Sunday, December 2, 2012

2nd Day of Christmas: Jessica E. Subject


Cate: Jessica Subject is here to spread some holiday cheer! Jessica, please tell us a little bit about yourself.
Jessica: Happy 12 Days of Christmas, Cate! Thanks for inviting me to be a part of this event.
I write romance stories that may include a sexy alien or two, clones, and even regular people. Depends on my mood. Plus, I’m also a wife and a mother of two wonderful children.

Cate: What do you love most about Christmas?
Jessica: Besides the excited expressions on my children’s faces when they see their gifts? I love getting up early before everyone else. It’s been that way since I was a little kid. But as I grew older, I learned to let everyone else sleep in.

Cate: The kids make it so much fun, don't they? Do you have a favorite memory of a Christmas past?
Jessica: Oh gosh! I remember so many wonderful Christmases. It’s hard to pick only one. Last Christmas was pretty cool though, as it was the first my son actually knew what was going on.

Cate: If Santa could grant one wish, what would you ask for?
Jessica: To keep my family happy and healthy.

Cate: Love that. What was the best gift you’ve ever received? What made it so special?
Jessica: My first laptop computer. It was shortly after I received it that I submitted my first story and was offered a contract for Celestial Seduction.

Cate: And you put it to work right away, I bet! Any favorite Christmas recipes you’d care to share?
Jessica: In my household, I always have to make the peanut/marshmallow squares, and peanut butter cups. Though growing up, one of my favorite recipes was Christmas Jewels. 

Here’s the recipe:

1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar (not used all at once)
¾ cup softened margarine
1 egg
½ tsp salt
1 ½ cup mixed nuts
1 ½ cup halved candied cherries (red and green)
1 cup chocolate chips

1. Combine flower with 1/3 cup of brown sugar. Cut in margarine until crumbly. Press mixture into bottom of ungreased pan. Bake at 350F for 15 min.

2. Beat eggs slightly in a large bowl. Stir in remaining brown sugar and salt. And nuts, cherries, and chocolate chips. Toss mixture lightly to coat. Spoon evenly over baked layer. Press firmly to ahere layers. Bake an additional 20 min. Let cool.

Cate: Yum! Thanks for sharing. 
Tell us about your latest release, and where readers can find it online.
Jessica: My latest release is the print anthology of all of my 1Night Stand stories, Intergalactic Heat. It is available from Amazon (Canada, UK, US), Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, and more. Here’s the trailer for the book.

Cate: Care to share a blurb or excerpt?
Jessica: Sure, here’s the blurb:

A date on a space station? Alien lovers? Madame Evangeline, owner of the exclusive 1Night Stand dating service is known to be magical in fulfilling the ideal dates of her clients, but she’s outdone herself this time, bring together beings from Earth and beyond. As long as applicants are willing to let go of their pasts and open their hearts and minds, she will find their perfect match, whether they be a former sci-fi television star, a nurse, an employee of the Space Service, a former Marine, or even an extraterrestrial. Because everyone in the universe deserves a happily ever after…

And an excerpt from Beneath the Starry Sky, the first story in the anthology:

She’d held onto so much hope for this date, and nothing had gone right. She still didn’t know who this guy was. Yet, he’d already rejected her with his expression. This is the last date Im going on, unless Im lucky enough for my hair to grow back.
His gaze never left her, making her even more humiliated. “You’re….”
“What? Ugly? Bald?”
He shook his head. “No, I was going to say my date. I’ve been so busy lately and Madame Evangeline had to send me a reminder.”
She paused at the Frenchwoman’s name. Could this hunk of a man really be her date? Didn’t matter. He wouldn’t want her now. “Well, surprise! I’m damaged goods, so you might as well leave and ask her for a refund.”
As she slumped to the floor, more tears streamed down her face. Why is life so unfair? She’d worked hard all of her life, never taking shortcuts or the easy way out. Not an outcast or popular, she’d been friends with everyone in school and college. And healthy. She’d taken extra care to eat properly in order to avoid being diagnosed with diabetes, like her parents.
Since that fateful day when she’d discovered her two, oval-shaped bald patches, she’d been dumped by her fiancĂ© and lost all of her hair, along with any chance to find love and have a family vanishing. Kids were out of the question. Sure, their chances of inheriting alopecia were unlikely, but on the chance they did, they’d hate her for passing her faulty genetics on to them. She couldn’t live with that. She’d be alone. Forever.
Cate: What inspired you to write about the theme?
Jessica: The overall theme in all of my stories is unconditional love and acceptance. It’s something I believe in, so, of course, that is reflected in my writing. As for writing the 1Night Stand stories, well, I started with Celestial Seduction. Then many of my readers asked for Tamara and Josh’s story. After Beneath the Starry Sky, I was addicted, and I wrote more.

Cate: Anything else you’d like to share?
Jessica: Yes! I have another story releasing on Friday, called Alien Lover. It is a sci-fi erotica story about a woman searching for her lost love in space.

Cate: Woot! Jessica has her Santa hat on. :)
Jessica: Leave a comment telling me your favorite gift from childhood for your chance to WIN an ebook copy of my upcoming release, Alien Lover. Prize will be gifted to the winner from All Romance eBooks. Winner will be chosen December 6, 2012. Good luck!

Cate: Thanks so much for being part of the 12 Days of Christmas! Hope you have a jolly holly holiday!
Jessica: Thank you again for having me. Happy Holidays to you and all of your readers!