Jennifer Wilck started telling herself stories as a little girl when she couldn’t fall asleep at night. Pretty soon, her head was filled with these stories and the characters that populated them. Even as an adult, she thinks about the characters and stories at night before she falls asleep or walking the dog. Eventually, she started writing them down. Her favorite stories to write are those with smart, sassy, independent heroines; handsome, strong, and slightly vulnerable heroes; and her stories always end with happily ever after.

In the real world, she’s the mother of two amazing daughters and wife of one of the smartest men she knows. When she’s not writing, she loves to laugh with her family and friends, is a pro at finding whatever her kids lost in plain sight, and spends way too much time closing doors that should never have been left open in the first place. She believes humor is the only way to get through the day and does not believe in sharing her chocolate.

She writes contemporary romance, some of which are mainstream and some of which involve Jewish characters. She’s published with The Wild Rose Press and all her books are available through Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

2020 Character Interview

Beverley: What’s your name?

Meg: Hi. People around here know me as Meg Clancy. I’d prefer to leave it at that if you don’t mind.

Beverley: Where did you grow up?

Meg: California.

Beverley: During what time period does your story take place?

Meg: Current day.

Beverley: What’s your story/back story? Why would someone come up with a story about you?

Meg: Oh, this is tricky. See, I’m not allowed to say too much about my background, and when people find out, they tend to think the worst of me. But maybe you’ll be different. I hope so. What I can tell you is that I was in publicity for some well-known people. I value my friends more than anything, and that got me in more trouble than I ever thought possible. I paid my dues and I’m trying to get my life back together. Simon has been helping me—he’s given me a place to live—and this town of Gulls Point, Maine seems like a great place to put down roots. Finally!

Beverley: What’s your goal in this story?

Meg: My goal is to pay my debt and finally be free to tell the truth so that I can live my life on my own terms. Hopefully with Simon in Gulls Point, but that’s looking unlikely.

Beverley: What conflicts are you facing?

Meg: My dad doesn’t want me to tell the truth because it could be bad for his business, but I’m hoping I can convince him otherwise. As for my relationship with Simon, he’s an amazing man, but I’m finally ready to step out into the world, and he’s still hiding in the shadows. So I’m not sure we’re going to be able to survive. But I hope so.

Beverley: D o you have a plan for resolving them?

Meg: Simon has to make his own decision. As for my dad, I plan to talk to him and convince him that the truth is always better than a lie. I’m his daughter. Family should always come first .

Beverley: Is there anything else you’d like us to know about you?

Meg: Loyalty and truth are the most important things to me. I’m done judging people by their outsides.

Blurb for A Reckless Heart

Meg Thurgood, former society girl, took the blame for her friend and paid a steep price. Now all she wants is solitude and a chance to rebuild her life. She thinks she’s found that in an isolated house she rents from a mysterious stranger.

Simon McAlter has hidden in his house on the coast of Maine since a fire left him scarred. A successful landscape architect who conducts his business and teaches his classes remotely, he’s lost his inspiration and is trying to pretend he’s not lonely. 

Simon’s new neighbor is more than he bargained for. When he learns Meg’s secret, will he retreat into the shadows or will he learn to see past the surface and trust in Meg’s love? 

Excerpt from A Reckless Heart

Meg walked with Simon on the rocky beach, waves on her right, cliffs on her left, and seagulls overhead. This time, her lungs expanded, her respiration slowed, and she became hyper aware of him. He took longer strides than she did, but after they’d gone a few feet, he shortened his.

She appreciated the consideration. It only made her more aware of his muscular thighs. Their arms brushed as they walked, and tingles shot up her neck. It was an accident, wasn’t it? He stepped away, but a few strides later the uneven ground pushed them together, and their bodies brushed against each other. She listened to his breath hitch at the contact, and he didn’t move away.

Nervous laughter bubbled in her chest. They’d been close before and held hands. Granted, he’d covered hers on the ladder, but still. It wasn’t the first time they touched. Why was this different? She remembered the sensations when he’d covered her hand on the roof— warmth and roughness and safety. And she wanted it. She bumped her hand against his, on purpose, to feel his skin. It wasn’t smooth like hers. Its texture, unique to him, fascinated her. A moment later, he rubbed his arm against her.

Buy Links for A Reckless Heart

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08X429BMX

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-reckless-heart-jennifer-wilck/1138858163?ean=2940162335382

Apple: https://books.apple.com/us/book/a-reckless-heart/id1554790505

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57176551-a-reckless-heart

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/a-reckless-heart-scarred-hearts-book-1-by-jennifer-wilck

Social Media Links

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 I thought I’d finish off International Women’s month with some quotes.

Enjoy.

It’s still International Women’s Month. Here’s another important woman. Sojourner Truth, an American abolitionist, and women’s rights activist was born Isabella Baumfree, a slave in Dutch-speaking Ulster County, New York in 1797. She was bought and sold four times and subjected to harsh physical labor and violent punishments. In her teens, she was united with another slave with whom she had five children. In 1827—a year before New York’s law freeing slaves was to take effect—Truth ran away with her infant Sophia to a nearby abolitionist family. The family bought her freedom for twenty dollars and helped Truth successfully sue for the return of her five-year-old-son Peter, who was illegally sold into slavery in Alabama. After going to court to recover her son in 1828, she became the first black woman to win such a case against a white man.

Truth moved to New York City in 1828, where she worked for a local minister. By the early 1830s, she participated in religious revivals and became a charismatic speaker. In 1843, she declared that the Spirit called on her to preach the truth, renaming herself Sojourner Truth. She became an outspoken advocate for abolition, temperance, and civil and women’s rights in the nineteenth century. Her Civil War work earned her an invitation to meet President Abraham Lincoln in 1864.                                                   She never learned to read or write. In 1850, she dictated what would become her autobiography— The Narrative of Sojourner Truth —to Olive Gilbert, who assisted in its publication. Truth survived on sales of the book, which also brought her national recognition.

In 1851, Truth began a lecture tour where she delivered her famous “Ain’t I a Woman?” speech. In it, she challenged prevailing notions of racial and gender inferiority and inequality by reminding listeners of her combined strength (Truth was nearly six feet tall) and female status. In the mid-1860s, when a streetcar conductor tried to violently block her from riding, she ensured his arrest and won her subsequent case. She died in 1883, in Battle Creek, Michigan.

This came from the National Women’s History Museum Edited by Debra Michals, PhD 2015 Check it out if you want more details about Sojourner.

Since it’s still International Women’s Month I thought I’d focus on a Canadian woman, Viola Desmond.                                                                                                             Viola Desmond is the first woman on a Canadian dollar bill. She’s on our ten-dollar bill.

Viola Desmond was born Viola Davis, July 16, 1914, in Halifax, Nova Scotia. She was a civil rights activist and businesswoman and beautician of Black Nova Scotian descent. She married Jack Desmond. In 1946 , she challenged racial segregation  at a cinema in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia  by refusing to leave a whites-only area of the   Roseland Theatre . For this, she was convicted of a minor tax violation for the one-cent tax difference between the seat that she had paid for and the seat that she used, which was more expensive. Desmond’s case is one of the most publicized incidents of racial discrimination  in Canadian history and helped start the modern civil rights movement in Canada. She died on February 7, 1965.

In 2010, Desmond was granted a posthumous pardon , the first to be granted in Canada. In 2016, the Bank of Canada  inaccurately announced that Desmond would be the first Canadian woman to be featured on the front of a Canadian banknote, but that honour went to Agnes Macphail , who appeared along with three men on a small print run commemorative note issued in 2017 to mark the 150th anniversary of Confederation.

In late 2018, Desmond became the first Canadian woman to appear alone on a Canadian banknote — a $10 bill  which was unveiled by the Finance Minister  on March 8, 2018. Desmond was also named a National Historic Person  in 2018.

Sierra Brave is a multi-published author of heart-pounding, blush-inducing romance with put-you-in-the-moment love scenes. She enjoys writing about a variety of gorgeous alpha males who can’t resist head-strong heroines. Curvy girls have a special place in her heart and often grace the pages of her books. Tales of shifters, cowboys, twisted fairy tales, space pirates, Amazon warriors, and vampires capture her imagination as do tempting spanking and ménage scenarios, but she also engages in more down-to-earth themes such as office romance. You’ll find lots of unique characters and humor in all of her stories.

Blurb for Scarlett and the Big Bad

Promised power and position, Scarlett Capuche left her tiny village to join the prestigious Order of the Phoenix.

Monty Blackwolf never wanted a mate, especially not a human raised on a hidden farm for blood-ritual sacrifice. But his werewolf’s heightened sense of smell drew him to Scarlett’s sweet fragrance from miles away.

Duty-bound to protect her, he will break her of her religious devotion to the magical terrorist group responsible for the murders of his parents and older brother, even if he has to put her over his knee and turn her bottom as red as her hair.

She belongs to him now, and he will claim all of her despite his affliction with a unique, third shifter-form he doesn’t fully understand and isn’t able to control.

Will Monty save Scarlett, or will he prove more dangerous to her than anyone else?

Author’s Note: If you’re offended by steamy fairytale retellings with graphic language, explicit put-you-in-the-moment love scenes, elements of power exchange, and domestic discipline, you might want to look for a different book.

Excerpt from Scarlett and the Big Bad

“Elosha warned me. She said there would be people who would try to turn me against The Order, predominantly men because they can’t stand a matriarchal society with the dominant power. She said that’s why men only want to marry virgins because they’re too selfish to raise a baby that isn’t their blood.” Without waiting for his rebuttal, she ran for the exit, but as she opened the passage a couple of inches, he slapped his huge hand against the wood and forced her escape-access shut.

He pinned her against the door. “You are mine, and you aren’t going anywhere unless I say you can.”

“Talk about proving my point.” She yanked at the knob.

His breath clung to her nape as his strapping body crushed her. She closed her eyes, unable to move beneath his weight. He held each of her wrists, his palms surrounding them, and applying enough pressure she knew he could break her bones if he desired. His cock pressed against her ass, hardening as she squirmed. He brushed his cheek against the side of her forehead, prickling her skin with his beard.

“I’m sorry, Scarlett. I was hoping it wouldn’t come to this, but you have to understand who’s in charge. You will obey me.”

Scarlett’s heart thumped as sweat trickled down from her hairline. She had no idea what to expect from this man who ran hot and cold in the blink of an eye.

Buy Links for Scarlett and the Big Bad:

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08VS2SS2N

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08VS2SS2N/

Universal Link: https://books2read.com/u/mKyePP

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The 2021 UN theme for International Women’s Day is “Women in leadership: Achieving an equal future in a COVID-19 world”, highlighting the impact that girls and women worldwide had as health care workers, caregivers, innovators, and community organizers during the COVID-19 pandemic.  Its associated Hashtag will be #IWD2021 and #InternationalWomensDay.

International Women’s Day is a global holiday celebrated annually on March 8 to commemorate the cultural, political, and socioeconomic achievements of women. It is also a focal point in the women’s rights movement, bringing attention to issues such as gender equality, reproductive rights, and violence against women.

IWD originated from labor movements in North America and Europe during the early 20th century. The earliest version was purportedly a “Women’s Day” organized by the  Socialist Party of America  in New York City, February 28, 1909. After women gained suffrage in Soviet Russia  in 1917, IWD was made a national holiday on March 8. The holiday was associated with far-left movements and governments until its adoption by the global feminist movement in the late 1960s. IWD became a mainstream global holiday following its adoption by the United Nations in 1977.

It is a public holiday in several countries. The UN observes the holiday in connection with a particular issue, campaign, or theme in women’s rights. In some parts of the world, IWD still reflects its political origins, being marked by protests and calls for radical change; in other areas, particularly in the West, it is largely sociocultural and centered on a celebration of womanhood.

IWD initially had no set date, though it was generally celebrated in late February or early March. Americans continued to observe “National Women’s Day” on the last Sunday in February, while Russia observed International Women’s Day for the first time in 1913, on the last Saturday in February (albeit based on the Julian calendar, as in the Gregorian calendar, the date was March 8). In 1914, International Women’s Day was held on March 8 for the first time in Germany. As elsewhere, Germany’s observance was dedicated to women’s right to vote, which German women did not win until 1918. Concurrently, there was a march in London in support of women’s suffrage.

IWD remained predominantly a communist holiday until roughly 1967 when it was taken up by second-wave feminists. The day re-emerged as a day of activism and is sometimes known in Europe as the “Women’s International Day of Struggle”. In the 1970s and 1980s, women’s groups were joined by leftists and labor organizations in calling for equal pay, equal economic opportunity, equal legal rights, reproductive rights, subsidized child care, and the prevention of violence against women.

The United Nations began celebrating International Women’s Day in 1975, which had been proclaimed the International Women’s Year. In 1977, the United Nations General Assembly invited member states to proclaim March 8 as an official UN holiday for women’s rights and world peace. 

By the twenty-fi rst century, IWD has been criticized as heavily diluted and commercialized, particularly in the West, where it is sponsored by major corporations and used to promote general and vague notions of equality, rather than radical social reforms. In 2009, the British marketing firm Aurora Ventures set up an “International Women’s Day” website with corporate sponsorship. The website began to promote hashtags as themes for the day, which became used internationally.  

Thank you, Wikipedia for most of this information.