Monday, April 16, 2012

Guest Post and Giveaway!

Hey, all!
I just wanted to thank EVERY SINGLE PERSON who stopped by on my long winded blog tour these last two weeks. I so appreciate the support--especially when I wasn't even around the last week!!

Yes, clever me. I wasn't home. Or near a computer.

I was in Puerto Rico tanning, and enjoying Easter break, and eating mofongo, and getting weird sunburns--like on my knuckles. It was nice to know that even though I wasn't around, my tour was still on autopilot.

So THANK YOU!!

But enough about me and my sunburn.
Now it's time to introduce one of the sweetest bloggers I have known for...I don't know...quite a few years. And now I'm happy to say she has her very first book out now, and I thought it'd be fun to have her stop by.

Without further ado, here is a bit about Love Inspired author Jessica Nelson:

Jessica Nelson, in keeping with her romantic inclinations, married two days after she graduated high school. She believes romance happens every day, and thinks the greatest, most intense romance comes from a God who woos people to himself with passionate tenderness. When Jessica is not chasing her three beautiful, wild little boys around the living room, she can be found staring into space as she plots her next story. Or she might be daydreaming about a raspberry mocha from Starbucks. Or thinking about what kind of chocolate she should have for dinner that night. She could be thinking of any number of things, really. One thing is for certain, she is blessed with a wonderful family and a lovely life.


Please welcome Jessica!


When a Girl’s Name is Just All Wrong

"A rose called by any other name would smell as sweet”

I’m not sure Romeo was in his right mind when he gave Juliet that line.

The heroine in my book Love On The Range was originally named Prudence. Prue for short. Problem was, she was also a bit unlikable. Preachy, blabbering. There’s a balance between annoying and quirky, talkative and talk-your-ear-off. I did my best with poor Prue, but after several revisions (before and after contract), my editor suggested I might want to think about a name change to counteract my character’s rather rigid viewpoint of life, and her tendency to tell everyone in earshot her opinions. In the end I decided on Gracelyn, Gracie for short.
It felt softer and more…graceful. The change worked. 

Names can have a huge impact without us realizing it.

Do you like your name? What kind of image does your name give you? What is your favorite character’s name and does he or she live up to it?


Thanks, Jessica! Great post!
I totally feel a name makes a character and can influence personality!

Here's a bit about Jessica's new book Love on the Range:

Any other socialite would view being packed off to a remote
Oregon ranch as a punishment. But Gracelyn Riley knows
that this is her opportunity to become a real reporter. If she
can make her name through an interview with the elusive hero
known as Striker, then she’ll never have to depend on anyone
ever again.


Rancher Trevor Cruz can’t believe his secret identity is being
endangered by an overly chatty city girl. But if there’s one thing
he knows, it’s that Gracie’s pretty little snooping nose is bound
to get her in trouble. So he’ll use her determination to find
“Striker” to keep an eye on her…and stick close by her side.


GIVEAWAY: Jessica is very generous in offering a free copy of her new book to some lucky commenter. Contest will run from now until Thursday, April 19, 2012 11:59 PM EST. I will announce the winner this Friday!


To learn more about Jessica and her books, check out



Thanks and good luck!


124 comments:

Jessica Nelson said...

Hi Jennifer! Thanks so much for having me today. ;-) I'm glad your blog tour went well too. Can't wait to read your book!

Theresa Milstein said...

Jennifer, I hope your blog tour went well.

Jennifer Shirk said...

Thanks, Theresa!! It really did!

Robyn Campbell said...

Yay Jessica!!!!!!!!!! Congrads woman. I plan on buying your book. (Unless I win a copy) It sounds great. Gracie sounds great and so does Striker. I loved reading about the name change. I guess once you did that everything else about the character pretty much fell into place.

Glad you're back safely, Jennifer. :-)

Old Kitty said...

Yay for fun hols! Glad you had a great time! And yay for your fab book blog tour!!

Hello Jessica! Awww I like the name Prudence! But I see how Gracelyn feels and sounds softer!

Take care
x

Chelle Sandell said...

I love to hear about issues authors have with their characters before the book is pubbed!! Gracie is a beautiful name, but Prudence sounds like it was a good fit as well. This is definitely one for my TBR pile!

Susan Flett Swiderski said...

Welcome home, Jennifer. (sunburned knuckles, huh?)

Thanks for shining a spotlight on this book. Sounds super, and I'm really impressed with how well the blurb is written.

It's funny how much difference a name can make. For example, Romeo and Juliet sounds ever so much better than Gilderstein and Mahitabelle. And yes, I DO like my name. (Beats Mahitabelle!)

Unknown said...

Liz Lemon & Katniss Everdeen are both great character names :)

Cheryl Klarich said...

I love names! Gracie sounds like a girl after my own heart. I'm always up for a lighthearted, fun read. :)

Welcom back Jennifer!!

Linda Kage said...

Congrats Jessica!!! I was smart and pre-ordered my copy so it was delivered to my ereader on the very day your story released!! I'm so very happy for you!

Nancy said...

Glad you had a great time Jennifer. As to name changes, I like the change. It doesn't sound so uppity. My name, Nancy, means grace so I like all of the variations on that.

Names of characters I like: Edward, Laurie, Artemis, Mac, Scout Shasta, and Aslan.
It seems to me that I love the name because I love the person. Many of my favorite characters are plain old Jane, Tom, Johnny, etc.

Carolyn V said...

Woohoo! I hope Jessica's book is a huge success.

As far as the name thing goes, it takes me forever to pick out the right name. It has to fit the character just right. ;)

TMWHickman said...

I firmly believe that a name shapes the destiny of the one bearing it. For example, if my dad had been successful in naming me Bernadette, I think that I wouldn't be nearly as fun!

Lorraine said...

Congrats on a successful tour, Jennifer!

Jessica, I love the sounds of your book and the name Gracie.

Karen Lange said...

It's been fun getting to know Jessica a little better. I am so looking forward to reading her book! Would love to be entered. Thanks to both of you for sharing this post! :)

Anonymous said...

Hi Jessica! Nice to meet you and to learn about your book. Nice cover. Thank you for offering a copy of your book as a giveaway.

Jennifer, what is mofongo?

Susanne
PUTTING WORDS DOWN ON PAPER

Mary Preston said...

Names are very important. They can link us with the past & they need to fit. We have them with us always. My name takes me back several generations. It's a family name.

LOVE ON THE RANGE is in my sights.

marypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com

Jessica Nelson said...

Sure Robyn, after tons of revisions. lol I seem to have a knack for creating unlikeable characters. But yes, changing the name helped (I hope) lol

Hi Old Kitty (love your name, btw!) Yeah, it was hard to change from Prudence. I still think that name sometimes and have to remember that it got changed. All for the best though! ;-)

Jessica Nelson said...

Thanks Linda K! ;-)

So true, Susan and Julie.

Carol, may your words come to pass. *grin*

Thanks everyone for the comments! Names are sooo interesting.

Jessica Lemmon said...

WOW, Jessica, so true! I just had this thought the other day about a character. When I first wrote him, I loved his name, couldn't imagine any other. But after rereading and learning more about him (funny how heros keep info from you, eh?), I think I might *gasp* have to change it.

I admire you and other authors of Inspirational Romance. It seems the hardest genre to me. If I attempted it I'm afraid it would read more like a self-help book! LOL

PatriciaW said...

Hi Jessica! Names matter. Often in writing, I find as I get to know my characters better, their names change to something more reflective of who they are.

I think my name suits me fine. It's classic. You can dress it up (full name) or down (Pat, Patsy, Patti, or some other variant). It's probably starting to be a bit old-fashioned, but I am so it works.

Stacy Henrie said...

I love Gracie's name - it totally fits her. :) But it's fun to hear what it was originally.

Liz Mays said...

I don't think I've ever really thought about the names given to characters in books. I wonder why!

Carol Kilgore said...

I once started a story with a character named Christine. She was the most difficult character around. My critique partner suggested I change her name. I did, and I think I heard her laughter when I hit 'replace all'. She was messing with me :)

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