Pump Up Your Book Chats with Jo Kessel, author of ‘Weak at the Knees’

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We’re honored to be chatting today with Jo Kessel, author of the new adult contemporary romance, Weak at the Knees! Jo is a journalist in the UK, working for the BBC and reporting and presenting for ITV on holiday, consumer and current affairs programs. She writes for several national newspapers including the Daily Mail, the Telegraph, the Guardian and the Express and was the anonymous author of the Independent’s hit column: Diary of a Primary School Mum. When Jo was ten years old she wrote a short story about losing a loved one. Her mother and big sister were so moved by the tale that it made them cry. Having reduced them to tears she vowed that the next time she wrote a story it would make them smile instead. Happily she succeeded and with this success grew an addiction for wanting to reach out and touch people with words. P.S Jo’s pretty certain one of her daughters has inherited this gene. Other books by Jo Kessel include Lover in Law. Visit her website at www.jokessel.com.

Connect & Socialize with Jo!

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About the Book:

“We got so busy living life that we forgot to live our dreams.”

Danni Lewis has been playing it safe for twenty-six years, but her sheltered existence is making her feel old ahead of time. When a sudden death plunges her into a spiral of grief, she throws caution to the wind and runs away to France in search of a new beginning.

The moment ski instructor Olivier du Pape enters her shattered world she falls hard, in more ways than one.

Their mutual desire is as powerful and seductive as the mountains around them. His dark gypsy looks and piercing blue eyes are irresistible.

Only she must resist, because he has a wife – and she’d made a pact to never get involved with a married man.

But how do you choose between keeping your word and being true to your soul?

Weak at the Knees is Jo’s debut novel in the new adult, contemporary romance genre – a story of love and loss set between London and the heart of the French Alps.

Purchase your copy at AMAZON (US) or AMAZON (UK)

Q: Does your book have an underlying message that readers should know about?

The book has a couple of underlying messages, actually. The first is that we shouldn’t be quick to judge others (I think that’s something most of us are guilty of at some time or other) because we never really know the full story. Also, we need to all work hard at living our dreams…………….before it’s too late. I can’t say any more because I don’t want to give too much away.

Q: Besides books, what else do you write? Do you write for publications?

I’m a freelance print journalist in for national newspapers in the UK. I write travel features, parenting articles and first person pieces………..but nothing beats writing a full-length novel – and the luxury of having time to describe and develop a story in much greater detail.

Q: Do you have a writing tip you’d like to share?

Actually, I have two tips I’d like to share! The first is that if, as a writer, you’re stuck in a rut and the words are just not flowing, then stop. Don’t try to plough on just in case inspiration suddenly strikes, because chances are it won’t. Stop, take a breather and perhaps go for a long walk to regroup, and then try again, be it a couple of hours later or even the next day.

My next tip is one Stanislavski (he devised the principle of ‘method acting’) would approve of. I call it ‘method writing’ and I do it all the time. I close my eyes and literally transport myself to the scene I’m writing and into the bodies of my characters to try to work out what they might say, how they might react, how they might feel.

Q: Would you like to tell us about your home life? Where you live? Family? Pets?

Well, I’m married to a lovely man called Marc (I picked him for his sense of humor) and we have three wonderful little children who keep us on our toes. We live in a leafy suburb of north London called Highgate, which is actually quite famous because it has a beautiful cemetery where a lot of famous people are buried (including Karl Marx and numerous literati). We’ve recently acquired a pet – a sweet little ginger-furred hamster called Lucky. I was a reluctant pet-owner at first, but I have to say, I’ve grown to simply adore Lucky. She’s cute, clever and such fun. I’d never have thought it possible that such a small little creature could bring us so much pleasure.

Q: Where’s your favorite place to write at home?

There’s only one place I write and that’s in my study. It’s small and a little bit messy (just not enough time to keep it tidy) but it’s all mine and I love it. We live on a quiet road which my desk overlooks and the room is very peaceful with good feng shui. The only problem is that my boy/girl twins are growing up and are becoming desperate to not share a room any more, which means that we need to find a spare room…………..unfortunately the spare room’s my study. So at the moment I’m in danger of losing my sacred space to one of the twins. The plan is for me to relocate me to the garage……………I fear it won’t have quite the same feng shui…… gulp

Q: What do you do to get away from it all?

I practice a lot of yoga. It’s the one thing that keeps me sane and the only time that I clear my head and don’t think about work…..at all. Instead I’m concentrating 100% on my breathing and whichever pose I’m doing. Skiing has the same effect on me, only I can’t go skiing every other day because sadly I don’t live anywhere near mountains.

Q: Are you familiar with the social networks and do you actively participate?

I am becoming more familiar with social networks – I think as an author it helps to be social media savvy. I blog, I tweet, I’m on Facebook (a little) and on Goodreads………….it’s so time-consuming though, so unfortunately I don’t do it as much as I should – which is an oversight really, because social media really is the way forward in terms of promoting anything these days.

Q: How do you think book promotion has changed over the years?

Book promotion has become much more ‘virtual’ in recent times. Historically, the conventional author would undertake a conventional book tour to launch their masterpiece, traipsing to venues around the country to perform readings and signings and generate interest. But nowadays it’s so much easier. Authors can do online book tours without ever leaving the comfort of their homes – and what’s more, these tours reach way more readers that the old-fashioned ones did. That said, I do still like to get out and about for the occasional signing/reading and to meet readers face to face – nothing beats the personal touch.

Q: If you had one wish, what would that be?

I would wish for happiness, for everyone, everywhere.

Q: If you could be anywhere in the world other than where you are right now, where would that place be?

That’s easy. I would be in France. I find it such a romantic and sexy country (no surprise that’s where I set my novel Weak at the Knees then) and part of me feels more at home there than in my own country. I’ve often wondered if, in another life, I was born French. It sounds daft, but I experienced a really strong déjà vu when I was about ten years old that I’d been a French member of the bourgeoisie back in the fourteenth century …………who knows whether it was real or completely imagined!

Q: Your book has just been awarded a Pulitzer. Who would you thank?

Ooh, what a wonderful scenario to imagine. I think I would be in so much shock that I would be completely tongue-tied (strange for me) but I hope I would remember to at least manage to thank my husband and children for giving me the time to write the masterpiece in the first place, and for believing me.

Q: Thank you so much for this interview, Jo. Do you have any final words?

I’m an unknown author, without a proven track record, trying to make a name for myself. So my final words are: please take a chance on me. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

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How do you make sales happen for you?

A lot of hard work! I sponsor a lot of on line parties, festivals and contests. Book sales don’t magically happen, believe me. An author has to work hard to earn her readers. And then she has to work hard to keep them by giving them something they’ll enjoy reading. I try hard to make my books worth a reader’s time.

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