Gwen Jones is a New Jersey-based writer who works as a mentor and instructor in Western Connecticut State University’s Master in Creative and Professional Writing program. She's also a Professor of English at Mercer County College, in West Windsor, NJ, and Vice President of the tri-state writers’ organization, Liberty State Fiction Writers.
When she's not helping to shape the next generation of authors, she's penning her own contemporary romance novels. If you like sexy modern-day rom-coms with lots of tropey goodness and billionaire heroes, then these reads are for you! For Jones fans, here are some other recommendations.
Wanted: Wife
Andy Devine wants a wife. Dating is hard and too messy, so he decides to cut out all the nonsensical riff-raff and cut to the point by posting ads for a spouse on lampposts and poles around the city. "Wanted: Wife. Landed, financially secure 40-yr-old male seeks healthy, athletic female for marriage and family."
Julie Knott sees the ads and is immediately intrigued. She's not in the market for a new partner, especially since she's still dealing with the fallout from her cheating fiancé who had the audacity to tweet their breakup out to the world. As a TV reporter, this man in want of a wife seems like the ideal story for her to get her mind off herself. But Andy is far more intriguing than even the ads suggested, and soon she's wondering if maybe he's exactly what she's looking for. Now she has got to choose: get the story — or become it. What could possibly go wrong?
Kiss Me, Captain
French billionaire Marcel Mercier is a seasoned womanizer. He's left a string of broken hearts across multiple continents. As the CEO of Mercier Shipping, he's got more important things to worry about than love, including why the American charter company he just purchased is now in the midst of a media firestorm.
Now that big, bad Mercier Shipping owns Captain Dani Lloyd's ship, she's sure she's about to lose her job. She'll do anything to keep it, like chain herself to the mast of her beloved ship and refuse to move until her demands are met. It's a PR nightmare for Marcel, so he heads on-board the Esther Reed to resolve the situation. He knows no woman can resist him for that long, but Dani is a far tougher nut to crack. Soon, sparks fly between the arrogant playboy and the fiery captain...
The Laws of Seduction
Rex Renaud is a legendary millionaire playboy and COO of Mercier Shipping, but things have taken a dark turn lately. He's been arrested for a crime he didn't commit, and with the world against him, he'll need a miracle to clear his name. Enter Charlotte Andreko, a brilliant lawyer who is usually on the side against rich brats like Rex.
Normally, she'd rather let him rot in jail than defend him in court, but when he offers her a shocking sum of money in exchange for her legal counsel, the financial security is too tempting to resist. Rex is released on one condition: he must stay with his lawyer until his arraignment. It's awkward enough, what with their bubbling chemistry, but when when a bomb threat sends Rex and Charlotte on the run, the hunt for the truth clashes with their growing attractions.
Books for Fans of Gwen Jones
Not In A Billion Years
Blake Avery worked her way up from making videos in her bedroom to founding a booming fitness empire. Now she’s on the cusp of realizing her wildest dreams, and she’s not going to let anyone stand in her way. The only problem? Gabriel Mercer. He's one of the biggest names in the fitness world and is used to getting his way, both professionally and personally. Sure, he's handsome, but he's also a spoiled rich boy who's used to having everything handed to him.
When Blake publicly criticizes Gabriel, she sparks a fight that neither entrepreneur is willing to back down from. The public loves their feud, and neither side wants to give up, but soon they discover that there's more to their dynamic than a business rivalry.
Lush Money: A Royalty Romance
Roxanne Medina is used to dealing with bullies. She's a Latina woman who worked her way to the top and became a legendary self-made billionaire. Now, she's an unimpeachable business legend, but life is lonely at the top. She wants to be a mother and she doesn't want to mess with the dating scene, not when she has so much at stake. So, why not make another deal?
Mateo Ferdinand Juan Carlos de Esperanza y Santos is one of the top winegrowers in the world, but he's struggling to keep his vineyard afloat. He needs money fast, but the deal offered to him by Roxanne—a marriage of convenience, three nights a month together, and a baby—is a surprise. He doesn't want to marry and father a child with a stranger, but his desire for Roxanne quickly overwhelms his mind.
Anyone But The Billionaire
Self-made mogul Chase Moore was all too happy to strike it out on his own and leave behind the expectations of his exceedingly wealthy and meddling family. But now, their billion-dollar department store empire is on the verge of collapsing and they need Chase to help save their fortunes.
Powerhouse marketing guru Campbell King has returned to her home state of Texas to launch her own company after a disastrous attempt to strike it out in New York. She needs a big break, and the chance to work with Chase Moore seems like it'll get the job done. She'll have to go back to New York, but it'll be worth it. What she doesn't expect is for her new boss to be so damn irresistible.
A Not So Meet Cute
Lottie is broke and desperate, which has led to her trawling a wealthy Beverly Hills neighborhood in search of a lonely billionaire in quick need of a girlfriend. She doesn't expect it to work, but then she bumps into Huxley. He's wealthy, handsome, and has lied to some important clients about his private life. They think he's got a fiancé, and a pregnant one at that! So, Hux asks Lottie to fake an engagement for a few days.
She'll get to live the high life, complete with parties and champagne and mansions, and he'll be able secure some important deals. It's all so ridiculous, a proud copy of Pretty Woman, that it just might work. As long as they don't actually fall for one another...