It’s an amazing feeling releasing a new book. Most readers could not comprehend the amount of work that bleeds into a novel from the beginning conception of the story to the final moment when you press the publishing button and release your work into the world. As I release A Lasting Harmony, I want to share a few of the reasons why I chose to write about the heroine Jade Carter ( Bestselling country music star) and her knight in shining armor, Jason Knight.
Inspiration
Every author shares a note of their life story when they write a book, and in a way, Jade Carter is the singer inside my soul that has always wanted to connect with the world on a more personal level. In my past, I’ve played Clarinet in a concert band, sung in a church choir, and even been a vocalist in a garage band. But, as a young girl, I stood at the screen door of my life and sang out to the world
I go out walkin, after midnight, out in the moonlight just like we used to do.
I’m always walkin, after midnight, searching for you….
I must have been all of four or five years old. My life was not idyllic. I was an abused child, living in a trailer court with a mother and father who did not love each other, and I wanted for love. So as my skies turned gloomy, I literally stood at the screen door, singing to the world. I wonder what my trailer park neighbors thought?
Patsy Cline
?w=300″ alt=”patsy-cline-after-midnight” width=”300″ height=”300″ />I didn’t have a relationship with my father when he passed away in April 2016, but I can thank him for one gift, the introduction of Patsy Cline into my life. He enjoyed a love for country music and one of his records had the song Walkin after Midnight included in the album. As I grew up, I never really formulated the same enjoyment for country music, but I really ‘loved’ this Patsy Cline artist, so this is why her music became a part of my life, and Jade’s singing act in the town of Harmony. It seemed appropriate that Mrs. Arbuckle, or Mrs. A as known to the residents of The Thurston Hotel, would also love Patsy’s music, songs that have a delicious sorrow woven into the lyrics. Sweet Dreams especially, marries Jade to her past, which ignites her inner conflict in A Lasting Harmony, as harmony is something Jade desperately wants as she fights to win over her past as well as her personal struggle with drug and alcohol addiction.
Why can’t she forget her past and start her life anew… Why can’t any of us?
Addiction
A Lasting Harmony attempts to portray the struggle of addiction as it relates to Jade Carter’s life. In writing this story, I was mindful of the artists that have lost their battle with drug and alcohol abuse. My novel is a contemporary romance, so I have attempted to write my story without going into any great discussion about addiction and its subsequent cost to society. However, it saddens me that our world continues to lose great talent.
The songs that artists were singing, the songs that they could still be singing, will never be written, nor heard, again… How sad is that?
Happily-Ever-After
The good news is that there’s a ‘knight’ who live in the town of Harmony, and he will provide the happily-ever-after, and ALasting Harmony, that Jade is searching for. A Lasting Harmony is available now!
Shelley, thanks for sharing the story of how you came to write this book. I’m looking forward to reading Jade’s story!
It was a fun story to write. I hope you enjoy it!