People in the plot

A little about the inhabitants of Where Love Grows Wild. I tried to give my characters some depth and development in this story, so you’d have a sense of who they really are as people. In my perfect world, they’ll come alive for you, as they have for me–and I’d love your feedback and insights on that.

Jess

Jessica Daniels is a composite of women I know, women I wish I knew…and a dose of myself. I worked in the best qualities of my girlfriends, (because they are incredible ladies) and yes, OK, I took a bit (or maybe more) of poetic license when it came to my own life. But a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta’ do, right?

Jess is tender, sensitive and smart, and knows her mind, but she’s still a woman, needing to love and be loved. I’ve portrayed her as steady and strong, head screwed on straight and eyes forward, but she’s torn, caught in a balancing act between being “a good daughter” and being over-the-moon in love with an arrogant, drifter cowboy her daddy has no use for.

Will

Jimmy Thomas as Will Bronco

And Will Bronco…well, he’s a sort of combination too. Rough around the edges maybe, ragged and flawed in many ways, but there’s a decency inside, and a powerful desire to outgrow his dark past. He had a rough start in life, one bad break after another, until the winds of fate and fortune left him at Jessica’s doorstep. I’ve known men like this—I think we all have. The pair’s combustible love and white-hot chemistry is exactly what I want for my life, that much is certain. You may recognize Will’s likeness on the cover as the real-life model, Jimmy Thomas.

Angelica

Now as to Angelica Shepard, the Malibu actress—She struggles mightily to contain her celebrity  and manage a private life. Every little thing she says or does is scrutinized and twisted in the tabloids, making normal relationships impossible. And maddeningly, most men, even the successful ones are intimidated by her money and stardom. Professionally, she’s at the very top of her game and the guys can’t handle it.  She’s envied and imitated and rich, and mobbed by fans everywhere. Somehow though, she holds on to the solid morals learned at her mama’s knee growing up poor on the badlands of Texas. But at the end of the day, Angie is lonely.

My heartfelt thanks…

To those who have written to me directly with your thoughts and ideas. I value them tremendously.

And—a very special thank you to Marina Adair, best-selling author of the Saint Helena Vineyard Series for her generosity and good advice. Take a peek at her work here. Books | Marina Adair

In my next entry, I’ll talk about the second book in-progress in the Christmas Valley Romance series, entitled, Raggedy Ann, MD.