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Susana: What inspired you to start writing?
Jessica: I always wanted to write professionally. I started college thinking that’s what I was going to be doing, but then life happened. After that, it really was a question of when I was willing to finally take the plunge. A couple years ago I was reading a book and thought – why not now?
Susana: How long have you been writing?
Jessica: Since I was little. But it wasn’t till I was an adult that I decided – why not romance? I love reading it, why would I write anything else?
Susana: What advice would you give to writers just starting out?
Jessica: Find an honest critique partner. You have your mother to tell you what you want to hear, you need someone to tell you what you need to hear.
Susana: Do you ever suffer from writer’s block? If so, what do you do about it?
Jessica: I do. It’s unfortunate and usually has the most inconvenient timing. I listen to music, watch movies. Sometimes that helps me find inspiration.
Susana: What comes first: the plot or the characters?
Jessica: Chicken or egg? Each book has been different for me. The first book was plot, the second book was characters. I prefer going the route of plot first, though.
Susana: Are you a plotter or a pantser?
Jessica: I plot with post-its, the entire book – chapter by chapter. And then I start writing and it all goes awry!
Susana: Tell us something about your newest release that is NOT in the blurb.
Jessica: The hero has a seizure disorder. I wanted to create a hero that wasn’t the perfect alpha male so took a chance.
Susana: Are you working on something at present that you would like to tell us about?
Jessica: I’m working on book three in the Tisdale series. It’s the story of Lilly, the ugly duckling who falls in love with an unattainable man.
Susana: What are you reading now?
Jessica: I just finished Lisa Kleypas’ Smooth Talking Stranger. What a good book! I’m really thinking of starting Outlander, but I’m afraid of the commitment. There’s a lot of books in that series and once I start, I can’t stop.
Susana: What author or authors have most influenced your writing?
Jessica: Kathleen Woodiwiss – she’s the queen of historical romance and it’s impossible to not be inspired by her sagas.
Susana: What is your work schedule like when writing?
Jessica: I try to write when I can. I have some days set aside where that’s my only responsibility. It’s hard to fit it all in though – kids, family time, social media, edits, reading, and then writing.
Susana: What did you want to be when you grew up?
Jessica: I wanted to be a writer. Or a secretary. I would set up my desk and pretend to type, send out memos, and file papers.
Susana: What is your favorite food? Least favorite? Why?
Jessica: I love all food, so it’s hard to narrow that down. My least favorite is sushi – I’ve just never developed the taste. I think it may be a textural thing.
Susana: What is one thing your readers would be most surprised to learn about you?
Jessica: I have Mr. Darcy tattooed on my foot. I thought – what man has always been a presence in my life, and will never leave me? He was the only logical answer.
Susana: Is there a writer you idolize? If so, who?
Jessica: Judith McNaught. She did contemporary and historical, and did them so well.
About Taming Miss Tisdale
Miss Tamsin Tisdale believes herself to be completely unsuitable for London life. After a myriad of social mishaps, and the potential ruination of her family name, she’s shipped away to her cousin’s northern estate. Only after she comes to her senses will she be welcomed home.
Marcus Winston, the Duke of Grayson, has a lackluster reputation. The last in a dying line, he’s endured a protected life—rank with privilege, encumbered by isolation. After a brief encounter with rebellion, he learns the devastating consequences of his carelessness and willingly accepts living life from inside his gilded cage.
However, a chance meeting with the brazen Miss Tisdale gives Marc the opportunity to reinvent himself into the man he’s always dreamed of being. When his deception comes to light, and ghosts from both their pasts threaten to unravel the intimacy they’ve come to cherish, will either of them set their fears aside long enough to embrace love? Or will Miss Tisdale’s stubbornness divide them?
Excerpt
Marc watched the faint outline come across the dense morning fog, becoming more discernible as it approached. The tall, thin figure was riding along at a perilous speed, given the morning’s lack of visibility. He thought perhaps it was some gangly young man misguided in the fog. It wouldn’t be the first time someone accidentally stumbled upon the vast property that made up his family’s immodest estate.
Then the fog parted in an almost biblical manner, revealing his gross inaccuracy.
Were those … breasts?
Marc closed his eyes and thought for a moment. Typically, women didn’t ride alone at such an hour and they certainly didn’t wander unexpectedly across his property. It’d been quite a while, his last birthday to be exact, since his last intimate encounter with a woman—a gift, compliments of St. Regis—so there was always the possibility that perhaps his half-drunk, sex-starved mind had conjured up the sensual image.
He shook his head, opened his eyes, and looked back again toward the horizon.
Yes, those were most certainly breasts.
And she was most definitely not a young man. The woman’s riding habit pulled taut against her body as she raced toward him. Her hair was blowing behind her—various hues of auburn and gold, like wild flames curling about in the wind. Then a decidedly feminine voice burst through the morning’s silence, interrupting his self-doubt.
“Oh, thank goodness I found you!”
This was no mirage. She was indeed very real.
And very loud.
About the Author
Jessica Jefferson makes her home in northern Indiana, or as she likes to think of it—almost Chicago. She is heavily inspired by classic sweeping, historical romance novels, but aims to take those key emotional elements and inject a fresh blend of quick dialogue and comedy. She invites you to visit her at jessicajefferson.com and www.embracingromance.com and read more of her random romance musings.
Susana's Morning Room 
Thanks for hosting!
How interesting that your hero has a seizure disorder. That is so interesting…and unusual. How does that impact our heroine?
Good luck with the release!
Sounds like a wonderful book.