Oh Baby by Jill Blake

Please welcome Jill Blake author of Oh Baby

Jill Blake will be awarding a $25 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

Oh, Baby!

by Jill Blake

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GENRE: Contemporary Romance

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INTERVIEW:

What or who inspired you to start writing?

As a kid, I used to watch old reruns of “Bonanza.” Even at age seven, I got annoyed over the fact that all the women seemed to move away or get killed off within one episode. None of them ever came back for a recurring guest role, so no “happily ever after” for the Cartwright boys. I got so upset over this that I started rewriting the scripts, casting myself as the female lead, and for several seasons I lived a double life: elementary school kid by day, and by night, a daring and heroic foreman (forewoman?) running the Ponderosa ranch in 1870s Nevada.

Fast-forward a few decades, and I had accumulated boxes of miscellaneous writing—most of it unfinished manuscripts. With each move due to job change and/or growing family, those boxes came along. At my husband’s repeated prompting, I finally pulled out those moldering pages, and started reading. I remembered how much I loved the whole writing process. I enjoy it even more now that research can be done online, and storage goes to a cloud. So here I am, back to scribbling (typing) away…

How did you come up with ideas for your books?

Ideas are all around us: everyday events and challenges that would keep me up at night if I didn’t write about them. My characters likewise draw inspiration from people I meet in real life. The process of putting my hero and heroine into situations where they feel uncomfortable, or where there are no easy solutions, helps flesh out both the characters and the plot—with often surprising results.

What expertise did you bring to your writing?

I write what I know, which is why so many of my characters are doctors (I’m a physician with a busy medical practice). I also write about lawyers (thanks, sis) and computer/math geeks (blowing a kiss to my darling husband, who helps me with the lingo and selflessly offers feedback on the sex scenes). As a mom of three, I like to think I know something about parenting (I hear you snickering, kiddos!), so that finds its way into some of my books as well.

What would you want your readers to know about you that might not be in your bio?

I have a mild form of ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). My husband also has it, as do my kids. It manifests in different ways in each of us, though the cardinal symptom is difficulty concentrating and completing the task at hand. This means I have to overcompensate in order to get things done. So I make lists, and outlines, and create all sorts of scaffolding to keep me on track with writing. The same techniques help me get through the more tedious tasks that are part of my day job, too, like charting, and dealing with assorted paperwork.

As far as your writing goes, what are your future plans?

I have at least one more book to go in the Prescription: Romance!series (which includes my new release, Oh, Baby!, as well as The Burnout Cure.) Though some of the characters overlap, and the stories take place at the same small community hospital in Santa Monica, CA, each book can be read as a stand-alone.

If you could be one of the characters from any of your books, who would it be and why?

Anna Lazarev, from Beyond the Ivory Tower.Because she’s a freaking math genius (which I am definitely not!) who got tenure at a ridiculously young age and is now guaranteed a job she loves for life.  Plus she gets to shag Ethan Talbot anytime she wants. Did I mention he’s a super-smart, super-hot venture capitalist who’s got that whole alpha-male-will-move-mountains-for-the-woman-he-loves thing going on? (Yes, DH, you were the inspiration!)

Do you belong to a critique group? If so how does this help or hinder your writing?

Not a critique group, per se. More like a supportive group of physician moms who write and are willing to beta-read and share their expertise in areas I’m not familiar with. Like the surgeon who walked me through the behind-the-scenes workings of an OR, which I avoided as much as possible in med school. I knew even then that I wasn’t going into surgery, so I struck a deal with fellow med students who wanted extra OR time: they could have mine, while I took care of their post-ops. (Shout out to my fellow PMG writers—thank you!)

Do you outline your books or just start writing?

Definitely outline. If I didn’t, I’d be totally lost. I’d never get anything done.

So I make lists and plan things out to the very last detail. When all else is chaos, my systematic approach to writing is often the only thing that keeps me sane. (Not to mention it’s cheaper than therapy.)

I start with a character or premise that strikes my fancy, and build a world around that, creating character sketches, chapter-by-chapter outlines, timelines (on an actual calendar!), and individual files for background information (aka research)–all before I even begin chapter 1.

Then, and only then, do I sit down and start writing.

Do you have any hobbies and does the knowledge you’ve gained from these carry over into your characters or the plot of your books?

Does herding children count? I’ve got 3, and though I love them dearly, they’re a handful. Several of my books feature single parents which school-age children who act a little (or a lot) like my kids.

I also run—or at least I used to, before my knee gave out. These days I walk and work with a trainer when time allows. Exercise is a great stress reliever, plus it burns calories (did I mention I love chocolate?). It also helps with sleep and mood and may help prevent dementia. So I make it a point towork out, and I make my characters work out too.

Do you have an all time favorite book?

Room with a View.It’s the ultimate escapist read. Beautifully written, long enough to satisfy but short enough to keep my attention fully engaged, it’s a romance, and an adventure story, and a social commentary, and it’s set in two of my favorite places in the world: Italy and the English countryside.

BLURB:

Lena Shapiro. Successful surgeon. Dutiful daughter. She sacrificed her personal life to build her career and take care of her mother and sister. Now thirty-nine and single, she watches her peers pairing off and having kids, and wonders if she missed out on her own chance at happiness.

Assigned to mentor a visiting colleague, Lena finds herself falling for the man instead. But Adam Sterling is all wrong for her: he’s too young, too arrogant, and too willing to push personal and professional boundaries. And he’s leaving L.A. for a job on the opposite coast.

With the date of Adam’s departure looming ever nearer, will Lena retreat to the safety of her familiar solitary life, or will she take a chance on an uncertain future with the man who might make her dreams come true?

(Please note: This is a steamy contemporary romance that contains mature themes and explicit content, meant for adults 18 and over. It is a stand-alone novel, with no cliff-hangers, and a guaranteed HEA.)

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EXCERPT:

Copyright © 2019 by Jill Blake

“The thing about Westport,” Adam said, “is that no one outside of Connecticut’s ever heard of it. And people from outside the U.S. are like, Connecti-what? So in the end I usually say I’m from just outside New York, because everyone knows New York, right?”

She paused, chopsticks halfway to her mouth. “I’ve never actually been to New York.”

“You’re kidding,” he said. “Never?”

“We didn’t have the money growing up. And once there was money, I didn’t have the time.”

“But…what about vacations?”

“Welcome to my world. It’s called private practice. You eat what you kill—or rather, don’t kill.” She smiled and shrugged. “I’ve taken a few weekends here and there. Santa Barbara, San Diego. Local stuff.”

If his brows climbed any higher, they’d disappear from his face. “Damn,” he said. “We’ve got to broaden your horizons.”

Lena didn’t answer. Travel was something that other people did. Classmates who didn’t need full scholarships to Harvard-Westlake, who skied every winter in Aspen and Telluride, and split their summers between Europe and Hawaii. College roommates who could spare a gap year to explore Indonesia or climb Kilimanjaro.

In school, and later in residency, she’d promised herself: someday she would see the world. Or at least some small portion of it beyond California.

And now, here she was, a decade later, on the cusp of a major life change that would make travel next to impossible.

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

A native of Philadelphia, Jill Blake now lives in southern California with her husband and three children. During the day, she works as a physician in a busy medical practice. At night, once the charts are all done and the kids are asleep, Jill writes steamy romances with smart heroines, sexy heroes, and guaranteed happy endings.

AUTHOR LINKS:

Website: https://www.authorjillblake.com/

Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/UMZZ9

FB:  https://www.facebook.com/jill.blake.3386

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00B1ZIHKS

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6899971.Jill_Blake

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jill_blake_

BUY LINKS: Book is on sale for $0.99 during the tour

Oh, Baby! (A Prescription: Romance! Book) – https://amzn.to/2SLCaZ2

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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE

Jill Blake will be awarding a $25 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/28e4345f2953