{Interview} Nell Carson, author of Not Your Average Joe (with Giveaway)

Did you know know that Harlequin Escape is one year old this week? We’re celebrating this momentous occasion with a week filled with interviews, reviews, and excerpts, plus awesome giveaways, here on Steamy Guys After Dark and on our sister site featuring YA: Swoony Boys Podcast!

Today, we’re chatting with Nell Carson, author of Not Your Average Joe:

***INTERVIEW***

Thank you so much for stopping by Steamy Guys After Dark today, Nell. We’re excited to get to know you and your books!

Thank you so much for having me!

Tell us a little about Not Your Average Joe. Was it a fun book to write?

Yes, for the most part! I always enjoy writing the emotional parts and getting to know the characters better but the hours of research on industrial food processing and equipment? Not so much!

Give us your twenty second elevator pitch about Not Your Average Joe.

It was basically the same as the current cover blurb. I did like the tagline Escape added: ‘Reality TV just got real in this Cinderella story about a factory working and a CEO’s son…’

Jennifer Wright is finishing a long shift on the assembly line at Brickman Foods when she meets her newest trainee, Jason Baxter — only that’s not his name and she knows it. She recognizes him instantly as Jared Brickman, internationally renowned playboy and son of the CEO of Brickman Foods, working undercover to film the reality show, Joe Average.

Jared is also the father of Jennifer’s son, Chris, although he doesn’t know it. The six years since they dated have been momentous for Jennifer, but it’s clear when they meet again that Jared doesn’t even remember her. Jennifer knew Jared the boy — irresponsible and reckless. Now she has the opportunity to discover Jared the man. She’d like to tell him about his son, but fears his reputation as depicted in celebrity magazines.

Is Jared an infamous heartbreaker, or is he the man she sees now: sweet, shy, and dependable — someone who can be trusted in her son’s life…and maybe even her own?

What was your favorite part to write?

I really enjoyed writing the snowy morning scene when Jennifer’s best friend learns the truth about Jared. I liked her reaction and also the bond just beginning to grow between Jared and Chris.

How do you build your characters? Do you know every single detail of their lives?

I have character sheets, really forms, that force me to write down specific things about their lives, many of which never even end up in the story—things like their favorite food or book. I read somewhere that a good character is like an iceberg—you may just see the top of it but you can sense there’s a mountain more underneath.

Love that. How would you introduce Jason/Jared to readers?

In the beginning it’s as if he’s force acting the role of the callous playboy, almost a caricature. He later reveals that he feels obligated to act that way, that it’s in his blood. His father and grandfather were both playboys and he feels like he doesn’t have a choice. His relationship with Jennifer forces him to re-examine that mindset.

This novella is based on a popular reality TV show; what’s your favorite reality TV show?

Project Runway! I love getting to know each of the contestants and watching as their passion for their work gets them through what is clearly an intensely stressful time! I always cry during the finale when their collections are shown at Fashion Week. You are literally watching someone’s dreams come true.

LOL How would you describe yourself in three words?

(Why is this so hard?) Tenacious, creative and spirited.

When did you write your first book and what was the title? Did you always want to write?

My first book was called ‘Breakdown’ and I wrote it during my sophomore year in college. It was about a guy who discovers he’s actually a mechanical man. Of course there was a romance in it! He and the woman who is keeping tabs on him fall in love even though she knows he’s not human.

I didn’t always want to write fiction. In high school I had my heart set on being a journalist but then when I actually began writing articles for the school paper I realized I didn’t like being so constrained by all those pesky facts! And so–ta da! Creative writing became my focus after that.

Do you have any interesting writing quirks or rituals?

I need absolute quiet when I write. For years I wrote in a walk-in closet muffled by clothes. I like writing in near dark too. The quiet and dark help me to better envision the scenes I’m writing.

LOL What’s the best piece of advice you ever received from another author?

I’d say it was from my grandmother, Julia Carson, who was also a writer. When I was fretting about having to work full-time at my day job instead of writing she said that I shouldn’t worry so much about it, that I was always writing in the back of my head. It’s so true! I’m always trying to find just the right words to describe things that happen, even if I don’t ever write them down or say them out loud.

Great advice. How do you feel about writer’s block when there’s a deadline? How do you remedy that?

Knock on wood, I’ve never had writer’s block.

That’s awesome. What is the one thing readers would be surprised to learn about you?

I had my first baby when I was 46! (He’ll be two in February.) I love being an older mom! I always thought writing was my real passion but being a mother is right up there!

Which character makes you swoon the most (yours or someone else’s)?

Eve Dallas’s Roarke! I love the way Nora Roberts describes him. He’s the ultimate bad boy turned good.

He sounds like fun. Do you have any current or future projects you can tell us about?

I have a couple of ideas I’m mulling over but I’ll have to wait until my son is a little older before I can really sink my teeth into them. He’s a handful!

We bet. Is there ever anything that you always wish someone would ask you, but they never do?

How about, ‘We’d like to make a movie based on Not Your Average Joe. Who would you like to play Jared and Jennifer?’ Haha! I wish!

Fingers crossed for that day! Thanks again for coming by today, Nell.

Thanks again for having me! I enjoyed your questions!

**About the Book**

Not Your Average Joe by Nell Carson
Published by Harlequin Escape on August 1, 2013
Pages: 212

Reality TV just got real in this Cinderella story about a factory worker and a CEO’s son…

Jennifer Wright is finishing a long shift on the assembly line at Brickman Foods when she meets her newest trainee, Jason Baxter — only that’s not his name and she knows it. She recognises him instantly as Jared Brickman, internationally renowned playboy and son of the CEO of Brickman Foods, working undercover to film the reality show, Joe Average.

Jared is also the father of Jennifer’s son, Chris, although he doesn’t know it. The six years since they dated have been momentous for Jennifer, but it’s clear when they meet again that Jared doesn’t even remember her. Jennifer knew Jared the boy — irresponsible and reckless. Now she has the opportunity to discover Jared the man. She’d like to tell him about his son, but fears his reputation as depicted in celebrity magazines.

Is Jared an infamous heartbreaker, or is he the man she sees now: sweet, shy, and dependable — someone who can be trusted in her son’s life…and maybe even her own?

***GIVEAWAY***

eBook copies of Ravenous, Not Your Average Joe, In Another Life, It’s Love, Dude, Summer Fling, Bonjour Cherie, and Room Service

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck and be sure to check out all the other interviews and reviews we’ve got going on to celebrate the first Birthday for Harlequin Escape!

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