1--What is the title of your latest release?
THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME
2--What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?
It’s a soulful holiday romantic comedy with a bit of a satirical twist. Similar to the movie “The Holiday,” the premise is two desperate women (of completely different ethnicities and backgrounds in this book) swap homes over the Holiday and learn an important lesson about where they truly belong.
3--How did you decide where your book was going to take place?
I picked two settings that had distinct character. I’m from Michigan, so Chicago was familiar but also a city I wanted to learn more about in writing it. And I live in Los Angeles, so Malibu is close enough to know, but so insular that it’s also a completely unfamiliar world that I thought would be perfect for this book. Both settings play an important role in the story, so each city needed to feel like you were actually there. It was a lot of fun bringing to life the ocean breezes of Malibu and the intense winter cold of Chicago within the pages.
4--Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life?
I absolutely would hang out with both of the protagonists in The Most Wonderful Time in real life. I feel like I know Chlesea and Ramona and have been missing both of them since I finished writing the book!
5--What are three words that describe your protagonist?
Ramona: Diligent, Devoted, Scared.
Chelsea: Bold, Creative, Grieving.
6--What’s something you learned while writing this book?
I learned how to surf! I went for my very first surfing lesson for research for this book and I wound up picking up a new interest!
7--Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
I try not to edit as a draft to get to a complete first draft. Sometimes I’ll even have two different versions of a single chapter to decide about later. Then, when I have a complete draft, I always read all the way through and make notes as I go, just writing whatever comes to mind. And then I read through again for the edit. For this book, there were about eight total rounds of editing.
8--What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
I love food and there’s so much food in this book! Of the food I wrote about, I have to say the Chicago deep dish pizza was my favorite part of the foodie research! In the name of art, I tasted a lot of pizza!
9--Describe your writing space/office!
I have my writing set up right next to the largest window in my living room. I added shelves to the wall so that I can place my research books and my inspiration books nearby. I like to do fresh flowers when I’m working on a first draft, sometimes just a small bouquet from the grocery store that I’ll arrange in a vase. I have glass desk and a cubby that houses everything from coloring supplies to crafts and stamps. I’m always creating, even when I’m not writing!
10--Who is an author you admire?
I really admire Toni Morrison. I love to read her work because I can see the craft choices in each sentence and the way she utilized language was so intentional.
11--Is there a book that changed your life?
There are so many books that changed my life in different phases. I will say that I was most changed by reading a book called How to Stop Worrying and Start Living by Dale Carnegie.
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.
I had both experiences of deciding to self-publish and also getting the call that my self-published books were going to be traditionally published. When I decided to self-publish, I’d received a dozen rejections for my manuscript for Black Girls Must Die Exhausted, which was my debut novel and the first book of a now published trilogy. I was fed up, realizing that there was a disconnect between my work and the “gatekeepers” I’d reached out to. But I just knew in my heart that this was the right story, at the right time, with the right characters, for the right readers. So, I decided to bet on myself and put it out. I spent my whole savings at the time and put the book out as professional as I could. It wound up selling very well independently and was acquired two years after that initial publication to be published traditionally as a second edition as part of a four-book deal! When I got that call, I cried with joy because it was a moment that I dreamed of and had worked for even though many people told me it was improbable, and some said it was impossible. I have to credit my agent, Lucinda Halpern, for believing in me and not letting me give up on myself or my dream to have my debut novel and the trilogy it created on shelves everywhere and particularly in the airport!
13--What’s your favorite genre to read?
I love a good contemporary romance, but my favorite books tend to fall in the fantasy category.
14--What’s your favorite movie?
My favorite movie is probably The Best Man.
15--What is your favorite season?
Holiday/Christmas time for sure! I just wait until October 31st and then I’m playing my Holiday playlist nonstop.
16--How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
I like to be on vacation on my birthday, somewhere with a spa!
17--What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you highly recommend?
I really enjoy Trisha R. Thomas’ historical fiction, and I recently read her newest book The Secret Keeper of Main Street and gifted a copy to a friend.
18--What’s your favorite type of cuisine?
My favorite type of cuisine is probably South Asian.
19--What do you do when you have free time?
I’m usually doing something artistic with any free time that I have. I recently started weekly singing lessons, so if I have a spare moment, I’m probably practicing a song or vocal exercise for my next lesson.
20--What can readers expect from you next?
I’m working on a new series that is contemporary romance with paranormal elements set in an imagined subculture of shapeshifters whose history parallels that of the Creole people in the American South.
The author of the beloved, bestselling Black Girls Must Die Exhausted trilogy returns with an intriguing blend of Such a Fun Age and The Holiday—an irresistible Christmastime novel about heartbreak, hope, love, and the joy that comes from rediscovering oneself.
With Christmas around the corner, Ramona Tucker is desperate to get away. She has been lying to her family about her engagement to Malik, her (ex) fiancé. But breakups are fickle, and Ramona is convinced that she can make her pretend wedding real again—but only if she can avoid everyone discovering her secret at her mother’s over-the-top Christmas Eve party.
Two-thousand miles away in sunny Malibu, Chelsea Flint needs money to hold on to the beloved beachside cottage she shared with her late parents. The taxes are expensive, and her art isn’t paying the bills. Once an irresistible star of the Los Angeles art scene, Chelsea seems to have lost that spark that vaulted her to the top. If she doesn’t rediscover that magic—and sell a painting—soon, it will be her family’s home she’s selling instead.
The two women swap homes, just in time, thanks to some careful planning by Ramona’s best friend and a sturdy nudge from Chelsea’s gallerist godmother. Ramona’s Malibu dreams of sun and surf are interrupted as her first night brings an unwelcome stranger to her door, making her question who she can trust—the meddling neighbor Joan, or Jay, the handsome beachside fitness instructor with a secret of his own. Chelsea, desperate for Ramona to stay, hides what she knows—even if that means jeopardizing her budding connection with charming Carlos, whose dreams for his future could be the very key to unlock Chelsea from the weight of her past.
Combining escapist fun and sizzling romance, a dose of poignant self-reflection, and a little holiday magic, The Most Wonderful Time is a warm and relatable novel that will delight at Christmas and throughout the year.
Romance Holiday [Harper Perennial, On Sale: October 8, 2024, Paperback / e-Book, ISBN: 9780063137967 / eISBN: 9780063137974]
Jayne Allen (pen name), in her life outside of writing, is a serial entrepreneur, Harvard-trained attorney, and engineer. She dabbles in standup comedy, tries to learn one new thing a week, and relishes laughter and champagne bubbles with her girlfriends and family.Originally from Detroit, when not writing "chocolate chick lit with a conscience," she's spending time with her friends and family, keeping one ear open for her next saucy tale.Jayne writes fiction out of life experiences, calling every character "fragments of reality strung together by imagination" and strives to tell stories that stick to your bones. Her series Black Girls Must Die Exhausted she calls "chocolate chick lit with a conscience," touching upon contemporary women's issues such as workplace womanhood, race, fertility, modern relationships and mental health awareness. Her writing echoes her desire to bring both multiculturalism and multidimensionality to contemporary women's fiction with dynamic female protagonists who also happen to be black.She has authored four non-fiction books, in addition to books one and two in the Black Girls Must Die Exhausted trilogy which has sold over 10,000 copies worldwide. She is most active on Instagram, where she hosts a weekly Sunday live writer's workshop.Jayne is also the founder of Book Genius, an online publishing course opening in Summer 2020.
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