New Jersey is the Garden State, and I never knew-Jennifer Wilck

New Jersey is the Garden State, and I never knew how much that would mean to me until I grew up and became a homeowner. When I was a child, my mom LOVED flowers. She’d plant them in the yard, fill vases on tables, and grow pots on shelves. I didn’t pay much attention to them, other than to think they were pretty.

When my husband and I moved into our first home, suddenly I was confronted by outdoor space that needed love. Because we had lots of shade, I planted impatiens. I’d spend hours adding soil and planting almost 100 plants. When my first child was born, she sat in her stroller or on a blanket and I raced between her and the dirt, trying to plant as much as I could before she needed me.

Now that my kids are grown, I have a lot more time on my hands, but I also have less energy. So I fill pots on my deck, which bloom in the bright sun and are immune to the critters, who don’t climb up on my deck (for the most part). Lately, I’ve started planting bulbs so the work I do can last for years, rather than a few months. I walk around my yard daily admiring my flowers—it kind of makes me feel like a new mother again, glorying in the progress of my babies. While New Jersey spring can be fickle, ranging in temperatures anywhere from the 40s to the 80s, and the rains are either overwhelming or non-existent, somehow, my garden has been growing consistently.

As I sit at my desk, table or sofa and write my books, I’m able to look out the window and enjoy the profusion of color that I’ve planted and arranged. I think about the irony of how like my mom I’m becoming, and I smile as my kids look at me and shake my head. I wonder which of them will turn out to like flowers, or if either of them will. Will they plant their own gardens as their babies sleep in the shade, or will they be too busy or disinterested to care?

Flowers, like romance novels, fill me with hope for a better world. They show me what is possible and they let me escape for a time. They teach me that some things are beyond my control—whether it’s how well a plant will grow, or how well a book will sell. And the connection to my state’s moniker—the Garden State—pleases my inner humorist. Most people think of my state as a series of highways and shopping malls. That description is accurate for those who take only a cursory glance. But for those who live here or visit for any length of time, there are plenty of surprise discoveries to make, including farming produce, hidden waterfalls, and flowers that bloom in the most surprising of places.

Jennifer started telling herself stories as a little girl when she couldn’t fall asleep at night. Pretty soon, her head was filled with these stories and the characters that populated them. Even as an adult, she thinks about the characters and stories at night before she falls asleep or walking the dog. Eventually, she started writing them down. Her favorite stories to write are those with smart, sassy, independent heroines; handsome, strong and slightly vulnerable heroes; and her stories always end with happily ever after.

In the real world, she’s the mother of two amazing daughters and wife of one of the smartest men she knows. When she’s not writing, she loves to laugh with her family and friends, is a pro at finding whatever her kids lost in plain sight, and spends way too much time closing doors that should never have been left open in the first place. She believes humor is the only way to get through the day and does not believe in sharing her chocolate.

She writes contemporary romance, some of which are mainstream and some of which involve Jewish characters. She’s published with The Wild Rose Press and all her books are available through Amazon, Barnes & Noble and The Wild Rose Press.

Buy here:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=jennifer+wilck

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/jennifer+wilck?_requestid=1969656

The Wild Rose Press: https://catalog.thewildrosepress.com/search?controller=search&orderby=position&orderway=desc&search_query=jennifer+wilck&submit_search=

She can be reached at www.jenniferwilck.com orhttp://www.facebook.com/pages/Jennifer-Wilck/201342863240160.

She tweets at @JWilck.

Her blog www.jenniferwilck.blogspot.com 

(all info provided from or downloaded and released from Author)