Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

When do the post office & the dmv weigh in on the wuhan virus?

I really should read my own blog.

I was confident that someone would point it out and thought why not me.

“Until such time as the world ends, we will act as though it intends to spin on.”

The frogs are rarely mistaken.

A sufficient plurality of insane, greedy people can tank any democratic system ever devised, apparently.

If you still can’t see these things even now, maybe politics isn’t your forte and you should stop writing about it.

Schmidt just says fuck it, opens a tea shop.

People are weird.

Every one of the “Roberts Six” lied to get on the court.

Never give a known liar the benefit of the doubt.

So it was an October Surprise A Day, like an Advent calendar but for crime.

Battle won, war still ongoing.

Never entrust democracy to any process that requires republicans to act in good faith.

Second rate reporter says what?

The revolution will be supervised.

Fight for a just cause, love your fellow man, live a good life.

Never forget that he train is barreling down on Trump, even as he dances on the tracks.

They were going to turn on one another at some point. It was inevitable.

Democrats are back in array!

Their boy Ron is an empty plastic cup that will never know pudding.

“What are Republicans afraid of?” Everything.

… riddled with inexplicable and elementary errors of law and fact

Incompetence, fear, or corruption? why not all three?

You are here: Home / Authors In Our Midst / Author Jennifer Schiff – Finding Gemma Lovegood!

Author Jennifer Schiff – Finding Gemma Lovegood!

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Our featured writer today is our very own Jennifer Schiff.  (Her nym is J.)  Let’s give her a warm welcome!

If you would like your talent featured in Authors in Our Midst or Artists in Our Midst, send me an email message.  Don’t be shy!  I have no more Artists or Authors posts in the queue, so please get in touch if you would like to be featured.

Finding Gemma Lovegood

by Jennifer Schiff

Hello again, fellow Balloon-Juicers.

I’ve had a very busy nine months, giving birth to two new books—that have nothing to do with Sanibel*—the first of which just came out in May. It’s called Finding Gemma Lovegood, and I realize I’m a bit biased, but I absolutely love this book.

If I had to categorize Gemma, I’d call it a contemporary romance. But it’s not your typical romance novel. Below is a short description.

Assistant editor Hope Halladay has less than a month to find bestselling romance novelist Gemma Lovegood, who’s gone MIA, and get her latest manuscript. But to do so, she must fly to Southwest England and do battle with Gemma’s prickly agent, Oscar Tennant, who doesn’t want to tell Hope where Gemma is.

It’s a battle of wills, with Hope determined to win. But the longer she stays in England and learns about Oscar and Gemma, her feelings change. And soon she must make an important decision that could change everything.

(Click on the image of the jacket for a longer description.)

1I like to think the book has something for everyone, including interesting characters, a horse farm for special needs adults and kids, a local pub, delicious scones, and a costume ball (think Bridgerton). If you enjoy books by Jenny Colgan, Emily Henry, and/or Abby Jimenez, or are looking for a relaxing weekend read, you’ll enjoy Finding Gemma Lovegood.

So where do you find this amazing book? The paperback, which retails for $18, is available wherever books are sold online, including Amazon (which pays me the most royalties), Barnes & Noble, Bookshop, and BAM. Or you can ask your local bookstore or library to order it for you. It’s also available for the Kindle ($6.99) and on Kindle Unlimited.

For more info about this and all of my books, visit Shovel & Pail Press.

*I still can’t write about Sanibel (Hurricane Ian PTSD), though I’m in the process of writing a book featuring my amateur sleuth from my Sanibel books, Guinivere Jones, set in New York City. It’s called A Mocktail for Murder and should be out late this summer.

Reader Interactions

36Comments

  4. 4.

    raven

    My friends had the only house on their street in Cape Coral  that didn’t get damaged because it was built after they changed the code. The have lived in Brevard, NC for a couple of years now.

  7. 7.

    J.

    @raven: Wow! They were lucky. Though Cape Coral didn’t suffer as much damage as Sanibel and Fort Myers Beach did. (It was still pretty bad there.)

  9. 9.

    Scout211

    Congrats on your new book!

    I’m a contemporary romance reader so I was interested as you described the book.  But you didn’t mention that it’s available as a Kindle Unlimited book!  BRB, downloading now.

  11. 11.

    raven

    @J.: Yea, their house was built after Andrew and it was 6 inches higher than all the rest. He misses kayak fishing at Pine Isle but not much else.

  13. 13.

    hitchhiker

    Can you tell us about Shovel and Pail Press? Interested in how this works, and how you came to choose this route to print.

    Thanks, and congratulations on making a new one.

  15. 15.

    J.

    @hitchhiker: So, when I started writing my first book, A SHELL OF A PROBLEM, I decided to self-publish it. I had been an editor for many years (at HarperCollins and other places) and had read about self-publishing and thought I’d give it a go. So I created an imprint, Shovel & Pail Press, which I registered with the IRS. So, technically, I am an author AND a publisher. Though my books are manufactured and distributed by KDP (which sells my books through Amazon) and the Ingram Company (which sells my books to bookstores and libraries). Also, while I technically could publish anyone’s books, I currently only publish my own. (I hire people to create the covers and format the books, but I do the writing and most of the editing myself. Though I have several people read each manuscript before I publish it.) Does that explain it?

  17. 17.

    Kristine

    If you’ve posted on FB, Instagram, etc, let us know so we can share.

    The plot of Gemma brings to mind Elizabeth Peters’ Naked Once More, mostly because of the overall theme of an issue with a manuscript. I adored NOM, so I am eyeing Gemma eventhoughI’mnotaromancereader

    Aaaand I bought. It just seems like something my brain needs right now.

  20. 20.

    Another lurking lurker

    Is there any way to purchase it on a Kobo reader? Sounds like a lot of fun.

  21. 21.

    Kristine

    @J.:

    But I haven’t posted a lot about it as people don’t like it when you constantly promote a product or service.

    Idk what the proper proportion is of promo to regular posts. I’ve heard maybe 1 in 10, but I’ve seen folks apologize for posting more frequently because it’s around release/preorder time and they need the bump (especially if they’re trad pub).

  22. 22.

    EarthWindFire

    @Kristine: Aaaand I bought. It just seems like something my brain needs right now.

    Me too, for the same reason. My historical and current events reading has been a bit taxing lately.

    Congratulations, J.! I remember your Hurricane Ian posts. I’m sure it’s still tough but glad to see you back on your feet.

  23. 23.

    NeenerNeener

    Ok, I bought this, and Tinder Fella because the title made me laugh. Have you ever been approached by Hallmark about making movies out of any of these?

  26. 26.

    J.

    @NeenerNeener: Wow! Thank you. I love TINDER FELLA. It’s a favorite. And right before Covid I had a production company potentially interested in producing my Sanibel mysteries. But they disappeared. (My readers constantly tell me that the books should be on Hallmark, and I agree. But it’s tough to get a meeting when you’re self-published.)

  31. 31.

    Quiltingfool

    So glad to read your post!  Thanks for letting us know you’ve got some new books out for us to read.  We all need a good book as a respite from political stuff!

  32. 32.

    hitchhiker

    @J.:

    Yes, thank you. In my lifetime of writing, I’ve seen the whole gamut.  In the very old days when they all said, “Submit your stories to some quality literary magazines, then when you have a couple of publications find an agent.” Then it was, “Don’t self-publish because nobody will take you seriously.” Now it’s more like, “Go ahead if you can pull it off.”

    Do you get any marketing support?

  33. 33.

    J.

    @hitchhiker: I’m Head Marketer. 😎 I worked in marketing for years. However, I am not as good at marketing myself as I am at promoting others. (I’m an introvert by nature. But being an author has forced me to be more extraverted.) That’s why I need Balloon-Juice!

  35. 35.

    hitchhiker

    @J.:

    Ha, same. I like writing books and did finally manage to get paid for doing it (a nonfiction title), but it’s been a ride. I have two fiction projects done and another underway that I just don’t have the stomach to try to get agented and published. It drains my energy just to think of that process.

  36. 36.

    Don

    I lived in Cape Coral and lost my home to Charley. I know the PTSD of that, unable to watch the anniversary show on TV. I don’t miss Florida at all, even the fishing, and I live in Texas. That should tell you something.

    Congratulations on the book. That’s a high mountain to climb.

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