Monday, January 9, 2012

What's Your Story?


Jean Gordon here, having an exciting month so far as a debut Love Inspired author. I’ve been to all of my local stores to see which ones have stocked Small-Town Sweethearts and put Local Author stickers on all of the copies. An unexpected perk of my “celebrity” was a photo of me holding my book in my day job's employee newsletter. It got me lots of congratulations and a common question from many of the well-wishers: Where do you find ideas for your stories. The short answer is everywhere.

I got the idea for Small-Town Sweethearts when a family member told me she liked her new church because the members were more standoffish and private. From that conversation, the story evolved: With the help of God and the love of Drew Stacey, a down-sized Wall Street analyst turned church camp manager, NYC assistant art director and former town misfit Emily, ne Jinx, Hazard finds the thing she wants most in the place she least wants to be — Paradox Lake. Through having to be responsible for her niece, interaction with the towns’ people, and falling in love with Drew, she learns the meaning of Christian fellowship.  

The idea for the book I’m just finishing came from my daughter. She’s gone back to graduate school to become a Nurse Practitioner/Midwife, and when she started she was concerned about finishing college herself before her daughter is old enough to go to college. She’ll make it by three and a half years. So, I have a 35-year-old single-father (Emily’s brother from Small-Town Sweethearts) who’s starting college himself now that his daughter is in college. He wants to recapture the life he lost by choosing to raise his now-college-age daughter alone. But a woman from the past, Anne Howard, and a precocious toddler interfere and show him that God has another plan for them all. I’m calling the book Small-Town Dad.

My very first book Bachelor Father from Avalon Books (which I expect to have out as an ebook this year) is very loosely based on a situation another adoptive family was facing when we were adopting our son from Korea. The Korean adoption agency limited adoptions to married couples. Sadly, the mother in a local adoption died of cancer before the adoption was finalized and the father was fighting to keep his child.

The idea for my second Avalon Book Love Undercover (which I also expect to have out as an ebook this year) came from an article the The Wall Street Journal that I read while doing research at work. The article was about a financial planner who was scamming elderly people. In my story, the hero is investigating a scam against his grandmother and the heroine appears to have been involved. 
 
So, what’s your story?

16 comments:

  1. Congrats, Jean, on your LI debut! I was in your shoes this past fall. There's nothing like going to the store and seeing your "baby" on the shelves for the first time. :) A very special moment. Enjoy yours!

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  2. Congrats Jean! I think midwives and nurse-practitioners are amazing people--I've worked with several over my life. Enjoy your debut...LI is a wonderful line.

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  3. Must go order now!!!!! Congrats.

    Peace, Julie

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  4. Congrats, Jean. I agree with Karen. There's nothing like the first book. I'm looking forward to reading it.

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  5. Jean, it's really interesting to see where you've gotten your story ideas!

    Congrats on your first LI!!

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  6. Great post Jean. And yes, ideas are all around us - all it takes is a single what if... in any situation to get the cretive juices flowing.

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  7. Congratulaions, Jean, on your Love Inspired debut! Enjoy every moment of this first book.

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  8. I love hearing how authors get ideas for their books. Congrats on your LI debut. I'll look for it next time I'm at the bookstore.

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  9. Congratulations Jean!!! Enjoy your debut!

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  10. Congrats on your debut novel, Jean. Welcome to the family. Enjoy your release. :)

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  11. I found it at my local Frys just an hour ago! I bought it and the Doctors Secret Son. They have such awesome covers.

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  12. Congrats on your LI debut and I too enjoy hearing how ideas for books come.

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  13. Thanks everyone! Pam, I agree that my cover is awesome. :) And, Allie, I hope to do a book with a midwife heroine.

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  14. Congratulations, Jean. We are shelf mates this month. I have seen your book right alongside mine in several stores.

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  15. Congrats, Jean! I always enjoy how writers get their ideas for a book! I imagine some come right away and others don't. I look forward to reading this one. Congrats on your LI debut!

    westernaz@msn.com

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  16. Merrillee,
    The grocery store only gets two of every title and I don't remember seeing yours (I spread what was there out as they double shelf them). I'll look again when I go since I go often.

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