Monthly Archives: May 2014

Secondary Characters Who Deserve Their Own Books

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My friend Tara over at The Librarian Who Doesn’t Say Shhh recently shared her Top Ten Characters Who Need Their Own Novels.  Her list was brilliant and definitely got me thinking!

Here’s my own list:

1. Chaz Santangelo from Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta
I so desperately want to spend more time with the Jellicoe gang, and I think it would be awesome to follow up with Chaz maybe four or five years down the road, find out what he (and the rest of the gang) have been up to.  It would definitely need to involve a romance with Raffy.

2. Jimmy Hailer from Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta
His absence is definitely felt in The Piper’s Son (though I think it was the right choice), but Marchetta has mentioned that Jimmy is stewing in her mind and that she still might tell his story.  Highlight between the brackets for a mini-spoiler: [She wrote, “Jimmy’s not going anywhere, but it’s just not his time yet. All I know about him is that he is the first of Frankie gang to start breeding (accidently).” OH MY GOSH. JIMMY IS A BABY DADDY.].

3. Drew Leighton from The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay
Drew was a fascinating character to me: a womanizing bastard with a heart of gold.  I’d love to learn more about his story.

scorose4. Rose Weasley from Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows (epilogue) by J.K. Rowling
When Ron encourages his daughter not to get too friendly with Scorpius Malfoy since Granddad Weasley would never forgive her for marrying a pureblood … well, that set up a companion novel (and lots and lots of fan fiction) right there.

5. Hanna from Fire by Kristin Cashore
I’d love to revisit Hanna, Prince Brigan’s daughter, ten years after Fire and see what sort of 16-year-old she’d be!

6. Rhiannon from Every Day by David Levithan
Post-Every Day.

7. Poppet Murphy from The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
Must. Have. More.

Your turn!  Leave a comment telling me what characters you think deserve their own books.

Image credit: Viria

Fairy Tales & Tears

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I.

Once upon a time, there was a young girl named Jackie Lea who loved to tell and write stories.  She made a short list of her life’s goals, and one of the items on the list was to publish a book.

Jackie Lea worked tirelessly toward this goal: she wrote all through high school and college.  She wrote after college too, and she created a writing group, and she spent her precious money on workshops and conferences and readings to help her become a better writer.

She was very, very tired.  But still very determined.

“If I can just get a book deal, I’ll have met my goal, and then just think how happy I’ll be!  I’ll be a professional.  I’ll be thrilled.  I’ll be validated,” she told herself.

Then one lovely November day, she got incredible news: an editor loved her story and was going to publish her!  Jackie Lea had worked hard, and all her dreams had finally come true.

II.

fairy tale4Except that the book deal added so much stress to Jackie Lea’s life that she felt overwhelmed and panicked, jealous of other writers, nervous about her revisions, terrified to give up control, and generally quite fearful.

And she would cry about it.

And that felt wrong too, because who cries in a fairy tale when her dream is coming true?

 

Image credit: Gabriela Camerotti

 

A Big Ol’ HOCD Post

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I’ve posted several times on this blog about HOCD (homosexual OCD– when OCD causes someone to question his or her sexual identity), and the statistics don’t lie: it is one of the biggest reasons that people end up on my blog.

HOCD stats

Anecdotally, most of the emails I receive from my fellow OCD sufferers are from those who are battling HOCD.  I had an inkling that HOCD was far more common than most people would imagine, but ever since I started talking openly about it on my blog, I’m more convinced than ever.

Many of the people I talk with have a very similar story: they have never questioned their sexual orientation before X happened, now it is all they can think about, they are constantly “testing” themselves to see if their sexual attraction has now changed.  Many already have a history of OCD, though perhaps it’s never broached their sexuality before now.  Some– though never having had this problem before– cannot seem to generate any attraction to the gender they have always been drawn to, while they are suddenly feeling attraction (and even bodily responses) to the gender they have never entertained liking before.  They are scared, confused, exhausted.  Their minds are going wild.  Some are single and feeling grief that their futures “must” now look different than they’d always dreamed.  Some are dating or married and terrified to tell their partner about the fears and obsessing they’ve been experiencing.  Some of them say they would rather die or be alone forever than to be gay (if they are really straight) or straight (if they are really gay).  That’s intense, folks.

(Please note that I am avoiding using specific terms because HOCD affects both straight and gay people.  I’m trying to keep my post very generic so that I don’t write just to the straight crowd.)

But I get it.  Our sexuality and sexual preferences are so core to our identities, and when OCD causes us to question them, it is an intense experience.  It’s torture.  Hellish.  Exhausting.

I’m sorry.

The good news is that you’re not alone.  Not even close.  There are so many others who are struggling with this– and there are sufferers who have come out on the other side.

Here’s the truth:

* You have an illness.  It’s OCD and it will attack whatever is most important to you.
* You need to treat your illness.  The best treatment is exposure and response prevention (ERP) therapy.
* ERP therapy treats OCD, not just HOCD– this is important because, if you were to somehow get rid of your HOCD obsessions and compulsions, it is incredibly likely that OCD would just move on to a new theme– often a bigger, harder, scarier one.
* For some people with HOCD, the most intense anxiety is caused over not knowing their sexual orientation.  My friends who are gay tell me that their anxiety was not around not knowing, but more around logistics of coming out and how they’d be received. **I’d love to hear people’s thoughts on this, gay, straight, bisexual, or HOCD sufferer.***
* Many do anything to avoid ERP because they are scared of what ERP will reveal about themselves.  Bad idea.  OCD is your cancer; don’t put off ERP, your chemo.  ERP is recognized worldwide as the best treatment for OCD.  In other words, I’m not just advocating some hokey, weird techniques.
* Are there other ways to treat HOCD? You can try medication (probably an SSRI) or hope for a miracle.  Your (much) better option is to proactively commit yourself to ERP therapy.
* I highly recommend finding an ERP specialist to guide you through your therapy.  If you meet with a therapist who does not mention “exposures” as a part of your therapy, find a new therapist.
* You can do ERP therapy on your own, if needed, but you should get a book to guide you through it, such as Stop Obsessing by Edna Foa or Freedom from Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder by Jonathan Grayson.
* I am not an ERP therapist.  I cannot be your therapist.  I can be your cheerleader.

I’m sure you’re so ready to have your life back– to be in control of your own thoughts again.  Your path is clear!  I’m so excited for you!

For more about HOCD, OCD, and ERP, go to jackieleasommers.com/OCD.