Writer’s Window—Jenny B. Jones
Joining us today for Writer’s Window is YA- and contemporary romance–author Jenny B. Jones.
One lucky commenter* will win a signed copy of Jenny’s latest book, Save the Date. Deadline for leaving a comment to enter the drawing is Friday. To enter the drawing, you must answer the question posed by Jenny at the end of the interview. Only one comment per person will count toward the drawing. You do not need to include your e-mail address in the body of your comment—just make sure it’s correct when you sign in to leave your comment. Congratulations to Sylvia M. who won last week’s drawing for Elizabeth Goddard’s book The Camera Never Lies.
- *U.S. residents only, void where prohibited. If you win the drawing, you will be ineligible for the next three drawings, though hopefully you will still come back and join in the discussion.
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You’re invited to the engagement of the most unlikely couple of the year.
When the funding for Lucy’s non-profit job is pulled, she is determined to find out why. Enter Alex Sinclair, former professional football star and heir of Sinclair Enterprises—the primary donor to Lucy’s Saving Grace organization. Alex Sinclair has it all . . . except for the votes he needs to win his bid for Congress.
Both Lucy and Alex have something the other wants.
Despite their mutual dislike, Alex makes Lucy a proposition: pose as his fiancée in return for the money she desperately needs.
Bound to a man who isn’t quite what he seems, Lucy finds her heart – and her future – on the line.
Save the Date is a spunky romance that will have readers laughing out loud as this dubious pair try to save their careers, their dreams . . . and maybe even a date.
Welcome, Jenny!
What do you like best about being a writer?
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The fat paychecks and company cars. 😉
Other than that, I love getting to be creative and seeing it out there in the world. I love creating stories and having the weird, unexpected honor of having someone enjoy it and choose to pick up your book. The fact that someone chooses to read my books still blows my mind. It’s huge that I get the opportunity to share the light of Christ through fiction, and the biggest deal to me to entertain and possibly make someone laugh.
What do you like least about being a writer?
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Sitting. Hate. It. I recently read that those who have sedentary jobs or lives die 10–15 years earlier than those who are not “sitters.” Great. Very encouraging.
Pop, Soda, or Coke? What do you call it, and what’s your favorite variety?
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Oh, girl. Don’t even bring it up. I gave up Diet Dr. Pepper, Diet Coke and all things aspartame on June 21 2009 at 2pm. It still makes me tear up just to think about it. So my drink of choice? Water. Thrilling water. (And I’m a total tea addict, but try to avoid that as well. I’m just not fun in the drinks department.)
What’s your favorite dessert?
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What isn’t my favorite? I think strawberry shortcake or strawberry pie. And I could eat ice cream for every meal. When I was a kid, I had ice cream a few times a year. It just wasn’t something I was that crazy about, but now I can’t get enough of the stuff. Why couldn’t I have acquired a taste for green beans?
What is yours?
- K: Mine is creme brulee cheesecake from Amerigo, an Italian restaurant in Nashville—it combines my two favorite desserts!
What’s the most fun/interesting/crazy/scary/unique hands-on research you’ve done for a book?
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For books I’ve traveled to Ireland and Charleston, South Carolina. Both places are beautiful. I’d go back to Ireland in a heartbeat. Charleston is the setting for Save the Date, my new romance, and I fell in love with that town as well. But they need to pipe in some air conditioning. That is one hot place.
Craziest would probably be a WWE Smackdown wrestling match I went to (and somehow talked two friends into going). In my Charmed Life series for teens, my character’s stepfather is a professional wrestler. It was a crazy fun experience to go to the match. Lots of yelling, lots of diehard fans. Lots of spandex.
What’s your favorite movie from childhood?
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Annie. I just heard last week that Will Smith has “arranged” for his daughter Willow to star in a remake. There can be no remake! Are they kidding? If Carol Burnett isn’t in it, it’s total blasphemy.
What was yours?
- K: Star Wars—Saw it for the first time when I was six, could quote it word-for-word by the time I was nine. As to the Annie remake—I heard that, too, but isn’t one of the main characteristics of the character that she have bright red hair?
If you were to write a novel about what your life would have been like if you’d become what you wanted to be at eight years old, what kind of character would the story be about?
- A princess-actress-president who owns some puppies and kitties and lives in Buckingham Palace and eats lots of pizza.
What makes you happy?
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Sunshine, snow days, small things, new pens, laughter, learning new things.
What makes you nervous?
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Wasps, Egypt, airplane takeoffs, and the idea that one day God is going to quiz me on 1st and 2nd Chronicles.
What’s your biggest dream for the future?
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Crazy wild joy. Whatever that looks like.
Tell us about your newest release and what you’re working on now.
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Save the Date just released. It’s about Lucy Wiltshire, who is struggling to keep the doors of her girls’ home open and prays for a miracle. Alex Sinclair, football star, American celebrity, and known playboy, is running for Congress and needs to look like he’s settling down. In the midst of catastrophe, their paths cross, and Alex makes a proposal Lucy will never forget: to pose as his fiancée until his campaign is over in exchange for his saving her group home.
As if maintaining a farce of an engagement isn’t hard enough, secrets begin to surface for both of them, and each new challenge only throws them together more and draws them unexpectedly closer.
They have such a good strategy, but it begins to unravel right before them. When it comes to love and lies, nothing ever goes according to plan. Will Alex and Lucy scrap their own playbook and follow God’s? (Um, are bridesmaid dresses hideous and a curse on all who wear them?) Save the Date is about an engagement that goes too far and a couple who have a chance at love that only comes once in a lifetime.
Where can people find out more about you/connect with you online?
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I blog at www.jennybjones.com as well as www.southernbelleview.blogspot.com, a new blog about the life of a Southern girl. I share that blog home with authors Lisa Wingate, Rachel Hauck, Beth Webb Hart, and Marybeth Whalen.
I’m on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/jenny.b.jones
And I pretty much live on Twitter at http://twitter.com/jenbjones
Now it’s your turn to ask the question. What question do you want to ask the commenters to answer?
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Oh, fun. Okay, you’re stranded on a desert island with only one DVD. (And a DVD/TV combo you created out of coconuts.) Which one is it you could watch over and over?
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Jenny B. Jones writes Christian fiction with equal parts wit, sass, and untamed hilarity. When not writing, she’s living it up as a high school teacher in Arkansas. Since she has very little free time, she believes in spending her spare hours in meaningful, intellectual pursuits, such as watching E!, watching Will Ferrell movies, and writing her name in the dust on her furniture. She is a four-time Carol Award–winning author of new release Save the Date and the Charmed Life series for young adults. You can find her at www.jennybjones.com.
Comments are closed.
KayeDacus.com 
Just one? Wow! Talk about tough. I’d go with The Magic of Ordinary Days, a WWII romance from Hallmark. No matter how many times I watch it (and that number is well into the double digits), I love it.
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Sigh! The Magic of Ordinary Days. Wonderful film and acted so well. I’ve read the book and Skeet Ulrich looks nothing like the Ray of the book, but I’m not complaining in this case! 🙂
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Ooh, I’ll have to look for that one!
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You haven’t seen that one? It is fabulous!
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Great choice, Keli! I love that movie! I think a DVD with an entire season of Touched by an Angel would keep me happy. I’ve seen every episode numerous times, but I still love it.
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I was so sad when I heard the news that John Dye passed away a few weeks ago. He was one of the main reasons I kept watching that show year after years.
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It was sad and shocking. He was so young and a great actor.
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I am reading a galley copy of Save The Date for review and AM LOVING IT! Oh goodness, you are a good writer, Jennie. I am totally sucked in.
The DVD I would watch would be Pride & Prejudice (for historical) and Return to Me (contemporary). Or maybe The Holiday…Jude Law is yummy in that one. It’s hard to choose.
So, Kaye and Jennie, what is your choice for a DVD?
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Return to Me is one of my favorite contemporary romances—maybe my favorite. Of course, it helps that it’s one of the pieces of inspiration behind Stand-In Groom.
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Kaye, I have seen “Return to Me” several times and have read SIG, but I am failing to see the connection between the two. Maybe I’m forgetting something from both. Is it the scars or something entirely unrelated that’s not obvious to everyone except you?
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It’s the music. That movie is what made me fall in love with that song (“Return to Me”—which plays a huge role in the final scene of the book) and therefore with Dean Martin’s music.
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Oh, now I get it. Yes, the Dean Martin song. I was trying to think of what about the plot that was similar and couldn’t quite wrap my brain around it.
I tried posting a direct reply to your reply to my previous post, but it won’ t let me.
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hmm… could I possibly fit the entire Lord of the Rings (extended edition) on one DVD? I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve seen it, but it’s 6 discs. If it really had to be JUST ONE, I think it would be While You Were Sleeping. I can say every line in that movie and still never get tired of it – it just cracks me up.
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“Hey, Luce. That guy bothering you?”
“No, no.”
“Are you sure? Because it looks like he’s leaning.”
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I like the concept of this book. This may sound silly but I LOVE “Sarah Plain and Tall”, can watch it over and over.
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It’s not silly at all! Love Sarah, Plain and Tall. I picked up the book one time and the text in the book just about matches word for word with the film. The only additions are script of a conversation that someone just observes at a distance in the book. Now that’s the way to put a book on film if you ask me. If the book is well-loved the way it is don’t try to change the story-line/script/actors into something else. Ahem….all the Love Comes Softly films, third Anne of Green Gables film anyone? Shudder.
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I LOVE Sarah, Plain and Tall . . . and the follow up movies they did. I need to find them on DVD, because I don’t have a VCR anymore—at least not one that doesn’t eat tapes!
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GREAT dvd picks. I love The Holiday. I can hardly stand to watch movies more than once, but I watch The Holiday every December. Jude Law….yes, ma’am.
I think my pick would be Sweet Home Alabama, Nacho Libre, or You’ve Got Mail. Neither is my very favorite movie, but ones I enjoy on repeat. : )
And Sherrinda, thank you, bless you, thank you.
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I LOVE sweet Home Alabama!
Reese Witherspoon is so cute!
And Josh Lucas, Oh my gosh!
He is so hot!!
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I think out of the three you narrowed it down to, I’d have to pick You’ve Got Mail. Goodness knows, I quote it often enough here on the blog and in workshops!
Joe Fox: It wasn’t . . . personal.
Kathleen Kelly: What is that supposed to mean? I am so sick of that. All that means is that it wasn’t personal to you. But it was personal to me. It’s personal to a lot of people. And what’s so wrong with being personal, anyway?
Joe Fox: Uh, nothing.
Kathleen Kelly: Whatever else anything is, it ought to begin by being personal.
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You’ve Got Mail….I’ve seen it at least forty times, along with When Harry Met Sally.
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I can watch that AND “Sleepless in Seattle” over and over and over. I can’t help it. Even being angry with Meg Ryan for leaving Dennis Quaid for Russell Crowe doesn’t stop me . . . 🙂
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Hmm. That’s tough. Probably Princess Bride. Hilarious and romantic
Thanks for sharing today, Jenny. I love your writing and am looking forward to picking up your newest release….maybe here, if I’m lucky! 😉
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Oh Princess Bride is super cute!
Its so funny!
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The Princess Bride, along with Steel Magnolias, is one of the most quotable movies EVER!
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“Wuv. Twue Wuv . . . “
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Jenny gives good interview. I bet everyone wants to meet her.
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Everyone should meet her, IMO. 🙂
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Don’t enter me in the drawing since I have a copy of Save the Date. But I just had to chime in on the question. Prior to last night, I would’ve said North & South with Richard Armitage…but now that Downton Abbey has finished, I’m afraid N&S has a little competition in the obsessively rewatch category. 😉
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I’ve officially watched it all the way through twice—partially on DVD and partially on PBS. I was so disappointed with the hack-job they did on the final two episodes to cut them down to the 1:25 running time last night. They lost some of the best dialogue!
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Well, we knew there would be some cuts because of the PBS runtime issue. It’s just unfortunate that the cuts continue to be such an issue with Masterpiece productions. At least everything is intact on the DVD!
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And the breaks between episodes make much more sense in the original structure, as well.
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Oh I bet they do! I can remember seeing a very natural break after the 1st hour when the show first started…after that it was all a mess. A beautiful mess, but you know what I mean. 😉
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The American President
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Ooh–I haven’t watched that movie in a long time. I may have to add that to my Netflix queue.
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Only one DVD, oh this is so very, very hard. So many to choose from, but I think I’m going to have to go with the entire first season of The West Wing.
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I’ve always heard great things about that show. Sometime, when I have more time, I’ll have to go back and watch it.
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I am so excited to read this book! These kinds of stories are always favorites.A desert island DVD? BBC/A&E Pride and Prejudice 1995. No question.
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A perennial favorite. 😉
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Until someone mentioned “The Holiday,” I was sure . . . but I’m going with my initial reaction on the DVD. Volume 4 of “Sue Thomas: FBEye.” Or maybe “Bones.”
Jenny, I was sitting near your table at the ACFW banquet, and was so pleased to see you win and make the trek up to the podium! Congratulations! “Save the Date” sounds great, and one that’s definitely on my TBR list!
Great interview!
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And for the record, by the end of “The Holiday,” I not only had a major crush on Jude Law, but Jack Black, as well! 😀
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I wondered how you’d ever be able to choose between Jack and Seeley. 😉
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You know me too well.
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I have so many favorite movies I cant think of just ONE!
I think I’m gonna say What Happens in Vegas, because I’ve wanted to watch it all weekend, but I ended up watching the Bachelor on Hulu instead:)
I’m so looking forward to reading Save the Date.
I hope I win!!
Thanks for the interview Kaye and Jenny! And the giveaway!!
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Haven’t seen WHIV, I’ll have to add that to my Netflix queue.
It’s good to know The Bachelor is available on Hulu. One of the novels in the next contemporary series I’m proposing involves a televised “dating” show like that, so even though I’m working out all of my own “rules of the game” before having ever watched any of those kinds of shows, I’m going to have to watch them just to make sure I’m not copying anything that’s already being done.
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Jenny, you’re a thief.
You stole my sleep with Save the Date!
GREAT read, many laugh-out-loud moments, and I’m not quite finished — because work got in the way. Phooey on that. Anyway, thanks for going beyond YA fiction; this book is a keeper.
As for a “watch over and over again” DVD, it would have to be Sense and Sensibility — the Emma Thompson, Hugh Grant, Alan Rickman version.
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Another great choice! I have to say, even with as much as I love that version, I may actually like the newer (longer) version aired on Masterpiece two or three years ago. Have you seen that one?
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Ever After – I love that movie!
Thanks for offering your book.
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Fantastic movie! I have a friend who used music from the Ever After soundtrack in her wedding.
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Sherrinda asked, and I’ve been thinking about this all day—this is so hard for me, because I go through cycles in what my favorite movie of the day/week/month is. I actually sort of faced this decision back in November when I had one day to pack up everything I might need for two or three months when my parents came to get me after I broke my ankle. I didn’t even think about the fact that I’d go through the entire holiday season without access to my DVD collection—and therefore, I wouldn’t be able to watch any of my holiday movies any time I wanted to. (So I ordered A Christmas Story from Netflix and held on to it for several weeks—during which time I watched it six or seven times, just as I would have at home.) I also found several movies I have at home are available for Watch Instantly on Netflix—two of which have been vitally important as I’ve been writing the sample chapters for my proposed 1851 historical series: The Young Victoria and North & South.
But if I had to pick just one DVD to take with me, one that I wouldn’t want to live without for the rest of my life, it would have to be the 2009 version of Star Trek. And I’ll leave y’all to guess the reason(s) why.
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KARL URBAN. 🙂 Just be careful not to physically “attack” your coconut TV/DVD combo if you’re stranded…knocking that out of commission could be tragic! LOL! 😉
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I was going to pick Doom, but I do actually like Star Trek better. 😉
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Attack? Nah. I’ll just “lick the screen” whenever he’s on it. 😀
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LOVE Ever After. Princess Bride is def one of my favorite movies, and I think that’s why I wouldn’t watch it repeatedly. I don’t want to get sick of it. ; )
And thank you, Lindsey, for the book compliments. I REALLY appreciate it.
And Jack Black was charming in The Holiday, wasn’t he?
Tonight, as I get snowed in in Arkansas, I’m going to watch the last of Downton Abbey. When will part II air? (I heard it’s to be continued, right?)
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Unfortunately, Jenny, Series 2 of Downton Abbey won’t air in the US until NEXT YEAR. The suspense is really gonna try my non-existent patience. 😉
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Well, since Pride & Prejudice, Steel Magnolias, LOTR, and While You Were Sleeping were already taken, that leaves Fried Green Tomatoes. I just love it when she is in the parking lot and the skinny teeny boppers take her parking spot.
Girl: “Face it lady, we’re younger and faster.”
Kathy Bates Character (after ramming the girl’s car 6 times) “Face it girls. I’m older and I have more insurance.”
I cheer every time.
Love your stuff Jenny. I was beside Regina at ACFW cheering for you. Can’t wait to read Save The Date!!
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This is hard since I generally prefer reading to watching movies. But, I do like the film version of Anne of Green Gables and have seen it several times.
Saving the Date sounds fun; I really enjoy Christian fiction that is also humorous. I’d love to win! Thanks for the interview and for giving away a copy of the book.
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Oops, I see I got the title wrong for Save the Date. Guess I was remembering the Saving Grace organization in the blurb. Sorry!
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This has to be one of the ‘funnest’ interviews I’ve ever read. Definitely makes me want to rush out and buy all of Jenny B. Jones’ books!!!! She’s just made it to the top of my must read list.
And I would like to be stranded with North and South since I borrowed the DVD from the library and only had a limited time to watch it.
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I’m not a movie person–give me the book anytime! One of the few movies I have watched more than once is Fiddler on the Roof. My copy is so old it is VHS, so I may need some extra coconuts, tho. rose
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Nottinghill for me. Love that movie!
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OK, this is probably sort of cheesy but I could watch the Anne of Green Gables movies over and over and over ad nauseum.
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My favorites have all been taken, but I could watch any disc from Psych over and over again. My favorite though is the last disc from Season 2 with “Black and Tan: A Crime of Fashion” and “Lights, Camera, Homicidio” on it. It’s not romantic, but it makes me laugh like crazy – which I might need on a deserted island.
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“The Emperor’s New Groove”, of course…didn’t even have to think too hard about that one. 😉
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Kelly, you stole mine. As I was reading all the comments I was thinking I would so take one of my Psych discs. We just has a Psych marathon and they don’t get old. My movie would be You’ve Got Mail. I’ve already watched it 139 times so I know I’d be able to watching it a few more after watching the amazing sunset on my deserted island.
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That is SO TRUE about Psych never getting old. It’s especially true when they do their girly scream and run bit – its ALWAYS FUNNY – even when I know its coming.
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I have a secret …. my co-worker is “Sean’s” cousin. You should hear the girls scream when they hear that bit of news. We’re all waiting for their next family reunion and we’re going to crash it 🙂
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My DVD would be Pride and Prejudice for sure!! LOVE that movie!
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I would bring, The Notebook. Even though it makes me cry every time I watch it, I still love it.:)
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I go through stages. . . I don’t have a favorite right now, but it used to be The Anne of Avonlea series. I could watch it over and over again. . . Wonderful movies!!! I love Jenny’s books too!!! Too bad there aren’t movies of the books. . . .
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Fiddler on the Roof!
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I LOVE musicals!!! So, probably any musical. . . Songs to dance to, and normally a pretty good story line. . .
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When will the drawing take place?
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hmmm if I could fit the whole Anne of Green Gables series on one DVD, that would be it. 🙂
Otherwise While you were sleeping has always been one I can watch over and over
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Idk how to choose just one movie! There are just SO many that I LOVE. But I think if I had to choose just one it would be Penelope.
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Hmmm…
I would have to say Princess Bride, even though it’s already been said several times. It’s just such an awesome movie, and it has a whole bunch of different elements in it.
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I put the wrong email on the above comment, sorry.
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This was a great interview…fun questions, fun answers! And in coming late to the discussion, most of my favorite movies have been listed. I love any romantic comedy with Reece or Drew, as well as Return to Me and The Holiday. I also love the LOTR trilogy, Star Trek, and all Psych episodes. So I’m going way out and say Muppet Christmas Carol. It’s fun, the music is awesome, and there is a lot of Dickens in it. Our family loves it so much that when my 12 year old was having 19 stitches in his knee last summer, it was the movie he chose to watch, off a list of over 100 kids’ movies!
Can’t wait to read Save the Date, Jenny! Thanks for taking time to share yourself with us!
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I would like to know if Jenny had any particular actors, models, or people she knew in mind after which she patterned her characters. Basically, what do they look like? Do the cover models fit her characters?
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I see that Relz Reviewz has the character spotlight up for this book. Here’s the link.
http://relzreviewz.blogspot.com/2011/02/character-spotlight-jenny-b-jones-alex.html
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