I'm so excited, today I have the amazing author Selah Janel with us on the blog. First off we have a great guest post from her, we also will have a give away and a review of her great book In The Red, these things will be posted later today.
All of us have it. None
of us are immune. No matter how strong we pretend to be, no matter how good we
pretend to be, we’re human. We have a breaking point, a weak spot, something
that we want so badly that we’d do absolutely anything for it...even if we
don’t realize it. It could be something that’s based on good intentions –
protecting family or a loved one, obtaining something that you’ve been working
for for a long, long time, security, safety, or health. It could be something
like wanting to be noticed, wanting to be acknowledged, wanting the dream that
you’ve longed for since you first discovered you were good at something.
Despite the beginning, despite the good intentions, we all have that one
thing…that thing we’d do anything to
have.
When I first started
turning a short story into the novel In the Red, I considered Jeremiah
Kensington to be a pretty basic guy with a dream that a million other people
have. He wanted to be a rock star. I couldn’t fault him for it; I love music, I
love my rock n’ roll as much as anyone (and probably a little more than most. As
I wrote on, though, I discovered that he was willing to be pretty selfish to
get what he wanted – and pretty naïve in his decisions, as well. Most of him is
my polar opposite, especially given his behavior when he does get what he wants. He isn’t grateful; he isn’t happy. He only
wants more and becomes paranoid trying to make sure no one takes it from him.
I can’t fault Jeremiah
for being human – and he definitely pays for his shortcomings. In some ways, he
has to go through the entire journey of the book to learn to be a better
person, the person that he wasn’t to begin with. His choices (usually
outrageous and decadent) continually surprised me, but they were human. Who
wouldn’t grab for what you want most if it’s dangled right in front of your
nose? Who wouldn’t live it up if given the chance?
You would think that
that kind of behavior would’ve made it hard to continue writing (and at times
it did), but it also intrigued me. I could empathize with his fears – don’t we
all get scared about not being good enough, not being seen for what we’re
really capable of? Don’t we all want to
make the most of what we can get at times? Sure, Jeremiah could hide behind his
alter ego J.K. Asmodeus, he can hide behind a mysterious contract, he can hide
behind a pair of legendary boots, but at the end of the day a soul lurked somewhere. You can’t make music without
a soul. You can’t worry or fight for what you want without a soul. And shadowy
creatures in human skin that make big promises aren’t interested in beings
without a soul.
At the end of the day
Jeremiah (and others in the book, too), isn’t just at the mercy of his own
desires. There are others who are interested in him…others that are willing to
give him a chance – at a price. It’s a price he won’t see coming, a price
that’s ever-changing depending on what’s needed from him, but there are always
consequences to taking the easy path. There are consequences to getting what
you want, period. After all, he has his fans, but do they like Jeremiah for his
music or for what they want him to be? He has a band, but are they really on
his side or are they interested in dragging him down with them? He has admirers;
he has women, but are they there for him or the fame? He has a manager who gets
things done in record time…but why? What’s he really after? Does he have
Jeremiah’s interests at heart, or is he merely looking to collect talent for
another purpose? And why is it that once he becomes J.K. Asmodeus, everyone in
Jeremiah’s life is suddenly unable to look him in the eye? Why can they only
look at the boots on his feet?
It must be hell to be
torn between having what you want and living with the repercussions, to be
alone and struggling without a support system. Yet even as he struggles to come
back to himself, it’s hard for him to let people in. It’s hard for him to turn
to people who really do care. It’s harder still for him to let go of the fame
and stardom he had. It’s hard for him to admit that some things just aren’t
worth it, at least not in the way he was trying to go about it. Can he balance
it all? Can he decide who he’s really supposed to be? Can he escape the
clutches of those who threaten to use him until there’s nothing left of him, or
will he willingly let it happen? Is there a way to have some of what he wants
and still be true to himself?
You’ll have to read to
find out, but in the meantime, do me a favor. Before you dismiss this all as
plot devices or a tried-and-true plot, take a moment. Get quiet, get still, and
think about something that you really, really want. Something that you don’t
have, something that you may never have. Something that you long for. It
doesn’t matter if it’s selfish or something for someone else. Just think of
that one thing that you really, really want…that thing that would fix all your
problems, that thing that would change your life. Think about that thing that
would finally make you happy.
What would you give for
it? Are you willing to do whatever it takes to get it? Are you willing to live
with what it means to get what you want?
Are you in?
Author Info
Selah Janel has been
blessed with a giant imagination since she was little and convinced that
fairies lived in the nearby state park or vampires hid in the abandoned barns
outside of town. Her appreciation for a good story was enhanced by a love of
reading, the many talented storytellers that surrounded her, and a healthy
curiosity for everything. A talent for warping everything she learned didn’t
hurt, either. She gravitates to writing fantasy and horror, but can be
convinced to pursue any genre if the idea is good enough. Often her stories
feature the unknown creeping into the “real” world and she loves to find the
magical in the mundane.
Fandom
Scene Column – http://www.fandomfestblog.com/blogs/selah-janel
Facebook
Author Page – http://www.facebook.com/authorSJ
Facebook
Book Page – http://www.facebook.com/intherednovel
Amazon
Author Page - http://www.amazon.com/Selah-Janel/e/B0074DKC9K/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1346815995&sr=1-2-ent
Twitter
– http://www.twitter.com/SelahJanel
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