Guest Post with Author Jenna Bennett and Giveaway

Today I would like to welcome to RFTC author Jenna Bennett. Jenna is celebrating the release of her book Tall, Dark and Divine and has stopped by to chat about her writing inspiration. Before I give the floor over to Jenna, lets get to know her a bit.

Jennie Bentley is the author of the New York Times bestselling Do-It-Yourself Home Renovation mysteries from Berkley Prime Crime, while Jenna Bennett writes the Cutthroat Business mysteries for her own gratification. Jenna is also the author of the upcoming Soldiers of Fortune series of futuristic romances from Entangled Publishing. The first book in the series, Fortune's Hero, will debut in November 2012. In addition to futuristic romance, Jenna also has the first books in a contemporary romantic suspense series and a paranormal series coming from Entaqngled Publishing in fall 2012.

A former Realtor® and renovator and current full-time author, Jenna/Jennie lives in Nashville, Tennessee, with a husband, two kids, two frogs, two goldfish, a killer parakeet, and a hyper-active dog. Originally from Norway, she has spent more than twenty years in the US and still hasn’t been able to kick her native accent.

Places to find Jenna:

| Site | Blog | Facebook | Twitter |

“Where do you get your ideas?”

It’s one of those questions every author hears, over and over again. It’s probably the question I’ve been asked the most, along with, “So when’s your next book out?”

I usually reply that I mail-order mine from a small convenience store in Nebraska, but the truth is, ideas are everywhere, ready to be scooped up by the handfuls. I’ll never understand people who aren’t wading knee-deep in story ideas. If I stopped having ideas right now, I could easily spend the rest of my life writing books just based on the ideas I’ve already had.

Of course, it’s not always easy to pinpoint exactly where the idea for a certain book came from. Often, it’s some little thing that’s been brewing the backbrain for a long time – years, maybe – that’s finally come to fruition. Sometimes, it’s a compilation of things: the idea from the backbrain, niggling for years, not quite ready yet, gets brought to the forefront by some tiny little thing that happened, that turns out to be just the thing it needed to come into itself.

I remember having the idea for Tall, Dark and Divine a few years ago, long before it was called that. It was just an idea, one of many, inspired by Gena Showalter’s Lords of the Underworld series. I love the Lords of the Underworld, but they are admittedly a little dark, and dark just isn’t my thing. But I’ve always loved mythology, even wa-a-a-ay back in elementary and high school. I guess that’s how long that particular germ has been living in the back of my head: more years than I admit to having lived.

Anyway, a love of mythology and the Lords of the Underworld came together a couple of years ago, and resulted in an idea for a series of light and funny paranormal romances about Eros, the Greek god of love, and his matchmaking agency, Made in Heaven, in Astoria, a neighborhood in Queens, which is one of the five boroughs that make up New York City.

I spent some of my formative years in Astoria – those in my early twenties – and it was a heavily Greek neighborhood; once upon a time the largest Greek settlement in the world outside Greece. Greek food, Greek businesses, and Greek men abounded. Women too, of course. It seemed a perfect place to drop a bunch of Greek gods and goddesses, to see how they’d manage modern life.

For a year or two, all I had was the idea and the first five or six pages of text. Eros, drowning his sorrows in ambrosia because the love of his life, beautiful Psyche, has left him for someone else.

The final piece of the puzzle came when I heard about Entangled Publishing’s paranormal imprint, Covet, and how they were looking for trope-heavy romance with a paranormal twist. It sounded like just what had been bouncing around in the back of my head for two years. Light, funny, contemporary. So I came up with a classic story of a guy on the rebound, and a woman who’s tired of looking for Mr. Right and instead has gone out in search of Mr. Right Tonight. They meet at Dionysus’s Bar, where Annie does her best to pick up Eros for a one night stand, while Eros does his best to fix Annie up with CPA Harry Mitchell from the accounting firm down the street.

Greek god or not, Eros is just like any other jilted husband: bitter, cynical, scared, and determined not to make the same mistake again. The trick to writing him wasn’t to take your average romance novel hero and trying to make him larger than life. Eros is already as large as they come – the freaking god of love – and it became a question of making sure he was more human than godlike instead. Annie, meanwhile, is like a lot of women: tired of being alone and desperate enough to take measures to change it, at least temporarily.

The problem with Eros’s plan, of course, is that Harry doesn’t want Annie, and Annie would rather have Eros, while Eros may not be as done with mortals as he thinks he is.

Tall, Dark and Divine was a ton of fun to write, and although I didn’t set out to write romantic comedy, that’s what it ended up being. And I probably shouldn’t admit it, but much as I love Eros and Annie, my favorite character in the book is actually that classic character, the hero’s best friend. In this case he’s Dionysus – Dion – Greek god of wine and debauchery, owner of the bar where Eros and Annie meet, and he says things like, “You gotta spread the gift around, know what I mean? Every woman deserves a night in the sack with a god.”

Who can argue with that?

Eros, the Greek god of love, swore off the useless emotion after his ex ran off with some Viking godling. He's lost all interest in his matchmaking business, Made in Heaven, until he spots the sweet baker who works across the street. Before she stirs his sullen heart, he'll match her and get back to his ambrosia-laced wine in no time.

Lonely baker Annie Landon has given up on finding Mr. Right. What she needs is Mr. Right Here, Right Now, and this so-called “Greek God” she’s heard is on the rebound sounds exactly like the perfect kind of distraction. But picking up the bitter, workaholic is easier said than done…especially when he seems unreasonably determined to match her with someone else.

Can a woman looking for love, and the matchmaking god who wants her to find it—with someone else—have a shot at a happy ending? May the best god—or mortal—win.

Places to Purchase:

| Amazon | Barnes & Noble |

1 lucky commenter will win a eBook copy. 

To Enter:

• Leave a meaningful comment for Jenna. 
• Fill out the Rafflecopter form below.  

Good Luck =)

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