Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Welcome Allyson James (aka Jennifer Ashley)


I'm excited and honored to have bestselling author Jennifer Ashley (and all her numerous personalities) to Quinn's Essentials! For those of you who don't know, Jennifer is a powerhouse writer and this month alone she has THREE, count them THREE, releases.

Erin: So Jennifer, as you know, I like to jump right into my interviews because, well, inquiring minds do want to know and with this busy month you've got ahead, we want to know NOW.

Tell, us, please: What is your guilty pleasure?

Jennifer: Sitting around watching DVDs of British mysteries (Last Detective, Cracker, Rosemary and Thyme, Lewis, Poirot, Miss Marple... ) If it's a cozy with a British accent, I'm there! I know English actors far better than I know American ones. One of the most recent shows, Wallander, with Kenneth Branaugh, was extremely well done. Want more...


Erin: I should have guessed at that one, but instead i was thinking reading, bathtub, champagne, chocolate.... oh wait, that's me. :)

Okay, another hard hitting question coming.... What is the best bumper sticker or t-shirt slogan you've ever seen?
Jennifer: Can't remember exact wording but: "A woman who wants to be equal to a man has no ambition." (hee hee hee)

Erin: *smirk* Like that one. When I asked you that question, I had a favorite of mine in mind which I was going to add as part of our witty repartee. Unfortunately, I have the short term memory of a gnat and I can't remember what the damned thing said. So I'll just quickly segue into my next question.

You have three releases in September! How do you keep all the books you write straight?



Jennifer: I don't. I figure the booksellers keep straight what's coming out when and have the books available (the awful thing is, they don't always!). I just write and turn in the manuscripts. I like each book for a different reason, and when I'm focused on a ms., none of the others exist. So I don't bother to try to keep them straight. It makes my head hurt. :-)

Erin: Well it makes my head hurt just thinking of how many words you must write a day. I've said it before but must say it again--you are amazing. I can't even IMAGINE publishing as many great books in as a short amount of time as you have.

Tell me something about each of the releases and what you loved about writing them.


Jennifer:

1. Mortal Seductions, by Allyson James (Berkley Heat): What I loved: Sexy shapeshifting guys! Demetri is a son of Apollo and a goddess, and he can become a tiger. Leon is a Cajun shapeshifter who can shift into any animal he's touched. Valerie gets to have them both (lucky lady). Valerie was a lot of fun to write; she frequently becomes her own evil twin!

2. Tales of the Shareem: Calder, by Allyson James (Ellora's Cave). What I loved: Shareem are men genetically created in a factory to be the ultimate pleasure slave. What's not to love? :-) Calder is a special guy, though. Tortured and scarred, he's sought after by women for his unique skills. Until he finds a lady who loves him for *him* of course.

3. "The Scotsman and the Vamp," by Jennifer Ashley in The Mammoth Book of Vampire Romance, Vol. II. What I loved: This was a bit of fun for me--the Vamp is Claire, a female vampire who decided to run off to 1920s Hollywood rather than wait around for her "true mate." She becomes a silent film star instead! But her Scotsman, her mate, comes right after her. It's a funny story with cocktails, jazz, and HEA. Ok, you asked me to keep them straight, and now my head hurts. :-)

Erin: Holy Cow! Well they all sound wonderful to say the least. (Thinking, you've probably finished writing 2 books in the time it's taken me to put this interview on my blog).

Okay, last question: Will there be another book to follow up The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie? (You know I'm such a fan!)

Jennifer: Of course! I'm writing Lady Isabella's Scandalous Marriage right now, and it will be available from Berkley Sensation next summer. (The other two brothers will follow soon after that. Plus a shapeshifter series and a contemp. romance fantasy series.)

Thank you so much for stopping by, Jennifer. I know everyone is excited to read your latest and no one is complaining if you can write them fast--except my husband and kids, that is, who never see me without my nose in a book. *grin*

If you want to learn more about Jennifer Ashley/Allyson James, go to: http://jennifersromances.com/!

Jennifer is giving away a copy of Mortal Temptations (the first book in the series) and I'm giving away books and a gift card so go to: http://www.erinquinn.info/Contest.htm to enter!

12 comments:

orelukjp0 said...

I love the sound of your books. The men are made or they are Scotsmen. If you can't make your perfect man, I'll take a highlander any day.

Seriously, congratulations on all the releases, I know I'll have a hard time picking which one to read first.

Thanks for entering me in your contest.

Jennifer Ashley/ Allyson James / Ashley Gardner said...

LOL. Thanks for stopping by! The Shareem really are nice. :-)

I would have been here sooner to thank Erin for having me, but I had to take my cats to the vet for their yearly checkup today. Now that was an adventure. I'm now washing all my clothes. I love cats. (I really do).

Thanks Erin for hosting me! I'll be around.

Kayla Johnson said...

I love your books! I need to go book shopping now and get another!!
Thanks for the contest!


kaylajohnson3969@sbcglobal.net

Virginia C said...

Wow! You are a busy lady and a great storyteller! Lord Ian is awesome! Please enter my name in your drawing. gcwhiskas at aol dot com

chey said...

Congrats on all your releases this month!
They all sound wonderful!

Stacey Smith said...

wow how do you keep up whit your self thats a lot of books coming out at one time. well Congratulations on all of them now I just have to go out and buy them when i can there on my list.
sasluvbooks@yahoo.com

katsrus said...

Your books sound wonderful! Congrads!

Jennifer Ashley/ Allyson James / Ashley Gardner said...

Thanks everyone! I appreciate you stopping by. Yep, it's hard to keep it all straight--I didn't plan to have five releases in two months. It just happened. LOL I hope everyone enjoys the stories.

librarypat said...

What a versatile and prolific writer you are. I've heard lots of really good things about The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie. It is on my To Buy list. My TBR shelf is overflowing at the moment, so I need to wait. Did not realize you wrote under three different names. I know you said you kept them separate, but that must be confusing and difficult. Mortal Seduction sounds interesting even though I usually read historicals.
Keep up Your terrific writing!

The Brunette Librarian said...

Jennifer, you have NO IDEA how excited I am to read your new shapeshifter novel. Ugh, I simply can't wait!!

Talk about awesomeness, I just re-read "The Madness of Sir Ian" this past weekend. It was the third time for me but every time I find things that I enjoy. SUPER excited for Mac's story. :)

Anxious reader in Missouri here! <3

Laurie Schnebly Campbell said...

Oh, gosh, I just saw Erin mention that Jennifer was guesting...what fun, seeing the two of you together! Especially because you both have such great blogs, sharing so much with readers and writers.

Thanks for a whole LOT of great reading!

ChristyJan said...

The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie is one of my favorites! I can't wait until the rest of the family have their stories!