Author Interview1. Who is your favorite character?
My main character, Anne.
2. Why is he/she your favorite?
Anne is the classic doormat, living her life for others and letting life happen to her. She dreads answering the phone because she knows someone else is going to ask her to do something she doesn’t want to do. She’s not really living, just surviving. She spends time thinking about her past instead of living in the present.
I’ve been where Anne is. I think a lot of women have. One of the fun parts of writing the book is getting Anne to a place where she’s in control of her life and enjoying it.
3. How did you come to create him/her?
A few years ago, I read Jane Austen’s Persuasion for the first time. Then I read it again, then again, then again. I was totally obsessed. It just seemed natural to bring Austen’s Anne Elliot--with her money problems, marriage fears, and crazy family relationships—into the modern world.
From the start, I had a really strong image of Anne running her very first garage sale because her father was in over his head in debt. I saw her wearing sloppy clothes without any make-up on. Of course, that’s when she runs into her ex-fiancé for the first time in eight years.
4. Where was he/she given life in the creative process?
My first draft was written in the third person, but I decided to do the second draft in first person. When I let Anne tell her own story, her voice really came through and she came alive for me.
5. What do you like the most about him/her and what do you dislike the most about him/her?
I like that Anne is really compassionate and calm. What I don’t like is that she’s so afraid to take any risks and lets her negative inner voice dictate her choices.
Book Summary
When Anne broke off her engagement seven years ago, she thought she’d never see Neil Wentworth again. But when Neil’s brother buys the house she grew up in, it seems fate has other plans in store. Anne is unprepared for the roller coaster of emotions that come when Neil returns and starts dating her younger friend.
Convinced that Neil could no longer have strong feelings for her, Anne pushes away all thoughts of the past. But when the handsome man she’s been dating decides he can’t live without her, Anne must come to terms with her past.
Fans of Jane Austen’s Persuasion will enjoy this modern version of her most romantic story.
Price: $15.99
Number of pages: 240 pages
Genre: Romance
Publisher: Bonneville Books (Cedar Fort)
Release Date: Feb 7, 2012
To buy: http://www.amazon.com/Persuasion-Latter-day-Rebecca-H-Jamison/dp/1599559471/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1326255452&sr=8-1
Author BioRebecca Jamison met her husband on a blind date. His first words to her were, "Do you want to get together and play spin the bottle?"(He was trying to avoid another bad blind date, but she went out with him anyway.) Rebecca grew up in Vienna, Virginia. She attended Brigham Young University, earning a BA and MA in English. In between college and grad school, she served a mission to Portugal and the Cape Verde islands. Rebecca and her husband have six children. She enjoys running, dancing, making jewelry, reading, and watching chick flicks. You can learn more about her at www.rebeccahjamison.com
Connect with Rebecca:
Blog: www.rebeccahjamison.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/#!/RebeccaHJamison
Youtube book trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKgM9tuCzSo
Came upon this post, appearing the same day on The Character Connection as my own. I am also a long-time enthusiastic reader of Jane Austen, and your novel, Rebecca, sounds like a very good exploration of the "doormat" syndrome experienced at some point in our lives by so many of us. Must read it.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you, Dorothy. I think Jane Austen fans are going to love Rebecca's book.
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