Author Spotlight: Jean Joachim

From Christina

Today, I'm pleased to present New York author, Jean Joachim, in the "Author Spotlight". Be sure to check out her webpage to see the books she's written and the awards she's won. Her latest release, written with co-author Ben Tanner, is Love Lost and Found. I'm adding the book to my TBR list. It promises to be a great read.

From Jean

Hi, Christina, thank you so much for having me on your blog today. I’d like to share a little about what went into the creation of my new book with co-author, Ben Tanner, titled  Love Lost and Found.

The inspiration behind the story

As with most of my books, I live my story in my head. I’ve always been fascinated with the military and I was wondering how one lives with such brutal separation from their beloved. As often happens in my head when a story is evolving, I say to myself, “what if” which sends my imagination off and running. I had two characters I wanted to put through the experience and see how they fared.

My question for Mick and Tara, the hero and heroine, was, “can true love grow quickly after the seeds of strong attraction are planted?” Getting stranded on a deserted island for a couple of days was just what their love needed to flower. As I went through that with them, emotions bouncing from the joy of a private love nest to the fear of never being found and dying there, I understood the strong bond created between them.

Back to their coping with separation. Ben and I showed how easy it is to drift into a bad situation, one that threatens your relationship and how strong you have to be to remain faithful during times of loneliness and silence. Military personnel aren’t always in places where they can write letters or send email. How do you cope with that? Tara had to live with that uncertainty if she wanted to be with Mick. A little help from her mother gave her a solution that worked.

Of course more twists and turns were thrown at Mick and Tara. Through sheer force of their love for each other, they made it to their happy ending but, at times, it was a harrowing journey.

Creating this book was a different process for me as it’s my first time writing with a partner. Working with Ben was both a joy and an education. As a retired Marine, he brought so much knowledge and experience to the military scenes and background.  He’s also an excellent proofreader and grammarian. We plan to write two more in this series and have a working outline already.  

Here’s a bit about the book

What do a Marine who received a “Dear John” letter and a journalist who dumped her cheating fiancé have in common? Nothing, outside of being heartbroken over lost love. But when they accidentally end up next to each other jetting to a Caribbean paradise, they do share one thing: mutual attraction. Friendship between Tara Mason and Sergeant Mick Peterson grows quickly through a few dates on St. Thomas. An argument coupled with a blunder strand them on a small deserted Caribbean island.

In the midst of nothing but sand and water, possible starvation leading to death, old wounds heal. While working together to survive, Mick and Tara fall in love. Love found in their own private Eden is soon challenged in life-threatening ways when they return to the mainland. Long separations, danger and loneliness test their devotion. Is the love they’ve found strong enough to withstand what life throws at them?  

 

An excerpt is available on my website: http://www.jeanjoachimbooks.com

Thanks again for having me here, I enjoyed our chat.