Jill Shalvis and Jennifer Probst ask each other some burning questions
Jill Shalvis and Jennifer Probst, whose new releases are Second Chance Summer and Searching for Always, quiz each other on important stuff. You know, hot guys, wedding disasters and animals — that kind of important stuff.
First up, Jen drills Jill …
Jen: Ah, Jill, you are known for your fab, hunky, funny, sexy heroes. Readers love them all, but If you HAD to pick, which one would you marry? Which one would you have an affair with? And which one would you have to run far, far away from?
Jill: Ha! I'd SO marry AJ from Still the One, mostly because he can cook and give good massages. What more do you need in a husband? I'd MOST DEFINITELY have an affair (assuming I WASN'T married to AJ!) with Aidan Kincaid from Second Chance Summer, because, well, you'll have to read and see but trust me, the man is H-O-T. As for the man I'd run far, far away from … not one of MY men, lol! There's not a loser in the bunch!
Jen: There's so much emotion written in your books. What's one of your favorite passions to incorporate? Animals? Charities? Military? Service professions?
Jill: Aw, thank you! Can I say all of the above? When I'm writing, the romance is always the most important thing to me, but I really love adding in slices of real life, and for me that real life always includes animals. So that's a given. Plus, nothing gives comic relief like a grumpy cat or a massive, silly, loving dog. As for the military or service professionals, I have nothing but respect for them, but come on, when it comes to romance novels, we all know it's really about the uniforms and how the guys look in them!!! :)
Jen: How did you meet your own alpha man?
Jill: Speaking of a guy in uniform … Alpha Man used to drive an ambulance back in the day (he's going to be irritated at that!). So read above answer regarding uniforms and how guys look in them. :) I was young, working in the accounting office of dispatch, where we were told in no uncertain terms to NOT date the paramedics, cops or firefighters, as they all had reputations. Apparently, I don't listen very well. :)
Jen: You are well known for your amazing FB posts. So tell us, have all those crazy I Love Lucy moments really happened? And how close have you come to the bears in your neck of the woods?
Jill: I can honestly say those I Love Lucy moments do happen. And I'm not exactly happy about it either! But, hey, just keeping it real. If I can find the humor out of accidentally finding myself in between a mama bear and her three cubs who just wanted to play with my dog, then I figure you can, too. As for how close I've come to the bears … uncomfortably close, multiple times. But luckily they've never been particularly hungry ...
Jen: What's one item on your bucket list?
Jill: Hmm … work in the Oreo cookie factory? Drive a race car VERY fast … And be one of the judges on The Voice, somehow able to sit in between Adam Levine and Blake Shelton and Pharrell all at the same time!!!
And now Jill turns the tables on Jen …
Jill: Jen, you have such a wonderful, humorous voice in your books. How did you start your writing career?
Jen: Aww, thanks, Jill!! I wrote my first Young Adult romance when I was 12 years old! It was about the shy, nerdy girl who crushed on the sexy, bad boy in school, and yes, it was totally autobiographical! I just loved incorporating some humor into my stories because that's how my family coped with bad times, we tried to find the humor and laugh about it. I was lucky I found my writing career so early in life and I never stopped writing.
Jill: A lot of your books feature brides — any fun stories from your own wedding?
Jen: Ah, I do love my brides. My wedding was chock full of disasters, ranging from the best man getting my husband drunk and going on a joyride in the limo. Yeah. I'm serious. So, I was literally an hour and a half late to my own wedding. Then the preacher forgot our names, and my father-in-law burst into an impromptu song in the middle of the ceremony. All I can say is my marriage was a lot better than my wedding — though my guests said they had the time of their lives. lol!
Jill: From Twitter and Facebook your readers can tell how much you love animals and dogs in particular — how important is it for you to include animals in your books?
Jen: My passion is rescue animals, and I am a huge dog lover. I don't force it into my books, they just come from a natural desire to pair my characters with animals, and I love incorporating an animal story into the subplot to parallel my hero and heroine's romance.
Jill: I'm going to throw one of your questions right back at you! Your heroes range from the sexy millionaires to a bad-ass cop and a super nerd — which ONE would you marry??
Jen: LOVE it! Darn, this was a hard one to answer, too! I think I'd marry the hot millionaire to sweep me off my feet and give me plenty of money to open up a rescue shelter! And of course, I'd be the one to change him completely so he wasn't a workaholic but a complete balanced family man!
Jill: Favorite romantic movie scene?
Jen:The Last of the Mohicans. When Daniel Day-Lewis vows to Madeline Stowe under the waterfall that he WILL find her. Wherever she goes, he WILL find her. I always melt at that one!
Jill: What's next for Jennifer Probst fans?
Jen: A new series! The Billionaire Builders series features three hot contractor brothers who are estranged and have to get back together to run their family company. Think Property Brothers from HGTV meets The Marriage Bargain! It comes out spring 2016. Then I have a fun novella coming out this August called Summer Sins from the Hot in the Hamptons series.
Jill: Pop quiz: You've been given a free ticket to visit three cities you've never been to. Where do you go?
Jen: San Francisco, Paris and Palermo, Sicily.
Find out more about Jill and Jennifer and their books at jillshalvis.com and www.jenniferprobst.com.