I am so pleased to have Donneil at Decadent Decisions today. She's on of the authors I found on Twitter and I just had to have her on my blog. So without further ado, here's Donneil, or Ms. Jackson...
When your light bulb goes off and a novel idea is born what preparation is taken when creating your heroine? How do you see her? Is she tall or is she short? Is she skinny or is fat? Is she smart or is she stupid? Do you create characters in images of yourself, people you know or do you observe strangers and create characters in those images?
The female characters I create are always my image of beauty. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Sexiness is a must; however keep in mind, in my head sexy is a state of mind. Intelligence is a requirement. Give or take their role in the story determines the characteristics she will possess. I think it’s important to show strong professional heroines, and then add a bunch of sass, a little bit of hood or any other ingredient that will help shape her into the character she is supposed to be. Basically, I create a character, name her and start writing. As I write she will tell me who she is, as well as her likes and dislikes.
For example, take Chante from Chante’s Song. When I began the novel, I had no character profile for her. I put her in a bathtub with some music and Chante came alive. She told me who she was and that was a Prada Princess in search of real love. And to this day she is one of my most favorite characters. You either love her or you hate it. But in the end you will say she is relatable and realistic.
Writing for me is fantasy. It’s like living in LaLa Land, and as a result I become the character. All the things I don’t or can’t do in real life, I can get away with in LaLa Land. So put yourself in the shoes of your character and step into LaLa Land. Create a name, put her in a situation/scene and let your heroine do her. You will be satisfied.
What's a girl to do when she's torn between two lovers? Does she grab her panties off the floor and vow to never drop them again? Or does she go back for seconds?
Chante Chambers is a self-proclaimed princess. She has it all: looks, a body women would pay for, a great career, all the material items a girl could want plus some…all of this maintained by her ex, Jason. Whatever mama wants, Jason makes sure mama gets. The one task he failed at was being faithful. With a toss of a Gucci pump Jason was history. Or so she thought.
In a pursuit for love, happiness, and monogamy sometimes mistaken for sex, Chante encounters an array of men, whom if you took the best traits from them all and combined them, it still didn’t create the perfect man. Just as Chante was ready to admit defeat in her quest for love, settle for a battery-operated appliance, and give in to the bottle of brown juice in walks a caramel Adonis.
Chante's new found love has the potential of being a lifelong love affair. Yet a lunch hour spent in between the sheets with a certain ex complicates things, as thoughts of starting their love anew begin running through her mind. What's a girl to do when she's torn between two lovers? Does she grab her panties off the floor and vow to never drop them again? Or does she go back for seconds?
Excerpt:
My smile vanished at the site of my unwanted visitor.
“What the hell do you want, Jason?” I folded my arms in front of my breast.
“Damn you look good.” I bet I did standing there topless.
“What are you doing here?” I couldn’t believe my eyes.
“Chante, I love you.” I tasted the alcohol on his breath when his lips pressed against mine, and his tongue moved around in my mouth.
I tried to push Jason away, but his finger felt so good in my love palace. His tongue was no longer in my mouth; it was slowly moving down my neck and on to my breast.
Chante. Chante. Chante! What in the hell are you doing? My eyes were closed and my neck was rolling around enjoying the chills that Jason was sending down my spine. My hands traced his body.
“I love you, Tae Tae.” He kissed my lips. “I never meant to hurt you.” He dropped to his knees and began to lick the palace.
Just then “I Wanna Love You” by Donell Jones played on the quiet storm. I had left the stereo on prior to falling asleep, and although the volume was low, it seemed like as soon as the song came on the volume got louder. I found myself telling Jason I wanted to love him. I dropped to my knees so that we could be face to face. Jason brushed my hair out of my face and kissed me.
“Chante, I want to try this again.”
I kissed him. At that moment I was not thinking about Keith. I waited years to hear the words Jason had uttered. All I could think about was feeling Jason inside of me. Without any protection, I straddled him and put him inside of me.
To learn more about Donneil check out her links below. She has a fab site.
Twitter: @donneildjackson https://twitter.com/#!/DonneilDJackson
1 comment:
Morning Donneil, thanks for being here today. Help yourself to the buffet and open bar. Chef and Tyrell are at your service and aim to please.
Great post and I loved the excerpt. I'm definitely adding Chante's Song to my list. I gotta find out what's she's going to do about her two men. :-)
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