Jessica Terry Interview Published on: 12, May 2022

I grew up in Douglasville, GA, and always loved being creative. Never was big on going out; I'd spend days reading, writing, drawing, or trying to sew or invent something. Writing was always a love and probably the earliest thing I aspired to, and definitely the only one that stuck (I used to think I wanted to work construction, be an OBGYN, a professional basketball player, a chef...all kinds of stuff. lol)

Romance is the only genre I've been really into. I've dabbled in others and still enjoy them at times, but Romance will always be where it's at for me. I love creating happy endings; writing the kind of romances that make people say 'I wish I had that.' Plus, I've been told I'm a sap.

There's no one person I could name as my biggest inspiration. When I was younger, I was all about The Babysitter's Club series and I recall trying to create my own series. When I got older, E. Lynn Harris is the first author I can name that really kept my fire going, as far as wanting to make a mark like he did.

The idea for Tarin popped into my head years ago; she's not modeled after anyone in particular, but I just imagined a woman who didn't have her head in the clouds when it came to love, thanks to seeing nothing but unsuccessful relationships around her. (Fun fact: she was originally named Tess, but I ended up using that name in another project first).

The main research I did for SBTB involved things about the characters' professions, namely Desiree and Lovey's. That part took a couple of days, maybe, if that.

I'm not sure there is a way to ensure that, really...I certainly do my best to write entertaining, funny, thought-provoking characters and storylines. I pour myself into my writing and hopefully people will sense that and enjoy it, too, if they're open to that.

With a few shares, my posts can be around the world in minutes. That kind of reach wasn't possible before social media.

Oh, immensely. When I look at my first book "Some Like 'em Thick", I can definitely see the growth from then to now. I've always believed the best teacher when it comes to writing is writing and reading, and I do a lot of both.

Umm...

The hardest scene to write in "Emasculated" was the one with Nia at the C.O.D. video shoot. I tried to find a balance of empathy and audacity. As far as second chance romance, I absolutely believe in it. Sometimes people are right for each other but the timing isn't.

My writing dream is to have a loyal following of readers that anticipate my releases and snatch them up as soon as they're out, and spreads the word about them. I want my main profession to be writing and to see my books acted out on screen. I'm not anywhere near that now but...hopefully one day.

Giving them flaws makes them real and relatable. I always try not to make my characters 'perfect' because that's just not reality. I look forward to that point when I'm writing the first draft that I feel that click in my mind and the characters become people to me. I never really forget that they aren't real but I tend to think of them as they are.

My writing routine is to get it in when I can, which is usually late at night.

I'm currently working on a friends-to-lovers romance, and some free reads I'm planning to add to my website.

I heard about AllAuthor from a fellow author on Twitter; I was always seeing their posts with the AllAuthor URL at the bottom so I decided to check it out. It's certainly been a cool element in promotion.