GCC Presents: Brenda Janowitz and a Book Giveaway

I'm so pleased to showcase the latest author to tour on the GCC, Brenda Janowitz, who is currently promoting the release of her latest novel, Jack with a Twist. Look how fun the cover is!

About the book: Planning a wedding can be a trying experience… A little prewedding anxiety is normal for every bride, and Manhattan attorney Brooke Miller isn’t worried. She’s got the loving support of the world’s greatest guy, so planning her nuptials should be a piece of cake. But that was yesterday. Today, Brooke’s landed her first big case and has just discovered that the opposing attorney is none other than her fiancé, Jack. But that’s okay. These two professionals aren’t going to let a little courtroom sparring get their legal briefs in a bunch.… Right? Wrong! Now Jack’s pulling every dirty trick in the law books, and Brooke’s starting to suspect that maybe he isn’t the man she thought he was. Warring with her fiancé at work and at home, Brooke realizes that she’ll have to choose between the case of her life, or actually having a life.

You know the drill: next up, a peek into Brenda's writerly habits via the Question Sampler Platter:

1) Now that you are published, what (if anything) have you changed about your writing routine?

Not much, I’m afraid to say! I still just pretty much write wherever and whenever I can. I write on my laptop which means that I can pretty much write wherever I please! I love to write on my couch at home, or, if I’m too distracted, at a nearby coffee shop. A fun thing for me is to meet my writer friends and have coffee or breakfast and then put our laptops on the table and write the rest of the day away!

2) Do you listen to music while you write?

Generally, I don’t. Music always inspires me, and can put me in the mood to write, but when I actually have to put pen to paper (or fingers to laptop, as the case may be), I have to turn the music off. I just listen to the lyrics too much to be able to concentrate on my own writing.

3) Have you found that as you've developed your writing and story telling skills, you watch movies or read books 'differently?'

Absolutely. And I wish that I didn’t! I would be so nice to be able to just enjoy a silly movie without telling my husband that the ending was totally deus ex machina.

4) What vacation would be most inspiring to you as a writer?

Since I honeymooned in Hawaii this past summer, I’d have to say Hawaii. It’s such a beautiful and quiet place. There’s a rich history there, which is so much fun to explore. And, of course, there’s just something for me about the beach—feeling the sand under my toes, listening to the crashing waves—that relaxes me to the core and allows my creative juices to flow. What could be more inspiring than a place like Hawaii?! (Does this mean that I get to go there again now?)

5) What is one of your strangest / most quirky author experiences?

Speaking at conferences is always a blast for me. It’s so great to be a part of something for a weekend, or even a day. Walking around the hallways, it’s always fun when people you’ve never met before know your name. There have been quite a few crazy stories from all of the speaking engagements I do.

More about Brenda: A native New Yorker, Brenda Janowitz has had a flair for all things dramatic since she played the title role in her third grade production of Really Rosie. Brenda attended Cornell University, earning a Bachelor of Science in Human Service Studies. After graduating from Cornell, she attended Hofstra Law School. Upon graduation from Hofstra, she went to work for the law firm Kaye Scholer, LLP, followed by a federal clerkship with the United States Magistrate Judge for the Eastern District of New York. Since her clerkship, Brenda has worked as a career counselor at two New York City law schools. She currently lives in New York with her husband. Brenda is the author of JACK WITH A TWIST (Engaging your adversary and other things they don’t teach you in law school) and SCOT ON THE ROCKS (How I survived my ex-boyfriend's wedding with my dignity ever so slightly intact). You can learn more about Brenda at http://www.brendajanowitz.com/ and check out her blog at http://www.brendajanowitz.blogspot.com/.

But wait, there's more! As a special treat, she's graciously offered to send a free signed copy of Jack with a Twist to one of my blog readers, who will be chosen at random. All you have to do is enter your name in the comments below, or email me at jess (at) jessriley.com. You have until midnight on Tuesday to enter. Go do eet, and be successful weeth eet. Thanks, Brenda!

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This week will be chockablock with book posts: one more GCC post, plus some of my recent recommended reads (including my good friend Eileen Cook's debut young adult novel, What Would Emma Do?).