Louise J has always been a daydreamer, but never
considered writing a novel until days before typing the first words to IF ONLY,
her debut. Joe and Callie (and Gerard) appeared in a dream and her mind has
never been her own since then. In the name of research, she has visited parts
of the world she never would have dreamed of, and, as a result, has gained some
of the most amazing memories. The rest of the time Louise J is trying to be a
good wife to the greatest husband she could ever have asked for, and an even
better mother to two amazing little girls.
The longer version...
My interest
in writing came about after I developed an infatuation with reading romance
novels. I adore playing witness to the journeys characters take. You know, the
ones who make you care about them? Love
them? The ones that become so real
to you the work of fiction becomes non-fiction in your wonderful imagination.
The getting caught up in everything from the first sighting, to the first kiss,
the naughty bits (when included), the first “I love you” moment, and, of course, the happily ever after that follows a not so easy journey.
Initially,
when the desire to write my own story arose it wasn’t for publishing purposes
or because I thought I’d even be able to do it, in fact, I didn’t think much
beyond wanting to give it a try. No, I didn’t grow up writing stories, or with
dreams of having a book one day, it was a sudden thing. (Though, I’ve always
been a massive daydreamer; something I can now justify doing)
Within days
of making this decision, unexpectedly, a song I love by Roger Sanchez called I Never
Knew inspired my first story. A few nights later, Joe and Callie invaded my
dream. This may sound a little cliché, but it’s the truth. A key moment between
the two characters played out, and when I woke, my memory of the dream was too
vivid to ignore; not only the occurrence, but their names, what they looked
like, their voices, Callie’s reaction to something Joe said to her. Everything
was so clear, even one of the secondary characters, Gerard, popped in. When I
started typing that very morning, hundreds of words appeared, as if by magic,
but not, and I haven’t stopped writing – literally.
I quickly
and completely fell for Joe and Callie, as well as their friends, and felt I
had to have others experience these people and the story they shared with me.
With that, If Only was truly born.
By completion of the first draft, two other stories were in progress and
several other characters were vying for my attention. The whole thing was (and
still is) insane!
This
journey is the most amazing and the scariest I’ve ever taken. So far ... no
regrets, just a lot less sleep and a lot more caffeine! ;)
