Jenny Kane is the author of the contemporary romance novel Another Glass of Champagne, the bestselling novel Abi’s House (Accent Press, 2015), the modern/medieval time slip novel Romancing Robin Hood (Accent Press, 2014), the bestselling novel Another Cup of Coffee (Accent Press, 2013), and its sequels Another Cup of Christmas (Accent Press, 2013), Christmas in the Cotswolds (Accent, 2014), and Christmas at the Castle (Accent Press, 2015).
Jenny’s first medieval mystery, Outlaw’s Ransom, will be published in Nov 2016, and her fifth full length romance novel, Abi’s Neighbour, will be published in June 2017. Jenny is also the author of quirky children’s picture books There’s a Cow in the Flat (Hushpuppy, 2014) and Ben’s Biscuit Tin (Hushpuppy, 2015)
As erotic writer Kay Jaybee, she wrote the The Perfect Submissive Trilogy, (Xcite, 2011-14), Making Him Wait, (Sweetmeats Press, 2012), The Voyeur (Xcite, 2012), as well as the novellas, Not Her Type: Erotic Adventures With A Delivery Man (2nd ed. 1001 NightsPress, 2013), Digging Deep (Xcite, 2013), A Sticky Situation, (Xcite, 2012), and The Circus, (Sweetmeats Press). She has also written the anthologies The Collector (Austin & Macauley, 2012 & 2008), The Best of Kay Jaybee (Xcite, 2012), Tied to the Kitchen Sink, Equipment, (All Romance, 2012), Yes Ma’am (Xcite e-books, 2011), Quick Kink One and Quick Kink Two (Xcite e-books, 2010).
Kay Jaybee has had over 100 short stories published by Cleis Press, Black Lace, Mammoth, Xcite, Penguin, Seal, and Sweetmeats Press. Kay Jaybee was named Best Erotica Writer of 2015 by the ETO. Kay was also nominated as the Best Erotica Writer in 2013, 2014 and 2016.
What were you like at school? Were you a bookworm?
I was incredibly shy when I was at school. I would have been a wallflower at the school disco if I’d been brave enough to even go to them. I was an introvert by nature – a situation which wasn’t improved by the fact I was clever, and then bullied as a result. I frequently wanted to hide from reality during my formative years. I found that place to hide in books – I’ve never really come out of hiding!
Growing up, what were your creative influences? Which writers inspired you?
I can tell you exactly where I was when the biggest cultural influence of my life struck- it took me totally unawares. I was 14 years old. I’d been off sick from school for ages, and to counteract my boredom – and the fact the library was running out of books for me to read – my parents headed off to Radio Rentals to borrow one of those new fangled video recorders!
In order to get used to this new machine, my dad recorded the first thing that was on television on his return from town. That programme happened to be the ninth episode of the third series of Robin of Sherwood – which was called Adam Bell.
It was 5.35pm on a Saturday night – and it was the moment I fell in love for the first time. The love has never gone. And what did I fall in love with exactly? Robin Hood – hook, line and sinker. The whole legend – I inhaled every book, film, report, television programme I could find.
So you could say the first writer who really inspired me was Richard Carpenter – who wrote Robin of Sherwood. Since then I’ve fallen under the spell of Colin Dexter, Terry Pratchett, Anthony Horowitz, and many more.
Do you recall how your interest in writing originated?
Despite my love of words, legends and books in general, I never intended to be a writer. It happened totally by accident just before I turned 33.
I was sat in a cafe in Scotland, enjoying a few hours freedom while my children were at school, when an idea came into my head. I scribbled it on a napkin- a napkin I really wished I’d kept, because miraculously that story was to become the first story published under my other pen name- Kay Jaybee, only three months later.
So, what have you written so far?
As Jenny Kane I have written the following contemporary fiction novels and novellas:
Another Glass of Champagne, Abi’s House, Romancing Robin Hood, Another Cup of Coffee, Another Cup of Christmas, Christmas in the Cotswolds and Christmas at the Castle, (Accent Press, 2015)
As Kay I’ve written over 100 stories, including The Perfect Submissive Trilogy, Making Him Wait, The Voyeur, Not Her Type: Erotic Adventures With A Delivery Man, Digging Deep, A Sticky Situation and The Circus.
What inspired you to write your first book as Jenny?
My first novel as Jenny Kane was called Another Cup of Coffee. It was basically an answer to a ‘what if?’ question that had been nagging at the back of my head for years. What if I hadn’t made a decision that I did make when I was student? What might life have been like then? The answer is in the novel!
Tell us about your latest book. What’s it about?
My latest novel as Jenny Kane, Another Glass of Champagne, is the fifth and final story in the Another Cup of… series. Set in and around the fictional Pickwicks Coffee House in Richmond, the series follows the adventures of Amy, Kit, Jack and their friends.
Another Glass of Champagne follows on from Another Cup of Coffee, Another Cup of Christmas, Christmas in the Cotswolds and Christmas at the Castle.
What was the hardest thing about writing your latest book? What were the challenges in bringing it to life?
Taking the characters from the first series and watching them grow up was great fun. Letting them go on the other hand – finishing the series with characters that felt like friends – that was really hard.
What genre are your books?
Contemporary fiction/ Rom Com
What draws you to this genre?
It’s a great deal of fun to write and it gives me a chance to shamelessly rewrite the adventures I’ve had in my life for other people to read!!
Are any of the experiences you write about based on someone you know, or events in your own life?
All of it! Me, my friends, my adventures as an archaeologist, historian, hat maker, cheese seller… All of it is exaggerated, played with, and made into fiction!
Do you write full-time or part-time?
I have a part time job which I do from home. I work at least 12-14 hrs a day between ‘work’ and writing.
Tell us about your process: Pen, paper, laptop, tablet, blood of young virgins… how do you write?
Pen and paper wins for me every time – although I will reluctantly type into my laptop if deadlines are all converging on me at once.
Do you have a special time to write, how is your day structured?
I am sat at my cafe corner (I have a corner with a plaque and everything!), by 8am, and I sit there writing until 11am. After that I do two hours ‘work’ before heading back to the words, edits, and PR until 8-10pm depending on the day.
Do you write every day, 5 days a week, or as and when?
7 days a week- I’m ever so slightly addicted to my job!
You also have a ‘naughtier’ side, with the erotic fiction you write under your pen name Kay Jaybee. What first drew you to this genre?
It was an accident – I just don’t know what drew me to it. I’d never read a porn mag or seen a porn film when erotica arrived in my life- it just happened.
Why did you start writing erotic fiction?
Erotica chose me. There I was, innocently eating a Mars Bar scone (yes, really), when, as I mentioned above, an idea came into my head that was so strong, so vivid, that I had to write it down. I had to. My mind gave me no choice in the matter at all.
Tell us about the first erotic story you ever wrote.
My very first piece was a short story called Jen and Tim (written long before I took the name Jenny as my other pen name). It was about an occasional couple who enjoyed cross dressing in each other’s work uniforms! There was much spanking. I still can’t believe I’m doing this for a living! Writing words I’d never say about things I’d never do!
Why do you think sex sells? Can you name some of your favourite erotica writers and tell me why you love them so much?
Sex is something that unites us all. Apart from birth and death, it is the only thing that every single one of us can relate to. That means it’s more likely to appeal to a wider audience than many other genres- although I’m sure many wouldn’t like to admit to that fact!
The erotica world is full of some top class talent. It is a genre that is much underestimated. You only have to look at the Brit Babes (KD Grace, Lily Harlem, Lucy Felthouse, Marissa Farra, Tabitha Rayne, Lexie Bay, Victoria Blisse)- 3 of which have won the Best Erotica Writer of the year at the ETO- to see the level of talent out there. Not to mention the incredible Janine Ashbless, Ashley Lister, Kristina Lloyd and many more.
As someone who writes within the erotica genre, what are your thoughts on the impact and importance of Fifty Shades of Grey?
The most important thing I can say about 50 Shades is that it isn’t erotica. It is a hot romance with some graphic sex scenes. The Shades story is moved forward by a romance, not by sex.
Shades was, however, brilliantly marketed as erotica – presumably as a shock tactic – which clearly worked.
There was some hope amongst the actual erotica community for a while after Shades came out, that it would boost the erotica market – in fact it almost destroyed it. Many readers looking for more the same after they read Shades were shocked at how much sex is in an actual erotica novel and fed the need for more copycat hot romance instead.
Do you think anyone can write erotic fiction?
No. The flood of appalling erotica after the 50 Shades incident proved that. It’s one of those genres that is very easy to write badly, and very challenging to write well.
What are the most important components to writing good erotica?
The sex has to drive the story- and every single erotic act has to move the story forwards- you can’t just put sex in for the sake of it.
Good erotica has to have a plot which is original, but also delivers what you’d expect from a piece of work designed to turn its readers on.
Erotica has to be treated with respect, and written with the same care you’d employ in any other novel.
What advice can you give to editors who would like to start their own erotica?
Avoid billionaires – it’s been done to death – be more original and twist the ordinary.
What are you working on at the minute? Do you have any upcoming projects?
I’m in the final stages of promoting my re-launched anthology, The Collector, which I decided to re-edit and add new stories to after 10 years!
Plus – I can give you a little exclusive here as I haven’t told anyone yet- but I am currently editing my first new erotic novella for two years! Wednesday on Thursday is a very kinky threesome story about a man who is obsessed with words, his assistant, and their hunt for a new employee.
What feedback do you get from your fans about your work?
I am lucky enough to have had some lovely reviews, and to get fan mail. My favourite messages are the ones from couples who have told me how I’ve saved their marriages by spicing up there routine a bit, and from folk who tell me I’ve provided laughs, smiles, and the occasional climax!
How can readers discover more about you and you work?
All my work can be found on Amazon and from all major e-book and paperback retailers.
Website and Blog: www.jennykane.co.uk
Website and Blog: www.kayjaybee.me.uk
Facebook: Jenny Kane: – https://www.facebook.com/JennyKaneRomance/
Facebook: Kay Jaybee – https://www.facebook.com/KayJaybeeAuthor/
Twitter: Jenny- @JennyKaneAuthor
Twitter: Kay – @kay_jaybee
Pinterest- http://pinterest.com/kjberotica/
Goodreads: Kay- http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/3541958-kay-jaybee
Goodreads: Jenny- https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7255618.Jenny_Kane
Brit Babes Site- http://thebritbabes.blogspot.co.uk/p/kay-jaybee.html
Thank you very much for taking the time out of your busy schedule to take part in this interview.
Author bio: James Gent is a freelance writer; passionate about pop culture, books & book people, and social media. He has contributed to several published anthologies including 1001 TV Series You Must Watch Before You Die, penned the group biography for the official Monty Python website, and is currently editing Me And The Starman, a tribute to David Bowie, to be published by Watching Books later this year. Follow James on Twitter, LinkedIn and WordPress.
Thanks ever so much for inviting both of me over today James – you are very kid. Kay/Jenny xx