LET'S WELCOME JENNIE KEW AUTHOR OF: THIS TIME AROUND

LET’S

WELCOME

JENNIE KEW

AUTHOR OF:

Rad-Reader:  Where did your idea for the story come from?

Jennie: Jane has a lot of personality and can be quite blunt to the point of being abrasive, and she had a bad habit of stealing the show whenever she was on the page in Abby’s story, so I knew I had to give her a story of her own. Pairing her with Rafe, the most sensible and serious of the Bennett siblings, seemed like a good way to drive them both crazy *mwahahahaha*

Rad-Reader:  What inspired the Bennett series?

Jennie: The Bennett’s Bastards Series started out as one book that spiralled out of control into a series. It all started with Third Time Lucky, Abby Bennett’s story, but as soon as her brothers walked on to the page I knew I had to write their stories too. They’re such a varied bunch of people with different wants and needs and they all interest me in different ways, but they’re also damaged in one way or another and in need of some good loving.

Rad-Reader:  How did you go about developing Janie and Rafe’s characters?

Jennie: They did that all on their own. I just wrote what they told me to.

Rad-Reader:  How do you go about keeping track of such a large cast of characters, timelines, and the storyline for the matter? Computer, whiteboard, or good old paper and pencil?

Jennie: I share an office with my husband so space is tight. I use Excel spreadsheets to keep track of who is where and what’s going on. Everything from hair and eye colour to height, age , and occupation is recorded and kept handy so I can make sure I keep things consistent across the series. I also have a stack of notebooks that random info gets jotted down in and tagged with a rainbow of Post-it notes.

Rad-Reader:  How long have Jane and Rafe been an item?

Jennie: Rafe and Jane have been on-again/off-again for 16 very long excruciating years. Rafe is 5 years older than Jane and when they first got together she was still in high school. Despite what some people in the book think, their relationship started out very chaste, just a lot of cuddling and the occasional stolen kiss. It wasn’t until much later, after certain events had taken place, that their relationship becomes sexual.

Rad-Reader:  Is Rafe the oldest of the brothers and is that why he had to let her go? If not the oldest, can you give us the brothers in order and their ages?

Jennie: Rafe is actually the second youngest brother. Here’s the list in order of oldest sibling to youngest: Henry 54, Paul 52, Crispin 48, Avery 44, Charlie 40, Toby 40, Rafe 37, Oliver 35, and Abby 32. And Henry has a daughter the same age as Abby. What can I say? They’re an interesting family *wink*
Rad-Reader: OMG! Even more interesting and much more a fangirl. LOL!

Rad-Reader:  If he loved her and felt that she belonged to someone else why did he even bed her while she was engaged?

Jennie: Everyone thinks Rafe is a stick-in-mud, by-the-book, goody-two-shoes. But he’s really not. He has lines he won’t cross, like sleeping with married women, but he has plenty of lines he will cross, like sleeping with Jane before she’s married or using his criminal contacts to protect her and the baby. He also loves talking dirty.

Rad-Reader:  Rafe never took her as his wife or full-time girlfriend due to something from their past.  But that doesn’t account for their present why didn’t he ever ask?

Jennie: Rafe and Jane have dated in the past and Rafe even raised the question of marriage, but Jane wasn’t ready to commit at the time. Rafe hasn’t asked her since.

Rad-Reader:  He cannot even believe if the girl he has known his whole life is telling him the truth about the baby. Why bother then? She was giving him an out. Won’t he feel bad when he looks like him or his family?

Jennie: Rafe is known in the family as being “the responsible one”. He has always felt responsible for Jane, even when she was little and he thought she was annoying. That feeling of responsibility only increased when he realised he loved her. He desperately wants Jane’s baby to be his, but his experiences as a lawyer and dealing with criminals means he looks at things objectively before letting his heart get involved. It’s also a shield of sorts, something he puts up when he thinks his heart will be hurt. He wants to be the father but knows objectively that he might not be. It’s his head warring with his heart.

Rad-Reader:  What made him think that telling her that he didn’t think that the baby was his and wanted a test done and telling her they should get married is a good idea?

Jennie: Again, it’s his lawyer's brain at work. Rafe is like Batman: he has a contingency plan for everything, but for that, to work he has to look at every angle of the situation and prepare for every possible outcome. The fact is, he’s not 100% sure the baby is his, and as much as her bravado says otherwise, neither is Jane.

Rad-Reader:  Jane seemed to put what others think of her at the top of the list why? She is the one that was living large for everyone to see and now wants to hide why?

Jennie: The Melville’s and the Bennett’s were two of the town’s founding families and the only two still living there. As a Melville (the family the town was named after), Jane feels the pressure to perform. Her family is full of over-achievers and she’s always felt like she didn’t measure up to her father’s high standards. Compounding that issue is that Jane has a big personality, which doesn’t always go over well in a small town. And she doesn’t want to hide so much as she wants people to respect her privacy after being publicly humiliated. But when she decides to suck it up and face her problems, she does so with her big personality (and her baby-bump) hanging out for all to see.

Rad-Reader:  If Rafe had warned Jane about being careful with her accounts and her new husband to be why did Jane willing turn it over to him? Having power over her banking?

Jennie: Jane’s fiancé was a con-artist. Con-artists are very clever and very good at manipulating people into doing what they want, all the while making that person think it was their idea all along. They isolate their target from anyone who would tell them what they’re doing is a really bad idea, convincing them that they’re the only person looking out for the victim’s best interests. Essentially, it’s an abusive relationship where the con-artist makes the victim so reliant on them that they can’t see what they’re doing is wrong until it’s too late. During my research for This Time Around, I read about lawyers, doctors, and other very well educated people being taken for hundreds of thousands of dollars in a single scam. Some con-artists really are that good.

Rad-Reader:  Rafe seems to be keeping a secret for her parents am I wrong in that assumption?  Yes or no is good.

Jennie: No, you’re not wrong.

Rad-Reader:  What Jane’s dad did was wrong. Why did he give into public gossip rather than talking to Jane and finding the truth?

Jennie: Alec has an old beef with Uly that tends to colour his view of the Bennett’s as a whole (with the exception of Abby, who he loves like a daughter), therefore it was easy for him to believe the gossip… or did he…? Either way, his ultimate goal was to protect Jane.

Rad-Reader:  Who is the one out to get Jane? It is his old secretary because she arrived at about the same time everything started happening. Yes or no? When asked neither thought of her why?

Jennie: Spoilers! *shhh* If you want to know the answer to that one, you have to read the book.

Rad-Reader: Can't blame a girl for trying sorry guys you have to read for yourself.

Rad-Reader:  In an instant, Jane and Rafe’s whole life has exploded do they know if it was done on purpose and why?

Jennie: Again… spoilers!
Rad-Reader: A double whammy!  Get reading!

Rad-Reader:  Have Jane’s parents split up they are never together at the same time?

Jennie: Alec and Mary are very much together but they’re busy people who learned a long time ago that you don’t need to be tethered at the hip to have a loving and successful relationship.

Rad-Reader:  If your book was made into a movie who would you want to play…

Janie:  Scarlett Johansson

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/776589529481237057/

Rafe:  Chris Hemsworth

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/352477108336182053/

Abby:  Alexandra Daddario

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/756464068642943572/

Toby:  Tyler Winklevoss

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/783485666412705711/

Charlie:  Cameron Winklevoss

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/535787686900314835/

Ollie:  Lasse Matberg

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/658862620459321348/

Uly:  Sam Elliott

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/21814379429217796/

Jennie: 

Janie: Isla Fisher https://www.pinterest.com.au/pin/377246906281000341/

Rafe: Josh Hartnett https://www.pinterest.com.au/pin/377246906279533583/

Abby: Model Unknown https://www.pinterest.com.au/pin/219832025548398490/

Toby: Jonas Sulzbach https://www.pinterest.com.au/pin/377246906282469646/

Charlie: Scott Eastwood 

https://www.pinterest.com.au/pin/354095589436484582/

Ollie: Brock O’Hurn https://www.pinterest.com.au/pin/361273201337116671/

Uly: Kris Kristofferson https://www.pinterest.com.au/pin/377246906274246087/

Rad-Reader:  What song or songs best describes moments between your characters or your book as a whole?

“You Look So Good in Love – Teddy Swims”

Rafe tried to stay away, not calling her back, and not seeing Janie. Like he told her and himself he would if she were marrying Sam, they would be done for good. Yet, he had to watch her walk into the church. It killed him that she looked so happy, he knew he had lost her, he waited too long.

https://youtu.be/E3471Ib4bL8

***

“Messy – Chase Rice”

When Rafe found out that she didn’t get married and she was pregnant he needed her to know,  he was there for her no matter what. With all the messy that had happened, he had always been there and he still would be.

https://youtu.be/wN2jiFMHRRQ

***

“Nothin’ On You – Cody Johnson”

Janie was everything to and for Rafe. He just needed to show her. She has been so wounded from this whole experience. He needs his spitfire girl back, but sex wasn’t it.  A sensual bath of touch was on the list of gifts to give her.

https://youtu.be/GuCK5P8GFyg

***

“I Can’t Make You Love Me – Teddy Swims”

Janie had to put it on the line. She had to ask, “Do you want to be with me because of the baby?” Rafe realized his fatal mistake he had been trying to show her but she needs to hear the words. From the very beginning – the past…

https://youtu.be/_Bm14Bv1DKU

Jennie: Ooooh “Messy” by Chase Rice is a really good fit for Rafe and Jane as a whole.

I also like,

“Love You Madly - by Cake.

“I don't want to fake it, I just want to make it
The ornaments look pretty but they're pulling down the branches of the tree
I don't want to think about it, I don't want to talk about
When I kiss your lips I want to sink down to the bottom of the sea”

https://youtu.be/2uwjsG0cRf0

 ***

“Hard To Handle” by The Black Crowes”

Is fantastic. I love these lyrics.

“Action speaks louder than words
And I'm a man of great experience
I know you've got another man
But I can love you better than him

Take my hand don't be afraid
I'm gonna prove every word I say
I'm advertising love for free
So you can place your ad with me”

https://youtu.be/ELcblZOdPs4

Rad-Reader:  What is your favorite genre of music?

Jennie: I actually like most kinds of music. I grew up listening to a lot of American country stars like Kenny Rogers, Dolly Parton, and John Denver, and a lot of Aussie rock bands such as Mental As Anything, Crowded House, and The Divinyls. These days I tend to listen to movies and TV soundtracks more than any one band. I LOVE Harry Potter so often have that playing often, and there's a few anime soundtracks I'm very fond of, especially stuff composed by Yoko Kanno.

Rad-Reader:  What is your next project and when will it be coming out?

Jennie: I've just started working on the second book in my Brisbane Bachelors series. It's called Sacrifice and Seduction and I'm revealing the cover on Facebook next week! It's due to come out in late October but you can pre-order it now.

Rad-Reader:  Where can our readers buy your books on the Web? Links

Jennie: 

Website:

https://www.jenniekew.com

Bookbub:

https://www.bookbub.com/profile/jennie-kew

Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B072QCTX3D

Rad-Reader:  Where can our reader find you on the Web? Links

Jennie: 

Website:

https://www.jenniekew.com

VIP Mailing List (get 2 free short stories on sign-up):

https://www.jenniekew.com/newsletter

Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/jenniekewauthor

Facebook group:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/JennieKewsReaderCrew

Pinterest:

https://www.pinterest.com.au/jenniekew/boards

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/jenniekewauthor

Bookbub:

https://www.bookbub.com/profile/jennie-kew

Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B072QCTX3D

Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16719309.Jennie_Kew

Jennie,

Thank you so much for being with us.  This was such a fun story to read.  This couple and their families were so interesting and wacky that I just could not put it down.  This was a real roller coaster ride that was just fun to be on.  You made this a fun fast interview too.  You came right in when an author had a sick one at home so, thank you.

Char