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.
"
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/
