Jenyfer Matthews

My family and friends are always telling me I should write a book – based on reading my essays about life abroad – but I haven’t told very many people in my real life about my romance writing (aside from all of you of course). Shortly after my first book was released I decided I probably should tell my family because I figured at some point I’d want to talk about it and the longer I waited to let them in on things, the more likely they were to be offended that I hadn’t shared sooner.

When I told my husband’s 97 year old grandmother about my book, she asked me if it was a travel book. I told her that in fact it was a romance novel. She said, “Oh. So it’s not about your life then.” LOL

My latest WIP is definitely not about my life. It’s all about Aurora. I’ve decided to let her have her way and she’s running with it – and it’s surprisingly easy just to go along with the flow. She’s got a lot to say and even when I’m not actually sitting at the keyboard she’s chatting away in my head. Sometimes it’s hard to keep up with her.

But I’m going to do my best. We’ll see who is more demanding: Aurora or my children’s requests for entertainment and snacks. It might be close…

Time is passing. Tomorrow is the last day of school for my daughter, Wednesday for my son. After that there is only a week left until my six week vacation. Three weeks with my mother, three weeks with my father. I’m the adult child of divorced parents with children of my own and they are still sharing custody. It’s not so bad though – at least I get a change of scene. From the hot steamy South to the woods of the Boundary Waters and all the airports in between. Talk about one crazy summer.

I haven’t done much writing in the last week (blogging aside) I’ve been trying to finish up a few sewing projects before I go away. But Aurora has been chatting away inside my head, eager to get started. I’ve shown what I have so far to some trusted friends and I think Aurora is going to get her way and tell her story herself. I’m a bit of a control freak so I’m not sure how the first person thing is going to work out, but we’ll give it a go and see how we work together.

I hope you’re all checking into the contest for ONE CRAZY SUMMER. I went shopping yesterday to gather up some gifts to take home as well as the contest prize. There might even be some bonus items in the mix. I’m not giving any hints though. You’ll just have to take your chances on the contest.

In my day to day life I’m pretty curious about people – some might even say nosy. I want to know all the little details about the people around me – where are they going? Who are they talking to? Why are they doing that? I admit it – I’ve even been known to peek in a medicine cabinet from time to time.

It’s strange then that when it comes to celebrities or other public figures, I just don’t care. I don’t read People magazine or watch Entertainment Tonight. I can’t help but glance at the headlines on the tabloids when they are in front of me in the check out lines but rarely do I pick one up – and when I do, it’s not to find the “truth”, it’s to laugh at the absurdity. I don’t search the web looking for information or visit the official websites of my favorite authors or actors. I’m happy to accept whatever smiley interview face they present in 30 sound bites and be on my way.

To do otherwise means risking find out something I’d rather not know. And finding out that my favorite author / actor / musician held religious / political / ethical beliefs or cult associations that I found offensive or weird or just plain kooky would ruin the illusion for me. How much do we really need to know anyway? I watch movies and read books or listen to music to escape into a fantasy world for a little while. Knowing that my favorite sexy actor is a gun rights activist or gets his jollies releasing sex tapes on the internet just sort of spoils the mood for me, you know? I fall in love with the characters in the book or the movie, not their real life creator. I already know they are human beings with flaws, just like me.

There’s a reason they call it a public face. Enough said.

Enter to win a copy of my new release

ONE CRAZY SUMMER!

I’ve been terribly remiss lately about writing anything – books, blogs, emails. My mind has been other places. Planning children’s birthday parties for one thing (if you want the gory details check out my blog Squash Blossom) It’s amazing how much energy that sort of thing can consume.

There are only six school days left – six quiet mornings. I want to take advantage of the uninterrupted time I have left and yet…nothing is coming. I got off to a good start and have now hit a wall. It’s not that I can’t think of anything to write – I have TOO many things in my head to concentrate.

I think it’s because Aurora – that’s the name of my new character – isn’t happy with how I’m telling her story. She doesn’t want me to relate it to you in MY words. She really really wants to tell it herself, in her own words, reducing me to a secretarial medium, typing it out as she dictates in my head. We’re having a little bit of a power struggle at present. (She’s probably going to win in the end, but don’t tell her) We’re putting it to a vote – letting my critique group partners put in a vote for whose version they like the best.

If that wasn’t enough, Skye (younger sister to Summer in ONE CRAZY SUMMER) is also poking her nose in, trying to nudge me to pick up her story again. Don’t these impatient, demanding women realize that *I* have a life too??

I’m probably going to buy a laptop while I’m away on vacation this year. I suspect I’ll be breaking it in channeling for Aurora…

HERE TO STAY was released nearly six months ago but I never get tired of collecting good reviews:

HERE TO STAY is a sweet, yet suspenseful tale of reunited lovers and unanswered questions. Jenyfer Matthews has crafted a story that really has you wondering whodunit and why. The answers aren’t as clear cut as you’d think. [...] I loved watching them work things out, and I kept wondering if this time it would last. You’ve got to read this one to find out.

Heather M. Riley, Romance Junkies
4.5/5 blue ribbons

What are you waiting for? Buy the book already!

Only 13 more school days to go – 13 more quiet mornings – and my inner voice is stubbornly silent. Figures, huh? I did some research for the next little bit of my story over the weekend so now I’m just letting it…simmer.

In the meantime, I had an interesting email over the weekend from another romance author who also lives in Egypt. She’s the editor for a local expat magazine and would like to run an interview with me in their October issue – perfect timing for the release of my next book ONE CRAZY SUMMER. I’m both thrilled and excited but now comes the hard part.

Answering the questions in a way that actually makes ME sound witty and INTERESTING. I was working on it this morning and it’s not as easy as it might seem. (I know, hard to believe, isn’t it?) There’s a reason I don’t write paranormal/fantasy/sci-fi. My feet are firmly planted on the ground and even wrapped in the cloak of my alter ego, it’s still just me. I haven’t created a whole separate fully-developed super-persona – it’s just me with a different name. And it’s still difficult to find ways to sing my own praises without feeling like a jerk.

But “just” writing a great story isn’t enough – you have to find ways to connect with potential readers. Why should they read your book when there are so many others out there to choose from? How can you make yourself stand out in the proverbial crowd? Maybe they see an interview published in a magazine and think “Wow! What a (witty / intelligent / insightful / dull / moronic) person this is! I should (never ever) read their book!”

It’s a lot of pressure.

If I tell someone that I live in Cairo and write romance novels their first reaction might be “Oh! How interesting!” But really, dig a little deeper and my life is pretty average and normal. I get up in the morning and dash through making breakfast and packing lunches for the kids. I do my own grocery shopping and cooking, laundry, housework – in short all the usual dull details of regular life. Jackie Collins I am not.

Even the Cairo angle might even seem less interesting when presented to a group of people who themselves have also lived abroad for many years – and in many cases in more exotic locales yet.

I’ll have to give it some thought – it’s not every day that such an opportunity falls in my lap. Hmmm… I suppose I could lie…em…I mean accentuate the positives. I am a writer after all….

Been a little restless and out of sorts lately. I tend to get that way when I feel like I’m spinning my wheels and not being very productive. And I haven’t been able to settle down and work in part because I’m anticipating my annual vacation. You know how it is the day before a long weekend, you just sort of blow things off because, well, what’s the point in getting started on something new?

Only I have a month before I go. You can get a lot done in a month.

I decided to get busy this morning. It’s too hot here at present to think about making bread. Instead, I made some gazpacho with the pile of fresh tomatoes I had in the fridge. And I watered all the plants on my balcony and gave them a shower as well (I could almost hear them gasp in relief – they get awfully dusty out there), all while singing my heart out to a favorite CD. After I got all that done, I practiced a little BICHOK (butt-in-chair-hands-on-keyboard for newcomers)

I got 1700 words written, give or take. Not a bad result. I feel better already.

And I’m really looking forward to the gazpacho…

I really really planned to sit down and do some writing yesterday and today, but you know what they say about the best laid plans. Yesterday? I have no real excuse except that I found it hard to get back in the mood after taking the weekend off. I was having far too much fun playing around on other people’s blogs to stop and do some work of my own.

Today was another matter. You know how it is – you keep putting off all the little chores that you need to do until “later” and then suddenly “later” arrives! My son’s passport will expire in the fall just after his birthday and I suddenly remembered that there are rules about traveling when your passport is within 6 months of expiring. We could have let it go since we will be traveling in and out of the US this summer and apparently that isn’t a problem, but we decided to go ahead and take care of it now. Which meant gathering lots of different paperwork, forms of identification, and a progression of baby pictures proving that this is indeed the same child as the one in the infant photo in his current passport and making a trip down to the embassy.

I don’t know why, but I get unaccountably uptight when I come into contact with bureaucrats. I read instructions and follow them, but I always worry that I’ll have missed *something* and that *something* will cause problems or delays. And because I’m uptight and worried I over-think and hesitate when answering simple questions – which makes me seem suspicious. Which is not something you want to be labeled when in a US embassy (or a border crossing – yes, border patrol officers, customs agents, courthouse clerks – they all affect me the same way)

This morning wasn’t too bad. I had downloaded the application off of the website and had it all ready to go with my other supporting documents in a folder, ready for inspection. Except then we had to wait for about fifteen minutes for our turn and while we were waiting I started to worry that maybe they would give me a hard time because my application form wasn’t actually ORANGE like the ones they had in the rack near the door. What if they turned me away because it wasn’t orange? Would they let me fill out a new one while I stood there or would it have been a wasted trip?

They took my application and I didn’t end up getting frisked or otherwise detained. The new passport should be ready in 10 days, in plenty of time for our vacation travel.

Traveling with two kids under ten – now THAT will be an excuse for not writing!