Jane Porter's Blog, page 39

Cover Girl Rebecca Jones

I am so excited about this blog.  It's a really special one for me as this Cover Girl blog is all about my cover model for She's Gone Country!  That's right.  I'm featuring an interview Rebecca Jones the model on my book cover for She's Gone Country.

I "met" Rebecca when she emailed me while I was in Hawaii and I was stoked to hear from her.  We began emailing back and forth and I loved hearing what she had to say and thought all my readers and friends would enjoy meeting her, too.  So without further delay, meet the beautiful Rebecca and get an inside scoop on the cover story!

Rebecca, how did you get started in modeling?  What was your first assignment?

I started modeling at the age of 3 doing print work for major department stores. At the age of 7, I was in my first mother/daughter fashion show and knew it was what I wanted to do. My only problem was that I was timid and shy off the runway, which is something that does not present well in the modeling industry. Throughout growing up I continued to work off and on with different local agencies to help me with my self-confidence. I grew to 6'1 in my teen years, which made me stand out even more. I did not become "me" until the age of 20, when I married my wonderful and outgoing husband and we had our first child. Only then did I become a proud, self-confident individual.

Do you only model for book covers or can we find you in other print sources as well?

I model in newspapers, magazines, clothing websites and fashion shows. I am most comfortable on the runway, and wish it were a part of my daily life a long with cooking, cleaning and taking care of my two wonderful children.

Do you read the books you're the cover model for?

This is my first book cover, and I am so proud it's "She's gone Country". I have read the book and I love it! I can relate to Shey in so many ways; and what woman doesn't like a little spicy romance.

What do you love most about being a model?

I love the way I feel when I walk out onto the runway or get in front of the camera. The excitement before, during and after, it is amazing! I also love to travel and meet new people.

Is there a downside to this profession?

In my experience as a model, the area in which I live is a factor. There is not enough modeling work to keep me busy in the industry full time. I married a third generation potato farmer, which will keep my hometown, St. Augustine our permanent residence forever.  Family is very important and I respect that for our children. However, I do have the opportunity to travel to find international work. As of now, the past seven years have been pretty occupied with family, and occasional modeling when I receive the work. I have been enjoying every moment of raising my children; the time is so precious and goes by so quickly.

Do you follow a strict diet or exercise regime?

Running after my children ages 7 and 2 is pretty much exercise in itself. I am lucky enough to be tall and slender and I try to work out in order to stay fit. I also try to eat healthy in my daily routine, not only for myself, but to be a good influence for my children.

What's been the highlight of your career so far?

There have been a lot of highlights in my career in which I have thoroughly enjoyed. With every new assignment, I feel it opens another door and I continue to exceed my personal goals. I believe that I am known locally in my career and I feel that I have built and exceeded the expectations of clients and agents with whom I have worked. I am so pleased and I feel so fortunate to be on the cover of "She's Gone Country". This is definitely the top highlight in my career!

What are your career goals for next few years?

I hope to continue receiving work, not only throughout my community but with other agencies as well, local or international, to have more modeling opportunities. As my children are growing, I am finding that I have more time to concentrate on my career and will continue to focus on my bright future in the modeling industry.

Thank you Jane and your publishing company for placing my photo on the cover of "She's Gone Country". It has been an honor and part of my life I will never forget.

Xoxo,  Rebecca*

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Thank you, Rebecca!  I'm thrilled you're here and love that you're the model on my book cover.

And to celebrate Rebecca my cover girl, I'm doing a really awesome giveaway.  There will be three prize winners total, with three fun SHE'S GONE COUNTRY prizes consisting of a signed copy of the book, a $15 Barnes & Noble gift card, a $10 Starbucks card, chocolate, and lots more fun treats.  Want to a chance to win one of these Gone Country prizes?  Then comment below!  You can ask Rebecca a question, comment on the book, talk about the modeling world, or whatever interests you.  The Cover Girl contest runs through Sunday night and I'll announce the winner Monday morning.   Good luck and have fun!

©2011 Janeblog. All Rights Reserved.

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New Orleans

This is a shorty blog as I'm writing fast and furious today and I've three boys sick with the flu.  :(

But before we were hit with the flu last week, and before Surfer Ty returned to Hawaii, we had our own little Mardi Gras party on Wednesday night.  We wore green, gold and purple beads and I decorated with feathered masks and even made  a decadent red velvet cake for dessert  (two cubes of butter and 8 oz cream cheese for the frosting!  Not lowfat but incredibly delicious).  And then yesterday morning I made beignets for son Ty, who is taking French in school and loved the beignets we had at Cafe Du Monde and has been asking me to make them for him.

Breakfast of beignets at Cafe do Monde on son Ty's 12th birthday

As many of you know, New Orleans is one of my favorite places in the world, and probably my favorite city in the U.S.  I love going to New York, love Texas, love small towns and antique hunting and California's coastline, but New Orleans is different from every other place.  It feels foreign and fascinating and there's magic in the old French Quarter.  My parents took me there when I was in elementary school and I loved taking my kids there this past December.  We did have our share of adventures in New Orleans, including the night we spent in ER getting Mac's chin stitched closed (you can see his sore face in the pic below), but it just added color to our memories.  My sister and her daughter Krysia met up with us for part of our trip which just made it more special.

To celebrate Mardi Gras and New Orleans, I've got a very special prize for one lucky reader:  Beignet mix from Cafe du Monde, French Roast coffee from the same famous cafe at the French Market, a signed copy of The Italian's Virgin Princess which is set in New Orleans, and more fun goodies. Contest is super short!  It starts now and ends Tuesday night at midnight.  I'll drawn the winner's name Wednesday morning.  To enter tell me if you've ever been to New Orleans or if you've read  books that have been set there.  (Two of my favorite authors have used New Orleans for a setting–Christine Feehan and Kresley Cole.)  So chat with me and I'll be back Wednesday morning to draw the winner!

©2011 Janeblog. All Rights Reserved.

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Heading into Spring Break

Ty flew with us back to Seattle on Monday, and now tomorrow he returns to Hawaii to get back to work.  We won't see him until late March as he's got to be in Waikiki for Spring Break and it's going to be a tough month without him.  Mac and I have kind of gotten used to the guy.  :)

I'm busy wrapping up revisions on my Harlequin and then back to polishing my proposal for my next three single titles.  I guess the good thing about Ty working hard in the water this month is that I'll also be working hard at my desk.   I'm really enjoying writing right now and I love that we are both so passionate about what we do.

Unfortunately, I do have to postpone my trip to the Midwest this late April/May.    My boys need me with them right now but I am very much looking forward to getting to Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota very soon!

So how are you?  What will you be doing this weekend?  Bring me up to speed!  I've got a fun Mystery Prize in need of a good home, and I'll draw the winner from those who comment by Sunday morning.   Enjoy your weekend and if you have some time, talk to me!

©2011 Janeblog. All Rights Reserved.

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The Harlequin Presents Hero

Having just finished a month and a half of nonstop thinking about a book, and those three crazed weeks of writing, I've had the Presents hero very much on my mind.  He's a tricky beast–but definitely intriguing.

I've just written a post on this very yummy but demanding hero over  at the Harlequin Presents Blog (http://harlequinpresents.blogspot.com/2011/02/jane-porter-life-with-presents-hero.html) and thought I'd invite you to stop in and read about this male  in his prime.

After reading, if you comment on the blog there, you'll have a chance to win one of my Presents plus a Hawaii Starbucks drink card and some other delicious Hawaii treats that always include chocolate.

But that's not all!  Read some of the amazing blogs by my amazing Harlequin Presents author friends and report back to me HERE, in the comment section on this blog, something fun you read or learned and you'll have a double chance of winning something wonderful.

I will be drawing 2 names here on this blog as well for Hawaii Starbucks drink cards and treats, AND you can choose one of my books–any of my 32 books– to have signed either to you or a friend–should you win.  Both contests run through Saturday night and I'll announce the winners this coming Sunday morning, here and there.  :)

So get cracking, and reading, and enjoy your week!!

PS  Just finished such an awesome Kresley Cole novel last night that I don't even want to start a new book yet.  Still savoring her yummy hero Cade…and if any of you know her, tell her I'm a fan!!!!!!!

©2011 Janeblog. All Rights Reserved.

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Those Folks at Citibank

While Mac napped this morning I sat down and paid my bills.  I'm late paying this month due to me focusing so intently on my book.  I didn't even realize I hadn't paid bills until the morning we were to fly to Hawaii and I was still frantically writing.  Beneath my manuscript was a stack of papers, and in all those papers were unopened bills.

I brought them with me to Hawaii and I got online with B of A and paid.  I then went over my various credit card statements since I had time, noting with some shock that my boys have been making a lot of purchases at iTunes.  I sent both older sons texts that said no more charging anything at iTunes and then glanced down at the bottom of one of my cards, my oldest card, my Citibank Aadvantage, that I have had since 1989.

My rate was 29.90 %.

I looked at my other cards–7% and 11%.

I called Citibank to ask them to please lower my rate.  The best they could do was 21.9%.  For twenty minutes we went round and round and round.

I told them that wasn't good enough.  They said that's all they could do.  I said I knew they could do more.  They said no, because apparently I've had some late payments here and there, and the best they could offer someone like me was the 21.9 percent.  And they made it sound like I should be grateful.

I wasn't grateful.  It's a terrible rate.  An indecently high rate still.

And some late payments here and there?  Of course.

I'm human and have been with Citibank for over 22 years.   I've had babies and international travel and lean months and life.  I'm a woman who juggles a hell of a lot of balls but I've never screwed a bank over.

I asked for a manager.   Got Ted.  Got nowhere.  I asked them that if they couldn't do better to please close the account.  And so Ted did.

It was a really emotional thing.  There was no fighting for me.  Didn't matter that I'd been a great customer for over 2 decades.  The Platinum status meant nothing.  I meant nothing.  I was just a rating and my rating locked me in at 21.9%, and that's all we can do for someone like you, Ms. Porter.

After hanging up, I cried–cried–while I cut up my card.

I had such a long relationship with that Citibank Aadvantage card.  I got it in 1989, had it through grad school and my engagement and my first teaching job.  Used it to pay tuition and furniture for my first house.  That card allowed me to prepare my first nursery for my first baby.  I used it to take my family on vacations and it covered my business travel.

I loved accumulating my airline miles and the high high limit which was so high that it really wasn't a limit.  And I didn't get into trouble with it, either.  It was just a security blanket, knowing it was there should I ever need it.

But it's gone now.   And it was good I asked them to close the account.  I have two other credit cards with Bank of America, one for Alaska Air miles, and one for Hawaiian Air, and the interest rates are 7% and 11%.  Thank you Bank of America.   Thank God you value my business.

Now I'm done being sad.  I'm going to take Mac to the beach in a few minutes and have a great day.

Without Citibank.

©2011 Janeblog. All Rights Reserved.

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Ah, Deep Breath Now…

Book is in.

Ahhhhh.

Dang that was hard.  Start to finish.  Probably didn't help that I wrote it in 3 weeks, meant my days were just way too long and by this last week I was writing 10-12 hours a day and a chapter and a half a day.  Yesterday was 34 pages.  The day before was 41.  The day before that it was 31.  Makes me almost feel pukey.  When I focus that hard and write that long my whole brain seems to hum too fast, makes it hard to sleep at night.

I know writers who do that kind of output consistently, frequently..  I know some of the most famous Harlequin names have written 7-12 books a year.  I can not.  But I do need a better work ethic, and I only started working well once I left the house for a short-term office.  "Going to work" every day really did get me in the mindset that it was writing time, not email, or blog or laundry or snacking.  It was time to work.  I was there to work.  End of story.

Sitting on the dining room table going through Mom's mail

But leaving the house everyday for long days meant not enough time with the kids and so its with great pleasure that I have 9 days with Mac without babysitters.  We arrived last night in Hawaii on an ending flight and Mac and I just chilled today.  We're sitting on the couch watching Little Bear now.  Haven't done this in so long.  Might even start reading a book tonight when Ty comes home from teaching in Waikiki.  Bliss!!!

Thank you to my readers and friends for their birthday wishes over at Facebook yesterday. Thank you also to Latesha for the card (happy birthday, Latesha, to you, too!!) and Shannon Schell for my present and card.   Thank you for the emails and good wishes.  But most of all thank you for the support while I wrapped up my book.  I'll probably get revisions on Monday but for the next two days I'm on vacation!!

Love you all, tell me something, anything, and you'll have a chance to win one of my 3 fun surprise prizes!  Contest runs through Sunday night and I'll announce the 3 winners Monday morning.

Now back to Little Bear and doing nothing…

©2011 Janeblog. All Rights Reserved.

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Doing It for Ourselves

I'm just about to settle in and write all day–tough the day before Valentine's Day because I want to go card shopping and buy some little gifts and wrap them in pretty red and pink paper for tomorrow night's family dinner.  As my long time readers know, I love Valentine's Day….love the entire month of February.  In my mind it's a pink month…pink tulips, pink roses, pink candy hearts.  It's pretty and sweet and hopeful.

I've never wanted Valentine's to be about romance or sex…it's a family day for me, a night to share with my family how much I love them and how special they are to me.  The tradition of a family night for Valentine's Day started with my parents when I was a little girl and I've continued it for my sons.  I love giving everyone a Valentine but I also want one from everyone, too–and my boys know it, big and small.

There's something else I always want this time of the year–flowers.  Tulips and roses and lilies.   Fresh sweet scented bouquets that are pink and red and lush. Flowers that are yummy and romantic and simply gorgeous.  And sometimes I get them, and sometimes I don't.   And instead of being sad I don't get them, I now buy them for myself.

Yesterday on my way home after writing all day, I went to the flower section at the grocery store and picked out a dozen pink roses and bunches of tulips and once home pulled out my favorite vases and made up arrangements to put on the kitchen counter and the dining room table and by my computer on my desk.  I decorate with little silver dishes of pink conversation hearts and red and silver foil hearts dangling over the dining room table from the chandelier.  And I'm glad.  I love to see them, love the colors, the textures, the emotions the flowers generate.  I'm also glad I'm old enough and wise enough to know that no one will be able to meet all my needs and endless expectations and that its okay I do this for me…better than okay, its necessary.

The flowers are such a little thing in the big picture but they're so very important to me.  And just like I learned when writing Flirting with Forty, I don't have to wait for someone to recognize me, love me, do special little things for me.  I can do them for myself.  I can choose to love me.  I can make sure I have that extraordinary life I've always wanted…can make sure that extraordinary life is happening now, today.

We can do it for ourselves.  And we should.

Happy early Valentine's Day from my hopeful, grateful heart to yours.

©2011 Janeblog. All Rights Reserved.

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Writing Writing Writing

It's Monday again.  Not sure how it came around again so fast.  Feels like it should be Thursday.  But no, Thursday I flew to Tucson to join Shannon Yun's bookclub which turned out to be a really fun mix of readers and RWA members.  Loved the dinner and the company and conversation.  Was a wonderful treat–and break–from several weeks of very hard, very long writing days.

Jenn Griffin, Shannon Yun, Crystal Marshall, Jane Porter

But its the start of a new week, another week of intensive writing, and I'm determined to get this book heading towards its conclusion.  I've really struggled with it–every little word feels as if its been chipped from granite, or plucked from my brain with the smallest pair of tweezers imaginable. The words aren't tumbling or spilling out but coming so slowly I question my sanity as well as my talent.  I'm putting in the hours and effort, so why is it so dang hard???

I don't know, and frankly right now, I can't think too much about it or I'll lose whatever momentum I have going and that would be a disaster.  So I'm back to my manuscript to continue battling on but would really enjoy hearing things from outside my writing cocoon.

What is happening in your world?  Reading anything good?  I've got 5—yes five!!–Valentine treats to give away and the prize package includes a $10 Starbucks drink card, a signed copy of one of my Harlequin titles, yummy Valentine sweets and JP reader goodies.  For a chance to win one of these pretty and pink prizes, post a comment below and I'll draw and then announce the five winners Wednesday.  Good luck and happy Monday to all!

©2011 Janeblog. All Rights Reserved.

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Thirteen's The Charm

A family friend from my childhood forwarded this picture to me a few days ago and I loved it for so many reasons…

It was taken at my childhood home in Visalia outside by the pool…

It was June and my mother's birthday…

My father was still alive and wearing his new cool 70's glasses (not flattering but hey, lots of things in the 70's weren't).

My Mom looks fabulous–she still does–but she's young and wearing a pretty dress and I can tell she feels pretty here.

My sister has short hair…but at least she looks like a girl here.

I'm the 1970's version of Harry Potter in my striped shirt, short hair and big glasses.  (I guess the 70's frames didn't look so hot on me, either…)

I'm thirteen in the picture above.  I've just finished 7th grade at Green Acres Jr High and we're about to head to Europe for a year so my dad could teach higher ed courses for the military in Nurnberg and Wurtzberg.

In Germany we were home schooled by our parents for a year, and when my dad wasn't teaching, we traveled for weeks at a time throughout Europe in our VW camper van.  During that year I also discovered Gummi Bears, ABBA and contact lenses.   Although we were civilians we got to go onto base to buy peanut butter and Sugar Frosted Flakes.  I bought my first Harlequin romance in Europe, as well as my first Barbara Cartland romance, and by the time the year was over I was addicted to young secretaries and their seductive, sophisticated bosses as well as impetuous duchesses and handsome rakes.

A little over two years after this picture was taken my dad would be gone, Europe would be behind us, and I'd soon start my sophomore year of high school.  I would soon learn hard, heartbreaking things about life, but I hadn't learned them yet, not in the photo above.

No, I was thirteen and rather lonely.  I didn't have enough friends and I spent a lot of time alone reading and writing poetry.  I had an unflattering Dorothy Hamill hair cut and heavy glasses and huge dreams.

Someday I'd be pretty.  Someday I'd be popular.  Someday I'd  have a boyfriend.

I wish I could tell that awkward lonely thirteen year old Jane how much I love her.  And how proud of her I am.

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PS  I have an unclaimed prize that needs a home!  Want a chance to win something fun?  Post a comment–any comment–and I'll draw and announce the winner Saturday morning!

©2011 Janeblog. All Rights Reserved.

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Live Podcast Interview Tonight!

I'm so excited to be spending some time at The Manic Mommies Book Club tonight! I'm taking part in a live Podcast interview, lead by the wonderful Mari Partyka of the blog Bookworm With a View—and by you! My readers should call in with questions about She's Gone Country and get my answers live.

The interview is happening at 5 PM PST for 30-40 minutes. You can call with this number:

Number: (724) 444-7444

Call ID: 90383#

Pin: 1#

Click here for more information.

I hope you call in and chat with me! But if you can't make it, you can download the Podcast on iTunes. Just search for "Manic Mommies Book Club" in the music store and download the Feb. 2 Podcast!

I love The Manic Mommies Book Club. It's a great site for busy moms who don't have time to get out of the house and go to a book club in person, but still want to be part of one. You can get awesome, mandatory reading and a community of moms to talk about it, without the stress. The MMBC does live call-in interviews, like the one I'm doing tonight, every month, always with great writers. Be sure to check them out and participate in my interview tonight!

©2011 Janeblog. All Rights Reserved.

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