We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jennifer Raines. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jennifer below.

Alright, Jennifer thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. One of our favorite things to hear about is stories around the nicest thing someone has done for someone else – what’s the nicest thing someone has ever done for you?

I’m a believer in committing random acts of kindness, but this one came out of the blue. As a romance writer, I’ve entered many competitions over the years to get feedback on my concept, my writing style and my effectiveness in generating an emotional response to my characters. Around 2020, I entered a competition for the opening chapter of a book. One judge was very generous with her feedback, including overall comments and comments/questions throughout the manuscript. I asked the judge coordinator if they could ask this judge if they would be prepared to talk to me outside the competition. V agreed, then she reviewed the entire manuscript, questioning me, challenging me, prompting me to do better. She gave up hours of her time to help me improve that manuscript. She continues to support my writing. I attribute my first publishing success to her generosity.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

My name is Jennifer Raines and I’m an Australian. I write sensuous contemporary romances set mainly, but not exclusively, in Australia—think Malta, Finland, New Zealand or ? I’m a dreamer and an optimist, and my stories are a delicious cocktail of passion, mutual respect and loyalty because I still believe in happily-ever-afters.

I’ve always written, but when my father walked out, I was raised with the knowledge that I needed to earn a living and be able to support myself. Being a creative doesn’t always put food on the table. When I had some financial security, I was able to return to my first love, stories and story-telling. Being published takes work, persistence, study and being able to withstand some hard knocks—readers can be brutal—and the capacity to recognise and use the constructive feedback you receive. Did I mention persistence?

I’m proud that readers have said my stories are different, unique, don’t follow the same formats as category romances and tell a story as well as reveal an emotional, heart-warming romance between people who bring out the best in each other. I write heat with heart because those relationships last.

You can find out more about me and my books at https://www.jenniferrainesauthor.com

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

I placed second in the Romance Writers of Australia Emerald competition for unpublished manuscripts some years ago. I sent the book to a few traditional publishers, but didn’t get any interest, so I filed the manuscript in my bottom drawer and started a new one. Following a conversation with the competition winner, I discovered she sent her manuscript to over 30 English language publishers around the world. I opened that drawer, reviewed the manuscript using the knowledge I’d gained in the years since I’d tucked it away and resubmitted. That book was my first published manuscript Taylor’s Law.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

I’d say doubt is always a struggle for a creative regardless of your success.

I rose to mid-level administrator in my professional life, managing groups of people and handling state-wide and national projects. Doubt was a constant companion, but it was different. You worked as a team, you were part of something larger, and you knew that if you delivered on time and gave something your best shot then you’d be appreciated for that.

It’s a different type of personal when it’s your creative endeavour being evaluated by strangers. It’s visceral, it wakes you in the night in a cold sweat and brings a never-ending smile to your face at the oddest times. In writing a book, you put your heart and soul on the page, and you always wonder how it will be received. Within twenty four hours recently, I had one reviewer say I’d written one of the finest romance heroes ever written and another reviewer say she was bored to death by the end of the first chapter. Doubt. And those people who say, you’re only as good as your last performance or your last book—that’s true. But writing is a compulsion, a story that needs to be told regardless of the cost to you.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.jenniferrainesauthor.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/romanceauthorjen/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jenniferrainesauthor
• Other: Goodreads—https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/22577889.Jennifer_Raines
  Bookbub – https://www.bookbub.com/authors/jennifer-raines
  A podcast where I read excerpts from my books (episodes 54,80, 101 & 143)
  http://www.dkpwriter.com/indie-reads-aloud-podcast.html

Image Credits

I, Jennifer Raines, took the photographs