Pandemic Baby: The Dating Dare, releasing August 3, 2021
“I thought that 2020 was going to be my year. I was debuting as an author with my romcom, A Sweet Mess, coming out in July and the release of three Harlequin Desires. I imagined celebrations and book signings galore. And by March, I was really getting my life together: sharing an office space so I wouldn’t feel so isolated, focusing on writing my second romcom, exercising, going on long walks with friends.
Two weeks into that, shut down happened.
It felt too surreal. I was a debut author, but with the pandemic, my life as a mom and wife and homemaker became exaggerated. It took over my identity. Temporary Wife Temptation was chosen by Oprah Magazine, but after a celebratory tweet, I had to rush to make dinner and do the dishes. I would get dressed up to do a virtual event, but as soon as it was over, I had to homeschool my two-school aged children. All of these great things were happening, but I never got to dwell on them very much. I was struggling to accept my identity as an author.
I wanted to do such a good job on my second romcom, The Dating Dare, but I didn’t feel funny and witty and clever; I felt shell-shocked. It was work ethic that got me to my laptop every day. I had a deadline and I had to write it. And more than ever, my readers needed a fun, flirty, funny book. I needed to give my readers the escape they deserved, something that would make them feel better, since they were going through exactly what I was going through.”
What Jayci learned: “I found an inner strength, a reserve of something untapped. While it seemed the world was on fire and crumbling around me, I finished a full-length romcom. Does it have heart? Does it have my love in it and my dedication to the readers? Yes. And it’s proven to me that I am strong enough to write through a pandemic and the disappointments of what I thought was going to be the best year of my life. I’ll always carry that with me.”