CLP Blog Tours Interview and Excerpt: Open My Eyes by Jennifer Collin
**Interview**
When did you know writing was for you?
I wrote my very first short story when I was seven or eight years old. My second grade teacher wrote “Great Work” next to it. To be honest, I was taken aback. Sure I’d tried hard, but I always got an A for effort in everything I did. This was the first time that effort actually produced something impressive. I had found something I was good at.
Why was Open My Eyes a book you wanted to write?
Open My Eyes was less a book I wanted to write and more one that insisted I write it. The characters of Emily and Ben came to life in my first book, Set Me Free, Book One of the Evans Trilogy. As I was writing Set Me Free, Emily found herself in trouble and in a hole so deep, she needed a book of her own to get her out. She needed time and space to heal and there was an emotional journey she had to go on before she could open her eyes and see Ben for who he really is.
I hadn’t intended to write a trilogy when I started Set Me Free, but the characters took over, and here we are.
What is the hardest part of the writing process for you?
With two small kids, it’s definitely finding the time to do it. I always feel so despondent when I read advice to authors that they should write at the time of day they are most productive. My best time of day is from 7 to 9 in the morning, the time of day that is all about getting the kids to school and getting to work. I wrote Open My Eyes in the midnight hours, caffeinated up and ignoring the protests of my body clock.
What are your favorite genres to read?
I’m such a sucker for romantic comedies. I love imperfect characters who can laugh at themselves and their friends, and I love happily ever afters. When I was younger, I overdosed on misery – reading harrowing tales of tortured characters who’d experience horrible, horrible things. I loved nothing more than a book that made me sob so much I could barely read the final pages. But I am done with that now. If there are tears these days, it’s because I am laughing so hard.
What do you want readers to take away from your story?
I think a bit of my past preference for sadness crept into Open My Eyes. At the beginning of the novel, Emily finds herself on the cusp of a divorce, homeless, jobless and pregnant to her sister’s best friend. She’s hit rock bottom. But thankfully the only way is up, and she finds friends who, over time, help her out of the funk she’s in. As much as Open My Eyes is Emily and Ben’s love story, it’s also a story about friendship and standing by your friends when they are making foolish choices. Emily drives her friends nuts, but they stand by her nonetheless and I guess I hope my readers see that.
Of course, I also want them to take away the desire to read the third book in the Evans Trilogy, which I am working on now 
How important do you think social media is for authors these days?
So important. There are so many brilliant authors out there these days, it’s very hard to find ones that you click with as a reader. Social media provides word-of-mouth recommendations on a global scale. It’s also such a fun way to interact with readers and other writers, to share a joke or send a cyber hug when it’s needed.
What would be your advice to aspiring writers?
Never give up. Because everything can be banked as a lesson learned, even when it hurts. Never be discouraged. Bank it and push on. Even if someone says something that doesn’t resonate with you, doesn’t make sense, over time you will come to understand why they said it. Just never let it stop you in your tracks.
Also, the world of writing is changing so dramatically, the opportunities seem endless at the moment. Don’t watch and wait, get involved and enjoy yourself. The chances you’ll become the next JK Rowling or EL James may be pretty slim, but you’ve got to be in it to win it.
**Excerpt**
Annie rubbed Emily’s arm. ‘I’m not surprised he’s still mad at you, though, are you?’
‘I guess not. I just didn’t expect him to be mean.’
Emily didn’t know the version of Ben she’d just met. The irate, kind of nasty Ben. She didn’t want to tell that Ben about the baby. She wanted to tell the old Ben, the easy-going, happy-go-lucky Ben. It was the intensity in his eyes that unnerved her the most. That was new. Everything else was the same. His black T-shirt and jeans. His shoulder-length hair pulled back in his usual style, tied low against his neck. The coolness of it didn’t suit the mean version of Ben. Mean Ben ought to have a mohawk, and not just a faux mohawk – Emily was thinking spikes superglued in place, with the rest of his head shaved to skin.
‘Was he mean though, or was he just different?’ asked Annie. ‘You’ve been friends for a long time, Em. After what happened, I expect it would be hard for him to treat you the same, to be like he’s always been with you.’
Emily rolled her shoulders, attempting to loosen the knots, wishing she could do the same for the one in her stomach. ‘I guess.’
‘Come on,’ said Annie, tugging on Emily’s arm. ‘Let’s sit down for a bit before you go inside.’
They made themselves comfortable on the faded red concrete steps. Emily dropped her head into her hands and Annie put an arm around her shoulders.
‘What am I going to do, Annie?’
‘It’ll be okay, Em. You’ll find the right time, the right way to tell him.’
‘It’s not just him, though,’ Emily said. ‘It’s this baby. What am I going to do with this baby? What the hell do I know about babies? Nothing, that’s what. I can’t take care of a baby!’
‘Of course you can,’ said Annie. ‘You have nine months of gestation to get ready for becoming a mum. There are books and classes and all that, aren’t there?’
‘Oh, I can read.’ Emily rubbed furiously at her temples. ‘Of course I can read. But Annie, I can barely take care of myself. How am I supposed to take care of someone else? And not just anyone else. A small helpless, vulnerable baby, so dependent on me their life is in my hands.’ She held them out. ‘My stupid, hopeless hands. And God, what about loving someone so much you’d throw your life down for them? What do I know about that kind of love? What do I know about any kind of love? I don’t think I’m capable of love. I didn’t even love my stupid ex-husband!’
Emily’s heart was racing and she couldn’t draw breath deep enough to slow it down.
‘Shh,’ said Annie. ‘That’s just silly, Em. Love is not instant, you know. It grows. And your love for your baby will grow in you while he or she does. You don’t need to worry about how you’ll do it, you just will.’
Emily’s heart began to slow, matching the rhythm of Annie’s hand moving up and down on her arm. She dropped her head onto her friend’s shoulder, closed her eyes and started a mental list of all the things she could hear, a trick Annie had taught her. Traffic in the distance, a plane heading for the airport to the north, birds in the tree down the street, banging from the building behind her.
Author Bio:
Jennifer Collin writes quirky, and sometimes gritty, love stories about ordinary people dealing with what life throws at them. She lives in Brisbane, Australia, with her husband, two noisy children and a cantankerous cat. She used to party, but now her idea of a good time is an uninterrupted sleep. These days, her characters do her partying for her, and she doesn’t necessarily let them sleep.
Connect with Jennifer!
Website – http://www.jennifercollin.com/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/JenniferCollinAuthorPage?ref=hl
Twitter – https://twitter.com/CollinJennifer
Pinterest - http://www.pinterest.com/jycolli/
Goodreads -https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7105090.Jennifer_Collin
Buy the Book!
Amazon US link - http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JJNWIV8
Amazon UK link - http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00JJNWIV8?*Version*=1&*entries*=0
