Jenyfer Matthews

In spite of house guests, sick children and the general daily grind of housework, I’ve managed to meet my daily writing goal of 500 words (sometimes even more!) and I’m so close to being finished with my WIP I can practically taste it!

I am in a silly mood so today I thought I’d post

Six things you didn’t know about Jenyfer:

1) Where in the world is she:

Cairo, Egypt

2) Secret Vice :

Fast food (it’s rarely as satisfying as I expect it to be once I indulge but I just can’t help myself!)

3) Favorite dessert(s):

Depends on my mood Any of these choices and I’ll make room!

Mint Choc Chip ice cream
Chocolate Mousse
Pumpkin pie
Cheese cake

4) Hobbies:

Quilting
Yoga (I don’t practice it enough for it to be called exercise, LOL!)

5) Biggest Turn Off

Aside from the usual -
Bad oral hygiene!!

6) First (and Worst!) Job:

Cashier at Chuck E. Cheese Pizza

I like to Google myself occasionally - why not? It tickles And besides - sometimes I find fun things like another good review!

http://suspenseromancewriters.com/review.cfm?reviewID=5887

A rollercoaster ride of suspense makes HERE TO STAY a gripping story from beginning to end. A well developed cast of characters enhance the tale, with Julia and Paul’s slow rebuilding of their fractured marriage realistically presented. Emotional; Julia’s journey to a woman of purpose, Patrick’s devotion and unswerving determination to prove his love, and the love between the pair that was so readily apparent to this reader. Gripping intrigue and likable characters make HERE TO STAY a fine debut from author, Jenyfer Matthews.

Sort of anyway.

I’ve reached the last bit of my current WIP. I know all the things / events that I want to happen, I’m just trying to work out the best sequence to make it the most effective. I’ve been mulling it over for the past couple of days and I *think* I’ve just about got it but somehow it keeps slipping away.

So, I decided to make bread instead.

I’ve got the stereo cranked so I can sing while I knead the dough. And when the dough is set out to rise, I’ll start cutting up some fabric for two new quilt projects that have been simmering in my brain for a while.

(HINT: Next time you’re at a hotel, take all the shower caps you can find - they are great for covering bowls!)

All that in addition to just regular old every day housework. Did I say I was taking the morning “off”?

While I’m doing all of the above I hope to disengage my brain enough that later in the day - or maybe tomorrow - I’ll have an “ah ha!” moment. Fingers crossed - I’m so close to being finished…

Okay, I said before that I’d post an excerpt from my current WIP. Enjoy!

ALL THE WAY HOME

Jenyfer Matthews

(unedited, text subject to change)

BLURB:

Maggie and Sam grew up in the same town, knew each other in school, admired each other from afar, but never dated. She was just a little too straight and narrow for this bad boy. Now they’re all grown up and back in their hometown – she to deal with a family crisis, he to prove that he’s changed his ways. Neither can deny their attraction but they’re still at odds. She’s down on family life – can he be the one to convince her to settle down?

EXCERPT:

Maggie pressed her hand to her jittering stomach as she waited for Sam to come around and open her door. She thought she’d conquered her nerves over dinner but apparently there were a few stray ones that hadn’t yet gotten the message to relax.

“Come on,” Sam said as he opened her door. She slid out and let him lead her inside.

She’d never been inside the tavern. She’d been too young when she left Liberty the first time and it wasn’t a place she frequented during the few short visits she’d made over the years. Her mother had disapproved of the tavern and anyone who patronized it. Just that thought gave Maggie a little thrill as she crossed the threshold.

It was bigger than it looked on the outside. The large L-shaped room was hazy with smoke and filled to capacity. People swayed together on the dance floor to a Garth Brooks ballad, others tapped their feet at their tables. Sam pulled her along as he made a beeline for a vacant table.

“What would you like?” he said, raising his voice to be heard over the music. “Beer? Wine?”

Maggie glanced around and decided that a hundred other people couldn’t be wrong. “Beer is fine, thanks.”

“Be right back.”

The song changed and Maggie watched in fascination as the people on the dance floor arranged themselves into lines and began to dance in a practiced set of moves. She’d heard of line-dancing, of course, but had never seen it in person.

It wasn’t the sort of thing that her colleagues back at Columbia would have gone in for.

The music was getting to her and she began to tap her foot. Part of Maggie longed to join the fun, but a larger part reminded her of her general lack of coordination and kept her glued to her chair.

“Here you go,” Sam said as he set a bottle of beer in front of her. He took a swig of his own and gestured to the dancers. “Care to join them?”

“Oh, no, thanks,” Maggie stammered. “I can’t really dance.”

“Well, it’s time you learned,” Sam answered. “Why else did you think I brought you here?”

The current song ended to claps and hoots from the dancers. When the next one began, Sam grabbed Maggie’s hand. “This one is perfect. Come with me.”

She followed him to the dance floor reluctantly. “It’s okay, Sam, really. You don’t have to do this.”

“Oh, but I want to,” he said as he pulled her close. He smiled at her. “Relax. Just follow me.”

Maggie took a breath and tried to do as he asked. She immediately stomped on his toe.

“Sorry.”

“It’s okay,” he answered. “This is a two-step. It’s real easy, just like this. We’ll just make our way around the floor. Nice and slow.”

Maggie’s stomach pitched a little as she concentrated on following his lead. She wanted so much to make a good impression on Sam.

And she hated to look a fool.

The dance was easier than she thought and soon she was able to look up at Sam instead of down at her feet as they shuffled around the floor.

“See, it’s not so hard,” Sam said when he caught her eye. “Admit it, it’s kind of fun, isn’t it?”

Maggie smiled. “Maybe.”

“You know, I have a confession to make to you,” Sam said. “I’ve wanted to dance with you for a long time.”

“Really?” Maggie asked as she took a quick look down at her feet.

“You probably don’t remember, but it was at the Homecoming dance, the year I was a senior. ‘Every Breath You Take’ by The Police had just come on and I caught sight of you standing with a group of your friends. You were wearing this great blue dress, kind of like tonight, and you turned and looked at me. I wanted so much to cross that dance floor and ask you to dance with me, but I just stood there. Then some friends of mine came up and pulled me away.”

Sam flexed his fingers on her back. “I’ve never forgotten that moment.”

Maggie looked up at Sam, too stunned to speak. She couldn’t believe that he remembered.

She thought that she’d been the only one who noticed.

That moment had been frozen in time for her. She’d written about the incident in her journal and had replayed it in her mind over and over again. How many times had she broken her own heart with longing for that dance that never happened.

And now here she was in his arms.

Sam ran his thumb up and down her spine slowly, tracing each vertebrae, then leaned down and brushed a soft kiss across her upturned lips.

Maggie’s stomach flipped and her eyes grew wide. She couldn’t believe that this was happening, right here, right now.

She pulled away from him.

“Maggie?” Sam asked as he let her go.

Maggie looked at him, eyes wide. “Excuse me, but I think I’m going to be sick.”

I’m pleased to announce that HERE TO STAY earned another great review :

“This kept me turning pages until the very satisfying ending. Jenyfer Matthews is a skillful writer. She has crafted a tale of romantic affection within a superb suspense story. Recommended.”

Overall rating:
Reviewer: Lynn Bushey

The Romance Studio

Good bread and good reviews - who can ask for more?

romance writing
book reviews
cerridwen press

My bread was wonderful. In fact, I know now why most recipes make two loaves at a time - because the first one is consumed while it is still warm from the oven This week I plan to try a recipe sent in by an author friend and blog reader - honey oatmeal. My mouth is watering just thinking of it. (Thanks, Anny!)

I tend to get a little obsessed by things like this. I get so enthusiastic that all of my waking thoughts - and sometimes my dreams as well - are filled with images of whatever my current obsession is. Many years ago, we lived in a place where there were wild blackberries growing by the millions around the football field of a local college. I became totally preoccupied by thoughts of picking the blackberries. I would go out in the early morning and pick as many as I could reach from open space of the field. It was hot and sweaty work and the bushes were covered in thorns but I was not deterred. Sometimes I would even go back in the evening to see if more had ripened in the hours that I was away. I dreamed of blackberries. My husband rolled his eyes at me, but he didn’t mind eating the cobbler and the jam I made as a result.

These days I guess I have enough else going on that I can’t let my new passion for bread baking take over in quite the same way. Two kids, writing, house work. I’ll have to settle for carving out time once a week to make my two loaves. I might even be able to make it two mornings if I’m really organized. I draw the line at getting up early, but maybe I could stay up late….Hmmm…

I survived the brunch. I had two hours between the time I got my kids to school and when the brunch was set to begin. After things were reasonably tidy, I got busy making my contribution - a curry rice salad. I’d made a cheese ball two days before and bought some croissants. But then I began to worry that maybe it wasn’t enough so I whipped up some banana muffins and a chocolate cake. For once everything came out as it should the first time around and I even had my dishes washed and put away before the first arrival.

All in all, about fifteen ladies showed up all bearing their own wonderful contributions. I would highly recommend hosting a brunch yourself. There was more talking than eating going on and in the end they all left the food. I have enough food to feed my family at dinner several nights this week. Not to mention the desserts!

Today, I am trying my hand at making bread. It’s an art I’ve wanted to master for many years but have always been a bit timid about. I admit it - yeast scares me. I’ve always been scared to get it going and then get busy with the children at some crucial moment. But I have met several people recently who can’t really cook other things but have no trouble with bread so I decided to give it a shot.

Lest all this talk of baking makes anyone think I’m some sort of domestic goddess, let me confess I tried making bread for the first time last week and it was a disaster. I must have killed the yeast first thing because the dough never rose. I won’t bother telling you how much I yell at my kids in a day. I’m sure they’ll write their own books when they grow up and reveal all the sordid details themselves.

But just because my hands are busy someplace other than the keyboard, my mind is still working on my current story. I’ve thought up a good timeline / outline to follow for the rest of the story and even made some connections that will really round things out nicely. I’m pretty pleased with how it’s all coming together and I can’t wait to share it with everyone. Maybe next time I’ll post an excerpt.

Right now I have to go punch down some dough.

This isn’t going to be a terribly productive week for writing, I can just tell. I spent this morning at my daughter’s school watching her sports day - two very long hours in the hot sun. Tomorrow I am hosting a brunch for the moms of grade two. I’m not crazy - it’s potluck - but I still have to organize my house and go out and get paper plates and napkins. Later in the week my son has an event at his school I have to attend.

Things have certainly changed since I was in school - I can count on one hand the number of times my mother was ever invited to anything at my school!

Before I know it, it will be the weekend again and there will be yet more running around and distractions keeping me from my writing.

Oh well. At least I’ve been very very good lately - my 500 word a day goal has kept me on track and I’ve written that and more just about every day last week. I’m probably just past the halfway point on my WIP and starting the coast home.

I even came up with a title. I frequently have trouble with titles. Either it comes first, before the story idea or I agonize over it - discarding many before I find one that I feel will work. So, here’s the blurb:

Maggie and Sam grew up in the same town, knew each other in school, admired each other from afar, but never dated. She was just a little too straight and narrow for this bad boy. Now they’re all grown up and back in their hometown – she to deal with a family crisis, he to prove that he’s changed his ways. Neither can deny their attraction but they’re still at odds. She’s down on family life – can he be the one to convince her to settle down?

The title? ALL THE WAY HOME

I’ll have to get back to you on a release date but it feels good to at least give it a name.