There's Just Something About Jeannie!!

Another week has bit the dust! Can I get a heck yeah?!

Need a good read for the weekend?? Well, sit back, grab a frosty beverage and enjoy because Jeannie Ruesch is on the hot seat today!

Jeannie's debut novel SOMETHING ABOUT HER was recently released from The Wild Rose Press and has gathered wonderful reviews. Just like the Hollywood Starlets of old, Jeannie does it all- writing, writer programs, designer wear and more! She's a super-talented lady and I'm so thrilled to have the chance to interview her!

Crack 'em open, if you got 'em, ladies and gents! The fun is about to begin!

1) If you were a book, what would your blurb be?

You don’t start off with easy questions, do you? LOL

Jeannie Ruesch never dreamed of being Cinderella, or Sleeping Beauty or Snow White. (Or rather she did, but when that failed by the time she was ten, she gave up.) She did, however, dream of ways to recreate their stories. Fascinated with her favorite children’s book and fairy tales, Jeannie believed in just one goal: that some day, she would be a writer.

Life, however, had different plans. With one emotional set back after another (followed by gallons of ice cream, of course), Jeannie was faced with a time when connecting with her emotions was harder than making her bed, and writing seemed a far-off dream. But finding herself and finding the perfect man (for her!) helped her to realize that life had finally gotten on her side. Years later, she’s celebrating the debut of her first novel and a happy life beyond her dreams.

(And in the Lifetime Made for TV movie of this, Jeannie chooses Valerie Bertinelli to play her. ) An excellent choice!


2) Every writer has a voice, what would your voice’s tagline be?

Emotional and romantic, with a dash of humor.


3) Give us a glimpse of a day in the life of Jeannie Ruesch. What is your work schedule? How has it changed since you became published? Do you write everyday? What kind of goals do you set?

I’m not really sure you want a glimpse. LOL It’s generally pretty crazy, and yet somehow a little boring, every day. I run my own marketing and design company, so work and home and play and everything else bleed together hourly. By the minute, sometimes. My days are full of work and of my son (toddler years, oh boy) and when I write, it’s almost always at night.

I TRY to write every day, even if it’s just a paragraph. One thing I have learned when you have multiple demands on your time, you will set priorities even if you don’t realize you are doing it. Sometimes my priorities have to be focused elsewhere, but no matter what, I always come back to the writing. And I find if I can just get in a little bit, every day, it keeps me going and makes it easier on the days I have hours to write.

4)You created the WIP Notebook to keep writers organized. I checked out the examples and was very impressed. (Enough so that I want one! Lol) How did you come up with idea? Care to tell us a little about the program?

The idea of the WIP (Work In Progress) Notebook was because I actually needed a place to keep all the details and notes and things about my work. My desk is full of post it notes, notebooks, pieces of paper, and a million more things, which is not very conducive to finding that one piece of paper with the teeny, tiny detail that you absolutely need to know. So I began creating an actual notebook, with forms to fill out on characters, plots, scenes. I researched across the web to look for the best types of information to include and came out with a notebook. A good friend of mine saw it and told me I needed to make it available to others, so here it is.

5)You are one creative lady, Jeannie! Poking around on your absolutely beautiful website, I found out you designed some Writer’s Apparel!!! I loved the logos! What was your inspiration?

Thank you!! Creativity is somewhat like coffee to me – I don’t think I could live without either. The designs in my writer’s apparel section are funny thoughts that come to mind, or jokes or whatever I think a writer might like. I’m hoping to add more soon, so stay tuned.


6)What advice do you have for new writers?

Realize that you are on a learning curve, no matter WHERE you are in the process. First book. Tenth book. Haven’t written a book – you’re on the curve. I’m still on that curve. A “no thank you” from an agent or editor doesn’t mean you’ll never make it. It might mean you have more to learn, but truly, that’s the part you can control.

Keep your focus on becoming the best writer you can be, learn the craft by joining critique groups and being open to what they tell you, learn to find your voice, learn your weaknesses as a writer and how to use those to your advantage.

Mostly: Believe. It’s my favorite word and when I have moments of doubt, I repeat it in my head until the moment has passed. It always works.

7)How long did it take you to write SOMETHING ABOUT HER? How did the fantastic plot idea come to you?

It took me five years, but that was largely on purpose. When I started writing it, I knew I had a lot to learn about writing, about romance writing, and I knew I wanted this to be my first book. So I gave myself the time to focus as well as learn how to write better. I wrote, rewrote and rewrote some more. I still have most of the previous drafts of this book, and on occasion I will go back and read them over just to see how far I’ve come. It’s heartening to read my work then and read it now and see a tangible difference, and to know that I recognize on the spot what has improved.

SOMETHING ABOUT HER was born of the two main characters – I knew Blythe was one of five siblings and I knew her hero was a duke with scandalous parents and an unruly daughter. The plot worked from building their characters and letting them tell the story, letting them grow and learn and change.

I also wanted Blythe’s relationship with her siblings to play a large part. This book is the first in the Willoughby Family series, about the five siblings – a lot about how they interact with each other creates who they are as people. Those relationships are just as important to the stories.


8)What’s next for Jeannie? Any new WIP’s?

Yes, I’m currently working on book 2 in the Willoughby Family series, with a working title of HER RELUCTANT HERO. It’s Adam’s story, and he’s got one feisty heroine to deal with.

I’m also working on a suspense thriller, completely different from my historicals, but so much fun!


Waiting on tender hooks for the blurb from SOMETHING ABOUT HER? Don't worry! I got your back, baby!

Blurb for SOMETHING ABOUT HER:

Michael Ashton, the Duke of Ravensdale, is caught in two scandals, neither of which is his own doing. The first involves a woman (don’t they always), and the second…well, it also involves a woman and a large sum of stolen money. In order to save the reputation Michael has spent his life rebuilding, he must track down the widow of his presumed-dead cousin in order to charm...or seduce her missing husband's whereabouts from her.

After being abandoned a mere hour after her wedding, Blythe Willoughby Ashton wonders how she could have been fooled by such a cad and still feels humiliated and betrayed a year later. Her husband wooed her, married her, took her money and left. When she learns of his death, she decides unceremoniously to go on with her life—without a man. So when Thomas’s cousin—a Duke, no less—shows up uninvited on her doorstep, looking more handsome and irresistible than any man should, Blythe instinctively doesn’t trust him nor does she want to like him. But her traitorous heart doesn’t seem to care. At the same time, Michael’s clear agenda gets quite blurry when the woman he believes an accomplice to his cousin's schemes turns out to be the woman he can give his heart to…and the only one he can’t have.

Here’s a link to the book video, which is actually set to one of Jeannie's favorite classical pieces of music. http://www.jeannieruesch.com/videos.shtml#video

I want to thank Jeannie for being here with us today! The minute I read the excerpt for SOMETHING ABOUT HER, I knew the perfect song to send you off to the weekend with. Let's go back to 1987's DIRTY DANCING and let Patrick Swayze serenade us with She's Like The Wind. Check out this video! You'd think the thing had been taylor made for Michael and Blythe! Hey! Did anyone bring me a frosty beverage? LOL Have a good weekend!