1–What is the title of your latest release?
2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?
Two corporate rivals wage war over the future of a small Shakespearean-obsessed town and make creative use of a desk.
3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place?
The Dane of My Existence is the sequel to “For the Love of the Bard.” I was eager to write another story set in the fictious town of Bard’s Rest, New Hampshire, where locals take their love of William Shakespeare to a whole new level.
4–Would you hang out with your heroine in real life?
Definitely, we’re both lawyers. We could talk shop over late-night oysters and bubbly downtown or try and one-up each other at the dog park with tales of how smart our dogs are. My dogs would prevail, of course.
5–What are three words that describe your hero?
Relentless. Introverted. Battle-tested.
6–What’s something you learned while writing this book?
I learned more than I ever cared to know about historical landmarks and laws related to creating them and preserving them.
7–Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
I edit as I go and then I go chunk by chunk, usually three chapters revised in a weekend to keep continuity and momentum going.
8–What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
Fried Clams.
9–Describe your writing space/office!
My writing space is wherever my kid isn’t. The thought of writing flirty, sexy things around my seven-year-old is…unappealing. So, I write in bookstores, cafés, libraries and during Covid—in the front seat of my car in the Harold Parker State Forest where I was frequently mistaken by teenagers for an undercover cop.
10–Who is an author you admire?
Seanan McGuire. She is a prolific urban fantasy writer, but my favorite of hers is the October Daye series about a half-changeling who splits her time as a private investigator in San Francisco and a hero of the realm in Faerie. McGuire’s world-building and use of mythology is first class and Toby Daye is heroic, hilarious and occasionally heart-breaking.
11–Is there a book that changed your life?
When I was ten, I came down with a truly heinous case of chicken pox. My parents raided the local library and returned with D’Aulaires’ Book of Norse Myths and D’Aulaires’ Book of Greek Myths. They were vividly written and illustrated, messy and untidy in terms of message and morally ambiguous. These collections made me a life-long fan of mythology.
12–Tell us about when you got “the call.” (when you found out your book was going to be published)
What I remember most is the day I finally inked my contract (yes, I legit signed it with a fancy pen and everything. Lawyer, remember?) It suddenly felt real in a way it hadn’t before.
13–What’s your favorite genre to read?
Contemporary Fantasy.
14–What’s your favorite movie?
Jaws. Sometimes I root for Brody. Sometimes the shark. But never Hooper.
15–What is your favorite season?
Fall (aka sweater weather and crockpot season in New England).
16–How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
I like to be away holed up somewhere with a water view writing and eating snacks.
17–What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you highly recommend?
I just finished “Hell Bent” from Leigh Bardugo, the sequel to “Ninth Gate” and not only did I read it all in a single weekend sitting after I promised myself, I would make it last, but I am already itching for a return to hell. The third one can’t get here soon enough.
18–What’s your favorite type of cuisine?
Coastal. If it has fins or shells, I’m in.
19–What do you do when you have free time?
I write biographies for rescue dogs in the hopes of helping our local rescue find overlooked dogs their forever homes. The trick is to be honest about the dog, not to hide their flaws, but capture their unique personality. Here’s a line from one I did recently for a senior Great Dane: “I run like the wind, so a fenced-in yard is a good idea. Unless you like chasing a majestic Clydesdale specimen like myself down the road.” I mean, who wouldn’t want a giant dog who thinks he’s a horse?
20–What can readers expect from you next?
More quippy rom-coms.
THE DANE OF MY EXISTENCE by Jessica Martin
A Bard’s Rest Romance #2
When the history and character of her Shakespeare-obsessed hometown is threatened, a powerhouse lawyer goes toe to toe with a commercial developer in a hilarious rom-com from the author of For the Love of the Bard.
Portia Barnes is the youngest managing partner in her law firm’s history, and she and her stilettos are poised to step into the role of her dreams—leading the firm’s new Boston office. But first she’s taking a summer sabbatical in her hometown of Bard’s Rest, New Hampshire, where she discovers something’s rotten in the midst of the town’s annual Shakespeare festival.
Hotshot commercial developer Benjamin Dane is sniffing around Bard’s, and while Portia isn’t necessarily a Shakespeare fanatic like the rest of her family, she’s not about to let him bulldoze the town’s beloved outdoor theater. Yet to Portia’s dismay, Ben proves as skilled as she is when it comes to outworking, outmaneuvering, and one-upping the competition. While she’s never hesitated to wage war against hyper-successful alpha males, Portia is caught off guard by Ben’s openness and lack of arrogance. As her own long-constructed walls start to come down, Portia begins to wonder if he might be more than an archnemesis.
With her heart on the line and the future of the town hanging in the balance, Portia faces an impossible decision—Ben or Bard’s?—unless she finds a way to broker the merger of her life, and ensures the curtain falls on a happy ending for everyone.
Romance | Women’s Fiction Contemporary [Berkley, On Sale: July 4, 2023, Trade Paperback / e-Book, ISBN: 9780593437452 / eISBN: 9780593437469]
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About Jessica Martin
Jessica Martin is a lawyer by trade, a writer by choice, and a complete smartass by all accounts. Based in the suburban wilds of Boston, Jess shares her life with a finance geek, a small sass-based human and a pair of dogs named after Bond characters.
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