Please join us in giving a warm BLI welcome to Jennifer Ashley! Jennifer is here to talk about her awesome & extremely popular Mackenzie series and specifically the upcoming publication of the eagerly awaited The Many Sins of Lord Mackenzie which is available from Berkley publishing tomorrow August 2nd! We here at Book Lovers Inc just couldn’t resist the temptation that are those brothers. I for myself awaited the release of Cameron’s book with halted breath!

Jennifer! Welcome to BLI, it’s such a thrill to be able to talk to you today!

Caro: Jennifer can you please tell us a bit about yourself?

Jennifer: Sure. I write as Jennifer Ashley, Allyson James, and Ashley Gardner. What do I write? Historical romance, paranormal romance, urban fantasy, and historical mysteries (that’s the Ashley Gardner side). What else do I do? Not much! I love to write, and I spend most of my time writing. For leisure (the rare hour), I build dollhouses and miniature settings, I like to garden, and catch up on books and TV series I don’t have a lot of time to read / watch. I like to spend time with my family, but because they never go anywhere, I trip over them all the time anyway.

Caro: Describe a typical day of writing? Are you a planner or pantser?

Jennifer: I’m a pantser. I learn about my characters by watching what they do as I write. I get inspired and have ideas in the act of writing. When think about the story beforehand, I can come up with a vague and basic idea, but it won’t develop until I’m sitting down and typing. Then, much better ideas come along, and the story takes on a life of its own. I do lots of rewriting this way, but I don’t care. It works for me, so I just go with it.

Caro: What do you think is the difference between a reader and a real Book Lover?

Jennifer: A reader reads books. A Book Lover will do anything to get those books and keep up with her/his favorite series. They think of the characters as real people (and often, as friends). A Book Lover loves books and “pets” them, LOL. (Or is that just me??)

Caro: You have written in a variety of genres using different pen-names, do you find a particular genre more difficult or easier to write?

Jennifer: I find all genres challenging in their own way. For historicals, it’s tough to write realistically in a world that’s no longer ours, but at the same time, we have a lot in common with people in the past (people are people–manners and fashion may change, but that’s it). Bridging the gap between now and then, and still tell a good (and not boring) story, is a challenge.

In contemporary paranormal, the challenge is to make the “magic” of the paranormal world seem so real that it’s completely believable. You should start expecting your neighbors to be Shifters!

It’s also a challenge to make the contemporary world interesting. What’s so exciting about shopping for groceries? Well, in a contemporary-set story, you need to make it interesting!

So, I don’t think any one is “easier” than the others. Darn it.

Caro: Did the popularity of your Mackenzie series take you by surprise?

Jennifer: It did, actually. When Madness of Lord Ian came out, I was stunned by all the buzz, blogs, emails, etc. about it. I thought no one would like it, or at least ignore it. (An autistic/ Aspie hero? No way.) I thought only a handful of readers might enjoy it. I was wrong! I’m glad Ian’s book generated interest in the rest of the series as well.

Caro: Your historical series is all about the Mackenzie brothers. They have very strong family bonds even though they are so different. What makes them stick together?

Jennifer: They stick together because they learned to do so for survival (emotionally and physically). My poor Mackenzie boys had a rough childhood (abusive father), and they learned to stick up for each other and protect each other. Hart especially looks after all of them, and he seriously worries about them.

In adulthood, they each know they’re a bit dysfunctional, and that their brothers seem to be the only ones who understand. They argue and banter but rely on each other fully. It’s a good dynamic to write.

Caro: All four brothers are something special. Tell us about Cam how he brings diversity to their little family? How did his love for horse racing start?

Jennifer: Cameron started loving horses as a child, discovering that horses (most animals) don’t care whether you’re rich or poor, good in school, talented, a loser, whatever. They either like you or they don’t. Cameron discovered that he had the “touch” with horses–they like him, they trust him, and he knows how to bring out the best in them.

Cameron is the only brother that their awful father truly approved of (because horse-racing and horse training, in the father’s eyes was “manly”–not like Mac and his art!). Because Cameron is the largest of the brothers, he learned early on that he could keep his father from hurting his younger brothers.

Other than horses, Cameron has been pretty reckless with his life. He pretends to be uncaring, but the truth is he gives his heart too fast, which seriously burned him in the past.

He is also the only Mackenzie (at first) with a child–his son Daniel, who is sixteen I think at the time Cam’s story starts. Cameron has also had to contend with being a father, which he fears he’s very bad at!

Caro: Ainsley and Cam already met in the past and got a bit close and personal. Now some years later she’s on a mission to prevent embarrassment to Queen Victoria but Cam is still shaken by the past. Tell us a bit more about her? What do you think makes her so special in Cam’s eyes?

Jennifer: Ainsley Douglas (born Ainsley McBride), has four brothers (Patrick, Sinclair, Elliot, and Stephen). Her oldest brother (who is ten-fifteen years older than the rest) raised them–parents died when Ainsley was a baby. Ainsley, the only girl in the family, grew up a bit of a tomboy. She also went to school with Isabella (Mac’s wife), which is how she met the Mackenzies. Ainsley didn’t finish school, being taken by her oldest brother to the continent, then returning, married, a year later, to a man much older than she was.

Ainsley was known at school for her deviltry. Her brothers taught her to pick locks, climb trees (and drainpipes), and generally get up to no good. Her skills come in handy later when Queen Victoria (who loved Ainsley’s mother), has Ainsley come and work for her. Ainsley is a minor lady-in-waiting, and the queen uses her to do “dirty” jobs (like steal back letters and deal with potential blackmailers).

Ainsley also has a great sense of fairness and compassion for the downtrodden, but her eagerness to help others sometimes gets her into trouble. When she breaks into Cameron’s room (both times) she finds herself in trouble indeed.

Caro: What can we expect of The Many Sins of Lord Cameron?

Jennifer: Frustration, passion, laughter, tears–you find out what happened in Cameron’s first marriage, and why he’s both so protective of Daniel but still doesn’t really know what to do with him. Cam has a lot of healing to do, and Ainsley helps him do it (while driving him nuts at the same time).

Cam the hero has a son. Always in trouble, he wants to be like his father and doesn’t care about school.

I love Daniel! He’s been raised by Cameron, who really doesn’t know how to be a dad. But Daniel also has three uncles to look out for him and drive him crazy. Daniel’s happy that Ainsley has come along! I enjoyed writing the developing friendship between Ainsley and Daniel.

Daniel will have his own book (I’ll jump forward in time so he’ll be in his late twenties for his story). The Life and Love of Daniel Mackenzie is the tentative title.

Caro: What can you tell us about the last Mackenzie book, The Duke’s Perfect Wife? Will we get to see a softer side to the usually very “hard”  Hart?

Jennifer: Hart is a complicated man! He’s the head of the family, and he had to fight their father every day to keep his brothers safe. This makes him a bit hard and overbearing. He also has to fight himself to keep from becoming just like his father. Hart lives with that fear every day.

He has also suffered loss–he married after he and Eleanor broke up, but that wife dies delivering Hart’s son, and the son dies the next day. Holding his son one day and having to say goodbye to him the next scarred Hart deeply.

In Hart’s book, you learn why he and Eleanor fell out, and why she’s come back to help him. You’ll see Hart’s relationship with all his brothers, and how he realizes that their relationship is changing (especially the one between himself and Ian).

And you’ll learn about Hart’s passion for Eleanor! And the naughty things he wants them to do together. 🙂

If you had your pick of all the Mackenzie men, which one would you choose?
Eek. That would be hard. I think I would pick Mac, because he’s so much fun. But then again, Cameron stole my heart. Not to mention Ian. As I write Hart’s book, he’s stealing my heart now… Can I just have them all? I wouldn’t mind!

Caro: If Shifters came out in our world, how do you think you would react? Would you side with the shifters or fear them as the humans do in Shifters unbound?

Jennifer: Hard to say. I’m sure I wouldn’t believe it at first (I’m quite skeptical about the supernatural). I’d probably be afraid, but fascinated.

I started writing the Shifters, because I wanted to explore that very question–what would people really do if shape shifters were real? Would people trust them? Or try to control them?

Caro: How many books can we expect in the Shifters Unbound series?

Jennifer: At this point, the Shifters series is open-ended. I have three more books contracted, plus I’m going to write some novellas that will come out between the books, in e-first, then gathered into print books. I have many characters to explore, and there’s more than one Shiftertown. Lots of potential stories!

Caro: How many books do you have planned for Janet and Mick?

Jennifer: At least two more–Nightwalker and [something!]Walker. Possibly more if more stories pop into my head. I have many characters to explore (and who can get into trouble). Nightwalker will be about Janet’s resident Nightwalker, who is much more than he seems. Plus the ongoing relationship between Janet and Mick, Janet and her dad, Janet and Gabrielle, Janet and her grandmother… and then there’s Coyote.

Caro: What made you decide to use the ex-lovers dynamic in the Stormwalkers series?

Jennifer: I thought of Janet first, alone. But I knew she had someone in her past; I just wasn’t sure who he was. And then Mick walked in. Wow. I really wanted to explore that relationship! (and drool on Mick). I will have much more about the two of them in upcoming books. I have to say, I love writing this couple across many books, without the “will she pick *him* or *him*” triangle that fills so many UFs. I didn’t want to do the triangle.

Caro: Now the mean questions. we apologize in advance.
Can you tell us 3 reasons why people should read your books?


Jennifer: 

1. Something to do in the bathtub.

2. Because endless reruns on TV are boring.

3. And the real reason: They’re straight from my heart, and I hope to touch yours.

Caro:  Great answers! And, your books do touch the heart. 😀

Of all of your releases, what would you say would be your favorite cover so far?

Jennifer: Hmm. I have been lucky to have some good ones (and unlucky to have some real duds). I like what the artist did for both Pride Mates and Wild Cat (same artist); I love what the artist did for the Stormwalker series. My former publisher could come up with some excellent historical romance covers (The Care and Feeding of Pirates is my favorite there). I do like Lord Cameron’s cover with the man in the kilt, though I think he looks a bit too young for Cameron (Cameron is big, and hard, and experienced). When I first saw the cover, I thought he looked more like Daniel!

Caro: Which hero and heroine  (can be any fictional character from tv/movies/books) would you love to have dinner with?

Jennifer: I’m not sure, because many fictional characters who fascinate me are not necessarily people I might want in my house, LOL. At the moment, I’d love to join Michael Westin and his friends and mother in a Miami restaurant / bar for that Burn Notice banter. Of course I’d worry about the place being blown up, shot up, etc. etc. etc.

Caro: Can you summarize The Many Sins of Lord Cameron  for us twitterstyle (140 characters or less)?

Jennifer: 

Cameron, big, bad, scarred Highlander in a kilt, meets his match in Ainsley Douglas, who picks open every door he slams in front of her.

Where to find Jennifer: Website Twitter Facebook

About Lea

Lea is an animal loving, tree hugging vegetarian who lives in Toronto, Canada with her family, which includes three dogs. She is a prolific reader and has been blogging and reviewing since 2008. Lea is a contributor at the USA Today HEA Blog and an active member at Goodreads.

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