Jessica is near and dear to my heart. She is one of my daughter Caitlin’s best friends. I have known Jessica since she became classmates with Caitlin in middle school. I have followed Jessica’s life through her school years, college, and now as she makes her way in the world as a registered massage therapist. The two of us share a love of Johnny Depp, pirates, Dr. Who and the Twilight series. We both love to travel, although we have never traveled together. Jessica doesn’t believe in visiting the same place twice while I am all for return visits.
Jess has been following me since she found out that I was writing a novel. She was most likely the first person who ordered an ebook copy from Kobo of Forever Love and then she came to my first book signing to buy a softcover of the same book. Jessica follows me on Facebook and Twitter. She sends me pictures of my book travelling along with her. I have a picture of Forever Love at the Toronto International airport and on an Alaskan cruise. Today I received a picture of the snack counter at the airport with the caption, “Got junk?”, a reference to Davi’s requirements for airplane travel in Love’s Promises.
Jessica loves the fact that my kids are in my books and that their characters and mannerisms are reflected perfectly. She laughed at one of the events portrayed in Love’s Promises because she was there when it happened. I wonder what Jessica will think when she reads Family Pictures. Although the book isn’t finished, and the characters are not fully developed, I have my Jess. She’s self-assured, opinionated, shoots from the hip and loves pirates. She’s the best friend the heroine could ever want (sorry, Jess, you’re not the heroine – this time) and she plays a major role in getting the heroine her man. She is as important to my story line as she is to my life’s story. Her absence would be noticed and truly missed.
Today, Jess heads out on holiday for another one of her adventures. I wish her a fun and safe trip. I wish her many adventures and entertaining stories to tell on her return. I hope she finds her Quinn – whether it’s on the plane, the tour bus, or a seat in an Irish pub. Not that Jessica is looking for that someone special, far from it. It’s only me dreaming about another romance – one that would make a great story, real or imagined, this time with her as the heroine.