Q & A with author JM Stewart

Thanks for being here today. Would you please share a short bio about yourself? 

Thanks for having me! I live on the west coast of Washington state, where it rains something like 300 days a year. I've been married for sixteen years now, and we have two teenage boys and two very spoiled puppies.

I’ve been reading romance since…I can’t even remember. Somewhere around high school, I think. I’ve always loved it. I started writing a little over ten years ago. I think it might even be eleven now. but it all began with a dream that demanded to be written down. I fell in love with the process!

Do you consider yourself a shy and/or introverted person? 

I consider myself both. I’m almost painfully shy. I’ve never really learned how to be social, and I’m scared to death of saying the wrong thing and making a fool out of myself. I get so nervous my heart races and my palms sweat and I stand there saying absolutely nothing, because my mind has gone completely blank.

But I also just prefer to be by myself or in small groups. I don’t mind my own company, and I find large crowds very disorienting. I’ll go out of my way to avoid them if I can.

In what ways has being shy or introverted hindered your writing career? 
Self-promotion is extremely difficult. I don’t like to talk about myself. I’m convinced that nobody wants to hear about me or what I have to say. So getting up and saying, “Hey! Look at what I did!” goes completely against the grain for me. So, a lot of the time, I hold back, when I probably shouldn’t.

In what ways has being shy or introverted helped your writing career? I’m perfectly okay being by myself, so sitting for hours alone and writing is a wonderful day for me.

What’s the hardest part of this business for you? 
See the third question above. The self-promotion. Having to toot my own horn. I don’t do it well, so the two years since I’ve been published have all been a very long learning curve. LOL

Tell me about a time that you had to step outside your comfort zone either in your writing career or in your personal life?

For me, anytime I have to talk to a stranger is stepping out of my comfort zone. When I call the doctor’s office or the vet’s office, to make an appointment, I have to talk myself into it. I have to plan what I’m going to say. It takes me ages to email someone. But most recently, emailing other authors and/or blogs to ask if they would be willing to host me.

What’s one tip you could share with shy and introverted people that’s helped you?

Ignore the fear and do it anyway. If you feel like a fool, laugh at yourself. I’ve often found that if a) do it anyway, and b) laugh and admit how nervous I am, it warms people to me.

Would you please share a short blurb of your book and where my readers can buy it? 
The Playboy’s Baby

They can't forget the past, but is it enough to create a future?

When an accident leaves her guardian to her six-month-old niece, Emma Stanton must return to her small hometown of Hastings, Montana, to find the one man she's spent the last eight years trying to forget. She and Dillon had grown up together--he was her sister's best friend. But that hadn't stopped him from sharing a kiss with Emma that had followed her through the years. Now, not only must she break the news of her sister's tragic death to Dillon, but she must risk the only family she has left and tell him he's the baby's father.

Wealthy nightclub owner Dillon James has been used for his name and money one too many times, so when he comes face-to-face with Emma Stanton and her gorgeous lips, he's determined to keep things light. All he wants is to be the father his daughter needs, to make up for not being there for her and her mother. But spending time with Emma, as she shows him the ropes of caring for his daughter, is wearing down his defenses. Perhaps it's time he took a chance on love.

If only he can convince Emma to take a chance on him...

Buy links:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/The-Playboys-Baby-ebook/dp/B008RPKBMM

All Romance ebooks: http://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-theplayboy039sbaby-905734-149.html

Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-playboys-baby-jm-stewart/1112343120?ean=2940014920773

Where can my readers find you on the web?

Website: http://authorjmstewart.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/JMStewartWriter

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/authorJMStewart

Blog: http://jm-stewart.blogspot.com/

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3159044.J_M_Stewart