Get Lost With... Jessica Hart

Please join me in welcoming Jessica Hart, as she celebrates the re-release of 5 of her early novels!

Jessica Hart Vintage Collection

Publisher: Coleman Hart

The Blurb:

Five of award-winning romance author Jessica Hart’s earliest novels are now available for the first time as ebooks.  Previously published by Harlequin/Mills & Boon, the books in the Jessica Hart Vintage Collection are personally introduced by Jessica and feature her trademark warm, witty and feel-good style.

Rediscover your old favourites or meet new friends and treat yourself to a feast of romance and adventure - from the green of the English countryside to the heat of the Australian outback.

Read an excerpt on Jessica's website

Meet Jessica!

Jessica’s earlier career was a haphazard one, including stints as foreign newsdesk secretary in London, cook on an Australian outback cattle station, TEFL teacher in Jakarta and interpreter on expedition in Cameroon.  She first stumbled into writing as a way of funding a Ph.D. in Medieval Studies, and since then she has written 60 books for Harlequin Mills & Boon.  A RITA®  finalist in 2013 and 2009 and winner in 2005,  Jessica is also a past winner and multiple finalist for  the UK’s coveted Romance Prize (now the RoNA Rose Award).  Jessica was awarded the National Readers’ Choice Award (Traditional category) for her 50^th book, Last-Minute Proposal, in 2009 and again in 2010 for Cinderella’s Wedding Wish.

Jessica lives in York, and also writes ‘time slip’ novels under her real name, Pamela Hartshorne.

Let's get to the good stuff!

Lara: How often to you get lost in a story?

JESSICA: When I’m reading, every day!  When I’m writing … well, sometimes it can be a slog, and sometimes there’s a moment of magic when the story becomes real and the characters take over and suck me into their world.  That’s when I know the book is going to work, and it’s the best feeling!

Lara: What is your biggest vice?

JESSICA:  Impatience

Lara: Be honest, when reading...do you put yourself in the heroine’s role?

JESSICA: Is this something I should be ashamed about??  I do this all the time!  If I can’t identify with the heroine, I can’t get into a story.  [Lara: No need to be ashamed--I feel the same way!]

Lara: How did you come up with the idea for the books in your vintage collection?

JESSICA: After two false starts, I finally had the bright idea of reading a book on how to

Jessica's childhood home

write romance, and I remember it advised me to write about what I knew.  So I did.  The Vintage Collection features five of my earliest books, including my first three, and the settings are all based on my own experiences.  The very first, A Sweeter Prejudice, is set in an English village like the one I grew up in, The Trouble with Love has an African setting and used all sorts of incidents from my time on expedition there, and I once spent three months as a cook on an outback cattle station in Australia which was the inspiration for Woman at Willagong Creek.  I still like to write about settings I know well, and re-reading the books in my Vintage Collection was a real trip down memory lane for me!

Lara: What dreams have been realized as a result of your writing?

JESSICA: Writing enabled me to fund and complete my PhD.

Lara: What do you do to unwind and relax?

JESSICA: Walking and cooking are favourite activities of mine, but to be honest the best way I’ve found to relax is to have a good chat with a friend over a bottle of wine.

Lara: What sound or noise do you love?

JESSICA:  The whirr of insects on a tropical night.

Lara: What will always make you smile, even on a bad day?

JESSICA: A dog, wagging its tail. [Lara: That makes me smile just thinking about it!]

Lara’s GOTTA ASK: What are the next five books on your ‘to be read’ pile?

Jessica’s GOTTA ANSWER:   Make My Wish Come True by Fiona Harper; The Firebird by Susanna Kearsley; The Perfect Match by Kristin Higgins; The Autumn Bride by Anne Gracie; The Nightingale Sisters by Donna Douglas.

Where can you find Jessica?

Her email: jessica@jessicahart.co.uk

Website

Facebook

Twitter handle: @JessicaHartXX

What's next for Jessica?

Mr (Not Quite) Perfect (Harlequin KISS, Mills & Boon Modern Tempted, January 2014)

Jessica will be giving away a voucher to download all five books in the Jessica Hart Vintage Collection for free.  The books can be downloaded onto any e-reader, and anywhere in the world.

For your chance to win, answer Jessica's question in the comments below:

All the books in the Jessica Hart Vintage Collection are set in the early 1990s.  Rereading them brought back all sorts of memories for me.  What’s your best memory from the 90s?

Note: Please leave an email address for notification. Offer void where prohibited. Prizes will be mailed to North America addresses only unless specifically mentioned in the post. Odds of winning vary due to the number of entrants. Winners of drawings are responsible for checking this site in a timely manner. If prizes are not claimed in a timely manner, the author may not have a prize available. Get Lost In A Story cannot be responsible for an author's failure to mail the listed prize. GLIAS does not automatically pass email addresses to guest authors unless the commenter publicly posts their email address.