1--What is the title of your latest release?
HOW TO KISS YOUR GRUMPY BOSS
2--What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?
A grumpy-sunshine romcom with small-town vibes, a farm you’ll want to visit in real life, and four very sexy brothers you’ll love to root for.
3--How did you decide where your book was going to take place?
This is book two in my How to Kiss a Hawthorne Brother series, so the setting was already established for me! I first wrote about Stonebrook Farm in book three of my Some Kind of Love series, LOVE OFF-LIMITS. The heroine in that book had four older brothers, and as I got to know them and the apple farm where they grew up, I knew I had to create a spin-off series so each brother could have his own book!
4--Would you hang out with your heroine in real life?
Absolutely. Lila is maybe the most like me out of all the heroines I’ve written, so I like to think we would get along really well!
5--What are three words that describe your hero?
Grumpy. Exacting. Loyal.
6--What’s something you learned while writing this book?
So, I grew up in Western North Carolina, which is definitely apple country! But since this book takes place on a commercial apple orchard in Western NC, I had to dig even deeper than what my very basic knowledge provided! I did so much reading about apple pomology and harvesting practices. I think the thing that surprised me the most is that because apples bruise so easily, farmers don’t use any machinery for harvesting. That means every single apple you see in the grocery store was picked by hand!
7--Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
I definitely edit as I go. Well, that’s not entirely true. I usually draft about the first thirty percent, then go back and make sure what I have is working. I usually have to rework a little, then I’ll push forward one more time, doing the same thing at around the sixty or seventy percent mark. I never just draft straight through without going back and reading what I have. It makes my drafting process take a little bit longer, but it also means that when I finish my “first draft” it’s usually very similar to the published draft!
8--What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
Buttered popcorn and Cherry Coke Zero which isn’t very fancy at all! Not movie theater popcorn though. Popcorn I make at home, and drizzle with real, expensive butter. The expensive part is important. All butter is NOT created equal! I also love LOVE French macarons. If I am any place where they are available, it is always what I pick.
9--Describe your writing space/office!
I have a very tiny office! I’m not kidding. It’s more closet-sized than office-sized, but it holds my desk and a comfortable chair and a bookshelf, and the wall is full of my book covers, framed and dated, so that’s fun. It also has one very tiny transom window that runs along the top of the wall which makes me feel a little like I’m locked in a tower, trying to spin straw into gold.
10--Who is an author you admire?
Joshilyn Jackson is one of my very favorites. Her Southern voice is SO, SO good. The Almost Sisters is one of my all-time favorite novels.
11--Is there a book that changed your life?
I don’t know if I could pick just one! I’ve been a reader my entire life, but there have definitely been books that have had a lasting impact. Everything Khalid Hosseini has ever written. The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak, The Help by Kathryn Stockett. From Sand and Ash by Amy Harmon. But honestly, the biggest books that changed my life have been my romantic comedies. I was traditionally published FIRST in my career, making very little but feeling very proud of the words I was writing. But then I parted ways with my publisher over creative differences and so I indie-published a novel on my own because I knew I had readers who were waiting for it. After that, I leaned more heavily into indie publishing and romantic comedy, and my career took off. Six months ago, my husband was able to leave his job, and now he manages the household full time while I write full time. It’s a dream come true in so many ways, and it’s all because I took a risk and jumped into a new genre and publishing medium.
12--Tell us about when you got “the call.” (when you found out your book was going to be published)
If I go all the way back to my very first book, it was an email, not a phone call. I’d been waiting a very long time (think eighteen months) so I’d mostly given up. But then, suddenly, there was an email from my new editor, letting me know she wanted to publish my book. It was the first fiction I’d ever written. I didn’t even know if I was any good! My kids were outside jumping on the trampoline, and I ran out on the back deck to tell them. They were all tiny then - I don’t think they truly understood! But I was excited enough for all of us!
13--What’s your favorite genre to read?
Definitely romance. Even in other genres, I’m looking for the threads of romance. Those move plots along for me better than anything else!
14--What’s your favorite movie?
I love movies so much, so I’m not sure I can pick just one! But the last one I watched and LOVED: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. One of those instances where the movie is as lovely as the book!
15--What is your favorite season?
Fall, until it’s winter. Then it’s Spring. Until it’s Summer, then it’s Fall again.
16--How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
I’m very chill about birthdays. If someone else cooks for me or takes me to dinner, that’s amazing because I don’t love to cook. If I lived closer to the mountains, I’d love to spend my birthday hiking, but I live in Charleston, SC right now, and there is definitely no hiking that happens around here. Everything is very, very flat. I live at eleven feet above sea level, so . . . yeah. No climbing hills for amazing views around here! But HEY. We have the beach, so I try not to complain about how much I miss the mountains too much!
17--What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you highly recommend?
I love Armchair Expert with Dax Shephard. He is such an interesting guy and always asks thought-provoking questions. Can’t recommend it enough.
18--What’s your favorite type of cuisine?
I really love all kinds of food, but I probably ask for sushi the most.
19--What do you do when you have free time?
Read, sleep, watch movies, eat good food that someone else cooks, hike, and spend time with my adorable dog.
20--What can readers expect from you next?
I’ll start work on the second book in my Oakley Romcom series, co-written with Emma St. Clair next. There MIGHT be a Christmas novella mixed in there somewhere? Then I’ll move on to the third book in the How to Kiss a Hawthorne Brother series, HOW TO KISS YOUR ENEMY.
How to Kiss a Hawthorne Brother #2
Perry Hawthorne is my boss. Only my boss. And I do NOT have a crush.
When one of THE Hawthorne brothers—known by their chiseled jawlines and their family-run farm and event center—hires me to be his virtual assistant, I do everything I can to keep him firmly in the work zone.
His grumpy demeanor helps.
His smoking hot profile picture does not.
But even if I do have a crush (a very tiny one), I can’t catch real feelings for a million different reasons.
Besides the whole business part of our relationship, I’m a single mom. I have to think about what’s best for my son, Jack. And my grumpy, divorced, humorless boss isn’t exactly giving me “ready to be a stepdad” vibes.
When Perry upgrades me from virtual to in-person assistant, I wonder if I’ve gotten him all wrong. He’s actually pretty great with Jack. And with me? Let’s just say the chemistry crackling between us might vaporize all my reasons for keeping my distance.
Trouble is, after his messy divorce, I’m not sure Perry’s ready to bet on a new relationship. But it isn’t just my heart that’s on the line. It’s Jack’s, too. And after everything we went through before my husband died, I’m not sure that’s a gamble I’m ready to take, no matter how desperate Jack is for a daddy.
How to Kiss Your Grumpy Boss is a sweet romantic comedy with all the sizzling kisses you want in a closed-door romance but no explicit scenes.
Romance Contemporary [Four Petal Press, On Sale: November 1, 2022, e-Book, / ]
Jenny Proctor was born in the mountains of Western North Carolina, a place she still considers one of the loveliest on earth. She and her husband currently reside in the Charleston, SC area and stay busy keeping up with six children and a growing assortment of pets. She loves to hike with her family and spend time outdoors, but she also adores lounging around her home, reading great books or watching great movies and, when she’s lucky, eating delicious food she doesn’t have to prepare herself. Jenny's romantic comedy LOVE AT FIRST NOTE was a 2016 Whitney Award Winner in the Contemporary Romance category.
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