Author Spotlight | With Debut Author, Jessica Wakefield

Today’s author spotlight is Jessica Wakefield who’s debut book, The Christmas Box, will be out on Saturday. Welcome Jessica.

Fast Five

Cricket or Rugby? Cricket

Mangoes or kiwifruit? Mangoes

Books or TV? I love them both equally.

Sun or snow? Always the sun.

Plotter or pantser? Planster—both. I can’t totally plan a whole novel, but I can’t just write it without knowing some of the major points.

Getting to Know Jessica Wakefield:

Where are you from?

Newcastle, Australia

What’s something interesting or unusual about you that not everyone knows?

I have never eaten a Big Mac from McDonalds. And I keep a written record of every new book (reread books don’t count) that I’ve read. I’ve been keeping this since November 1998.

What do you like to eat or drink when you’re writing?

I love to drink hot chocolates when I’m writing. It makes me feel more like a writer, since I don’t drink tea or coffee 😊

What did you learn while writing your last book that surprised you?

That sometimes when you don’t have much in the creativity tank, you can still write something that brings joy to others, even if you didn’t think it was any good. And nothing beats a good editor! 😊

If you were not an author, what would you like to be?

I’d love to have been a pastry chef, I love the creativity that comes with that, but the structure that’s also inbuilt with it. It’s like creative writing in a way.

What’s your favourite hobby (not including writing or reading)?

I love doing puzzles, I love baking and pottering (not very well) in my little garden.

What types of books do you like reading?

I love reading contemporary romance, that’s either sweet or Christian. I love romantic suspense in the same sweet or Christian genres. I do enjoy the Lee Child’s Jack Reacher books as well 😊

About Your Writing

What’s your favourite part of the writing process?

Not always knowing where the story is going to go. I can have a loose plan and then when I start writing, a character will do or say something that is exactly what I was looking for, even if I didn’t know it. And yet it still works for my overall idea. It’s so much fun seeing these people I have in my head become flesh and bone on the page and then they do and say things that are not what I imagined. It’s a wonderful, constant surprise.

How does your faith impact your writing?

Not in an obvious way. My faith is embedded in my stories because my faith is embedded in me, even if it’s not overtly on the page. But I’ve felt God’s guiding hand on my writing for a long time and I know this is what he wants me to do, even if I feel woefully inadequate most days.

Who or what are your main writing influences?

I’ve always loved reading and writing, but I never really found something I wanted to write until I read Denise Hunter’s Sweet Water Gap. Back in 2009, I found it in the specials bin at our local Christian bookstore. I remember picking it up and loving it. I didn’t realise Christian romance existed and I knew this was what I wanted to keep reading and eventually write.

How do you choose names for characters in books?

It’s boring but effective. I go to a website that gives me popular names at about the time my character was born. Then I try and pick the less popular ones (this doesn’t always happen though). At the same time, the name needs to gel with my sense of the character I’m creating. Often, I know it when I see it from the list of names.

If someone was just starting out with their first novel, what advice would you give them?

Keep writing, don’t stop to edit. Finish the book, you can edit after that. Writing the end is the most satisfying feeling for a writer. And believe you’re an author long before you get anything published—that belief in yourself is what will drive you forward. And get a mentor—find someone further along on the journey than you are to guide you, support you and to teach you. Getting a mentor was one of the best things I’ve ever done.

Which book that you’ve written would you like to see made into a movie?

I’ve only published my first book, but The Christmas Box would make a perfect set of Hallmark movies. They fit the genre perfectly and the box’s mysterious nature adds to the appeal.

About The Christmas Box:

Describe The Christmas Box in one or two sentences.

Three Decades. Three Love stories. One Box. It’s a collection of three stand alone, but connected short novellas and if you’ve read The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants, you might like this romance collection.

Who is the target audience for The Christmas Box?

Readers who like sweet romances with swoony kisses, touches of humour and moments of depth. Readers who like Denise Hunter and Becky Wade will enjoy this story.

What inspired you to write The Christmas Box?

Last year I couldn’t write due to so much going on in our family. My anxiety was getting under control, but the thought of finishing a 90k story was literally beyond me. So, I set out to write something small, 10k words and let that be my accomplishment. I had the idea for a box that travels to different locations, like the jeans in the Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants, that helps couples fall in love. When I finished the first story, I knew I could manage two more. And I did. These stories are a symbol of overcoming in a time when just sitting in front of a computer was almost impossible.

What did you research before writing The Christmas Box?

I had so much fun brushing up on the lingo, fashion and technology of 1995 and 2005. Though I lived through it and remember it very well, there was still somethings I forgot about.

What inspired you to choose the setting for The Christmas Box?

There are three stories, so there’s three settings. 1995 in Kansas, 2005 in Connecticut and 2015 in New York City. I wanted a nice sample across the USA and it was fun to change settings and work each story into the world it was grounded in.

What would you like readers to take away from reading The Christmas Box?

I just want readers to feel happy and to have been entertained when they read The Christmas Box. And maybe even see little pieces of themselves that make them happy.

Will you have more books in The Christmas Box coming soon?

I am writing a second volume to The Christmas Box. It will focus in the years, 2000, 2010 and 2020. One of the stories will be set in Australia! I can’t wait to bring another set of fun, romances to readers again.

Please tell us about your upcoming book releases.

Book Description:

Can Christmas be saved by a mysterious box? Join three couples across three decades as they find love in places they least expected it.

1995: Braving Christmas

Amy Franklin is in love with her best friend. Years of rejection have left her unable to tell Chris Lawrence how she feels for fear of history repeating itself. But as she becomes the key to saving his family’s struggling Christmas tree farm, she realizes teaming up with Chris permanently might just be worth being brave after all.

2005: Risking Christmas

Holed up in a cabin in Connecticut during a blizzard, chef Josh Keller is looking to finish a proposal for his new restaurant. But he didn’t count on getting snowed in with Nicole Abbot, the very food critic who’d derailed his career faster than you can say master chef. As the days drift by, Josh and Nicole form a tentative truce that might just turn into more.

2015: Faking Christmas

Antonia Katsaros needs a fake boyfriend to attend her sister’s Christmas-themed engagement party, or she’ll never hear the end of it from her meddling family. In the mall, she meets Dylan Matthews a guy more than ready to help the woman who helped his niece. Can their fake relationship turn real just in time for the holidays?

Book Sales links:
For Australian Readers: 

For US Readers: 

Author – additional information:

As a kid, Jessica Wakefield penned really bad Anne of Green Gables fan
fiction. Nowadays she lives in Newcastle with her husband and two daughters.

Jessica has a lifelong love of the Sweet Valley High books and is a recovering
Gilmore Girls addict. When she’s not fawning over a fluffy dog, you’ll find her
listening to country music and baking in her kitchen.

Author website and social media links:
Website: jessicawakefield.com
Instagram: @jessicawakefieldauthor
Facebook: @jesswakefield83
Twitter: @jesswakefield83
Pinterest: @JessWakefieldAuthor