Learning to Love by Jennifer Wilck

Wild Women Authors is pleased to feature Learning to Love, a contemporary romance by Jennifer Wilck, due for release on November 28, 2018 by The Wild Rose Press. 
First up is heroine Dina Jacobs.
Where are you from? I grew up near Princeton, NJ and now I live in Morristown, NJ. Did you know that Princeton is supposedly named after King William III, Prince William of Orange of the House of Nassau?
How interesting. Tell us a bit about Learning to Love. I guess you could say it’s the story of how I met Adam Mandel, and how we both rescued each other. I never pictured myself as needing rescuing, though, and certainly not by someone who looks like he stepped off a cover of GQ Magazine. By the way, did you know the first men’s magazine, Esquire, was published in 1933?
We did not. Thank you for that. What did you think the first time you saw Adam? I thought he was Mr. Flashypants—all style, no substance. And I couldn’t believe he wanted anything to do with me, but somehow, he keeps coming back.
Works for us. What was your second thought? I found out he had a soul. And that was a problem. Because it’s a lot easier to ignore a shallow guy than it is a guy with depth. And I’m about to fall head over heels for him. Actually, I should say heels over head, since that’s how the term originated in the 14^th century.
Dina, you are a veritable fount of information. Was this love at first sight? I don’t believe in love at first sight, so no. Besides, he’s totally wrong for me and I’m completely not his type. He dates models and society girls, not librarians with frizzy hair, like me.
What do you like most about him? For one thing, he keeps coming back no matter how many times I push him away. And he appreciates me for who I am and doesn’t try to change me or use me, despite our bargain.
How would you describe Adam? Aside from the fact he’s gorgeous—dark blond hair, moss green eyes, and shoulders, oh, his shoulders—he’s got a lot more depth than anyone gives him credit for. He makes grand gestures. He’s honorable and admits his mistakes. I think he’s afraid to show his real self, but I can see it, so I trust him. Even though I know at some point, he’s going to realize we really are better off as friends and he’s going to leave.
How would he describe you? For some weird reason, he loves my hair, so I think he’d spend a lot of time talking about it. Honestly, it’s dark and frizzy and drives me crazy, so I can’t figure out what he likes about it, but every time I think about changing it, he runs his hands through it—how they don’t get stuck is beyond me—and tells me to leave it alone. I’m curvy and my boobs are big, which he also seems to like. He keeps telling me how perfect I am, which makes it harder not to fall in love with him. He likes how smart I am—other than my family, no one has ever appreciated that unless it was to cheat off one of my tests in school. I make him laugh, which he needs to do more often.
What made you choose library science for a career? I love books. I’ve always felt more comfortable between their pages than anywhere else and if I can teach others to love them as much as I do, then I’d consider myself a success.
What is your biggest fear? I don’t know that I have any right now. Growing up, I had a really hard time because I was always smarter than everyone around me and it was impossible to fit in. But I have a career I love, I have a few good friends and I can disappear into my books when life gets tough. And, now it appears, I have Adam. I guess you could say right now, my biggest fear is that once our agreement is over—once I help him improve his standing at his law firm and he takes me to my class reunion—he’ll realize he doesn’t need me anymore. And that’s going to hurt because as I’ve said, I’ve fallen in love with him. I never pictured myself as a woman living for a man, though, so I don’t want losing him to be my biggest fear in life. But for the moment, yeah, I guess it’s losing him.
That's a big one. With all this going on, how do you relax? With a stack of books. I’m a speed reader, so I read about five or six every weekend.
Who is your favorite fictional character? You cannot ask a librarian that question! It’s like asking a mom to pick her favorite child!
What is the best piece of advice you ever received? To be myself. My parents are amazing and taught me to be independent. It hasn’t always been easy, but I’m finally in a place where I can do just that.
This has been an experience, Dina. Thanks for spending time with us. We'd like to chat with Jennifer now.
What movies or books have had an impact on your career as a writer? My favorite romance of all time is Jane Eyre. I love the tortured hero tropes, so all of my heroes have a bit of Mr. Rochester in them, I think.
What event in your private life were you able to bring to this story and how do you feel it impacted the novel? For this one, I think it’s the setting. I live near Morristown, so I was able to use real locations and describe them in the story.
Tell us a bit about your publisher: how did you hear about them and what influenced your decision to submit to them? The Wild Rose Press is a fantastic small press. I’ve heard about them for ages, can’t really remember how I did first, but I sent the manuscript for the first book in this series—Addicted to Love—to them and they’ve been my publisher ever since. They are wonderful to work with and communicate really well with their authors.
What book[s] currently rest on your TBR pile? I’m about to start a novella by JM Madden. She writes military romance and I love her work.
Lastly, what's up next and when can we expect to see it on the shelves? Learning to Love comes out November 28, although it’s available for pre-order now. After that, Addicted to Love is going to be on audio. And I’m currently working on a few manuscripts that are still in the draft stages, so I don’t have a clear answer on that. But I’m rarely not writing, so I’ll have more soon!


To purchase Learning to Love, go to:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Learning-Love-Serendipity-Book-3-ebook/dp/B07J49V5SP


Apple: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/learning-to-love/id1437725668?_bbid=10834501&mt=11


Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/learning-to-love-jennifer-wilck/1129734280?ean=2940161918258


To learn more about Jennifer Wilck and the stories she creates, to to:
Website: http://www.jenniferwilck.com


Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Jennifer-Wilck-201342863240160/


Facebook Readers Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2055470311366345/


Newsletter: https://www.jenniferwilck.com/contact.html#newsletter


Twitter: https://twitter.com/JWilck


Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authorjenniferwilck/


BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/jennifer-wilck