Fiction Friday: Getting to know Jessica Kate

Lets get to know Jessica Kate

Please welcome Jessica Kate to our blog today. Its Fiction Friday and today we are going to have a little fun while we learn a little more about Jessica Kate.

1. Can you tell us a little about yourself?

• I’m an Aussie! I’m grew up on a farm so my accent is 20% Crocodile Dundee, and I have family at the beach so I can vouch for how incredible our coastline is.
• I make corporate training videos by day, and have fun pretending I’m Spielberg.
• I live with housemates because I am far to extroverted to survive alone, and together we’re growing a crazy-big pumpkin patch. And when I saw ‘we’, I mean my housemate does the work, and me and my other housemate eat lots of pumpkin soup.
• I saw my first shooting star this week, out camping with friends. I’d been beginning to doubt they weren’t real, but guys, they’re FLIPPING MAGICAL!!!

2. When you were a child did you have a favourite book or books?

Who wasn’t in love with Gilbert Blythe in their early teens?

3. Do you have a favourite Genre?

Romantic comedies!!! My ABSOLUTE favourite thing is when two characters are fighting BUT then they show loyalty to each other. Which means The Proposal is one of my favorite movies!

But that ingredient can be in a lot of other genres too. The Man From Uncle (historical action comedy) is one of my favorites, because there’s so many great dynamics – the bromance between USA and USSR spies working together, the romance between two spies undercover as a couple, LOVE LOVE LOVE!

I also really dig character-driven sci fi for this reason. The Chris Pine Star Trek movies, the TV show Killjoys, etc. In books, the Nikki Heat series (the books Richard Castle ‘wrote’ are real!) and the Extracted series.

And, of course those slow-burn cop romances…Castle, Bones, The Mentalist…so great!

4. Did you have any favourite authors growing up who have influenced you?

Until Sophie Kinsella’s Shopaholic series, I didn’t realize books could make me laugh out loud! LIFE CHANGING.

5. When did you know you wanted to be an author?

Age 13, riding on the motorbike behind Mum for hours harrowing a paddock on the farm, writing a book in my head to keep myself entertained.

6. How did you go about becoming an author?

It’s easy to say ‘write lots’ and ‘study your craft’ and ‘go to writing conferences’ and leave it at that, but that makes it sound like it’s all in our control.

Really, I think there’s four ingredients that go into meeting your goals as a professional author:

1. God (plan, strength, inspiration, dealing with stress)
2. Hard work and persistence through lots of discouragement and doubts
3. Drive to continually learn and improve and take feedback
4. Luck/timing.

Most people underestimate that fourth one. But so many people have given me a ‘leg-up’ – people who’ve mentored, encouraged, and/or taught me. Plus I was in a life situation where I could go to writing conferences overseas, and at those conferences some ‘chance’ meetings proved career-changing. I had very little control over those kinds of things, and they really helped me.

So yeah, it takes hard work and a desire to learn continually and not give up. But there’s so many other factors totally outside of me as well.

PLUS you have to remember that being an author in and of itself doesn’t make you happier, just busier. 😊 God’s really had to work on me so that writing brings me JOY, like He intended.

7. If you were not a writer what would you like to be?

If I didn’t write books I’d write movie and TV scripts. But I get too homesick for my family to ever move to LA.

8. Outside reading and writing what do you like to do?

Go on holidays with friends. Family trips are amazing, but there’s something special about exploring a new city with a couple of good friends. No schedule, no obligations, just us and great food and adventures.

9. Do you have a place you love to visit or would love to visit?

I plan to eat my way across Italy one day.

10. If you could have a meal with 3 living people who would you choose and why?

Sally Thorne, Jenny B Jones and an astronaut so that together we could write the world’s funniest cozy mystery romance in space (and fuel my enchantment with NASA!)

Finally can you tell us about your latest release. Where can buy the book and where can we find you on the web?

There’s a fine line between love and hate . . . And for the last seven years, Natalie Groves has hated Jeremy Walters.

Natalie Groves was meant for great things. But soon after her fiancé left, Natalie’s father was diagnosed with cancer. Suddenly her grand plans evaporated . . . and God felt very far away.

Fast-forward seven years, and an internship presents Natalie a chance at her destiny—but she needs a job to work around it. And the only offer available is worse than a life sentence. Her ex Jeremy, now back in town, is desperate for help with his infant son and troubled teenage niece, Lili. And Natalie may be just the one to help Jeremy . . . provided they don’t kill each other in the process.

When Jeremy and Natalie join forces, sparks fly. But will either of them get burned along the way?

Receive her sassy short The Kiss Dare FREE when you sign up for her newsletter at www.jessicakatewriting.com.

Book links
Love and Other Mistakes – https://books2read.com/u/3L06gJ
A Girl’s Guide to the Outback – https://books2read.com/u/b570Dl

Social media
Facebook and Instagram: Jessica Kate Writing
StoryNerds podcast: Available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts and at www.storynerds.podbean.com.