Jeris Jean's Blog
April 27, 2021
Opening Lines Teaser
Opening Lines Teaser!
Here's a taste of Opening Lines, book four in the Hollywood Hopefuls series.
Pre-order now available: https://amzn.to/2NGAPp1
January 6, 2021
Once it's on the internet, you can't take it back.
The terrifying business of putting it all out there.
One thing to know about me is that I don't believe in "guilty pleasures." I reject the concept as a whole. Oh, I know it's a thing. I know that many, many people have plenty of guilty pleasures secretly bringing joy into their lives. But I don't accept that.
My thoughts: don't hide them. Don't freaking hide the things you love. Life is too short for embarrassment. If you think The Bachelorette is the best show on TV, rock on. If you like to listen to Avril Lavigne, you go right ahead. If you like to read (or write) romance novels, do it proudly.
When the idea for my first novel came to me, I struggled like nobody's business to follow my own rules. I read romance novels - lots and lots of them, and I particularly enjoy m/m romance. I can admit that. Who doesn't love love?
When I wanted to write my own m/m romance? I was afraid to tell anyone. I had so much ambition and love for the writing, though, so I just wrote. My background is in English, and I've taught at the college level for several years in my past, but I hadn't ever written a novel. But before I knew it, I was 30,000 words in and not slowing down. And I was really, ridiculously happy doing it.
There was a damper on that joy, though, due to the stigma I perceived about the romance genre. Having a masters degree in Literature makes it easy to be insecure about liking any genre writing. Genre writing is looked down upon in a lot of literary circles. And it really shouldn't be. I needed to get over that.
Not only did I have those criticisms in my mind, I also had the judge-y views of people that think it's scandalous to write about romantic relationships that include sex. Or that it's "odd" for a woman to write about m/m couples.
In the end, I wrote the whole novel. Then I wrote a prequel short. Then I started the sequel to the novel. And I love all of it. I decided to just take the plunge and share it. It was something I was proud of, and I didn't want to keep it to myself.
My husband was the first to know, and he has been amazingly supportive. My best friend is my beta reader. I was scared to tell her about this and share my writing, but she is also ridiculously supportive. My mom, my siblings, and my other bestie piled on and showered me with encouragement.
Have I gotten judge-y comments? Yes. Do some people think I should be embarrassed about what I write? Uh huh. But guess what? They shouldn't ruin my excitement about writing or my desire to share stories with others that might enjoy them.
So, here I go. I am putting my novel and myself out into the world. I'm proud of it, and I hope that you enjoy it. I have so many more stories waiting to be written.
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Free Gay Romance Short Story
Read Borderline, a 9,000-word gay romance story. It works as a standalone but also serves as a prequel to the Hollywood Hopefuls series, right before Book 1, Running Lines. Get the free download when you join my email list. Get the story here.
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