Guest Post & Giveaway: Weak At The Knees by Jo Kessel

I'm really happy to welcome Jo Kessel, author of Weak At The Knees, who will  be guest posting for me today!  Don't forget to enter the awesome giveaway at the bottom of this post!

AS AN AUTHOR WHAT SCARES ME THE MOST - IS IT WRITING ABOUT SEX?

The scariest thing about being an author is that people will judge me. This is no different for any creative, be it an artist, an actor, or a movie director etc. We’re all putting our work out there in the public domain, hoping that people will enjoy it, but knowing that they will all have an opinion, be it good or bad.

But in addition to worrying about what the public will think about my work, I’m also concerned about what my friends and acquaintances think – especially other mothers in the school playground. My books are quite sexy and what I don't want is for people to look at me in a different way. I wonder if E L James has suffered from that at all?! I would love to ask her that question. But if I'm worrying about this, imagine how an actor might feel if they take their parent to see a film in which they star naked and engaging in torrid sex scenes! I think I would want the floor to open up and swallow me whole.

On a different note, but still relevant to being judged, I once wrote an article for a British newspaper on schools. It was a personal piece about choices I had made for my own children’s education. To protect my children’s identity I wrote under a pseudonym and thank goodness I did. There was a HUGE reaction to my article. Readers (in their hundreds) were leaving posts on the newspaper’s websites that were epic in length and mostly nasty in tone, with the odd supportive one in between. Even though logically I knew that these people didn’t know me or the full story (there’s a limit to what you can say in a thousand words) I took it all as a very personal attack.


This was a very important lesson for me. I learned that in future (and now as an author) I need to develop a much thicker skin and to not take anything too personally. In fact, I will concentrate on broadening my shoulders and standing ESPECIALLY proud, not DESPITE my sex scenes, but BECAUSE of them!

About The Author:

Jo Kessel is a journalist in the UK, working for the BBC and reporting and presenting for ITV on holiday, consumer and current affairs programs. She writes for several national newspapers including the Daily Mail, the Telegraph, the Guardian and the Express and was the anonymous author of the Independent’s hit column: Diary of a Primary School Mum.

When Jo was ten years old she wrote a short story about losing a loved one. Her mother and big sister were so moved by the tale that it made them cry. Having reduced them to tears she vowed that the next time she wrote a story it would make them smile instead. Happily she succeeded and with this success grew an addiction for wanting to reach out and touch people with words.

P.S Jo’s pretty certain one of her daughters has inherited this gene.

Other books by Jo Kessel include Lover in Law.

Her latest book is the new adult contemporary romance novel, Weak at the Knees.

Visit her website at www.jokessel.com.

Connect & Socialize with Jo!

TWITTER | FACEBOOK | GOODREADS

Terms & Conditions:

By entering the giveaway, you are confirming you are at least 18 years old.

One winner will be chosen via Rafflecopter to receive one $100 Amazon Gift Card and one winner will be chosen to win the gift basket.

This giveaway begins October 7 and ends January 18.

Winners will be contacted via email on Monday, January 20, 2014.

Winner has 48 hours to reply.

Good luck everyone!

ENTER TO WIN!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Title: Weak at the Knees
Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance
Author: Jo Kessel
Publisher: CreateSpace
Pages: 292
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1490397604
ISBN-13: 978-1490397603

Purchase at AMAZON (US) & AMAZON (UK)

“We got so busy living life that we forgot to live our dreams.”

Danni Lewis has been playing it safe for twenty-six years, but her sheltered existence is making her feel old ahead of time. When a sudden death plunges her into a spiral of grief, she throws caution to the wind and runs away to France in search of a new beginning.

The moment ski instructor Olivier du Pape enters her shattered world she falls hard, in more ways than one.

Their mutual desire is as powerful and seductive as the mountains around them. His dark gypsy looks and piercing blue eyes are irresistible.

Only she must resist, because he has a wife - and she’d made a pact to never get involved with a married man.

But how do you choose between keeping your word and being true to your soul?

Weak at the Knees is Jo’s debut novel in the new adult, contemporary romance genre – a story of love and loss set between London and the heart of the French Alps.