For today's blog, I'm featuring a tall glass of Southern Comfort by the name of Jonah Riley.
Confession: I don't like to do people on the covers of my books. I would go so far as to say I have a bias against it when I myself am browsing for books to read. Personally I find it intrusive. When I read a book, part of the experience is conjuring up what these people and places look like. Every single book is different in that way, just based on the perspective of whoever is reading it. That's the beauty of imagination, and I never want to interfere that egregiously with the process.
And even if I did like it, the worst part of it is that I can never, ever find anyone who matches the person I, as the creator, see in my head. There are times that I'll use actors as physical prototypes, mentally casting them so I can watch them act out the scenes for me and bring them to life. And so finding someone to use on a cover is always a bit of a let down, particularly when most of my heroines are NOT the women typically photographed in heated embraces. Unless I have thousands of dollars to spend on specific models, which, sadly, I don't, then I usually have to rely on stock photos and my own skills as an intermediate graphic artist. (Trivia time: I design all my own covers.) Finding larger women, particularly white women, in these photos, being all fierce and sexy, is a bit of a challenge.
Finding men is even trickier, because I am picky when it comes to what makes a man "hot." Despite what many men think about the "desperate" nature of a fat girl, I'm not that easily impressed. If ten good-looking men walked into a room, odds are maybe one of them would make me look twice. They have to have a certain... something, and it usually goes way beyond what someone looks like on the outside. I've gone through thousands of photos and maybe saved a tenth of them, if that. Some I haven't used because other folks have used them first, but inevitably they cross over because that's the way it goes with stock photos, and you have to tread carefully.
That being said, I write in a genre that many times puts people on the cover. So I have begrudgingly dipped my toe in that pool a time or two. (The original Groupie and Fierce series did not have people on the cover, the new ones do.) Because of this, I typically try to find the people FIRST now, for promotional material if nothing else, and then build the story around them. It just saves time.
With my SOUTHERN ROCKER TRILOGY, I found Lacy first. In fact, I found her looking for someone else and just saved her so that I could write about her some day. The picture was that provocative to me.
The minute I saw her, I saw a rock star in the making, one with toughness and edge. I've never written that kind of heroine before and I was ready to jump in. I ended up creating Jonah before I ever found a model that fit what I wanted to do with this character. All I knew is that he had tawny eyes, because that sounded really sexy to me. I began my search high and low, and finally I happened upon this little hottie...
It's because of him Jonah eventually grows a beard. The reason he didn't have it in the first place? I didn't have the photo yet. (Which is why the model on book one has his back turned.)
Jonah is a sexy southern boy from the great state of Texas. I know a bit about those kind of men considering I was born and raised there. I had an idea of what would make him the kind of man I always wanted to meet. He had manners, of course. He loved his family. He was smooth, like fine aged whiskey. He knew how to two-step and could fill out a pair of skin-tight Wranglers like nobody's business. He could ride a horse as easily as strum a guitar, and all he ever wanted was to make an honest living to take care of the people he loved.
He loved women and women loved him, but he had a code. He wasn't going to lead anyone on and he wasn't ever going to say "I love you" unless he had met The One. Such a declaration was a promise he knew he couldn't break. This ladies' man wasn't a heart-breaker if he could help it.
He would need to be strong, because a really strong woman needs a really strong man. And Lacy is full of piss and vinegar. She has no use for men. She is single-minded in her pursuit of a lifelong dream - to be a singer.
Jonah decides if that's one way he can get closer to her, he'd be a singer too.
Just like that, my Southern Rockers were born.
Because of their personalities, I decided to write this trilogy a little differently. I wrote my first book from a male POV in SOUTHERN ROCKER BOY, where you get to know Jonah first. You get inside his head. You know what he's thinking, but Lacy remains a frustrating mystery. In SOUTHERN ROCKER CHICK, it's all Lacy's POV, where you learn why she does the things she does. Both of these books end at the same moment in time, which is where SOUTHERN ROCKER SHOWDOWN picks up. This book, written in third person, encompasses ALL of the people you've met in the first two books, so if you haven't read both books, you might be a little lost. Not a lot, but maybe a smidge.
Sadly, more people have read SOUTHERN ROCKER BOY than SOUTHERN ROCKER CHICK. I think that is because people are afraid of reading the same story twice. I can guarantee you that isn't the case here. Whereas Jonah's story picks up right around the time these two meet, Lacy's story starts years before, way back when she was a twelve-year-old girl. SOUTHERN ROCKER CHICK covers ten years, and is more the kind of book I read growing up. It wasn't just about one couple as much as it was about one person's life. In her story, Jonah is a mystery, someone she has to figure out if she can trust after a lifetime of being let down by any man who claimed to love her.
Because of this critical backstory, Jonah doesn't come in until about the last third, which is where the two stories overlap. Scenes and dialogue are repeated, but with a shift of perspective. This was an interesting exercise in what is said versus what is heard/understood. Much of our human interaction involves those things we DON'T say, and many times we can get things wrong when we don't openly communicate. The Lacy you meet in Jonah's story is vastly different than the Lacy you meet in her story, simply because you're in her head, not his. Likewise, the Jonah you meet in Lacy's story is a bit more mysterious than the guy in SOUTHERN ROCKER BOY. They don't know the true motivations behind a stranger's smile, so they have to fill it in with their particular history. Essentially, though, it is only half the story, shaded and guided by each individual's unique perspective.
With this trilogy, I wanted to explore what that old saying meant about three sides to every story; his side, her side and the cold hard truth.
Unfortunately most people have skipped her side altogether, which makes me sad for her. I would have never written this saga without her motivating me to do so, and her story was so much fun to write because it covered so much ground I never really get to cover, like being in the brain of an adolescent girl, or young lady on the brink of womanhood. Critical events in those vulnerable times can (and did) change everything.
Oh, and did I mention that Vanni will show up in that backstory, which coincided on the timeline as the same time he happened to be visiting Austin in Groupie? He actually is a pretty big catalyst in Lacy's life, and not necessarily in a good way.
But I mean I get it. Jonah is compelling. He was fun to write, although it was odd being inside the man's head for a change. He's one of my "Good Guys" though, so it was a pretty safe place to roam. The Douche Bags are always more fun to peel back layer by layer. With my Good Guys, I can dive in the deep end. I know they won't disappoint.
I love Jonah for a variety of reasons. He's the kind of man I wanted to raise my sons to be, and pretty much did. He's got the code of honor of my son Tim, and the easy laid back nature of my son Jeremiah. He's out to have a good time but he's not out to use people or hurt people. He actually values women, starting with his own mother and sister. You want to talk about swoon-worthy, check out this scene with his sister, who suffers from Cystic Fibrosis.
Again, we heard Leah coughing. “I’ve got it,” I said before lumbering down the darkened hallway to my sister’s sunny yellow room. It had been painted to replicate the outside world she had loved so much. Since she had been sick so much in her childhood, she wasn’t able to enjoy the outdoors as much as she wanted. So Daddy brought a little bit of sunshine indoors for her, hoping it would boost her spirits and keep her well. I rushed to her side as she hacked and sputtered. “I’m here,” I said softly and her bloodshot eyes met mine. She couldn’t say a word, but conveyed her gratitude with the squeeze of my hand.
“Sing to me,” she croaked, and of course I complied. How could I not? Her eyes were as clear as a blue summer day, and her long brown hair tangled in two pigtails, resting on her sweaty nightgown stained with sputum. She was like a stained glass window, scratched and cracked, but beautiful and priceless. Wordlessly I reached under her bed and fetched my guitar. It was the most logical place to keep it, considering I never sang or played anywhere else.
Leah was my audience of one.
I picked one of her favorites. Somewhere Over the Rainbow had been a sentimental favorite for my little sister from the first time she watched The Wizard of Oz. She was three when she first became enchanted with wizards and cowardly lions and flying monkeys, and I had sung that song to her every week since.
She leaned against her propped pillows as I sang softly. I knew she wanted to join in so badly, but she could barely breathe, much less whisper. She mouthed the words as I lent her my voice. After the last note faded, her hand touched mine.
“Love you,” her voice strangled to say before trailing off. Instead she made a heart with her hands, resting it on her heaving chest as she gave me a brave smile. The littlest Riley, the strongest fighter of us all.
That's the kind of man Jonah is. Just like Graham Baxter who came before him (and who shows up in his story too, by the way,) Jonah is a bit of a white knight. Not so surprisingly, this is how he first meets our lovely heroine, right when she needs someone the most.
I headed out to my truck by ten-thirty. Before I could turn the key, I spotted someone across the parking lot kicking and screaming at a POS special with its hood up.
That someone was wearing ripped blue jeans and a hoodie.
I started the truck and drove slowly over to her section of the darkened, mostly abandoned parking lot. Most of the crowd, including those who were giving her the most grief, were all inside getting their buzz on, listening to the next act.
I rolled down my window as I got to her. “Having trouble?”
She whirled around to glare at me. When she saw my face she rolled her eyes. “I’m fine,” she said as she turned around to the stalled vehicle.
I stopped the truck and slid out. “You may be fine but your car is on its last leg.” I glanced down at the engine, which looked to be about a hundred years old. “Let me give you a ride.”
She glanced me over with disdain. “Yeah, no thanks.”
“Fine, then how about a jump?”
“How about get lost?” she snapped. “Go play Boy Scout somewhere else.”
She was clearly pissed, but I would have been too after what happened after her gig. “I’m just trying to help.”
“I don’t need your help,” she spat.
“Look, I know it’s been a rough night…,” I started but she whirled around, a tiny, fiery bundle of fury.
“Do you understand English? Get lost!”
My blood started to boil. “Fine! Stay here all night. See if I care.” I turned toward the truck, but before I got to the driver’s side I stopped myself. She wasn’t angry with me, I tried to remind myself. I couldn’t very well leave her there, not with all the aggressive drunks who had tried to get at her in the club. They wouldn’t stop at no, and that was no kind of guy to run into in a dark parking lot. I took a deep breath before I turned back and walked over to the car.
Her eyes widened as I approached. “What the fuck are you doing?”
“I’m helping you,” I told her before I circled her waist with my hands and lifted her away from her car so I could figure out what was wrong with it. “Too bad you’re too damned stubborn to see that.”
“Fuck you!” she spat, hissing at me like an angry cat.
I ignored her as I fiddled with the engine. I sidestepped her to climb inside and turn the key. Nothing. I got out, rounding to the front of the car to test the connections. Despite the ancient car, the battery was new. I retrieved my tools from my truck and within a minute her car fired to life. She stood staring at me, stupefied.
“Connection was loose,” I told her as I put my tools back in the box. “Shouldn’t give you any more trouble.”
I put the tool box back in the bed of the truck before I hopped in the cab and gunned my own engine. She walked, reluctantly, to my window. “Thank you,” she managed.
I looked her in those big doe eyes, which were a lot more contrite than angry. “You’re welcome.”
“I’d offer you money, but…,” she trailed off, looking embarrassed.
I held her gaze for just a minute longer before I said, “Don’t worry about it. Finding out you are a woman and not just a feral cat was payment enough.”
I left her sputtering behind me as I squealed out of the parking lot.
Needless to say there's a LOT of heat between these two. They're both struggling to keep control and you know what I already told you about power being sexy. It's a struggle from the beginning with these two, and it gets pretty intense...
Lacy doesn't make it easy for him, but Jonah's no quitter. He'll fight all the way to the bitter end, for love, for family and for the honor of being a true southern gentleman.
As for who I would cast, I have no idea. It was hard enough to find the photo.
But here's their song... let your imagination fill in the rest.
For a limited time only, I have put the SOUTHERN ROCKER TRILOGY in the Kindle Unlimited program, so that means you get to read all three for free. For today only, SOUTHERN ROCKER GIRL is free for EVERYONE, so get your copy and give it a read. It's definitely not some rehash of another book. Hopefully you'll come to love Lacy as much as I did when I fell for her photo.
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