1--What is the title of your latest release?
HAUNTED EVER AFTER
2--What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?
A woman moves to a haunted tourist town in Florida and discovers her new house is already occupied by someone who died decades ago. The vibe is “the last great American dynasty” by Taylor Swift, if it were written by Jimmy Buffett and turned into an episode of GHOSTS.
3--How did you decide where your book was going to take place?
I lived in Florida for over two decades, so when I was coming up with a story involving ghosts near the beach, it felt natural to create a haunted tourist town there. There are so many great little tourist towns outside of the theme parks and Daytona Beach, and I loved the idea of a haunted town leaning into the idea, slapping ghosts on T-shirts and opening to tourists.
4--Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life?
Absolutely! I’d love to drink wine with Cassie and heckle reality television.
5--What are three words that describe your protagonist?
Focused. Kind. Lonely.
6--What’s something you learned while writing this book?
How frighteningly recently women were allowed to have their own mortgage (1974!!!!)
7--Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
I typically like to draft all the way through (my most hated part of the process) and then go back and fix things. I’ll leave notes for myself if I realize, say, something should have happened in Chapter Three, and then keep going as though I’d already made that change. But sometimes I realize halfway through that the beginning needs a complete overhaul. Then I’ll go back and edit what’s there and add what’s missing. The short answer is that every book is different!
8--What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
A ludicrous amount of really good sushi.
9--Describe your writing space/office!
We turned the spare room in our house into an office, with matching desks we put back-to-back in a partners’ desk configuration. I always have my day planner, headphones, and a notepad on my desk. I also have the notebook for whatever book I’m working on, plus a calendar of the book’s timeline and sometimes even a map of the setting. There’s also usually at least one (1) cat.
10--Who is an author you admire?
I’m absolutely in love with Ann Patchett’s lyrical writing.
11--Is there a book that changed your life?
When I read BET ME by Jennifer Crusie, with its banter, swoons, and a friend group to die for, I thought “I want to write like that.” I’ve been chasing that ever since.
12--Tell us about when you got “the call.” (when you found out your book was going to be published)/Or, for indie authors, when you decided to self-publish.
My phone rang in my cupholder during my literal five-minute commute home from work. I glanced down and saw my agent’s name, and I don’t think she’d ever called me unprompted like that, so I had a feeling. I pulled over, got the news, cried a little, then drove the rest of the way home and cried a lot. Something I’d dreamed of and worked toward for most of my life had just happened. I still can’t believe it sometimes.
13--What’s your favorite genre to read?
Even if I didn’t write romance, romance would be my favorite genre to read.
14--What’s your favorite movie?
A FISH CALLED WANDA. I have parts of it memorized and quote it nearly every day. One of my most treasured photos is of a theatre marquee in Rome playing the movie when I was on a trip to Europe as a teen with my parents.
15--What is your favorite season?
I love winter, though having spent so much of my life in either Florida or Arizona I don’t get to experience it much! For me “winter” is getting to wear a hoodie and maybe a knit hat.
16--How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
I like to celebrate quietly: a nice dinner out, there’s definitely cake involved. But I spend part of the day reflecting on where I’ve been and where I’m going, and I do something just for me: start reading a book I’ve been saving, start a knitting or cross-stitch project. Something that feels like a small, personal indulgence.
17--What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you highly recommend?
I can’t rave enough about the TV show GHOSTS, both the CBS version and the original on the BBC. The writing is smart, sharp, and clever, while also touching on real issues and making me tear up at least once and episode.
18--What’s your favorite type of cuisine?
I am a sucker for good Italian food. Anything with a handmade pasta. Learning to make pasta was one of my pandemic hobbies, and it’s just so good.
19--What do you do when you have free time?
I’m an avid knitter; I almost always have a partially done sock on the needles to work on while watching TV. When it’s not a furnace in Southern Arizona I love hitting the hiking trails. Otherwise, I’m probably starting another playthrough of Dragon Age: Inquisition.
20--What can readers expect from you next?
I’m currently deep into drafting the second book in the Boneyard Key series, and after that I start putting ideas together for the next book set in my Ren Faire universe! My to-do list is full over here!
It's love at first haunting in a seaside town that raises everyone’s spirits in this new series from USA Today bestselling author Jen DeLuca.
Small Florida coastal towns often find themselves scrambling for the tourism dollars that the Orlando theme parks leave behind. And within the town limits of Boneyard Key, the residents decided long ago to lean into its ghostliness. Nick Royer, owner of the Hallowed Grounds coffee shop, embraces the ghost tourism that keeps the local economy afloat, as well as his spectral roommate. At least he doesn’t have to run air-conditioning.
Cassie Rutherford possibly overreacted to all her friends getting married and having kids by leaving Orlando and buying a flipped historic cottage in Boneyard Key. Though there’s something unusual with her new home (her laptop won’t charge in any outlets, and the poetry magnets on her fridge definitely didn’t read “WRONG” and “MY HOUSE” when she put them up), she’s charmed by the colorful history surrounding her. And she's catching a certain vibe from the grumpy coffee shop owner whenever he slips her a free slice of banana bread along with her coffee order.
As Nick takes her on a ghost tour, sharing town gossip that tourists don't get to hear, and they spend nights side-by-side looking into the former owners of her haunted cottage, their connection solidifies into something very real and enticing. But Cassie's worried she’s in too deep with this whole (haunted) home ownership thing…and Nick's afraid to get too close in case Cassie gets scared away for good.
Paranormal | Romance Comedy [Berkley, On Sale: August 13, 2024, Trade Paperback / e-Book, ISBN: 9780593641217 / eISBN: 9780593641224]
Small Town Romance With a Little Ghost Problem
Jen DeLuca is the USA Today Bestselling author of the Well Met series (Ren Faire Romance!) with Berkley Romance.
A native Virginian, Jen lives in the Arizona desert with her husband and almost too many cats.
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