If I Fall
My second novel, and first romance novel. I came up with the idea while working in retail. Everyday I was surrounded by and visited by characters that helped me craft the characters in this novel.
The story didn't really change much from the original draft. I always planned for this to be a character story and not too much plot focus. I did research by reading some romance novels to see how they handled overall plot and characters. One book I did re-read was a book called The Hating Game by Sally Thorne (avoid the movie), and it too didn't have a whimsical or convoluted story. It was just two people dealing with their problems and families. But, I still wanted to bring in a little mystery/fantasy into the novel by introducing time-travel without it being the main focus of everything.
The characters took awhile to get right. I didn't want Lana to be defined by her disability, but still have a personality on her own. My sister did serve as a bit of an inspiration for her, but she did develop into her own person in the end. Jake was definitely my favorite character to write. I love writing sarcastic characters and to make him go from a self-serving a-hole to someone who learns to care about others that are not himself was pretty fun. Also any of the scenes with him and Michael are my favorite.
This book is also one of the longest books I've written to date. At over forty chapters, I was worried it might have rambled on, but I didn't have the heart to cut out any plot points as every scene had some sort of relevance to the next scene or a character's development.
I also spent way more time designing the cover than the previous book. I had an idea of what I wanted to do with it, but the colors kind of developed as I played around in Photoshop until I reached something I was happy with.
I am happy with this book being a one-off story, even though I have considered a spin-off book that features Michael as the main character, but that is on the far backburner. I will possibly revisit the idea if there's a demand for it.
The story didn't really change much from the original draft. I always planned for this to be a character story and not too much plot focus. I did research by reading some romance novels to see how they handled overall plot and characters. One book I did re-read was a book called The Hating Game by Sally Thorne (avoid the movie), and it too didn't have a whimsical or convoluted story. It was just two people dealing with their problems and families. But, I still wanted to bring in a little mystery/fantasy into the novel by introducing time-travel without it being the main focus of everything.
The characters took awhile to get right. I didn't want Lana to be defined by her disability, but still have a personality on her own. My sister did serve as a bit of an inspiration for her, but she did develop into her own person in the end. Jake was definitely my favorite character to write. I love writing sarcastic characters and to make him go from a self-serving a-hole to someone who learns to care about others that are not himself was pretty fun. Also any of the scenes with him and Michael are my favorite.
This book is also one of the longest books I've written to date. At over forty chapters, I was worried it might have rambled on, but I didn't have the heart to cut out any plot points as every scene had some sort of relevance to the next scene or a character's development.
I also spent way more time designing the cover than the previous book. I had an idea of what I wanted to do with it, but the colors kind of developed as I played around in Photoshop until I reached something I was happy with.
I am happy with this book being a one-off story, even though I have considered a spin-off book that features Michael as the main character, but that is on the far backburner. I will possibly revisit the idea if there's a demand for it.
Back Cover Description
No one appreciates me.
They’ll be sorry when I’m gone.
Jake constantly creates problems that are never his fault. From living well above his means to treating women as nothing more than eye candy. He would rather end his own life than deal with the consequences of his own actions.
No one can deal with you. You’re a lost cause.
Lana’s life is a constant battle with her depression. A battle she is losing. The negative voice that plagues her convinces her to end it all. Afterall, who could love her when she can’t even love herself?
Two strangers with conflicting personalities are forced to work together if they ever want to return home.
After a terrible decision, Jake and Lana end up in bed together with no memory of how they got there, how they are several years in the future, nor why they are married. Will they be able to return to their old lives without repeating their mistake? Or is this some kind of divine punishment?
They’ll be sorry when I’m gone.
Jake constantly creates problems that are never his fault. From living well above his means to treating women as nothing more than eye candy. He would rather end his own life than deal with the consequences of his own actions.
No one can deal with you. You’re a lost cause.
Lana’s life is a constant battle with her depression. A battle she is losing. The negative voice that plagues her convinces her to end it all. Afterall, who could love her when she can’t even love herself?
Two strangers with conflicting personalities are forced to work together if they ever want to return home.
After a terrible decision, Jake and Lana end up in bed together with no memory of how they got there, how they are several years in the future, nor why they are married. Will they be able to return to their old lives without repeating their mistake? Or is this some kind of divine punishment?