend is taking advice from a stranger, and now you doubt the
friendship.”
“I don’t doubt our friendship.”
This woman is infuriating. “But I know Steve’s not cheating. He loves her and
he would never do that to her. They’ve been together since high school, for
God’s sake!”
“A person’s love for someone does
not necessarily keep them from being unfaithful.” I can’t stand her all-knowing
tone when she says this.
And if what she says is true, I’m
never going to fall in love. I’m not about to get heartsick over someone and
devote years of my life to him, only to have him cheat on me.
Lucy is in the far corner of the
room now, her whispers more emphatic than before. Crap. Things aren’t sounding
good. I really don’t want to have to eat my words. I’d rather eat steak tartare
at the Michelin-starred restaurant in the hotel.
“You are twenty-eight, no?” Madame
says.
I look up at her, shocked. “How did
you know that?”
She shrugs and peers into her
crystal ball. “Hmm.”
Hmm? What the hell does hmm mean? Against my will, my butt
scooches forward on my seat, and I lean in to see what’s in the ball. “What are
you doing?” I ask, trying to sound more perturbed than intrigued.
“You will be twenty-nine soon,” she
says. Lucky guess. “And you will see some very interesting changes in the
coming year.”
Oh, wow. That’s not vague at all.
“I see a career change in your very
near future.”
Career change? A pit forms in my
stomach, but I can’t tell if it’s from excitement or nerves. “What do you
mean?” Maybe I’m going to get that promotion, after all. The one my boss
promised me almost two years ago. I’m
sorry, Can, I really thought it was going to be this quarter, but it’s just not
going to happen. I promise in September the position will be yours. Maybe
it’s finally going to happen. Maybe Celia isn’t just blowing smoke up my skirt
this time.
“You enjoy baking,” she says as if
it’s a fact.
I burst out laughing. “Ah, no,” I
say. “Not at all, much to my parents’ chagrin.”
Madame Antoinette cocks her head to
the side as she stares, confused, at the crystal ball. “But…”
We’re both distracted by the
sniffles coming from the corner. I look at Lucy. Her back is to us and she
still has the phone up to her ear, but her body is shaking with sobs. Crap. One
for Madame Antoinette; Zero for me. Now I’m torn. Do I want to know what Madame
is going to say, or do I want to hear about what a creep Steve is?
I turn back to the psychic. I’m
desperate to wipe the smug smile off her face, but annoyingly, she’s sparked my
interest with this comment about baking. It’s probably just a coincidence, but
still…
“So,” I say, re-focusing my
attention back on her. “What’s this business about baking?”
She looks into her crystal ball
again, her eyes fixed on the nothingness inside. God, what is wrong with me? Am
I really so desperate to know my future that I’m turning to Madame Antoinette?
I’m at once irked and curious. I mean, she did call that situation with Steve.
I glance again at Lucy. She’s still
on the phone, but now she’s sitting on the floor, her knees pulled tightly to
her chest as she rocks in place. Gross. She’ll have to get that suit
dry-cleaned.
“Yes, I am still seeing the same
thing,” Madame says, and I return my focus to her and the crystal ball. “A
career change will find you…baking.” She turns her hands up and shrugs.
“That’s impossible.” I peer around
to see if there’s anything for a normal person to see in the ball. Nothing.
Just cloudy smoke. “I mean, maybe not entirely impossible, but…no, it is. It is
impossible. That’s not my path. I deliberately stayed out of the bakery growing
up. I hate baking. Hate it. The kitchen is hot, it’s messy. The few times I
helped my mom out I nearly broke my hand trying to pull the heavy pans out of
the oven. No. No, no, no, no, no.”
“I’m sorry,” says the psychic. Ha!
Some psychic. Clearly, she knows nothing about me or she would know that what
she’s seeing is hogwash. “I do not make these things up. I only relay what I
see.”
“Well, what you see is ridiculous,”
I tell her, trying to keep my cool. I mean, seriously! Me? In the bakery? I
don’t think so.
“Fine. Then I will not tell you
about the handsome stranger I see in your future as well.”
Damn it, she’s tricky. I grit my
teeth. I don’t want to seem interested, but Luce is still bawling over in the
corner, and since we’re paying anyway…
“What handsome stranger?” I say,
completely against my will.
Amazon: http://amzn.to/1aLguDk
B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-matchbaker-jerrica-knight-catania/1116351970?ean=2940045195737
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/the-matchbaker/id694441512?mt=11
What genre(s) do you write? Why do you write the stories that you
write?
I write Regency Romance and Chick Lit. Before I started writing, these were the genres I read to help me escape from life. We were really financially strapped at the time and my acting career was in the toilet. I wasn’t in a great place, but those books provided me with the laughter and hope that I needed in those uncertain times. I wanted to do that for others, and so I started writing Regencies, and eventually Chick Lit. Getting fan mail from people who claim my books took them on much-needed mental vacations are my favorite!
I write Regency Romance and Chick Lit. Before I started writing, these were the genres I read to help me escape from life. We were really financially strapped at the time and my acting career was in the toilet. I wasn’t in a great place, but those books provided me with the laughter and hope that I needed in those uncertain times. I wanted to do that for others, and so I started writing Regencies, and eventually Chick Lit. Getting fan mail from people who claim my books took them on much-needed mental vacations are my favorite!
I once had two of my lovely critique partners fight over the over-arching themes and tone of my books, which was really quite flattering. One of them said that my books were Disney-esque, light-hearted, fun, etc… to which my other critique partner said, “I disagree! Jerrica’s writing is much deeper and richer than that.” At which point Critiquer #1 replied, “Disney can be very deep and rich in theme…” And the argument went on, while I watched in delight. So I suppose everyone takes what they will from the books, but when I’m writing them, I’m aiming to provide a lot of laughter, a lot of heart and a just little drama to pull lightly at your heartstrings. But you can always, always expect a happy ending.
Sounds like the perfect blend for a best seller. How do you balance writing with the rest of your life?
I don’t! Ha! I do the best I can, but something always suffers no matter what. In general, I try to keep my writing to the hours while my daughter is at school. But those are also my hours to do errands, grocery shopping, etc… So when I’m on deadline, we eat out a lot and often use paper towels for toilet paper J
It sounds like you have a very understanding family. Can you describe a typical writing day for you?
There are no typical days for me. If I’m working on a book, I might aim for 1-2,000 words/day, until I get too close to deadline and I have to get up at 5am in order to get in 5,000-word days. If I had my druthers, I’d write for a half hour every day of the year, but I don’t usually have my druthers J
What are you most passionate about outside of writing?
I’m really passionate about healthy, happy living. Eating well and living well so that I’m in the best physical and emotional state I can be in. And I love sharing that with others. As a matter of fact, my husband and I recently started a new venture that lets us help people achieve both health and financial goals. It’s great to wake up in the morning and know that I get to give back and help others in some small ways.
Out of all the characters that you've written, who is your favorite and why?
This is really hard – it’s like asking which child is your favorite! I love all my characters the same ;) But if I have to choose one, it’s Candy from The Matchbaker. Because it was my first Chick Lit, there’s a lot of me in her. Her sarcastic inner dialog is all me. She’s not perfect – she makes tons of mistakes and bad decisions – but that doesn’t make her a bad person. It makes her human. And I love just how human she is.
Can you share a little of your current work?
I just finished my latest Regency novella – it’s going to be in a Christmas anthology, along with 5 of my Regency cohorts, Ava Stone, Jane Charles, Catherine Gayle, Aileen Fish and Julie Johnstone. The title of the story is
All He Wants for Christmas…
“Oof!”
Olivia had been so lost in her admiration of the
architecture that she’d not seen the column rise up before her. Such irony was
not lost on her as she stumbled back several paces. A pair of hands grabbed
onto her arms and pulled her upright before she fell over.
“Oh, bugger,” she whispered when she realized she’d not run
into a column at all, but rather, a person. The very person she’d been trying
to avoid, in fact.
“Are you all right, Mrs. Edwards?” Rowan stared down at her,
the hint of a smirk playing at the edges of his lips.
Olivia couldn’t move. Her limbs were frozen, despite the
warmth emanating from the man who held her against him. All the memories of that one, fateful night
came rushing back to her, and desire coiled itself through her belly. “I’m—um—”
She shifted away, hoping to regain her senses by removing herself from his
personage. “Yes. I’m fine. Thank you.”
“You seem flustered,” he pressed. “Are you sure I can’t be
of service?”
“I just—I
wasn’t expecting you,” she blurted out, and then added, “to be standing there.”
Because really, she’d not been expecting him at all. Ever.
Olivia had resigned herself to never seeing Rowan Findley again for as long as
she lived. She’d married another man and moved to a tiny village in Kent. Who
was to know he’d show up at a neighbor’s house for dinner seven years later?
“You have to be careful. People can turn up anywhere.”
Olivia stilled and finally dared to look at him, right in
his dark brown eyes. “Yes,” she whispered. “I suppose they can.”
There was a beat of silence and then Rowan asked, “Who are
you?”
It was the one question Olivia didn’t care to answer. “Mrs.
Edwards,” she replied, evasively, smoothing her sweaty hands down her gown.
“Your married name?”
Olivia’s heart thumped loudly in her ears. She nodded.
“And your maiden name?” Rowan’s voice was so gentle, so
tender, as if Olivia were a frightened animal he didn’t want to scare away.
“M–Morgan,” she finally said.
The name hung in the air for a moment. Did he recognize it?
Did he remember her now?
Where can readers find more information on you?
Website: www.jerricasplace.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jerrica-Knight-Catania/117398793629?ref=hl
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/JerricaKC
Blog: http://romancingthebook.wordpress.com/
Website: www.jerricasplace.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jerrica-Knight-Catania/117398793629?ref=hl
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/JerricaKC
Blog: http://romancingthebook.wordpress.com/
Can you list all your book titles
so people can look for them?
The Wetherby Brides
The Wetherby Brides
A Gentleman Never Tells
More than a Governess
The Wary Widow
The Bedeviled Bride
The Wetherby Brides Shorts
The Perfect Kiss
Christmas Warms the Harts
Return to Dunbocan (2nd
Epilogue, A Gentleman Never Tells)
Carnevale Honeymoon (2nd
Epilogue, More than a Governess)
The Daring Debutantes
The Robber Bride
The Gypsy Bride
The Stage Bride
Anthologies
A Summons from the Duke
(Regency Christmas Summons) - Loving Mr. Lockwell
The Betting Season - The
Marriage Trap
A Season to Remember - A Penny
for Your Thoughts
A Love for All Seasons
(features all 3 anthology stories)
A Gentleman’s Pact - All He
Wants for Christmas COMING SOON!
Contemporary/Chick Lit
Cruise to Destiny (Summer
Loving Novella)
Love Everlasting (Anthology)
The Matchbaker
Jerrica! Thank you so much for visiting with us
today. Your writing has so much to offer. I see why it's hard to choose a favorite. I wish you all the best with your every
endeavor, and hope you'll come back again.
