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Wednesday, May 5, 2021

Why Emma Doesn't Like Chocolate Chip Cookies

 

I’d started a different post when I received a note from a reader that sent me in a different direction. That ever happen to you? Start one idea and a better idea comes along?

Obsession

Anyway, the reader (and you’ll recognize yourself) wanted to know "how in the world Emma from Obsession couldn’t like chocolate chip cookies?" She thought everyone liked CC cookies. After I answered her, I…oh, do you want to know why Emma doesn’t like chocolate chip cookies, too? It’s because I don’t like them. I used to like them until I made a batch and ate every one of them right after they came out of the oven. Made me sick, therefore CC cookies no longer appeal to me.


Anyway, it got me to thinking about how many of my traits and/or experiences go into my books. Quite a few, actually.

Take my very first book, Shadows of the Past. In the storyline, there's a safe room where runaway slaves were hidden until they could be smuggled out through a tunnel to the caves near the Tennessee River and then up north. That came straight from a friend's home in Maine I visited a year before I wrote the book. The house had been built in the late 1700s as an inn and tavern. There were even holes from Redcoat bullets during the American Revolutionary War. 

Walking down the same stairs (with their original wood) made goosebumps on my arms. She showed me the room, no bigger than an 8'x8' and the tunnel that provided an escape route to the dock where a boat waited to take the escaped slaves to Canada. 

In Silence in the Dark, the opening scene came from a sad experience with a childhood friend who was killed. It was a unique way to honor her memory.  

Sometimes the stories didn't come from my experiences, but from something I'd always wanted to do. Like Justice Buried, set at the Pink Palace in Memphis. I spent so many Sunday afternoons there that the museum felt like a second home. The heroine, Kelsey Adams, is a rock climber, something I've always wanted to do, but never got the opportunity. Well, I lived my dream through Kelsey! And you know what? Rock climbing isn't on my bucket list any longer. :-)

Next time you read one of my books and wonder why the heroine does or doesn't do something, it just might be because it's a reflection of the author. 

If you have any questions or just want to make a comment, do so. I'm giving away a copy of Obsession to one randomly drawn questioner. Be sure to leave you contact information so I can contact you.

38 comments:

  1. Interesting! I love learning little tidbits about books and authors like this!

    dmandres5 at gmail dot com

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    1. I'm glad you found it interesting, Melissa. I'll try to do more posts like this. :-)

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  2. coramdeo540@gmail.com -I enjoy your books.

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  3. The same thing happened with me when I was a child except it was sweet potatoes. I ate so many that I got sick - and I've never eaten them again! ddwilliams13@gmail.com

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    1. Aww, Debbie, sweet potatoes are my favorite vegetable! But I understand the eating so many you get sick. :-/

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  4. I've often wondered if authors were writing from their own experiences.

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    1. Theresa, I think most authors do. Of course, I've never killed anyone... :-)

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  5. Interesting as I don’t like chocolate chip cookies either. Never have. Blessings

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    1. Hi Lucy. We seem to have something in common. :-)

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  6. I always wondered how much of an author lives go into a story.

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  7. Wow! I'm sorry those cookies made you sick. That's like someone not liking ice cream. I have a brother like that. Thanks for the tidbit. racheltirzah(at)gmail(dot)com

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  8. I love it! You know, I’m going to have to reread, “Shadows of the Past”. It’s been quite awhile since I read it. Sorry you don’t like CC cookies anymore.

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    1. Megsmom, I actually tried some last week to see...and no, I don't like them. Raisin oatmeal. Yes.

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  9. I haven't read this book yet...sounds very interesting! badawson16 at aol dot com

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  10. This is so very interesting, I love the sound of your books. Thank you for sharing this, I enjoyed reading it. Do your book characters talk to you, and if they do, have you had to change something in the story because of it? Have a Great week and stay safe. Thank you for the chance. aliciabhaney(at)sbcglobal(dot)net

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    1. Oh, yes, Alicia. My characters talk to me all the time...one even refused to be the villain and I had to switch to another character in one of my books...

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  11. Cool that you were able to see the original room and tunnel! wow... Connie hendryx.connie(at)gmail(dot)com

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    1. That was the neatest trip, Connie! To stay in a house that had been built in the late 1700s was a-maz-ing! And to see the bullet holes in the walls...

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  12. A fair question. It stands to reason that Emma would not like the cookies.

    marypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com

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  13. how interesting
    bn100candg at hotmail dot com

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  14. I enjoyed reading your post. It was very interesting.
    dianah7272@gmail.com

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  15. I had always wondered if you didn't put lots of your characteristics in your books. Shelia Hall sheliarha64(at)yahoo(dot)com

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    1. Yeah, Shelia, little bits and pieces of me show up in all my books. lol

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  16. Interesting. I don't like chocolate chips cookies either! and my grandmother's name is Emma.

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    1. Aww. I love the name Emma! And I get it about the cc cookies. lol

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  17. I always love learning about how authors write and add their personal experiences to their books! I'm going to check out Shadows of the Past as I don't think I've read it!

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  18. Thank you, Carolyn! I hope you enjoy Shadows of the Past!!

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  19. It's interesting to hear how pieces of you work their way into stories. My grandmother used to live in one of those old New England taverns - aren't they amazing?

    amybradsher at gmail dot com

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    1. They are amazing, Amy. This one was 2-story plus the basement where the kegs of ale were kept.

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  20. Pat, Your novels are fabulous! Enjoy your Mother's Day weekend.
    psalm103and138atgmaildotcom

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  21. Love it! So intriguing!!!
    kykla99ATgmailDOTcom

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