Award winning writer KM Jackson spoke to Renée about her latest release Insert Groom Here (Unconventional Brides Romance). After a career in fashion design, KM Jackson took up a pen and wrote. Her writing journey took persistence, but it paid off when she was named Author of the Year by the New York Chapter of Romance Writers of America.

Your new book, Insert Groom Here, is out now. What was the inspiration for the story?
I get my inspiration from all sorts of places. The funny story behind my inspiration for my current release Insert Groom Here, out now from Kensington Publishing, is that I was inspired to write that story during a church sermon. My then pastor, now Bishop, was doing a series on love and marriage and he said, “there are some women who have spent so much time focused on preparing for a wedding and not marriage it’s like they can just Insert Groom Here.” Well, all sorts of lightbulbs went off over my head and I instantly thought what a great book title. I wrote it in my sermon note keeper and right then started scribbling ideas for a story. It goes to show that no place is safe when there is a writer around. LOL.

If you could live in a book, which book would it be?
Oh my, I don’t know. There are so many great books. I guess what instantly come to mind when you say live in a book I think back to my childhood and fantasy and I’d choose either The Wizard of Oz or Little Women. Oz because I’ve always wanted to go there and if given the chance there is no way I’d pass it up and Little Women because I always thought those girls would be great to have as friends or better yet, sisters. I only have brothers so I’ve always dreamed of having sisters.

How did you become a writer?
This is a roundabout story. I’ve always dreamed of being two things: a writer or a fashion designer. I spend over ten years as a women’s sportswear designer and after losing my twin’s babysitter when my kids were in first grade I left my design job to work freelance which didn’t quite pan out. While trying odd jobs I decided to try and write. I wrote my first book and had the nerve to query it. After a few rejections I declared it was too hard. My husband challenged me by saying I give up too easy. Well that was all I needed to hear. Eleven years later, and more rejections then I care to count, I finally got my first yes.

What do you find most challenging (or fulfilling) about writing?
The most challenging thing for me is the actual writing. It’s sometimes painful to find the words though the initial story and concepts come pretty easily. And the most fulfilling is getting to write THE END and look back and realize that somehow I did that. With the help of some divine intervention a new world was created on the page.

You’ve written 6 published novels. Out of all your books, which one is closest to your heart, and why?
I have six novels published now and asking a writer to choose is tough, but if I must, I’d say that Bounce is my favorite. This one took a lot to get published. It had the most rejections and finally I self-published it because I really believed in the story and the characters. Bounce ended up winning me a Golden Leaf from the New Jersey chapter of RWA and got me my first mainstream book deal. I am still in love with that world and those characters.

About Insert Groom Here:
Tired white lace, rote promises, same-old ceremonies—some brides have no time for that. They’ll break the rules, turn tradition into straight-up scandal—and improvise as much as it takes to turn their wildest wedding dreams into real love…
Eva Ward has won a lavish wedding on the nation’s hottest morning show and can’t wait to kick off her happily-ever-after in style. Too bad her fiancé backs out on-air—and cameraman Aidan Walker makes sure her private meltdown goes viral, down to the last couch-kicking moment. The only way Eva can save face and keep her perfect nuptial plans on track is to star in a new “find-a-groom” reality segment. But finding Mr. Right in one month means ignoring her handsome new producer—none other than Aidan himself—and getting their instant, exasperating attraction out of her system…
Eva soon finds there’s a lot more to Aidan than freewheeling charm. But one glimpse of his caring side can’t make up for off-camera politics, Aidan’s own secrets—or Eva’s fear that they’re too different to ever trust each other. So it’s time for her to flip this script, write twists no one will see coming—and risk her heart to get the real thing…

Follow KM Jackson on Twitter @kwanawrites and on her website.

Insert Groom Here is out now. You can order it here:
Kensington
Amazon USA: Insert Groom Here (Unconventional Brides Romance)
iBooks