Christmas magic and a rescue dog bring two lonely people together for a holiday tale which explores how we mis-judge others, tell ourselves lies and heal from past wounds.
Wild Women Authors welcomes author J. J. Ransom as she celebrates the release of His Christmas Muse, a contemporary holiday tale, a current release out of the Wild Rose Press. With J. J. is marketing professional Sylvie Bradley who will go first.
Thanks
for taking the time to chat with us, Sylvie. Let’s begin with you telling us a
bit about yourself and His Christmas Muse. I currently live in Richmond, Virginia for my
employment. I’m from Alabama and, yes, I still have a very southern drawl, but
I’m workin’ on it. I’d been stuck in a home office for over a year and I’d
gotten pretty lonely, so I decided to try online dating. That did not go great
at all. When I meet Pete at a pet adoption event, things start to happen. I
don’t like him much, but the dog he adopts, Riley, seems determined to get us
together. Well, that’s my interpretation of events. Pete is a writer, and I
assume he’s a freelancer which is just not acceptable. I want someone who’s
financially stable. Not because I’m greedy, it’s cuz of my somewhat unreliable,
but loving daddy. You know how it is. Pete is very handsome and smart, and
there’s something to him. It’s a romance story, so you might guess the rest.
What
led you to choose strategic marketing for a career? I majored in business at the University of Alabama,
then got my MBA at Vanderbilt. I ended up at a consulting firm in Nashville,
where I fell in love with marketing and helping businesses improve and grow.
Knowing
what you know now, if you had it to do over again, would you stick with being a
strategic business consultant or do something different? I earn a good living in my day job. However, my
grandma was an award-winning gardener, and she taught me a lot while playing in
the dirt. I spend most of my extra time on my extensive collection of plants.
When Pete saw my plants, he was pretty near stunned. So, I guess if I could do
something else, I’d work with plants. Maybe I’ll try for a Master Gardener
certification one day. I guess I’d like to do both.
What
is your biggest fear? My biggest fear
at the age of thirty-two is wasting my time on the wrong man. I don’t want to
fall in love with someone who isn’t my perfect match. I suppose I hear my
biological clock ticking, just a little noise out there. Right alongside that
fear is ending up alone. Though, given my parents’ relationship, I suppose you
could end up alone right beside a person. Sad, huh?
Who
is your favorite fictional character and why? I love Miss Jane Marple, a brilliant character written
by Agatha Christie. When I was a little girl in a house filled with division, I
read a lot of books. I wanted to solve the problems in my home, but I didn’t
have the tools or abilities to do that. I was awfully curious as a kid, and my
nosiness got me in a few tough spots, so naturally I related to this funny
pretend detective.
What
is the best piece of advice you ever received? My friend, Angie, told me to give Pete a chance early
on when I had serious doubts and fears about being involved with him.
Thank you, Sylvie. Now we’d like to speak with J. J.
Which writer or
character[s], from either books or movies, [or both] have had a major impact on
your writing?
I
read a lot of historical fiction and women’s fiction, and I have many favorite
authors. Whether they have impacted my writing specifically, I couldn’t say.
That I have been a voracious reader since childhood has certainly paved the way
for me to write books. That said, I love pithy, fast-moving dialogue which I
find many thriller writers have mastered. Authors like Tami Hoag, John Grisham,
Michael Connelly, to name a few. Quick, funny dialogue is always a goal of mine
when I’m writing scenes.
With regard to research,
where did you start for this novel? Did that lead you down different paths,
thereby changing the original concept? His Christmas Muse is a
holiday romance, so my best inspiration for introducing conflict and pacing the
story was the much-loved Hallmark Christmas movie! I live in the area where the
story is set, so I used my research skills to verify ideas I wanted to include.
Silly things like using an actual street name meant I had to find a house
number that did not exist on that street. I used restaurants I’d visited but
changed the name slightly to avoid potential issues. The characters get to
Nashville, so I used what I knew from my travels and researched areas of the
city for accuracy.
I’ve
never been to Alabama so that state got a lot of my attention—things like the
weather there, colleges in the state. Originally, I had Sylvie going to Auburn
for her master’s degree, but a lady I met in an airport bar (yes, really!)
suggested it’d be highly unlikely an Alabama grad would go to Auburn because
the college rivalry is fierce. Funny, right?
Tell us a bit about your
publisher. How did you hear about them; what influenced you to submit to them? I’m late to the novel-writing game so I didn’t want to
spend time waiting for a literary agent to shop my book. I searched for
publishers accepting un-agented work. That’s how I found The Wild Rose Press.
How is the submission
process; what is the turn-around time from date of query to date of release? The submission process with Wild Rose is very clear
and certainly easy enough to follow. I submitted His Christmas Muse in February
2024 and got a contract offer in March. The book releases on December 9, 2024.
What are you reading right
now? I recently giggled my way
through The Love of My Afterlife, a romantic comedy. Right now, I am
reading The God of the Woods by Liz Moore. It’s set in 1975 which makes
it historical fiction.
What's next for you? When His Christmas Muse releases, as a
two-book romance series, I will be editing Book 2—untitled so far—I expect to
submit it to TWRP very early in 2025.
My next
project will be one of two ideas I have percolating: a decades-spanning
friendship story set in Duck, NC or a Civil War female spy story, possibly a
romance. Both of these projects have detailed outlines already developed, so we
will see how the mood strikes.
To learn more about J. J.
Ranson and the stories she creates go to:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JulieJRanson
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/jjransonauthor
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jjranson_writer
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/jjranson/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jj.ranson.author
To purchase His
Christmas Muse, go to:
https://www.amazon.com/His-Christmas-Muse-Hers-ebook/dp/B0DJC227ZY
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/his-christmas-muse-j-j-ranson/1146305820
https://bookshop.org/p/books/his-christmas-muse-j-j-ranson/21881514
Sounds like a great story!
ReplyDeleteCongrats, JJ. Two enjoyable interviews about your book.
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