An Interview with Jan Romes

This month Author Showcase is hosting writer of fun and witty characters. Please help me welcome author Jan Romes.

AS: Welcome Jan. It is a pleasure to have you join me here on Author Showcase and here in The Tea Room this month.
JR: It’s a joy to be here, Alexia! You’re awesome to showcase me on your blog this month and also to invite me to tea with an interview. Thank you so much!

AS: You recently returned from a trip to Florida that was both business and pleasure. I understand you attended a writer’s conference. How did that go?
JR: This trip took me to Fort Lauderale to the Florida Romance Writers - Fun in the Sun Conference. Besides being packed with great information about craft, using social media, and publishing, I got to meet some incredible people – both multi-published authors and aspiring authors. The friendships and joy of creating was invigorating. It renewed me to the point I couldn’t wait to get back to the hotel to write. The pleasure part of my trip involved cruising the Caribbean. In need of some serious rest and relaxation, I felt energy seep back into my body and soul. That may sound corny, but it’s one-hundred percent true. We all have our happy place – the Caribbean is mine. I hadn’t been there for over five years. I was ready to be rejuvenated by the warm weather, turquoise waters, and welcoming atmosphere at the islands. When I came home, I felt like a new person; ready to write my fingers to the bone. *grins*
 
AS: Galveston was my playground for years. No turquoise waters there but refreshing all the same.  Glad you came back energized.
I enjoy being around fun and quick witted folks and your characters deliver. I hope you brought along your all star cast of witty characters. They are a fun bunch to be around.

This week I want to focus on your Texas Boys Falling Fast. Is this a series or a set?

JR: This is a four-book series. Book one is Tysen’s story. Book two belongs to Quinn. Book three is Jake’s. And book four is Trigg’s. They are four guys who grew up together. Each guy is distinctively different in most respects, but they all fall into the playboy category – until the women they’re supposed to be with enters the picture.

I’ve been asked to write Sam’s story, which would make book five. Sam’s the bartender-friend that makes an appearance in each book. I’m considering breathing life into Sam’s character. We’ll see, I guess.

I love to discuss all things writing, but I favor discussing my characters the most. Today I’d like to share a bit about the personalities of the four remarkable men in my Texas Boys Falling Fast series:
Book One – Married to Maggie (Tysen’s story) – Tysen Loy Vincent, III – is a playboy (at least in the eyes of the media). He comes across as a guy who has too much money and too much time. Deep within, however, is a guy who’s still in mourning over the death of his father. He doesn’t let the world know what’s driving his reckless, non-committal behavior. The media rips him apart on a daily basis and his grandfather has all but given up on him. Ty realizes life is short and refuses to play by the rules. And then Maggie enters the picture.
Book Two – Keeping Kylee (Quinn’s story) – Quinn Randel – is a world-class philanthropist and a world-class _ _ _ (you’ll have to fill in the blank. Have to keep Alexia’s blog rated PG, smiles). He, too, has too much confidence, money, and free time. His life is perfect and he doesn’t want to muck it up with marriage and kids. His behavior appears to stem from an abundance of everything, but Quinn carries a secret close to his heart few people are privy to. Kylee Steele and her daughter Gabbi puts him to the test and forces the real Quinn Randel to the surface.
Book Three – Taming Tori (Jake’s story) – of the three guys, Jake Garrison is the all-around nice guy who doesn’t value or want the limelight. He’s creative, down to earth and a quiet people-pleaser until someone pushes his buttons. Like the others, he’s from wealth but he doesn’t flaunt it. Enter Tori Caye who’s a mean-girl debutante whose sense of entitlement is off-the-charts. Jake and Tori have friends and money in common, but that’s it. The growth of both of these characters astounded even me.
Book Four – Not Without Nancy (Trigg’s story) – Trigg Sinclair is a happy-go-lucky, laid back kind of guy, but he’s also a hardworking cattleman. He’s the mischief-maker in his group of friends. And he doesn’t take no for an answer, especially when it comes to his attraction for Nancy Reeger, a stressed out, overworked cardiac rehab nurse who can’t pump the brakes long enough to relax...or find love. His wealth and determination causes a lot of mayhem, until he fully understands Nancy.

AS: Why Texas and not, oh say, Wyoming or Montana?
JR: I’ll have Tysen Vincent, III, answer this question. “I love every state in this great country, but my heart, soul and body needs Texas. It’s where my great-grandfather started Vincent Oil. It’s where I met the love of my life, Maggie Gray. Her mother is buried here; so is my father. For those reasons alone, I’ll never leave the Lonestar State, other than for business or vacation. Maggie and I are as much a part of Texas as the soil.   

AS: Well, I am originally from Texas and if there is anything I can tell you about the state it would be that Texas has plenty of oil and soil. 
Jan, if you were a character in one of these novels, which one would you choose and why?
JR: That’s a really tough question, Alexia, because in each of the four women in the series, is a part of me. I dug deep and decided I am more like Kylee Steele from book 2. She’s hardworking, serious a lot of the time, but also has a sense of humor. Kylee is fiercely protective of those she loves. She always has a plan to keep her life moving forward.   

AS: I was working on my mystery the other day and struggling through a conversation between my two main characters. I want all of my writing to have some humor. All of a sudden, it seemed that my character Kohana answered my dilemma with, "Tell that old man if he don't behave he will be riding a borrowed stick horse back to the office."
Your novels are known for fun & witty characters. Do your characters, like my Kohana, write their own story or are you often accused of being a witty person yourself?
JR: When we start our stories, we have certain traits in mind for the characters. I feel as though those traits come alive with the situations we put them in. If they’re meant to be witty, it will happen organically with the story. You can’t force the funny.  
To answer the second part of the question, my husband says the older I get the funnier I’ve become. Not sure if it’s true but we do laugh a lot.  

AS: Oh, I love to laugh.  You currently have four books in this series. Can we expect more?
JR: At this point in time, Sam-the-bartender’s story is hanging in the balance. The ole GMC (goal, motiviation, and conflict) that would drive Sam’s story hasn’t come to me yet. *fingers crossed that it will*  

AS: We'll all keep our fingers crossed with you. 
I want to make a set with character’s Duke and Kohana but as a young writer that task seems more of a chunk than I can chew right now. What advice would you give for those of us wanting to write a series or a set?
JR: I’m not big on outlining, Alexia, but with Texas Boys Falling Fast I did prepare a sketchy outline so I knew who, when, where, and how. I had a rough blurb for each story and I had a general tagline. Book one was the hardest to write because all four men made an appearance. It was Tysen’s story but you got a feel for the other three guys. Not only were their personalities revealed at that time, but also what they did for a living, and the quirks that would cause problems down the road. I had to be organized so I could transition from book to book. I didn’t leave the reader hanging. Each hero and heroine got their happily-ever-afters, but they showed up in the next guys’ story. Essentially, it was like writing four books at one time.
 
AS: Wow, that would be a lot of information to keep together.  Well, Jan, it has been fun visiting with you and Vincent today. I hope you both enjoyed your visit.  Thank you so much for stopping by.

Jan will return this month on the 22nd so be sure to check back as we dig into her latest novel, The No Sweatpants Allowed Wine Club. Thanks for stopping by The Tea Room and hope you join us again. Have a great week.