About the Book

Book: Wrapped Up in You (Real American Country Series Book 2)

Author: Jennifer Carr

Genre: Sweet New Adult Contemporary Romance

Release date: October 1, 2024

Nash Montgomery is always up for a good time. But when a senior prank goes too far, his baseball scholarship is put at risk, threatening the future everyone expects him to follow. The consequences earn him community service at a local youth center where he discovers a passion that defies the path he thought had been laid out for him.

Cassidy is a talented musician trapped under the weight of her mother’s ambitious dreams for her. Desperate to carve out her own identity, she struggles to find her voice amidst the noise of others’ expectations.

Their worlds collide in Nashville when both earn a spot on Real American Country, a new reality TV competition for aspiring country stars. As they navigate the pressures of the spotlight, they’ll have to decide if they’re chasing their own dreams—or someone else’s. And along the way, they’ll discover that getting wrapped up in the right person can bring out the best in themselves.

Wrapped Up in You is a heartwarming tale about breaking free from the expectations of others, finding love, and discovering that the best path is the one you create for yourself.

Click here to get your copy!

Author Interview

1. Do you consider yourself a plotter or a pantser (or a hybrid)?

When I started writing I would claim 100% that I was a pantser. I kept a page of notes so I could

reference them if I needed to, but I just sat down and wrote until the book was done over the

course of several weeks.

Now, I’m a hybrid but still lean heavily toward pantsing! I always go into a project knowing the

beginning and the end of the story. If I have a really clear view of it, I’ll write those chapters then

go back and fill in the middle.

My single page of notes has also turned into more of a full document but that has also been in

part because I have to keep up with timelines and character interactions across multiple books!

2. What is your favorite part about writing?

My favorite part of writing is getting to play pretend and spend hours in my imagination. It feels

like tapping back into that childhood sense of wonder, where anything is possible, and I can

create entire worlds, characters, and stories from scratch. There’s something incredibly freeing

about letting my mind wander and exploring different scenarios, personalities, and emotions. It’s

a bit like being both the storyteller and the audience at the same time.

3. What is your least favorite part about writing?

Editing. I’m great at putting words together. That has never been a problem. But I definitely

struggle being succinct (as you may see to be true in my other answers haha!), and I throw

commas around like glitter.

I want the reader to know EVERYTHING about everything so trying to come to grips with

needing to cut scenes is hard for me. We cut about 10,000 words from the manuscript of

Wrapped Up in You in the final edits and I did it kicking and screaming!

4. Do you have a way to keep track of your story ideas?

Every story idea gets added to a “Note” on my phone. If it doesn’t leave me alone, I will start a

Word document for it and start fleshing it out. If it fizzles, it goes into a folder called WIP (works

in progress). If it’s persistent, I will start a Google Doc that my editor and I share and go to town

on it! I have a few projects in the WIP folder and some of them may never see the light of day

again.

5. What is your writing space like?

My writing space is in our home office. We added the room onto the house when my husband

was forced to work remotely a few years ago. When he went back to the office, the space

became “mine”. So I have a sit/stand desk with my computer, a few fidgets, and a stack of

notebooks that I dig through occasionally for some of the notes I jot down when I’m writing and

am too sentimental to digitize!

6. When did you become a writer?

I have always loved writing. I was scribbling really bad poetry on paper as early as fourth grade.

I actually stumbled across some of it when we cleaned out our attic a few years ago and it was

embarrassing and hilarious to say the least. And no, it will never see the light of day again! HA!

HA!

But, writing has always been a natural way for me to process my thoughts and emotions. I

entered and won multiple writing and oratorical contests all throughout middle and high school. I

did not, however, know that I could write a book and love doing it until 2021.

I sat down one day and decided I wanted to write a story because I needed to know how a

dream I’d awoken from ended. It snowballed and turned into chapters and eventually into an

entire book (No Matter What). When I finished that book, I needed to make sure my characters

were OK and thriving so I wrote the second book (The Lost and Found).

Now I’ve written ten books, four are currently published, and there are seven actively in the

pipeline, all in different states of progress!

7. How long does it usually take you to write a book?

It really depends on the book and what all is happening behind the scenes for anything I’m

trying to market or my podcasting schedule! Fall When You’re Ready (Book 1 of the Real

American Country Series) was started June 1, 2023 and was officially published in February of

2024. Wrapped Up in You was started in October 2023 while I was waiting on edits for Book 1

to be completed and wasn’t published until October 2024. But, I’m not writing one book that

entire time.

I think it’s safe to say that all told it takes about 4-5 months to write the first draft and the rest of

the time is editing and polishing!

8. Where do you get your ideas for your books?

I mentioned earlier that a dream inspired my first book, No Matter What. But the story is a little

different for the books in my Contemporary Romance Series (Real American Country).

I am a sucker for 90s Country music. Brantley Gilbert sings a song called Fall Into Me and one

line in the song says, “Fall When You’re Ready, babe…” One day the song came on the radio

and all of a sudden these two characters popped into my head and said, “Hey! This is our song!”

I pulled out my phone, started dictating a note to myself using voice-to-text, got home and

interpreted it the best I could.

The series took off from there. The characters we see in the background started pushing their

way to the foreground and the stories just kept coming!

9. What is your work schedule/routine when you write?

I am so blessed to be able to work from home as a full time wife, mom, author, and podcaster

(in that order). There isn’t a set schedule necessarily, but I do have writing as a daily task on

my planner. Some days that looks like book-related writing. Other days it’s blog posts or

podcast-related writing. If I’m in the throes of a project, I might find myself in “the zone” and

those are the days/weeks that the rest of the world becomes a blurry background. There is also

a really good chance my daughter and husband are fending for themselves and we’re living out

of laundry baskets for a week or two. But we have a great team ethic in our home so grace is

always given when needed!

10. Do bits of yourself/friends show up in your characters?

Not on purpose! Authors can’t help but write from what they know, but I never intentionally

write characters based on real people!

A funny story from my first book, No Matter What: One of the main male characters (Bryan) is a

cybersecurity guy in the Army. My husband (Rob) is also a cybersecurity guy (not in the Army).

That’s really where the similarities end. As Rob is making the way through the book he asks me

while feeling flattered if I’ve based Bryan on him. I just smiled nervously and said, “Not really…”

So a few days later he comes to me and says, “Well, now I’m glad you didn’t base Bryan on

me!”

You see, Bryan didn’t fare well in the book.

I guess that could provide some advice for anyone who is friends with an author. Be careful,

you could end up as inspiration for a character! It’s not always the best thing!

About the Author

I’m Jennifer Carr. I’m a wife, homeschooling mom, baker, part-time farmer, social media addict, and an avid reader. I’m a lover of coffee, music, learning, animals, and writing.

I have a degree in Psychology, a Master’s in Marriage & Family Counseling, and certifications in Life Coaching, Health and Wellness Coaching, and am a certified Brain Health Professional. I also taught high school AP Psychology for several years.

I’ve always loved writing. Complete transparency alert – I never set out to become an author. I know, that probably sounds unlikely considering, but it’s true. I sat down one day and decided I wanted to write a story because I needed to know how a dream I’d awoken from ended. It snowballed and turned into chapters and eventually into an entire book. When I finished that book, I needed to make sure my characters were OK and thriving so I wrote the second book.

It was at that point I realized that being an author was something I could see myself doing for a really long time. So, I’m still writing and loving every minute of it. When I’m not writing, there’s a good chance I’m reading and drinking coffee!

More from Jennifer

Wrapped Up in You is book two of the Real American Country Series. But don’t worry, it can definitely be read as a standalone! The series follows a reality television country music competition and some of the contestants as they pursue their dreams of becoming country music recording artists. This book follows the story of Nash Montgomery and Cassidy Raye Stanton as they each navigate the pressures of the spotlight. They’ll each have to decide if they’re chasing their own dreams—or someone else’s. And along the way, they’ll discover that getting wrapped up in the right person can bring out the best in themselves.

Wrapped Up in You is a heartwarming tale about breaking free from the expectations of others, finding love, and discovering that the best path is the one you create for yourself.

One of my favorite things about writing this series is coming up with custom playlists for each book. If you love country music or just want to see what all the fuss is about, here’s the playlist that goes along with Wrapped Up in You: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2hXjkRFytj9tPFpitHRdEf?si=d0209225ac1f41e0