The new year is in full swing. I’m back at real-life work, which is fun and games, considering the kids are still on holiday, but my boss is super accommodating and flexible, which is something I am insanely grateful for.
I’ve started my first release for 2024, and after a bit of stuttering and stammering, the characters are finally talking, and I am loving how it’s going so far.
This week on the blog we have Jackie Keswick, so let’s make her feel welcome!
Author Bio
Jackie Keswick was born behind the Iron Curtain with itchy feet, a bent for rocks, and a recurring dream of stepping off a bus in the middle of nowhere to go home. She’s worked in a hospital and as the only girl with 52 men on an oil rig, spent a winter in Moscow and a summer in Iceland and finally settled in the country of her dreams with her dream team: a husband, a cat, a tandem, and a laptop.
Jackie writes a mix of suspense, action adventure, fantasy, and history. She loves stories with layers, plots with twists and characters with hidden depths. She adores friends-to-lovers stories, and tales of unexpected reunions, second chances, and men who write their own rules. She blogs about English history and food, has a thing for green eyes, and is a great believer in making up soundtracks for everything, including her characters and the cat.
And she still hasn’t found the place where the bus stops.
Jackie’s Quirky Questions
Holly: Are you oddly obsessed with anything? Tell me about it!
Jackie Keswick: Yarn. I have far too much, even after giving away my complete stash when we moved house and starting over when I realized I wasn’t done with knitting. The truth is, I’m a fidget, especially when I’m in a situation that makes me uncomfortable, and knitting keeps me sane. And there’s nothing nicer than sitting by the fire with yarn and needles while listening to music or an audiobook. Beats TV hands down!
Holly: Do you have any quirky collections? Feel free to add photos!
Jackie Keswick: I love Paperblanks notebooks. Every now and then, I can even persuade myself to write in them.
Holly: If you had to write yourself a warning label what would it say?
Jackie Keswick: Beware of disjointed conversations.
Holly: What one book have you written that you think best shows off your writing style? Why?
Jackie Keswick: I write both contemporary fiction and fantasy. Healing Glass is a good example of my fantasy work. I love to build worlds that are loosely based on the medieval era, but then add fantasy elements medieval people would have run from. In my contemporary fiction, I was very pleased with how Swings & Roundabouts turned out. And I loved writing Hiding Place.
Holly: What comes first for you, plot, or characters?
Jackie Keswick: In most cases, the characters come to me first. Sometimes, I get a glimpse of the theme or a setting. With my most recent experiment, the White Knight Security stories, I only thought… bodyguards and a gorgeous old manor house. Then I started thinking about what kind of men Fritz, Grant, Rylan, and Luca were, and what kind of men they’d fall in love with. Then I picked a theme for each story based on the characters. I didn’t have a plot for Luca’s story until I actually sat down to write.
Holly: Which household chore do you find the most agitating?
Jackie Keswick: Hoovering, because I can’t do anything else at the same time. I don’t like ironing, but at least I can listen to audiobooks while I do it. Hovering is just… noisy!
Holly: How many unread books are on your Kindle or bookshelf right now?
Jackie Keswick: 173
Holly: What did you do to unwind in between words when writing this book?
Jackie Keswick: Knitting a blanket. I’m an intuitive writer and I need to give my mind the chance to work out the story. When I get stuck, I go back a chapter, grab my knitting, and listen while Word reads it back to me. When I’ve listened to the end, I can often carry right on. Or I carry on knitting. The blanket’s about done, and the largest share is Luca’s. He caused me so much trouble, I actually stopped where I was and wrote a prequel to get to the bottom of his story!
Holly: Tell me three reasons I should buy this book today!
Jackie Keswick: I’m not the best person to ask that, even though this time, I actually know how to label what I’ve written. My White Knight Security stories – and there are four and a free prequel – are contemporary bodyguard romances. They’re also novellas, so they’re quick, lunchtime or coffeebreak reads. They’re set in England in a gorgeous old manor house in the Chilterns. And my four knights – Fritz, Grant, Rylan, and Luca – all utterly deserve to find a man to love. Besides that, we have a stalker, two sugar addicts, forced proximity, an introverted rock star, cats, mistaken identity, and a Cinderella story. Plus… an excursion into Scotland!
White Knight Security
White Knight Security Series:
Prequel – A Knight to Remember – available free
Book 1, Grant – release in my store on 20th December, wide release 5th January
Book 2, Rylan – release in my store on 12th January, wide release 26th January
Books 3 and 4 release dates tbc
A Knight to Remember
Inheriting a beautiful house shouldn’t be such a headache!
Ex-army captain Fritz Bronnley is used to shouldering responsibility for himself and his team. But a devastating loss and a hefty tax bill threaten to de-rail his plans for the private security company he wants to run with his friends Grant, Luca, and Rylan.
The unexpected arrival of their first client is a welcome distraction from worries about the future. Staging an impromptu rescue and proving how well the four of them work together brings his worries right back. Until Grant, Rylan, and Luca point out that leaning on your friends is not a sign of weakness. It’s what friends are for.
In A Knight to Remember, a prequel to the White Knight Security series, you’ll meet owners Fritz, Grant, Rylan, and Luca before they meet, save, and fall in love with their significant others. A Knight to Remember is a story of courage, camaraderie, and the many places where one can find strength.
You can download A Knight to Remember from Bookfunnel: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/zezwiwfwct
Or check out the whole series (and download A Knight to Remember) from my website: https://www.jackiekeswick.co.uk/jackie-keswick-books/white-knight-security/
Grant
Grant Keeping lives for action. He hates close protection jobs filled with grumpy clients and long, boring days. Then trauma surgeon Spencer Corel – a man who relies on order, control, and cake to manage his busy life – hires White Knight Security to find the man stalking him, and suddenly Grant has a client who pushes all his buttons and no time to be bored.
Despite escalating attacks, Grant is confident that he can find the stalker and protect Spencer, but can he protect his own heart?
Buy Links for Grant’s story:
Jackie’s Website: https://www.jackiekeswick.co.uk/jackie-keswick-books/grant/
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CPTGTY3W
Apple: https://books.apple.com/gb/book/grant/id6474043480
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/grant-jackie-keswick/1144467263?ean=2940179420880
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1493095
Universal Buy Link: https://books2read.com/WhiteKnightSecurity2
Jackie’s Socials
Website: https://www.jackiekeswick.com
Newsletter: https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/p9n4w0
Jackie’s Kitchen FB Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/JackiesKitchen/
FB: https://www.facebook.com/JackieKeswick
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jackiekeswick/
I hope you enjoyed this week’s episode of Holly’s Quirky Questions.
Things are going to be a little mad in my world until February, but time seems to go by faster with each passing year, so I’m sure it will go by in a flash. I promise next week I’ll have some cool stuff to share, but for now can I just shout about this amazing anthology I’m honored to be part of in support of one of our fellow authors HM Wolfe…
A huge thank you to Jackie. I can’t wait to dive into this new series.
Next week we have Dani Gray
Until then: Find a Spark of Magic Every Day.
Love and Hope
A limited-time anthology to benefit one of our own, H.M. Wolfe.
https://books2read.com/LoveandHope
Twenty-six of your favorite MM authors have come together to donate short stories filled with love and hope for our dear friend. 100% of the proceeds go directly to her to aid in her time of need. While she’s recuperating, we wanted to fill her kindle with love and support in the best way we know how by sharing our words of love and healing.
Available 2/14/24
Preorder now for only $2.99. Price will increase upon release.
Authors included in this anthology are:
TL Travis, BL Maxwell, Brina Brady, Miski Harris, Ann MacConnell Lister, Wendy Rathbone, Nic Starr, Shane K Morton, Anne Barwell, Sam E. Kraemer, Holly Oliver, Layla Dorine, Aria Grace, Jackie North, Kaje Harper, Samuel York, Kris Jacen, Dora Esquivel, Lynn Michaels, Amalia May, Megs Pritchard, Ashlynn Mills, Jax Stuart, Charlie Godwyne, CJ Barlowe, A.M. Snead
