Who Am I?
A reader, first and foremost, immersed in the world of fiction since diving in with the opening of Little Women when I was ten. A writer, from almost the same moment, because I wanted to give others the same rich experiences Louisa May Alcott had given me.
Then there’s real life…
2-5 hours a day, every day, I care for, ride, drive, talk to, play with, feed and clean up after five horses and four dogs: Suzette, Abby, TBone, Lucy, Bo, Puck, Joy, Bentley and Dooley. Can you guess which ones are equine and which are canine?
Family time includes a husband and 2 daughters away at school. Housework time…nah. Friend time. Sleep…oh, definitely. Food…more often than necessary. TV…not so much, anymore, except for “House” and “Bones.” Movies, occasionally, especially when Russell Crowe is on the bill.
And now I can add blogger, because I want to talk about books with like-minded individuals on the Web. I’ll be trying to expand my contacts, hoping to draw conversation to this page. Thanks for stopping by. Come back and bring a friend!
LK
2 Responses to "Who Am I?"
Hi, NJ,
Thanks for posting at BookSphere!
I’m pleased and interested to get your feedback on the two books, Luke’s Daughters and Matt’s Family. I put all of myself into those stories and I really think they’re some of my best work.
I have a good friend who doesn’t like Matt for many of the same reasons you don’t like Kristen–maybe that means those two were made for each other! An online review was quite critical of Matt’s Family in general, calling it depressing, I think.
I suppose my response at this point would be that even imperfect characters deserve a happy ending. More importantly, I think novels, even romance novels, can and should encompass imperfect characters.
I get in trouble, occasionally, because my heroines wander from the path of “sympathetic.” I try to comply when my editor says that, because I want to keep publishing books. As a reader, though, I like to see even whiny or abrasive or obstinate women get their men, because women in real life might possess one or all of those flaws. There’s someone for everyone, I’d like to think. And the duty of a romance novel is to bring them together.
Matt and Kristen fell in love at a young age, and were separated at a young age. I think once their relationship had a chance to develop, there would be no question of Kristen’s faithfulness. If Matt had gone to Iraq, Kristen would have supported him and been completely faithful during his absence, welcoming him home with open arms because she truly loves him. She might not have been a strong woman when she married Luke, when she left him, or even when she married Matt, but I believe his love and support allowed her to mature.
It’s pretty cool, analyzing my own book! Thanks, NJ, for the chance to revisit those issues. There’s nothing I like better than hearing from readers.
All the best,
Lynnette
1 | NJ from LA
August 15, 2008 at 11:55 pm
I’m glad to find your website and blog. I recently thought of you again after seeing your latest book when looking for something light to read on a recent vacation. Once I returned home, I had to revisit your novel, “Matt’s Family.” That and the first book on the Brennan’s has kept me captivated for years, as I continually reread them.
I find both Brennan books rather disturbing in a way, as I always have to stop halfway through each to imagine what would have happened if Matt Brennan simply said to hell with Kristin Jennings, and found some wonderful woman to love him and put HIM first (I was truly happy when Luke was able to do so).
Even though I was totally intrigued with the Matt/Kristen love story, I dislike the Kristen character as a “person.” I find her selfish and spoiled, with no ability to communicate in any honest way. Not with Luke, not with her children, not with her parents, and especially not with Matt.
Kristen claims to love Matt, but doesn’t show it very well (even though she pats herself on the back for going out of her way to be what he “wants her” to be). She continually goes on a guilt trip that makes the reader wonder if she was glad to be married to Matt at all! She’s less than truthful with him, and withholds her feelings from him.
I think the thing that upset me most with the Kristen character is when she questions Matt’s feelings for her and their marriage because he “only” proposed to her when she and Luke had separated!!!!! What? She expected him to express his undying love for his brother’s wife while they’re still together? Matt’s integrity in keeping away as tough as it was for him didn’t impress her?!!!
I also cringed when Kristen worried so much about how Erin’s bad attitude would “kill” Luke emotionally, but seemed to dismiss Matt’s daily hurt caused by the girls because he was so “strong.”
Again today, after I finished “Matt’s Story” for the umpteenth time, I wondered what would have became of the Brennan’s with the start of the war in the middle east in the mid 2000’s. In my mind, I see Kristen getting pregnant by and thinking herself in love with another man while Matt has been away serving his duty for two years straight in Afghanistan or Iraq.
I see Matt getting wounded and waking up to Luke and Sara at his bedside, because Kristen is months pregnant by this other man. All of which she has hidden from them all, until it could not be hidden any more. I see Luke, and Sara, the children, and especially eldest daughter Erin, helping the wounded Matt heal and return once again to “the world.”
Yet, I also see Matt loving Kristen enough to forgive her, and take her back as his wife, and her returning to him. Because she loves him? Or because she feels like she’d embarrass her parents if she didn’t?! Or because of the disappointment of her children. Who knows with Kristen.
If you ever do write another Brennan story, I hope that your storyline will be more positive than the one I describe above. Even though I think Kristen was a bit of a jerk, I’d like to think that in the end, she would have been a loyal wife and partner to Matt.
I look forward to your future books.