MUSE MONDAY
Please welcome my guest, Jessi Gage, to Muse Monday.
I’m so excited to be on Discover Yourself today! Thank you
for having me, Brenda.
Let’s talk inspiration and fear, two things you don’t
usually think about putting together.
Inspiration comes from many places. Happy places, curious
places, surprising place, dark places… Can inspiration comes from fear? Should
an author ever use her writing to explore her own limitations and issues?
I did when I wrote my new contemporary romance, Reckless. But I hope I did it in a way
that entertains and inspires.
The best writing digs deep into character. We authors go
about that in a variety of ways. We interview people, we read biographies, we
spend time putting ourselves in the heads of our characters. Sometimes, the
best writing happens when a writer injects a bit of herself.
I did this with my heroine, Cami. My own fear of merging on
the freeways is manageable, but when I wrote Cami, I gave her that particular
fear in spades. Then I let the worst possible thing happen to her, a traffic
accident. Through forcing my character to face her worst nightmare and letting
her overcome it (and even find love in the process), I was able to place my own
fears in perspective. It was therapeutic, in a way.
Through writing Cami, I learned some new things about
myself, like maybe that the root of my fears regarding driving are related to
my fears of letting people down. I worry that as a driver, I’m slower than I
should be. I put others out by taking too long to make a decision. I slow
others down. I get in their way. It was liberating to examine these fears in
detail through the eyes and emotions of someone else. I actually see myself
thinking more rationally in tense situations on the road.
More importantly though, I hope I’ve written a character
that touches the hearts of my readers. Cami is a sweetheart who has something
bad happen to her because someone else (my hero, Derek), acted aggressively
behind the wheel. Not only does she have her own issues to deal with, but she
has to grapple with whether or not she will forgive the man who hurt her.
Here’s the blurb for Reckless:
Sometimes it takes a miracle to find forgiveness.
Divorced
construction worker Derek has anger management issues. Acting rashly on the
freeway, he causes an accident. His truck escapes unscathed, but he can’t say
the same for his conscience. Visions of the wreck haunt his dreams, but they’re
always followed by the sweet caresses and soothing words of a beautiful woman
who calls to everything male in him.
Cami
assumes she is dead. With no memory of her past, all she knows is endless fog
and the occasional visit to a darkened bedroom where she comforts a man
battling nightmares. When she wakes in a hospital bed and regains her memory,
she assumes the ruggedly handsome Derek was no more than a figment of her
concussed mind.
As Cami
recovers, she learns that Derek is not only real but also the driver charged
with causing her accident. She should be furious with him, but their
inexplicable nights together showed her a tender side beneath his rough
exterior. Will she let one reckless mistake drive them apart, or will
forgiveness have the right of way?
Buy Links: |
Thanks for reading! And thanks again, Brenda, for having me.
Anyone who wants can stop by my website
for a chance to win another of my new releases THE WOLF AND THE HIGHLANDER and
an Amazon gift card. For an extra point in the giveaway, leave a comment
letting me know what fear or issue you have that you would like to read about
through a character’s perspective.
Jessi’s Bio:
Jessi lives with her husband and children in the Seattle
area. She’s a passionate reader of all genres of romance, especially anything
involving the paranormal. Ghosts, demons, vampires, witches, weres,
faeries...you name it, she’ll read it. As for writing, she's sticking to
Highlanders and contemporaries with a paranormal twist (for now). The last time
she imagined a world without romance novels, her husband found her crouched in
the corner, rocking.
Jessi’s Links:
I found the premise of this book to be completely original and loved reading every moment of it. Way to go, Jessi! Can't wait to read your most recent one. :-)
ReplyDeleteAww, thanks, Kitt! Thanks for stopping by!
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