Dude, Where's My Muse?

My name is Jean Hackensmith, co-author of the “Passage” saga. The final book in the time travel romance saga, “The Ultimate Passage”, was released this past September. I have been writing for thirty years, yet when Cheryl from Pump Up Your Book Promotion suggested that I write a guest post for Lis that addressed where I found my inspiration for writing the 11 books I now have in print, I was stumped. “The Ultimate Passage” was inspired by readers who demanded a fourth book in the saga (which was originally supposed to be a trilogy) but as for the others, I have no idea. Just Kathe and I brainstorming, I guess.

The only books I have actually been inspired to write were “Tender Persuasion” and my brand spanking new manuscript, titled “Daddy’s Revenge,” which probably won’t hit store shelves for a year or more. I remember all too well what inspired me to write the latest book. Quite frankly, it was an episode of something or other on Court TV—an episode regarding a man who tied up his wife and children, locked them in the pantry, tied off the door knob with a leather cord, and then started the house on fire. The woman and her four children died one of the most horrible deaths imaginable. Well, in “Daddy’s Revenge”, the woman and her two kids manage to escape a bathroom—not a pantry—and they live to fight another day. Namely, a day seventeen years later when the woman’s ex-husband is released from prison and terrorizes her and her new boyfriend before he attempts to kill her—again. I just finished the final draft for “Daddy’s Revenge” yesterday, in fact, and it is now with advance readers. (Wonderful friends and family who read all my manuscripts for typos and inconsistencies before a reader—or publisher—ever sees them.)

As mentioned above, “Tender Persuasion” also came into being due to an act of inspiration. More specifically, I was inspired by a woman, who will remain unnamed, that was brutally raped. The rapist left her with 42 scars to remember him by, and she almost bled to death before help arrived. I am a rape victim myself and this woman’s story helped me to realize that, no matter how bad you think things are, there is always someone out there who has been through worse than you have. The actual “heroine” in “Tender Persuasion” (I changed her name, as well as the time and location of the actual rape in order to protect her identity) is one of the bravest women I know. And, when she told me her story, yes; I was inspired to write it. The true story of what this woman suffered, and how she beat the odds with the help of a kind, patient and understanding man who loved her, is outlined within the pages of “Tender Persuasion.” I always warn readers, though—“Tender Persuasion” is sexually graphic, and it has to be in order to effectively relay what this woman went through, and what her man went through in order to persuade her to live and love again.

All of my books can be purchased through Amazon.com and the publisher web site at www.porttownpublishing.com. They can also be ordered from your local book store.