Guest Post: Characters with Jolene Perry

For me, a book almost ALWAYS starts with the characters. It’s my favorite thing :-DSo I thought I'd share what I loved about writing my people from The Summer I Found You
3 things I loved about writing Kate:
In ways she’s totally clueless. She’s a senior in high school with an older sister, a doctor for a father, and very little struggle in her life aside from her diabetes, which she handles horribly for most of the book.
Kate’s blurts of honesty were created when I wanted a contrast for Aidan and how the family never mentioned his obvious issue. It ended up being a lot of fun.
She’s scattered. She has a best friend and a sister, both of who are in need of help that she doesn’t really see right away. She’s falling for this guy but planning for college and trying to pretend she’s not sick… Scattered. Like almost every other high school senior I know.

3 things I loved about writing Aidan:
My husband served in the military and he served overseas, so Aidan's story hit close to home.
I love that Aidan faces some things head-on. He doesn’t want people to ignore his lack of an arm, and at the same time, talking to his old Army friends is really hard for him.
Aidan’s determination was fun but also hard to write. I remember working through this scene where he wants to do his Army PT test (Physical training) and when he gets to the push-ups, he just can’t. I sat and cried at this very simple, simple thing.

As far as writing them together -
They both had things they tried to avoid.Aidan tried to avoid the "feeling" things, which Kate took head on.And Kate tried to ignore the facts, which Aidan took head on.
They were perfect opposites - or opposite in a way that compliments - at least... that's what I TRIED to do ;-)
Thanks so much for letting me be totally indulgent today and share my people. After writing and editing and editing and editing...they really, really do feel real to me.
What's a character that has really stuck with you long after you read the book?
~ Jolene
www.jolenebperry.com
AMAZON BARNES
"All they have in common is that they're less than perfect. And all they're looking for is the perfect distraction."