The Principal's Office by Jasmine Haynes (Interview)

Today I am happy to welcome erotic romance author Jasmine Haynes over to Reading Between the Wines for an interview about her new release, The Principal's Office. My 4 wine glass review on The Principal's Office will be coming soon!

Hi Jasmine and welcome to Reading Between the Wines, thank you so much for taking the time to join us today!

Let’s start out by getting to know you a little better. What do you like to do when you’re not writing, do you have any hobbies?

First, let me say thank you for having me. As for my hobbies, of course, I love to read! I live in the mountains, and one of my favorite pastimes is hiking in the woods around my house. We have a great state park nearby. And in the evenings, I enjoy working on my needlepoint. Readers can see an example of my needlepoint work on my website’s bio page, www.jasminehaynes.com

Can you tell us three fun facts about yourself that might surprise readers?

I’ve been married for 28 years to the man I met on my first day at my new job right after I graduated from university. I don’t have any children. And I was an accountant in Silicon Valley for 20 years (a fact readers will probably guess after they read my books!). I love incorporating erotic romance into a business atmosphere with my stories.

What are some must-read authors for you?

Being an erotic romance writer, I love reading the kinds of books I write, but I also love historicals as well. I love Bella Andre and Lisa Kleypas, but I’m also hooked on some mystery writers, Karin Slaughter, Tess Gerritsen, and Lisa Gardner.

Now please tell us about your erotic romance novels, the DeKnight series. What is the series about and how does each novel connect?

The DeKnight series centers around a small manufacturing company, DKG, in Silicon Valley which is owned by a husband-and-wife team. I love writing books set in the work world that I was a part of. My editor calls them my “business books.” I usually write in a corporate setting, but for this series, I decided to write on the theme of “the little fish in the big pond.” The first book was Past Midnight, featuring the DeKnights, the husband and wife who own DKG. The second book, What Happens After Dark, is about their accountant, Bree Mason, and The Principal’s Office gives readers the story of receptionist and single mom, Rachel Delaney. The connection, of course, is the company, DKG.

What was your inspiration behind the DeKnight series?

It didn’t start out as a series. In the first book, Past Midnight, I simply wanted to tackle something more difficult in romance, and that is the romance between a married couple. How does a writer make that interesting? When writing a story, I like to give myself a challenge, which hopefully results in a more exciting book for my readers. For Past Midnight, I took the approach of the marriage being on the rocks, but not from any traditional reasons, infidelity, disinterest. Erin and Dominic DeKnight suffered a great tragedy that blew their marriage apart. On my daily walk, I was thinking, thinking, thinking, and just as I passed my neighbor’s house, that “aha” moment hit me. I filled in at my neighbor’s company for a three-month period while their accountant was on medical leave. They are husband-and-wife owners of a small company which manufactures ultrasonic testing gauges. And suddenly, I knew the business backdrop for the book. I interviewed my neighbor as well, getting more insight. The business setting was just so appealing to me that I felt there had to be more than one book, and the DeKnight series was born. That’s how most of my series work for me, I come up with the first book idea, then as I’m plotting, it blossoms. For my Max Starr mystery series, which is about a psychic whose deceased husband remains with her as a ghost, I had to write more books to figure out the mystery of why her husband died!

Congratulations on the recent release of the third book in the DeKnight series, The Principal’s Office! Can you please tell us a bit about the novel?

Thank you. The Principal’s Office is Rachel Delaney’s story. She’s turning forty, recently divorced, and she’s suddenly been thrust back into the work world after having been a stay-at-home mom. She’s raising two teenage sons, dealing with her problematic ex-husband.  And in all this, she’s lost herself as a woman. She has no life of her own. She doesn’t even know she’s craving something different until she meets a handsome stranger in a grocery store, of all places. He’s her chance for a secret affair, no strings attached, a way for her to step out of her everyday world. It’s a fun, sexy story, but there’s also some heavy emotional overtones. Readers can stop by my website at http://bit.ly/An2gHh to read an excerpt of Rachel’s first sexy meeting with her mysterious stranger in the grocery store. Okay, that makes me laugh!

Without giving too much away, can you share a favorite scene with us?

My favorite scene is actually an erotic one that unfolds in Rachel’s house. Rand and Rachel do a lot of fantasy play. Role playing, becoming different people for a little while, acting out a scene; that’s an exciting concept to me, especially because the scene unfolds far differently than planned.

What are three words or statements that would describe Rachel’s character best? How about Rand?

Rachel is loyal, loving, and ready to break out of the traditional mold she’s allowed herself to fall into. Rand is caring, slightly kinky, and he believes in the law of attraction, if it’s meant to be, it will happen. And he knows Rachel’s meant to be in his life.

Was there a novel or character in the DeKnight series that was harder to write then others?

Rachel’s teenage son, Nathan, was the hardest to write. But he was also the most rewarding. I really felt him grow as a human being.

What’s next for you? Are there any projects that you’re currently working on, and do you have any more novels for the DeKnight series planned?

I’m currently working on a new sexy set of books, The West Coast Series. I’ve gone back to my corporate environment. In fact, the series is set in a company very similar to one I worked at for many years, although I made up all the naughty goings-on, of course! I love writing about power struggles in business and in relationships. The first book is Revenge Sex which tackles the theme of an employee catching her boss’s girlfriend with another man...and what to do about it. Next month I’ll be releasing the second book, Submitting to the Boss, which has an undertone of bondage, as the title suggests. At this time, I don’t have another DeKnight novel planned, but never say never!

Thank you again, Jasmine, for stopping by today!

And thank you so much for having me!

To find out more about Jasmine and her works make sure to visit her WEBSITE!