Arkansas writer shines in fun new romance novel
Northwest Arkansas writer Jenny B. Jones recently saw singer Dierks Bentley, author James Patterson, novelist and sports journalist Mike Lupica and Pioneer Woman Ree Drummond in Bentonville, Ark. Jones has also spotted actors Hugh Jackman and Tom Cruise on the quaint downtown square. One time Oprah stopped by.
Jones, author of the entertaining new romantic comedy, “First to Fall,” describes her corner of Arkansas as “a unicorn of a locale with small town charm with big city moments.” That combination shines in her novels, both in her settings and her writing style—and in her life.
Book lovers, if Valentine’s week has you in the mood for romance, treat yourself to “First to Fall,” released just in time for this season of love.
As Jones says: “I’ve written quite a few books in the fictional town of Sugar Creek, Ark., which is like Mayberry meets Hollywood. It mirrors Northwest Arkansas— home to Walmart, which means we have a lot of famous visitors from time to time. That mix of rural and metropolitan definitely finds its way into my novels. My home state is beautiful, and I want readers to know that about my corner of Arkansas.”
In person, Jones is a blend, too, with master’s degrees in teaching and library and information studies; a body of award-winning work that spans Young Adult, cozy mystery and romance genres; and a movie, “Finding You,” based on her novel, “There You’ll Find Me,” available on streaming services, such as Amazon Prime and Apple TV.
She is one of the most fun writers you’ll read, and “First to Fall” is a clever and engaging romcom available in paperback (400-plus pages) and as an eBook. I especially love the regional flair reflected in the Sugar Creek setting and the plot’s humor. All of Jones’s books are full of clever dialogue and laugh-out-loud lines with strong plots.
About the romance genre:
Beyond that, Jones keeps up with trends in romance and is the perfect person to talk with about this incredibly popular genre. “Romance novels are a safe diversion where we can live vicariously through someone else’s story,” she says. “Through the pages we can travel to exotic places, be swept away to another time and be the center of someone’s world. It’s fun to step inside someone else’s life if only for 350 pages.”
Ingredients for a good romance:
“Romance readers want stories that deliver on the promise of the genre's expectations. We want to be entertained and surprised with plot twists, but the conventions need to be there. And for sure, that happily-ever-after better be waiting for us in the end.”
Sweet, steam, PG, R-rated:
“When it comes to romance novels, there is something out there for everyone—and lots of it. There have never been more books or more authors. Sites like Amazon and Goodreads provide a powerful search engine, so all readers have to do is search for the characteristics they want in the story.”
Jones categorizes her novels as “sweet” romances, sometimes called “closed door” or “clean,” which means no R-rated content. “Books in this category probably fall in the PG range at most, omitting cursing and on-screen sex. Hallmark movies are clean, for example. There is a market and audience for clean/closed door/sweet romance, but like all things, there’s a spectrum of expectations from the reader. What’s clean to one might be insulting to another. What’s clean language to one might be offensive to another. For me, I write the books I’d want to read and books my dearly departed grandmothers would’ve been comfortable reading. But it’s still important to me that clean romance still has heat and swoony moments. Clean doesn’t have to—and shouldn’t—be boring and sterile.”
Make me laugh:
“I love writing humor. It’s both ‘let it fly’ type of writing and ‘I spent three weeks on one punch line.’ Life can be so awkward and funny, and we’re all just kind of bumbling our way through. I try to capture some of that—the ridiculousness, the sarcasm, the humor that can arise from anger, happiness or even flirty banter. I was raised on shows like “Designing Women,” “Moonlighting” and “Saturday Night Live,” among many others, so I feel like I got a solid education in comedy, humor and repartee.”
A trope by any other name:
“A trope is a plot device readers can count on, a literary promise of what the reader can expect. In romance, tropes might be small-town setting, office romance, amnesiac hero or heroine, the billionaire or fake dating, for example. My favorite trope has always been a marriage-of-convenience, and my latest book, ‘First to Fall,’ includes the marriage-of-convenience trope. It’s always fun to see two unlikely people thrown in a situation that lets them see the other for who they really are.”
About “First to Fall”: Public relations expert Olivia Sutton accidentally winds up married to her worst enemy Lachlan Hayes, who she knew in college and who is now a video game guru. “Enemies-to-lovers is also a trope and a fave, so it was fun to combine that trope with a marriage of convenience— or inconvenience,” Jones says. “Olivia and Lachlan have a contemptuous past and are sworn enemies, so it’s fun to throw them together in a marriage deal where they have to spend so much time together. In all this close proximity, they get to know one another and realize the other is not quite who they thought.” While it is book two in the “Lost Story Bookshop” series, it can easily be read as a standalone.
About “Sweet Right Here”:
This is book one in the series. Newly jilted Hattie Sutton returns to Sugar Creek for a fresh start, not for a new relationship. But resisting her boss, Miller James, is tough, and Hattie must decide if Miller’s worth the risk—or if he’s just her next heartbreak.
For more about the author, see www.jennybjones.com. And, if your roses are wilting and your chocolates eaten, treat yourself by reading “First to Fall.”
Columnist Judy Christie is the author of 18 books, including the fictional “Gone to Green” series and the nonfiction “Before and After: The Incredible Real-Life Stories of Orphans Who Survived the Tennessee Children’s Home Society.” Co-authored with Lisa Wingate, it is the true sequel to Wingate’s bestselling novel “Before We Were Yours,” with the trade paperback in its 4th printing. For more about Christie, see www.judychristie.com or follow her on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/JudyChristieAuthor.