Two Sides of a Damaged Coin

One of my favorite things to do in my books is to make readers dislike a character, then make them change their minds. I succeeded with Wade in True Blue Forever, and I did it again in Different Roads with the guy Jaycee meets when she gets to college. He's a poor little rich boy named Bud Stanton who thinks—not unreasonably—that he is God's gift to womankind. Not only is he arrogant and spoiled, he drowns his sorrows in whiskey the same as Jaycee's abusive father.

He's everything she despises, and she wants him more than anything.

So why does Jaycee abandon a good-hearted guy like Cole for an asshole like Bud? The next couple of Sundays will be devoted to showing you, because there's no way I can do it in just six sentences!

This scene takes place early in their relationship, when they fight as frequently and as physically as they make love.

“You think this is some kind of game, Bud? That it’s funny to act like a lunatic and accuse me of being a whore, because I got enough of that from my father to last me a lifetime.”

“For God’s sake, Jaycee, just punch me. I’m a crazy, jealous asshole and you should bash my face in, but don’t leave me.” He closed his eyes and braced himself for a blow.

Jesus, he was a little boy afraid of being abandoned, and they were so much alike that it was scary.

You can buy your own copy of Different Roads here. Please also check out the other Six Sentencers, especially my friends Angela Quarles and Stephanie Lawton.

~Stay true to yourself and your dreams will come true!

First Loves Who Get Lost

Last Sunday I introduced you to Jaycee, the heroine in my second novel, Different Roads. This week I want you to meet Cole McGee, the first and only boyfriend she has in high school. This scene takes place right after Jaycee finds out that Cole won't go to college with her because his parents expect him to run the little diner that's been in their family for generations.

How could she have been so stupid as to think he was hers and that he loved her? She was glad to be done with it so she could focus on college and her career, because those were the important things—the things that would get her everything she’d always wanted. The things that would finally make her daddy glad she was his daughter.

And at least she hadn’t made a fool of herself and told Cole that she loved him, or that he was the best thing she’d ever had in her life, or that the only place she’d ever felt she could be herself was in his arms. And that when he was holding her, she almost believed she was just as good as all the girls with real parents who loved them.

Jaycee curled herself into a ball and cried until she ran out of tears and her heart was numb again, the way it had been before Cole had shown her how to love.

You can buy your own copy of Different Roads here. Please also check out the other Six Sentencers, especially my friends Angela Quarles and Stephanie Lawton.

~Stay true to yourself and your dreams will come true!

A Hellion of a Heroine

I want to make it clear that I had a happy childhood with two loving parents, so I have no idea why an abused, motherless little girl named Jaycee chose to take up residence in my head and demand that I tell her story. But if you read my second novel Different Roads, you'll understand why I couldn't ignore her.

The video above does a pretty good job of describing Jaycee's story, but I chose six sentences to illustrate a little more of what made her grow up to be such a hellion and sent her down the road that ultimately saved her. This scene takes place while Jaycee is still in high school, and she forgets to leave on a light so she won't come home to a dark house.

And once again I'm extremely grateful that I've always liked exceptionally long sentences!

She counted to ten, then she turned the knob and pushed open the door in one swift motion, running with her eyes closed after all. She’d thought she knew the exact location of every piece of worn-out furniture in the living room, but she forgot the gym bag she’d left in front of the couch and tripped over it at a full run, ending up sprawled in the middle of the floor with the breath knocked out of her.

Heedless of the pain in her chest and lungs, she scrambled across the floor on her hands and knees, the nightmare returning in a vivid rush. She couldn’t see anything, but she knew something horrible was there, hurting her with its monster hands as it got ready to eat her at any second. She curled herself into a ball and sobbed in terror and desolation, a six year old once again with no one to comfort her, wishing with all her might that her daddy would come and save her.

But he didn’t come, and Jaycee stayed that way until the room filled with the gray light of dawn.

"Hope Chest," the short story mentioned in the video, can be found here, and you can buy Different Roads here. Please also check out the other Six Sentencers, especially my BFF Lee Ann Ward.

~Stay true to yourself and your dreams will come true!

When Antagonists Attack . . . Your Heart

Today's six introduces the third of the three boys who fell in love with Jeana. Wade Strickland--the boy who gave Jeana her first kiss when they were eleven years old, and the boy who broke her heart.

I originally had no intention of Wade being anything but the antagonist in the story, since he hates Mickey and resents Billy Joe and tends to solve his problems with his fists. But he grew on me as I wrote, and he's one of my favorite characters.

This scene takes place when Jeana and the boys are seniors. Wade and his best friend Jimbo are sitting in Wade's Corvette parked on the bank of Chickasabogue Creek. Jimbo is the only one who knows that Wade loves Jeana, and he finally gets up the nerve to ask Wade why he can't forget Jeana since he has so many other girls crazy for him.

Wade stared at the water through the windshield and didn’t say anything for a long time. Jimbo wasn’t about to push him and had decided he wasn’t going to get an answer when he heard a heavy sigh on the other side of the car.

“Every tackle, every catch, every damn step I took on the football field was for her, but you know who she thought was hot stuff, Jimbo? A scrawny kid whose biggest claim to fame was doing handstands in the pool and whistling with his fingers. She’s the best thing I ever had in my life, and the only time I ever felt even close to being a hero was because of the way she looked at me. I’ve loved her since we were kids, and I’m never gonna stop.”

Okay, which of these three boys do you think Jeana ends up with? Tough choice, huh? To find out, get your copy of True Blue Forever here. Please also check out the other Six Sentencers here, especially my BFF Lee Ann Ward.

~Stay true to yourself and your dreams will come true!