A Quick and Quirky Dozen: Unpredictable Love with #MFRWauthor Jean Joachim

Jean Joachim is a best-selling romance fiction author, with books hitting the Amazon Top 100 list since 2012. She writes mostly contemporary romance, which includes sports romance and romantic suspense.

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Day or Night?
Day! I used to be a night person, now I'm an early morning person. Love the sunrise and awakening of nature.
Pen and paper or Computer?
Computer. It's faster and can save stuff.
Fruit or Chocolate?
Hard choice. Both, actually. And when they are combined? Absolute heaven.
Coffee or Tea?
Tea, tea and only tea -- forever!
Roller Coasters or Merry-Go-Rounds?
Used to be roller coasters, now it's merry-go-rounds. Life is thrilling enough.
Bath or Shower?
Love a bath, but never have time for one, so it's shower for me.
City life or Country life?
A bit of both. I live most of the year in New York City, but retreat to the country to write for the summer.
Soft or Hard?
Soft, for sure. Depending on what you're talking about. Oops. Gotta keep this clean.
Ebook or Paperback?
Love an ebook - flexible, take tons of them anywhere, but paperback is still great.
Cats or Dogs?
Too allergic for cats anymore, so it's definitely dogs.
Fast or Slow?
Fast. I'm a speey, impatient person.
What is your secret guilty pleasure?
I love to watch The Bachelor and The Bachelorette. I'm always rooting for one guy or girl and love a happy ending.

Jean Joachim's latest book is Unpredictable Love.
Uh oh. Amber signed her sister’s name on a pen pal letter to a Marine. As usual, Jory Walker was stuck fixing her sister’s little white lie.  

When letters poured in from SSGT Trent Stevens in Afghanistan, Jory had no choice but to correspond. Sure he’d be drooling over Amber’s bikini photo, thinking it was Jory. Since they’d never meet, what harm could it do if she sent him a few letters?

Would her charade boomerang replacing happiness with pain? What started off as an innocent ruse, morphed into a monstrous web of deceit. Maybe unpredictable love was destined to break her heart.

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"Once again Ms. Joachim has created a story that touch your emotions. This author has a way with words that brings the towns and characters to life creating an almost 3D picture of the events taking place. The characters a real people, easy to relate too and their actions and reactions only help to bring the story to life. Jory longs for love but is shadowed by her beautiful sister. Always compared and feeling lacking she doesn't think there is a prince charming for her. Trent is a soldier needing a connection to home while he serves his country and Jory's letters bring him hope for the future. This was a well written and a well thought out storyline. The main charterers are easy to like, their journey to find each other is filled will detours and distractions, twist and turns and sometimes their greatest obstacles were themselves." - Amazon

EXCERPT
Jory Walker plucked three letters from the mailbox in front of the house. Two bills and one envelope addressed to her that looked like it had been through a war. It had, according to what was scratched in the upper corner: SSGT. T. Stevens.
Anger bubbled up inside her. She made a beeline for the house, only to collide with her sister.
“Amber! What the hell?” She waved the envelope in the young woman’s face.
“I just sent him one letter.”
“This is the fourth you’ve gotten from him. When are you going to write back?”
“It was a mistake…”
“You can say that again. Especially the part where you signed my name!”
“Laura was so convincing. I thought she meant one time. Only one letter.”
“She asked people to sign up to write to guys in the military. Not to write only one letter and include a lewd photo.”
“It wasn’t lewd, whatever that means. Just me in a bikini. I’m not good at writing. Much better at pictures.” Her beautiful, blonde sister, with a Miss America figure, grinned.
“And the reason you signed my name?”
“I always liked yours better. Besides, if he wanted another letter, I knew you’d write it for me. So, it might as well have your name on it.”
“Don’t give me that bullshit smile. I’m on to you. And the answer is ‘no.’” Jory shoved the envelope from T. Stevens into Amber’s hand.
“Please? Pleeeaassseee, Jory. You’re the writer. Not me.”
“That’s right. You’re the pretty sister, and I’m the smart one.”
Amber nodded. “I don’t mean it like that. You’re so much better than me.”
“Than I.”
“See?”
“No.”

#MFRWorg #Christmas in July: Champagne for Christmas @JeanJoachim AUTHOR INTERVIEW

MFRW asks author Jean Joachim some Quick & Quirky Questions.
Jean Joachim is a best-selling romance fiction author, with books hitting the Amazon Top 100 list since 2012. She was chosen Author of the Year in 2012 by the New York City chapter of Romance Writers of America.

Married and the mother of two sons, she lives in New York City with her family. Early in the morning, you’ll find her at her computer, writing, with a cup of tea, her rescued put, Homer, by her side and a secret stash of black licorice. 

If money were no object, where would you live?
I'd live in several places. Paris in the spring and fall, St.Thomas in the Winter and Upstate New York in the summer. Perhaps with a few weeks in NYC squeezed in.

If you were a tool, which would you be?
I'd be a jack knife, because then people could use me to solve a myriad of problems. I'm a problem solver by nature. Besides, a jack knife is a tool you take with you. I like to go along on trips and outings. I'd be a popular tool and helpful at the same time. Sounds perfect to me.

What song best represents you?
Walkin' on Sunshine. I'm basically a sunny person who likes to laugh, love and be happy. Spending my days writing romance books makes me very happy. I love what I do.

If stranded on a desert island, who would you bring?
I'd choose to be stranded on a desert island with either of my favorite authors, Sinclair Lewis or Jane Austen. I think I could live a lifetime just listening to stories about Regency England. And Mr. Lewis was a prolific American author who could write amazing books. I could learn a lot from him.

Tell us about your most embarrassing moment.
My most embarrassing moment happened during my ad agency days. I was attending a conference and listening to a big lecture with the lights out and slides. Two men in front of me were gabbing. I shushed them two or three times. When the lights went up, I was appalled to see the two men were the president of my company (my boss) and the president of American Express, our biggest client. My boss made introductions and I wished I could sink into the floor.

City life or country life?
I love both city life and country life. I'm fortunate that I get to have both. I live in New York City and we have a little bungalow in upstate New York, where I go to write in the summer. I like to be indoors, cozy and warm in the winter, my least favorite season. But in the summertime, I hate being inside. I become a total outdoor girl. I adore sitting on the deck, watching the birds at the feeder and writing in the fresh air and quiet.

If you were an animal, which would you be?
I'd probably choose to be an elephant. not only do they have no natural enemies except man, but they live a long time are very social and very intelligent. All qualities I hope I possess.

Tell us about your holiday romance.

Champagne for Christmas

Contemporary Romance
Moonlight Books

Can a craving for mint chip ice cream and a passion for the theater keep a summer romance sizzling through a freezing winter? Clint is a high school English teacher and a budding playwright. Nina, a former actress, is now a beautiful and wealthy widow...and more than a little lonely, especially during a glorious Christmas in New York City.

A chance meeting brings them together. Their passion for the stage joins their minds while love blossoms, despite their age gap. The theater, that once united them, may be the one hurdle they can’t clear. A steamy romance with a happy ending you’ll never see coming.

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"Ms. Joachim`s holiday book is a joy to read from beginning to end. I was instantly swept up and into the story. Many a time I could imagine myself standing on the streets of New York and seeing what had been so wonderfully described. The romance between an older woman and a younger man was tastefully and sensually penned. This may be one of the author`s best to date. I simply could not put it down. At one point near the end of the book, I begged off chatting with friends on Facebook so that I could find out how things ended! Of course Ms. Joachim delivered a perfect happily ever after just as she always does. If you enjoy Christmas romances you will love Champagne for Christmas." - V.L.

EXCERPT
The sultry, August air hung heavy around Nina, quickly melting the ice cream in her sundae. While gazing up at the clear, night sky to look for the Big Dipper, she dribbled fudge sauce on her new, aqua T-shirt. She pursed her lips. That’s what I get for not paying attention. With a disgusted sigh, she reached for a napkin before realizing she’d forgotten to take one. “Damn,” she muttered under her breath and doubled back to the stand before the stain set.
She rushed up to the tiny counter right as a tall, good-looking man holding a double scoop cone turned. They collided. Half of his cold treat fell onto her chest, causing her to gasp at the shock against her skin. She looked up into his light brown eyes as she grabbed the melting ball.
He slipped one arm around her waist to keep her from losing her footing. She stood wobbling, mesmerized by him. He was almost a whole foot taller than she was, with thick, straight, brown hair and shoulders a mile wide. Nina shifted the ice cream from hand to hand, not knowing what to do.
“I don’t think you can put that back on the cone. Maybe the garbage?” he suggested with a grin.
Nina jerked back to reality and stepped toward the trashcan, tossing in what was left of the melting mess. “I’m so sorry. I’ll buy you another one,” she said, reaching for napkins to wipe her shirt and hands.
“It was my fault…completely. You don’t have to buy me anything. Besides, I still have one scoop here. I’ll just…,” he began, approaching her with more napkins, and then stopping, his hand in midair, color suffusing his face.
Nina had raised a hand to halt his actions. “It’s okay. I’ve got this.” The young woman behind the counter offered him a replacement scoop for free. Nina sat down at the picnic table set up for people to eat outside. After a good look at her shirt, she knew it was ruined.
The tall, attractive man joined her. “At least let me pay for a new shirt,” he offered, sitting down next to her on the bench.
“It’s okay. I had a spill on it already. That’s why I was coming back and got in your way,” she said, finishing the last of her sundae.
“What flavor?” he asked.
“Mint chip…is there any other?” She laughed.
“Not for me.”
Nina’s gaze was drawn to his mouth, then his tongue, as he licked the cold confection off the cone first then his lips. She ran her own tongue over her bottom lip unconsciously, in tandem with him. Wonder what it would feel like to kiss him? “I’m Nina Wells.” She offered her hand, as soon as she could rip her stare from his mouth.
He shook it. “Clint Hayworth.”
“You look familiar,” she said, with hooded eyes, admiring his physique.
“I’ve seen you, too…in the garden? Next door?” he asked, looking away from his ice cream.
“You’re renting the Willis place?”
“Thinking about buying it, too.” He stopped eating long enough to shoot her a confident smile, his gaze resting on her face before sweeping over her chest and back again.

Connect with Jean here.
Website - http://www.jeanjoachimbooks.com
Amazon author page - http://www.amazon.com/Jean-C.-Joachim/e/B001ITRQKY/
Fb -  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jean-Joachim-Author/221092234568929
Goodreads - https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/334810.Jean_C_Joachim
Blog - http://jeanjoachim.blogspot.com
Pinterest - http://www.pinterest.com/jeanjoachim/

Book Spotlight ~ Love Lost & Found

Author:  Jean Joachim & Ben Tanner

Book:  Love Lost & Found

Release Date:  September 25, 2012

Publisher: Secret Cravings Publishing

ISBN: 978-1-61885-387-5

BUY LINK/S:  

Publisher:  http://store.secretcravingspublishing.com/index.php?main_page=book_info&cPath=4&products_id=424

Genre:  Military Contemporary Romance

Length:  250 pages

Heat Level: R 3 out of 5 flames

Format: E-Book in Multiple Formats

Author Website:  www.jeanjoachimbooks.com 

Author Blog/s:  http://jeanjoachim.blogspot.com

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/authorbenjamin.tanner

and https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jean-Joachim-Author/221092234568929?ref=ts

Twitter:  @jeanjoachim

What do a Marine who received a “Dear John” letter and a journalist who dumped her cheating fiancé have in common? Nothing, outside of being heartbroken over lost love. But when they accidentally end up next to each other jetting to a Caribbean paradise, they do share one thing: mutual attraction. Friendship between Tara Mason and Sergeant Mick Peterson grows quickly through a few dates on St. Thomas. An argument coupled with a blunder strand them on a small deserted Caribbean island.

In the midst of nothing but sand and water, possible starvation leading to death, old wounds heal. While working together to survive, Mick and Tara fall in love. Love found in their own private Eden is soon challenged in life-threatening ways when they return to the mainland. Long separations, danger and loneliness test their devotion. Is the love they’ve found strong enough to withstand what life throws at them?