Happy Tuesday, y’all!
It’s release day for Jessica Kate’s debut novel, Love and Other Mistakes. Pull up a chair, grab a cup of tea (or coffee) and chat with her!
What’s Your Favorite Ingredients in a Story?
If you’re anything like me, you’re a lady of specific tastes. Sure, there’s a lot of books, movies and TV out there that I enjoy…but those I love? Much shorter list, and once you start to look at it, you realize there’s some common ingredients in many your favorites.
The wonderful thing is, everyone’s favorite ingredients are different. So as you read my list, ponder (and tell me in the comments) what’s yours?
- Loyalty – in a romantic relationship or a friendship. The Man From Uncle bromance counts too! (The Fox and O’Hare series, Suits.)
- Teamwork – just like the above point, I love it in a friendship or a romantic pairing! (Castle, The Newsroom, The Veronica Speedwell series, My Hands Came Away Red)
- Romantic leads who have history together (Sweet Home Alabama, Two Weeks Notice, the Enchanted Events series)
- A strong female character – especially when I read murder mysteries! The only ones I enjoy features a woman as the lead investigator. (The Ziba MacKenzie series and Nikki Heat series both spring to mind. I make an exception for the men in Dee Henderson’s O’Malley series, though my favorites are still the ones featuring the sisters.)
- Witty banter. Who doesn’t love that? (All Aaron Sorkin’s TV shows, all Jenny B Jones’ books.)
You’ll generally find at least 3 of these 5 factors in any novel currently occupying the ‘favorite reads’ shelf on my bookcase. But what’s the real X factor? What’s that #1 key ingredient in EVERY SINGLE ONE of my favorite movies, books and TV shows?
It took me a while to figure it out, but once I did I became much better a curating my Netflix list and to-be-read pile!
For me, it wasn’t enough to make lists of my favorite stories, or even common ingredients like the above list. I still knew there was something missing…till I asked myself, ‘What’s my favorite MOMENT in each of these stories?’
And then I had my answer: loyalty despite conflict. My favorite moment in every one of these stories was a moment when two characters who had a big disagreement with each other showed loyalty toward one another when an outside force threatened.
So, have a look at our list of favorite things and tell me: what’s that secret spice for you?
About the Book
There’s a fine line between love and hate . . . And for the last seven years, Natalie Groves has hated Jeremy Walters.
Natalie Groves was meant for great things. But soon after her fiancé left, Natalie’s father was diagnosed with cancer. Suddenly her grand plans evaporated . . . and God felt very far away.
Fast-forward seven years, and an internship presents Natalie a chance at her destiny—but she needs a job to work around it. And the only offer available is worse than a life sentence. Her ex Jeremy, now back in town, is desperate for help with his infant son and troubled teenage niece, Lili. And Natalie may be just the one to help Jeremy . . . provided they don’t kill each other in the process.
When Jeremy and Natalie join forces, sparks fly. But will either of them get burned along the way?
About the Author
Australian author Jessica Kate is obsessed with sassy romances.
She packs her novels with love, hate, and everything in between—and then nerds out over her favorite books, movies and TV in the StoryNerds podcast. When she’s not writing or discussing fiction, she’s hunting the world for the greatest pasta in existence.
Her debut novel Love and Other Mistakes releases July 2019, while A Girl’s Guide to the Outback hits shelves in January 2020.
Receive her sassy short The Kiss Dare FREE when you sign up for her newsletter at jessicakatewriting.com.
Toni Shiloh 
Good food for thought, Jessica. I like your pick, but I think mine would have to be triumph over adversity. I think that tends to be a common theme for me as an author and a reader.
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That’s awesome!!! What’s some of your fav’s?
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