Today we have New Adult author Jeana E. Mann, celebrating her latest release, Intoxicated (A Felony Romance novel.) Jeana adores bacon, has things on her desk that are dear to my heart, and has a really sweet tour-wide contest going. She'll be awarding a $40 Amazon GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter. So stay tuned to read a sexy excerpt and learn more about Jeana in the process!
~Mia
Interview
questions for JEANA E. MANN …
Quick
round:
Coffee,
tea or…what’s your vice? Coffee – gotta
have it
Favorite
Movie: Three Days of the Condor
Favorite
Color: Blue
Favorite
book/author: Outlander (Diana Gabaldon)
How
do you feel about bacon? It’s the only
food group
The
REAL questions…
Tell
us a little about yourself.
I’m
just an average girl who likes to write. I live in a tiny town without any
stoplights where cornfields and cows are visible from Main Street. I have two
Rat Terriers that I absolutely love named Mildred and Mabel – or as I like to
call them “The Ladies”. They go everywhere with me and drive me nuts most of
the time. In fact, they are lying on the couch beside me, covered by a blanket
(at their insistence), as I type this. I spend most of my time writing but I
love to travel. I’ve been all over the world and plan to keep traveling every
chance I get. I’ve also lived a wild life. I used to hit the club scene pretty
hard which is the inspiration for the Felony Romance series. The people I’ve
met along the way have provided the inspiration for the characters of my books.
I’m just as comfortable at a club in Chicago as I am at a bistro in Rome, Italy
or sitting on my back porch watching the corn grow.
What’s
under your bed?
Dust
bunnies and clothes that I can no longer wear but can’t bear to part with. Also
assorted dog toys, the green sock I’ve been looking for over the last six
months, and a box of half-written novels.
What
comes first, plot or characters?
Characters
always come first with me. My novels start with a vision of some guy or girl
with a story they are just dying to tell. Usually the characters come to me as
a fully-formed personality and I build the plot around them.
Pantser,
plotter, or hybrid? Tell us about your writing process.
I
am a complete pantser. I like to call my process “layering”. I begin with a
tiny inkling of an idea or a scene and bang it out on my laptop. As more scenes
come to me, I type them out without regard for order. Eventually, I weave the
scenes together and look for the common thread of the plot. By this time, I
have a pretty good idea of where the story is going and lay out the journey of
the characters. As a final step, I go back and add quirky mannerisms for the
characters, foreshadowing, and tie up any loose ends. It’s a messy, crazy
process but that’s what makes it so satisfying. I feel that it comes from a
place of pure creativity.
Oddest
thing on your desk?
A
horseshoe and snaffle bit from my grandfather’s barn. They are just some random
artifacts that I picked up when I was about eight years old. As a child, my
grandfather’s barn was like Disneyland to me, full of oddities and antiques
that he had gathered over the years. I used to spend entire days digging
through his stuff and pestering him with questions.
What’s
your most interesting writing quirk?
Sometimes
I wear a hat when I write. I have a collection of all kinds of hats – fedora,
cowboy, bowler, straw, beret – you name it and I’ve probably got it. I don’t
know why, but it makes me feel “writerly”. My dad says it helps to hold the
ideas in. He’s probably right. Dads always are.
What’s
your favorite thing about the genre you write in?
I
write in New Adult Contemporary Romance and I love, love, LOVE to read it. My
favorite thing is the number of series available in this genre. I’m not a huge
fan of the cliffhanger, but I adore following characters from book to book,
especially when secondary characters become the hero/heroine of a sequential novel.
What
is the hardest thing about being an author?
I
think the hardest thing is dealing with negative reviews. It’s heartbreaking to
learn that someone hated your baby. Writing a novel is hard work. You pour your
heart and soul into each and every word. You sacrifice time with friends and
family to meet deadlines. Writing is so terribly personal, it’s a creature that
you have created from the depths of your soul. If it sucks, you can’t blame it
on anyone but yourself. To have someone tear it apart without regard for your
efforts can be painful. I’ve finally learned to have a thicker skin and not
take it quite so hard. After all, reading is subjective to the reader. Not
everyone is going to like every book. Those differences in taste are what make
people unique. And I absolutely believe that negative reviews are necessary to
keep the literary world honest. I don’t usually read reviews any more. I
believe reviews are meant for readers and the author should just let them do
their thing and stay out of it.
What’s
the easiest thing about being an author?
The
easiest thing is meeting fans and making new friends through writing. I had no
idea how rewarding it would be to have someone contact me to praise my work.
The first time I received a fan email, I was completely shocked that anyone
would reach out to me in that way. The other day, I went to the hospital for an
appointment and the receptionist was reading my book. I nearly flipped out.
Then she recognized my name and she
nearly flipped out. It totally ROCKS!!!
Tell
us about your latest release!
My
latest release is Intoxicated, the first book in the Felony Romance series. It’s
about sexy, bad-boy bartender Jack and uptight accountant Ally who struggle to
make their relationship work in the setting of a heavy-metal club. Jack’s bad
boy behavior comes back to haunt him just when things are beginning to work out
with Ally. If he wants to have her, he will have to work for it. I have to
admit that I am head over heels in love with Jack. His transformation from lady-killer
to devoted boyfriend melts my heart. Too bad for me that he only has eyes for
Ally because he is panty-dropping hot! And there’s more to come in the Felony
Romance series. I plan to release a novella titled Unexpected (Book 1.5) and a
full-length novel Vindicated (Book 2) released before the end of the year. I
can’t wait!
BLURB for Intoxicating (a Felony Romance novel):
Love is
intoxicating, but the hangover can be agony...
Conservative,
straight-laced Ally Taylor has the perfect life – successful fiancé, beautiful
home, great career – until she catches her fiancé and best friend in bed.
Desperate to shake off the sting of rejection, Ally heads to Felony, a
notorious heavy metal club on the bad side of town. Even more dangerous than
the bar is Jack Jameson, the hunky alpha male bartender whose smoldering dark
eyes and dimpled smile turns her common sense to mush and her knees to noodles.
After eight long years in a failed romance, the last thing Ally wants is to
hook up with someone like Jack, but she can’t help wondering if he’s really as
good in bed as his reputation suggests.
Jack Jameson has
had his eye on Ally for months, drawn to her smart mouth and tightly wound
self-control. When Jack finds Ally sitting on a barstool in his club,
heartbroken and miserable, he’s more than happy to offer a little heat between the
sheets to distract her. Too bad Ally’s not interested in his
“hit-it-and-quit-it” philosophy. If only Jack could convince Ally that he’s
tired of the endless parade of girls through his bedroom, she might see him in
a different light.
When Jack and Ally
get together, everything goes wrong and it’s more than either of them bargained
for. Ally’s got serious trust issues and a need for control that makes Jack
crazy. Jack’s got more baggage than an airline carousel; the constant stream of
women from his past stirs up all of Ally’s insecurities. Can Ally overlook
Jack’s womanizing past and learn to trust him? Will Jack be able to commit to
just one woman or will a secret from his past ruin everything?
Purchase Intoxicated at...
Excerpt from Intoxicated...
Her cell phone rang and like an
automaton, she answered it.
“Popsicle?” The voice on the other
end of the call was deep and masculine, slightly rough, like gravel underneath
silk.
“Jack?” Dismay gave way to pleasure
at the sound of his voice, followed by a fluttering between her legs.
He chuckled, the sound warming her
numb body. “Hi, baby. I missed having lunch with you today.”
“Look –– it’s really not a good
time, Jack.”
“Why not?” He paused and she could picture
the unlit cigarette dangling from his lips as he spoke, a gleam in his dark
eyes. “What are you doing?”
Oh, hell, she thought. Why fight it?
She felt like a salmon swimming upstream only to be pushed back time and time
again. The strength to resist had ebbed away with her latest
disappointment.
“Uh, well, I’m sitting in a parking
garage staring at the wall.”
“Bad day, baby?” His voice lowered
to a caress that raised goose bumps on her arms. For some reason, the
compassion in his voice brought tears to her eyes.
“Yes,” she whispered. “I’m having a
bad day.”
“Come and see me,” he said. “I can
make you forget all about it.” Like a lamb being lured to slaughter, she was
powerless to resist him when he spoke in that tone.
“I’m not sure you can,” she replied
as she traced the curve of the steering wheel with a finger.
“Such a pessimist. Come and see me,”
he repeated, his voice turned seductive. “And take your panties off before you
get here.”
More about Jeana...
Jeana
Mann is the author of sizzling hot contemporary romance. Her debut release
Intoxicated was a First Place Winner of the 2013 Cleveland Rocks Romance
Contest and a finalist for the 2014 Carolyn Readers Choice Award.
Jeana
was born and raised in Indiana where she lives today with her two crazy rat
terriers Mildred and Mabel. She graduated from Indiana University with a degree
in Speech and Hearing, something totally unrelated to writing. When she’s not
busy dreaming up steamy romance novels, she loves to travel anywhere and
everywhere. Over the years she climbed the ruins of Chichen Iza in Mexico,
snorkeled along the shores of Hawaii, sailed around Jamaica, ate gelato on the
steps of the Pantheon in Rome, and explored the ancient city of Pompeii. More
important than the places she’s been are the people she has met along the way.
Be
sure to connect with Jeana on Facebook or follow along on Twitter for the
latest news regarding her upcoming releases.
Author Links:
Jeana will be awarding a $40 Amazon GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Follow the rafflecopter directions for chances to enter!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
