WIPlash Wednesdays- Question from Joey R.

We're always attracted to the edges of what we are, out by the edges where it's a little raw and nervy.

~E.L. Doctorow~

Joey R.- Do you sometimes use actual events or things that has happened to you or people you know in your work?

Not really, but I do draw from life. Though I write romantic fiction, it is based in reality, so there are certainly bound to be topics or ideas that I've taken from the life around me, though I haven't written anything directly that could be tied to one event or person, or even myself specifically, because I take bits and pieces of knowledge, common sense, experience and mesh it together. They say, "write what you know" and I do, but not always the way you would think.

Any events in my novels are the indirect result of living and paying attention to my emotions, my situations as well as being observant of what others have gone through or are going through. There are a lot of things that are just common ground for all of us.

Most people have had their hearts broken by someone they love. Most everyone has lost a loved one or known someone in a bad relationship. Some have been abused, neglected, mistreated, or felt that way. Illness can strike anyone whether it's mental, emotional or physical and that includes things like bad habits, addictions, quirks and behaviors.

We are results of our environment and experience and subject to a plethora of things- accidents, deaths, debilitating disease, job loss, running into an ex at the grocery store. It's all happening around us, all the time, so I have a vast world of ideas at my fingertips. We're all also very adaptable, whether we like change or not, and we also all have a singular goal in common for the majority of our lives and that is to seek out love, regardless of where it comes from- parents, siblings, relatives, friends, acquaintances, lovers.
I draw from all that because I know it is the human condition, our compulsion, to seek love and approval through our work, our hobbies, our relationships and in most everything we do. Even my fictional characters need to be real, believable, fallible. They have quirks, mixtures of my own loved ones' idiosyncrasies, emotional outbursts, hidden sorrows, broken hearts and life experiences and that never-ending need to be loved, find joy and live happy, just like we all do.

Truth is, though that by the time they come to life on the page, I find it easily conceivable to believe they are living people who's situations are just as real to me as anything else I've ever seen or experienced myself.

Thanks for the question Joey!

If anyone else has a question, feel free to ask, leave a comment.

Feel free to leave me more questions in the comments here at anytime.
I'll be happy to answer them.

Happy Hump Day! I can see the weekend from here!

SCENTsational Saturdays- Time Runs Wild...

Tribe....A Fragrance Uprising...

(Top notes are green notes, mandarin orange, raspberry, peach, apple, bergamot and lemon; middle notes are cyclamen, jasmine, lily-of-the-valley and rose; base notes are sandalwood, amber, musk, oakmoss and cedar.)

Today is my 37th birthday and today for SCENTsational Saturdays I'll wax poetic about one of my favorite scents of my youth, and a favorite movie from back in the day.

It's becoming more and more clear to me that most of my favorite perfumes were put out by Coty and I always lean toward those with Oriental tones. I was 16 the year Tribe was launched in 1991 and I used to run through bottles of this stuff like a marathon runner goes through water. I couldn't get enough. You see, I go nuts over fragrances the way some women do over shoes. Or purses. Or jewelry. (I'm the same about nail polish.)

This fragrance always made me feel youthful, free spirited and more extroverted than I normally was. I was a wallflower most the time, but I balanced it with my wild child nail polish colors and different boisterous perfumes. Oh, and my kooky earrings. (If you remember Calliope from Days of Our Lives, you know how kooky her earrings were and I had a whole jewelry box full.)

Tribe though, was right up there with Exclamation! and Electric Youth on the list of scents that made me feel totally different from my shy-violet self. Needless to say, Tribe is no longer on the market, but if it was- I'd rush out and buy a bottle (or two) right now.

And for a little musical entertainment- another little something from my youth. From the Dream a Little Dream soundtrack, starring Corey Feldman, Meredith Salenger, ♥Corey Haim♥, Piper Laurie, Jason Robards, and Harry Dean Stanton-

Time Runs Wild by Danny Wilde


This song, along with the Tribe scent, lift me back in time and reminds me that it does run wild and it gets away from us. I'm older, but not necessarily wiser (thought I sure hope I am! LOL)

What's the plan for the big old 3-7 today? Not much of anything. Maybe dinner out with hubby. Not even sure I want anything fancy, just a quiet day and maybe a few good hours of writing.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Fun Friday Feature- Rescue Me by Jennifer Johnson

Here's another book for your reading pleasure. I'm reading this one ATM.

(click above image to go to Amazon)

Sitting in front of her parents’ house in a U-Haul truck at midnight, Amy Mann decides it’s time to break it to them that she’s divorced from her husband and moving back home with her seven-year-old son, Toby. As Amy settles into her hometown, she has a plan to get out of debt, get her college degree, and put her life together.

Enter Captain Riley Pennimon, local firefighter and superhero to Amy’s son. Riley is kind, brave, and civic-minded. The captain does not fit into Amy’s putting-her-life-together plan, and yet he is way too good looking without a shirt. Much to Amy’s chagrin, Toby decides that Riley is just what they need for a happily-ever-after.

But, can Amy make peace with the demons of her mistakes and let the captain rescue her? And…can Riley let go of the pain of his past and grab onto the family he’s always wanted?
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From reviews:

Chock-full of Southern wit and wisdom, quirky characters who tell it like it is.

Dialogue and quirky humor make Rescue Me a highly entertaining read!

Dialogue is fun and the story entertaining with conflict and a warm romance.

You can follow Jennifer on Twitter @BooksByJennifer or check out her blog This is the Life!