Just my thoughts, so without further introduction...Jenna Jaxon. Who, by the way, is funnier than hell...
Movie Madness
First I want to thank you, Marika, for having me here today
at Harlie Books. This is going to be
fun!
I always wonder when I read novels how much of the author
appears in her characters? I’ve learned
some things about some of my favorite authors that I have later noticed in
their characters. And though I know not
all stories or characters are autobiographical, I assume bits and pieces of the
author can be found in their works.
That being said, I’ve found that I am no exception to that
rule. Not the easiest confession for a
writer of erotic romance--people will of course jump to the conclusion that the
steamiest bits were inspired by real life happenings. My husband would certainly be happy if that
were so! But those scenes, beyond the very
basics, are the stuff of my imagination.
However, I do have things in common with several of my
heroines, including Pam Kimball from Almost Perfect. As I wrote this story about a woman abandoned
on a deserted (well, mostly deserted) island, I began to think about what I
would do if stranded in such a predicament.
And my first thought turned to the movies I’ve loved for years about
castaways. And poof! a character is born. A large part of Pam revolves around her love
of movies, so I decided to showcase that characteristic. I wanted to show how her obsession with
movies had been her downfall and how even the movies couldn’t teach her
everything she needed to know about love and relationships.
And the movies Pam references, I have to admit, are some of
my favorites: her ship is the yacht from
Some Like It Hot, her island is reminiscent of the one Captain Jack
Sparrow is marooned on in Pirates of the Caribbean, she figures out how
to fish from Cary Grant in Father Goose.
And her and Roger’s sparring is sometimes quite similar to that of Anne
Heche and Harrison Ford in Six Days Seven Nights.
Pam never reveals what her favorite movie is, but I’ll tell
you mine. My favorite romantic comedy
isn’t in evidence in the story because it has nothing to do with the water or
being stranded. For totally inexplicable
reasons, the one movie I will stop doing whatever I’m doing and sit down and
watch is Notting Hill. I love
Hugh Grant in this movie. I love the
story. I especially love the end where
they come together during a press conference.
That, ladies, says romance to me. J
But let Pam tell you some of her favorites in this excerpt
from Almost Perfect:
Okay, what’s the worst-case scenario? Level one answer on Who Wants to
Be A Millionaire? The ship doesn’t return tonight. What could she do
to prepare for that eventuality? She shot a glance down the beach in the
direction her ex had stalked. Nope. Not an option. Next.
She often watched disaster movies where people ended up marooned on
desert islands, or as the last living things on earth. Surely she could draw on
those as her resource for survival?
Ticking off a mental list of castaway-themed shows, she started with the
obvious choice, Castaway. What would Tom Hanks do? First things first,
of course. Food and water. Tom sipped water collected on leaves. A glance told
her the bushes around her were dry. No water there. On to option number two. A
stream? She could explore what little interior the island possessed. But if
that proved a dead end, she’d have lost valuable light and time. Damn, this
looked easier in Six Days, Seven Nights. Of course, there had been
two of them…. No! No depending on Roger.
“So what else did Tom Hanks do?” Speaking aloud focused her attention on
what she could do by herself. Gather food came to mind as the next option.
Coconuts. She shaded her eyes and craned her neck back, peering up the tall
tree next to her. Damn. Were there even any nuts up there? So what else was
available? Crabs? Sighing, she hurried onto the beach in search of crustaceans.
She inched into the lapping surf, searching for movement. Reflection off
the water made the task harder than expected. Wasn’t the Caribbean supposed to
be teeming with fish? Now that’s something she’d had a lot of instruction in.
Almost every marooned-on-an-island movie had a scene where the heroine learned
to catch fish. Six Days. Father Goose. Blue Lagoon. All
you needed was your hands and patience. She could do this.
Wading out further, she stopped just before the water hit her now dry shorts.
“Not gonna have a damp crotch all night.” The words reminded her of exactly
what she had hoped for. “At least not from wet shorts!” She headed back
to shore to remove them and draped them next to her shirt. The bandeau was a
different story. Still damp, even after several hours, and uncomfortable. Might
dry better if not next to her skin anyway. “Screw it! Live dangerously.”
Standing as good as naked on the deserted beach, she smiled as the warm
breeze caressed her bare body. The sense of being slightly naughty added to her
delight in the sensual feel of the air as it dried her breasts. Her nipples
peaked as the wind cooled them. She strutted down to the water’s edge to sink
her toes in the sand, the salty tang in the air adding to the perfect moment.
“If you’re skinny dipping, you forgot to remove one very important piece
of clothing.”
She whirled around. Roger stood on the beach behind her, a green bottle
of Perrier in one hand. His gaze played up and down her naked torso and his
salacious grin widened. “Mind if I join you?”
What’s your favorite romantic movie? Bet you can’t name just one! I’ve a dozen or more that I adore. Share one of your favorites with me and Pam,
and one lucky commenter will win a copy of Almost Perfect.
Bio:
Jenna Jaxon is a multi-published author of
historical and contemporary romance who has been reading and writing
historical romance since she was a teenager. A romantic
herself, Jenna has always loved a dark side to the genre, a twist,
suspense, a surprise. She tries to incorporate all of these elements into
her own writing.
Jenna lives in Virginia with her family and a small
menagerie of pets. When not reading or writing, she indulges her passion
for the theatre, working with local theatres as a director. She often
feels she is directing her characters on their own private stage.
She has equated her writing to an addiction to chocolate
because once she starts she just can’t stop.
