~ MEET JESS HUNTER ~

Hey Jess, why do you write romance? 


Thanks for asking, Ma’am. Because romance is in my bones. My Momma and my Sister raised me sweet and kind. They messed up a little around the humble part, but you can’t be perfect, right? They raised me to take care of ladies, open their doors, give them flowers and all that stuff. When all of the other kids were listening to LL Cool J talking about bitches and hos, I was listening to Dr. Hook singing “Sharing the Night Together” and looking forward to talking about my feelings. Things have changed. Many women have come and gone in my life and I have been jaded, got big and manly, messed around and got messed with, but romance is still a source of magic, wonder and excitement in my life. 

In the spirit of new beginnings of love stories, (since I just released my first romance novel – FOR A HERO) I thought I might share the story of my first kiss with you. Enjoy.

When I was very young, and by very young, I mean around 8 years old - Sable was the “Grand Soloist of Texas” in some state-wide charitable organization, a big deal. Their conventions numbered in the tens of thousands. This meant that every time anybody anywhere needed anything sung, we had to drive all the way across the state to get there. I don’t know if any of you know just how big Texas is, so I will share this expression my Nana used to say frequently, “the sun has risen, and the sun has set, and dang-it, here we ride through Texas yet.”

For hours on end we would follow the broken yellow lines until we were in places I had never heard of, and most likely couldn’t point you to on a map. When we arrived, Sable would sing, and speak, and narrate and enthrall crowds with her person. Many times, she would have written her own music and programs and her fame as a personality grew and grew. (Yea, she was a pain.)

There was a girl there. I don’t remember who her parents were, but I’m sure one of them was pretty important for her to have been present at these shindigs all over the state. She was always there. She was a year older than me, and at that age, that meant that she was 6 inches taller than me and twice as worldly. She had red curls framing her chubby little face, and prominent freckles dancing beneath her bottle-top glasses. I was in love.

We would meet sometimes at the meetings or whatever they were and play power rangers and ninja turtles and the games that all the cool kids played. She was the pink ranger, and I was the red, blue and white ranger because all of the cool had to be mine. We ran amuck, causing trouble and mischief wherever our little miscreant hearts took us.

Occasionally, Sable would have me in her shows with her, usually playing a simple little role or singing a little tune to melt the hearts of the onlookers with my pre-pubescent presence. On one special occasion, both my little girl-friend and I were to be in the program together. I knew no greater rapture.

 I was George Washington and she was Martha. I was up to my usual presidential shenanigans and, of course, chopped down her beloved cherry tree. Hilarity ensued but I could not stay in trouble long, for you see, I could not tell a lie. Martha forgives me, the lesson is learned and we are to seal our adventure with a kiss. I hadn’t really thought about the kiss until moments before it happened and the weight of the situation slapped me like a bag of bricks. I panicked and covered her lips with my thumbs, kissing them instead. It was the first time in my entire life that I had been a wuss. Even at that young age, my inner man barked at me with orders to rectify at the earliest convenience. That, combined with my undying love for her, (we were to be wed, she just didn’t know it yet) and it was final. We were going to kiss. Tonight.

My PaPa, Nana’s husband, had drawn the short straw that evening and was left baby-sitting the two of us during the meeting proper. We were taken back to Sis’s hotel room and while he sat in his chair, smoking his pipe or chewing his tobacco like children of the Great Depression did, my love and I hopped from bed to bed tempting fate with our tiny little bodies.

After some good solid play time, we began to settle down into seated positions on adjacent beds. She looked me in my eyes; I stared back into hers. It’s time, Baby.

 She knew what she was doing, that coy little minx. Her eyes batted at me and her lips pursed. It was almost as if she flushed her cheeks on purpose just to make them look more precious. We held our breaths as we slowly leaned in toward one another. An eternity passed between the sealing of the eyelids and the contact of our lips.
It lasted only a moment. Our lips touched and we pulled back immediately. Her lips turned upward into the cutest little smile and I basked in the blush that consumed me.

 Then, all of a sudden, she began to laugh.

 Not a cute, sweet little giggle or an innocent but sincere chuckle, she was laughing. Her eyes were huge and she clutched her gut to control the overwhelming guffaw emanating from her diaphragm.

 I was mortified. What could I possibly have done within a fraction of a second kiss to deserve such ridicule or create such a response?

 After a few moments, it came to me.

 I looked down and my pants were wet from the knees to the waist. My poor little nervous bladder had emptied itself in anxiety. This princess I had enchanted only moments before was now erupting with enjoyment at my misfortune.

 Right there, in front of her and the Lord, my PaPa took me by the hand, led me into the bathroom and told me to clean up.

 I can’t tell you how I felt that evening after she left, or even what I thought regarding the situation. It was simply too traumatic to allow room for anything else. The only other thing I remember about that night was my poking my head out of the bathroom, looking over at that girl and giving her the biggest smile you could imagine.

Many years went by before I saw that girl again. I was around 14 then, a whole new man, strutting around Sams’ Club, shamelessly partaking of the free samples. My mom called me over and said, “Hey! Do you remember who this is?”

There she was, standing in all of her glory. However, the dimples and curls and chubbiness didn’t look as good now as it did then. We shared one of the most half-assed hugs anyone had ever seen. We both knew what each other was thinking. The night of the kiss-piss fiasco played vividly in our minds.

As embarrassed as I could have been, as shy and nervous and awkward as I could have been, I did it one more time. I smiled. A big, full, genuine smile and I owned that feeling. She will never forget me. We touched each other. I was a legend. A pee legend, but a legend nevertheless.

I walked away, with swag as always and I thought to myself, “What a great story.”

Thanks for reading one of the first adventures of Jess Hunter, lover extraordinaire.


 Here’s a sample from FOR A HERO. David and Jena’s first kiss. I hope you enjoy it. 

“Dinner was wonderful, David. Thank you so much.” Jenna sat in David’s passenger seat, holding her swan-shaped foil left-overs in her lap. “The whole evening, actually, was perfect.”
“It was my pleasure. It was so much better than I thought it would be.”
“What? You thought you wouldn’t have a good time with me?”
At her look of dismay, he quickly tried to explain. “No, not at all, Jenna. I just really dislike these social functions Blaine drags me to. They are usually stuffy and boring and I get humiliated in some way or another. But tonight was different. You were amazing.” He drove on, with his right hand resting warmly on her thigh. He felt like he needed to claim her in some way. “But the whole dancing thing was kind of terrible.”
“Good. I was hoping it would be something like that. And the dancing was adorable. You didn’t fall over too much.” They drove into the night. Southwest Austin was mountainous and green. Even at night, the hills could be seen rising above them.
“Where do you live?”
“On North Lamar past Koenig.” That location perked up David’s memory.
“I ride the bus over that way sometimes.”
“Yeah, I know. David, I have a confession to make.” She put her hands in her lap, curling up into herself, nervous for the reaction he would have to her revealing.
“What is it?”
“There is a reason why I simply had to buy you at the Fantasy Auction this evening. I have seen you before.”
David looked puzzled. His concentration bore down on her words as he turned north to reach her apartment.
“I was on the bus the day you got in a fight with that man because he wouldn’t let the women sit down. I watched you stand up for them. I noticed how you refused to throw a punch or say a cruel word.”
“That wasn’t a big deal. Anybody would have done that.”
“No, David, they wouldn’t. I have never met a man like you before in my life. I noticed you because you were huge and beautiful and striking, but after I saw what kind of heart you have, what kind of soul you have, I just couldn’t get you out of my mind.” She began to come out of her cocoon as she bared her soul.
David didn’t know what to say. He sat there in silence and drove, dumbfounded.
“Did I upset you?” She retreated again.
“No, Honey, not at all. This is just new to me. I haven’t had a lot of things happen to me like this, and I’m just trying to take it all in. I am flattered. I just don’t understand.”
“You are unreal, David Conlon. I just wanted to get a chance to figure out if you are as wonderful close up as you were from afar, and David, you are an angel.” She wrapped her arm around his and scooted over into the middle seat. She laid her head on his shoulder and rested.
They arrived at her apartment and he pulled into a parking spot. He, in true David fashion, hurried from his seat to hold her door. “Jenna, this evening has been magical. I hope you had as great a time as I did.”
He walked her to her door and stood with her. She looked down, fumbled with her keys, kicked her feet into the floor, and prolonged their visit as much as possible.
David hugged her, smiled and turned to walk away.
She grabbed him by the arm and pulled him back. “Where do you think you’re going? I paid fifteen thousand dollars for you; I better get my money’s worth. Come here.” Wrapping her arm around his neck, she leaned up into his chest and placed her mouth very near his. Sensations of heat and arousal pounded through her body, making her knees weak with longing. Jenna trembled as he looked into her eyes and slowly lowered his head until their lips met and melded together in a scorching, sweet kiss. Jenna moaned as their tongues danced, sliding over one another sensuously. They ate and drank of each other like they’d never get enough.
Her hands moved to his sides and pulled him closer. His arms wrapped around her shoulders, and she nestled against him, her breasts pressing into his chest. She could feel her nipples grow hard with need. .Their kiss was passionate, real, a once-in-a-lifetime type of kiss. He was perfect – just perfect and she wanted as much of him as she could get.
Letting her lips slide from his, Jenna reluctantly slipped from his arms. “Thank you, David. Everything was perfect. I wish I didn’t have to go to work tomorrow or I’d ask you to come inside, but the good people at Prudent Advertising wouldn’t appreciate my sleeping through the job.”
“No, thank you, Jenna. I enjoyed every moment,” his body ached for more, but now wasn’t the time. Holding her hands tightly in his, he clasped them together, brought them to his lips, and let her go. He walked away, but just enough so that she could go inside. He watched her enter, partly because he wanted to make sure she was safe, and partly because he wanted to catch every glimpse of her that he could. ‘David, you just kissed the most beautiful woman in the whole world.’ He floated home on cloud nine, never touching the ground.
Here’s the buy link for my book and my author page. 

http://www.amazon.com/For-A-Hero-ebook/dp/B00CDAXAN4/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1368107135&sr=1-1&keywords=for+a+hero+hunter

https://www.facebook.com/ForAHero

You can also email me at jesshunter247@gmail.com 


Ross, Regina May. (2013, May 10). Meet Jess Hunter [Blog Post on Regina May Ross]. Retrieved from http://www.reginamayross.net/1/post/2013/05/-guest-blog-wgiveaway-jess-hunter.html
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