Weak at the Knees

Today, I’d like to introduce you to Jo Kessel, a British author. To launch her novel, Weak At The Knees, she is doing a virtual book tour now. On this occasion, Jo will be awarding a $50 gift certificate with either Amazon or Barnes&Noble to one randomly drawn commenter, and another will receive a bottle of the fabulous French red wine Chateauneuf-du-Pape. So don’t forget to leave a comment, and do it through his link: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/28e43418/

There is also some exciting news! Weak At The Knees received a 4 out of 5 rating from The Sun, a UK national paper with over 2 million readers!

READ THIS: HAPPY CHRISTMAS!!! Jo Kessel is bringing the price of WEAK AT THE KNEES down to 99 cents December 22-January 6 2014.

Bio

When Jo was ten years old she wrote a short story about losing a loved one. Her mother and big sister were so moved by the tale that it made them cry. Having reduced them to tears she vowed that the next time she wrote a story it would make them smile instead. Happily she succeeded and with this success grew an addiction for wanting to reach out and touch people with words. Jo lives in London with her husband and three children where she works as a TV and print journalist. She tells life stories and can often be found travelling the globe researching the next big holiday hotspots for readers to enjoy. Since becoming a mother anything even remotely sad makes her cry. She’s a sucker for a good romance and tear-jerker movies are the worst. She’s that woman in the cinema, struggling to muffle audible wails as everyone else turns round to stare.

P.S Jo’s pretty certain one of her daughters has inherited this gene.          

 

 

Blurb

“We got so busy living life that we forgot to live our dreams.”

Danni Lewis has been playing it safe for twenty-six years, but her sheltered existence is making her feel old ahead of time. When a sudden death plunges her into a spiral of grief, she throws caution to the wind and runs away to France in search of a new beginning.

The moment ski instructor Olivier du Pape enters her shattered world she falls hard, in more ways than one.

Their mutual desire is as powerful and seductive as the mountains around them. His dark gypsy looks and piercing blue eyes are irresistible.

Only she must resist, because he has a wife – and she’d made a pact to never get involved with a married man.

But how do you choose between keeping your word and being true to your soul?

 

Weak at the Knees is Jo’s debut novel in the new adult, contemporary romance genre – a story about love, loss and relationships, set between London and the heart of the French Alps.

 

Excerpt
 

Olivier sits next to me on the piano stool. We’re even closer than that day up the mountain and it’s even more intoxicating. His body is so close to mine that the slightest adjustment would have us touching. I can feel his heat, an electrical charge which makes the side of my leg that’s almost brushing his tingle all the way down. He pulls up his woolly, navy sleeves. “Shall we?” I note the gold wedding band on his dark, manly hands as his fingers hover above the keyboard. I nod, not trusting myself to speak, thinking the sooner he starts playing piano the better, to distract me from this powerful attraction. He crashes both hands down with flair and starts playing his version of the Boogie Woogie. It’s slightly jazzier and more sophisticated than mine. I let him play by himself for a while, enjoying watching him, surprised by how good he is.

The rhythm gets to me, my upper torso unconsciously pulsing forward, toes tapping in my shoes. I put my mug down on top of the piano and start trying to improvise a Gerswhin-esque melody line, fluttering my right hand up and down the keyboard in syncopation to Olivier’s beat. For about ten minutes we thump away, cheesy grins on our faces, occasionally catching each others’ eye. We play whatever comes into our heads, changing the mood and key from time to time. Sometimes it works and sometimes it’s a discordant mess, but it doesn’t matter. By the time Olivier eventually tires and crashes a final chord, our bodies are touching all the way from our shoulders to our knees. I don’t want to move, which is exactly why I do. I stand up, to recover my senses and my drink.

Short interview with Jo

1. Any weird things you do when you’re alone?

My house is always really busy. As well as the husband and three small children we also have a live-in au pair who helps me out with childcare. It’s such a rare moment to actually have the house to myself that (I’m blushing as I write this) I find it quite liberating to just be in my birthday suit and wander around the house………………………………..is that too much information?

2. What is your favorite quote and why?

Rudyard Kipling: “If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster, and treat those two imposters just the same.”

My father gave my siblings and I a financial incentive to learn Kipling’s famous poem “If” when we were growing up. I remember being about 8 years old and able to recite the poem verbatim. Life is never easy and is always full of ups and downs, successes and failures. This quote has always reminded me that its important to be strong in the face of adversity and that if we can face up to our failures and take positives from them, then it can only serve to make us stronger and more successful in the long term. 

3. What is your favorite ice cream flavor?

 Ben & Jerry’s: cookie dough. I worked in Boston for a few months when I was just out of University and visited their factory in Vermont. That was the first time I’d tasted cookie dough and I’ve never looked back. My children are now equally as hooked. Haagen Daaz: strawberry cheesecake is a close second. I’m mad about ice-cream and can’t get enough of the stuff.

4. Which mythological creature are you most like?

 I tell my children I’m like Cyclops, with an eye on the back of my head.

5. What are four things you can’t live without?

Yoga mat

Sun lounger in the back garden (does that count as two things?)

Ice-cream

Passport

But now that I’ve written that list I realize that my answer really should have been:  my husband and three children.

Useful links

US buy link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00E4VC70W

UK buy link: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00E4VC70W

Jo loves to hear from her readers and they can connect with her on:

Her website: www.jokessel.com

Twitter: @jo_kessel

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kesseljo

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7173167.Jo_Kessel