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| Jaimie Hope, Author THE ROAD THAT LEADS TO HOME: THE SARA RHEA CHRONICLES |
Jaimie
Hope brings us a novel, THE ROAD THAT LEADS TO HOME: THE SARA RHEA CHRONICLES,
based on her own experiences. Reviewers say there were “times when I laughed out loud and
other times…my eyes were blurred with tears.” Hope admits it is a mixture of
romance, new adult, and even suspense. She believes her
characters become real when she puts them in “real-life” situations.
Hope
also writes children’s books and has published a new adult novel along with her
autobiobraphy, and she runs her own business, Back To Basics Publishing and Author Services.
She is working on Book 2 of THE SARA RHEA CHRONICLES, along with many other works.
When she’s not writing, she likes music, movies, and sports.
Don't miss the excerpt following the interview.
Don't miss the excerpt following the interview.
Q: You have
based your book, THE ROAD THAT LEADS TO HOME: THE SARA RHEA CHRONICLES, on a
true story. What inspired you to write it? Is it about your life?
Jaimie Hope: While I took a
lot of creative licenses writing it, this story is based on real-life experience I had after moving back to New York from
Florida.
Q: How would
you characterize THE ROAD THAT LEADS TO HOME? Is it contemporary women’s
fiction? New adult? Memoir? Suspense? Romance?
Jaimie Hope: Honestly, I
would describe it as all of the above. Well, maybe not Memoir since I did add
fiction to facts. However, it is definitely a Romance and a New Adult book. I
didn’t realize it was Suspense until I started getting messages from readers
asking if I was going to write a sequel so they could find out what happened.
Q: Your
reviewers say the book caused them to feel deep emotions and that your
characters were “easy to relate to.” How did you enable your readers to embrace
your characters so that they cared so much what happened to them? Were your characters based on real people?
Jaimie Hope: The main characters
were based on real people that I know well. While I think knowing their
personalities helped, I think putting characters in real life situations gave
them their relatability.
Q: How helpful
is humor to telling your story and/or creating your characters?
Jaimie Hope: Humor is a key
element to character development and plot for me. It helps the reader get out
of their own heads and into the story when they can feel they are having fun
along with the characters. Also, humor in a character helps make them relatable
since most of the humor is by way of sarcastic interaction.
Q: Did you
write THE ROAD THAT LEADS TO HOME primarily to entertain or were you trying to
educate or deliver a message?
Jaimie Hope: I started out
writing this book with the goal of entertaining, but there is most definitely
messages in it.
Q: You have
also written children and young adult books and your autobiography. Which do
you enjoy more—writing a book for adult, child or youth readers? How do you
approach one over the other?
Jaimie Hope: Each genre is
so different that it’s hard to say I like writing this genre more than that
genre.
Children’s
books are much harder to write than novels for adults. Trying to write a full
story in the confines of a few pages is harder than it looks. Then there is the
task of balancing the words of the manuscript. The words can’t be beyond the
comprehension of the age group, but it also can’t be so simple that it seems
like you’re talking down to them. It also has to teach them something while
being entertaining. After that is done,
there’s the illustration list to be created. It’s a lot of work, but very
rewarding.
That’s
not to say that writing for Young Adults or Adults is any easier, it’s not.
However, you don’t have page number constraints, your story ends when it ends.
You also don’t have to worry as much about your word choice to get your point
across. It sounds easier when you look at it
that way, but that’s not necessarily true. Being able to write a book filled
with as many pages as you deem necessary and whatever words fly out of your
fingertips as you strike the keyboard gives you more time for your story to
unravel. It’s important to pay attention to the characters and how
they’re developing. If they aren’t developing, the story probably isn’t moving.
A story that isn’t moving isn’t one anyone wants to read.
Q: Does the
concept of “heroes vs. villain” play a
part in telling your story? How would you describe a villain? Do you need a
villain to have a hero?
Jaimie Hope: I didn’t do
the hero vs. villain thing in my story.
Readers might disagree with me and argue they thought one character was a
villain of sorts, but it wasn’t what I intended. I define a villain as someone
who purposefully tries to foil the plot for the main characters. None of my
characters did that.
No,
I don’t think you need to have a villain to have a hero. All that is necessary
for a character to be considered a hero is for them to grow and overcome
something.
Q: Your
biography says that you decided to become a writer in high school. What made
you decide to be a writer? Have you enjoyed it?
Jaimie Hope: I’ve actually
had an interest in writing and telling stories since I was very young. At that
time, I also wanted to do a number of different things as well. Writing for the school newspaper really fanned the
flames and re-stoked the flames of writing for me. Now more than eight years
and eleven books later I can honestly say that I wouldn’t have wanted it to be
any other way.
Q: What’s next?
I assume since this is “Book 1” that there will be at least one more Sara Rhea
Chronicle? Other books?
Jaimie Hope: There will
always be another book! Book 2 is in the works, so is a new Children’s book and
many other works.
Q: Tell us
about Jaimie Hope. What do you like to do when you’re not writing?
Jaimie Hope: When I’m not
writing I am usually doing something else in the creative/literary realm. In
addition to writing, I am also a business
owner. I own and operate Back To Basics Publishing and Author Services, which offers
everything from editing to marketing assistance to authors. I am also a blog
host with a blog tour company and an Internet radio talk show host.
When
I’m not working I enjoy all things music, watching movies and sports.
About Jaimie
Hope
Jaimie Hope was born November 3, 1976, in New
York. It wasn't until high school, where she joined the newspaper staff, that
she decided she wanted to be a writer. After graduation, the author went to
college and received an Associate's degree in 1999. In 2002, she moved to
Florida where she was an active volunteer in the local historical society and
the Deltona Regional Library. In 2006, she moved back to New York where she
released her first Children's book, The Adventures of Baby Jaimie. She followed
it with a Young Adult novel, Bless The Broken Road. She also published her
autobiography, Roll With It. She is planning to re-release book one of her New
Adult Romance/Paranormal trilogy, The Sara Rhea Chronicles: The Road That Leads
To Home and a new Children's Book series, along with releasing all her other
self-published titles under her new publishing company, Back To Basics
Publishing and Author Services in the fall of 2014.
Based
on a true story…
Sara's
life was going along peacefully until she got the early morning phone call that
changed everything. Now she finds herself heading back where she began, home. Not only does she have to deal with a difficult older
sister and helping to keep the family’s inn afloat; Sara has to work alongside
her high school sweetheart, who still looks as gorgeous as ever and her
feelings that she saw all this coming. Her dreams and nightmares seem to
come true right before her eyes. It has to all be a coincidence, doesn't it?
Excerpt
“He
was with someone when I came home from college.”
“No,
not really. He went out with her once. He wanted you to think he had someone
since he told you he wouldn’t wait for you. He wanted you to be jealous. Guess
it worked. He was crushed when you moved to Florida. He really thought you were
going to stay, everyone did.”
“So
did I. It just didn’t work out that way.” Reflectively she added, “It's funny
how things turn out. When I was growing up, I didn’t think I’d ever leave this
area. I never wanted to. Most kids I went to school with couldn’t wait to
graduate so they could travel, but James and I just wanted to stay here.”
“What
changed?”
“I
thought when I came back I would take my place here at the inn, but when I got
here, I found out there really wasn’t a place here for me anymore.”
“You’re
a Rhea, you always have a place here.”
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