Romantic mystery heroine- Col. 2 - Jamie Elliott Demontagne
This is the second column reflecting our perception of our characters and various aspects of our novels. We begin with Jamie from A Dream Across Time.
Column 2 -
In the beginning we had a general story outline for A Dream Across Time but needed a lead character who had characteristics we could admire. We wanted a woman who was gutsy, independent, committed, loving, creative, intelligent, and dedicated. Totally unacceptable was a woman who was a victim, weak willed, indecisive, and a poor communicator. How often have all of us suffered through books where, if the characters talked to each other, the story would have been over in ten pages? The woman who became Jamie had to be a modern woman with real strengths.
Our setting and the story seemed to work better if she was married but, as a person living in the real world, Jamie needed to have a less than stellar marriage. When we sent early drafts out we found a surprising number of people who thought Jamie should have immediately dumped her husband, Paul. As psychotherapists and experts on stepfamilies, we wondered if these people who were so quick to bail out had ever made a go of a marriage. One of the objects of marriage is to try to grow together and it can be uneven. Jamie is not a quitter and marriages need to be given a chance. Maybe a new start for the marriage WAS indicated.
Did she make an error with Paul in marrying him? Perhaps. We can go to pop psychology and speculate about how marriage to him was "just what she needed". That it was "perfect", etc. Baloney.
Human beings are programmed to get married and have children. As much as we may love the characters on Sex and the City, we do not aspire to their lives. We aspire to what they aspire to. It’s a fundamental goal to want marriage and family.
We can speculate about how Jamie might have been neurotically playing out deficiencies or pathology in her family of origin. Dredge up the collected works of Sigmund Freud and get out the fluffy duster. Now, let’s see. On second thought, forget it. Maybe that would be pointless. Not just because Jamie is a fictional character but also because people make honest efforts which sometimes don’t work out. Maybe Jamie married too soon after her father’s death and maybe Paul looked like a good bet. He might have grown up. Grown with her. We get married with high hopes and for half of us it ends in divorce. Move on.
Now we really get to the heart of the issue. What did Jamie do? Her husband had turned out to be a philanderer who was working hard on a case of alcoholism. When that was fully dawning on her, Jamie had a choice to make. She could go back to the States and "safety" or stay in an alien culture and take the "risk". She made a rational decision. In the States Jamie had only "safety" and a familiar environment. On St. Lucia she had found a beautiful island, lovely people, a job she might not have found in the States, and she had such a good friend in Barbara.
She also had to decide about a relationship. Her husband had turned out to be a "rat". Should she take a chance on another relationship, another man? Should she dream and go after the dream?
As you can see in the story, life was hitting Jamie hard. Jamie was determined not to turn tail and leave. She picked herself up, dusted herself off and started all over again as the song says.
We understand that sooner or later death will come knocking at our door. But what about when life is at the door? Do we pretend not to be at home?
How did Jamie come to this position of being so willing to confront life as it came? Life came to the door, she answered and she was dealt a hand full of dreams. A hand she took willingly, with commitment. Did her mother do a really good job of instilling confidence in her daughter? Let’s hear it for her mother! But then did Paul’s alcoholic mother sow the seeds of his problems? Is she responsible, in the end, for how his life turned out?
Oops! Was that "let’s blame it on Mom"? Parents get a lot of undue blame AND undue credit. We’d like to take credit for the accomplishments of our children but before we get too puffed up with their achievements or too guilty about their failures, it requires a close look at the record. Some really rotten kids come from great families and some great kids come from rotten families. Parents have an influence but kids have choices.
And this is who Jamie is. She has beauty, brains and talent. Squandering all those gifts is one option. She chose to make the most of them as she faced loss and adversity. For Jamie, the book shows some possible answers to the questions, " Where will you be if you dream? Who will you be if you dream?"
What will be true for you if you dream?
For Much More Come Visit Us at www.annierogers.com
This is the second column reflecting our perception of our characters and various aspects of our novels. We begin with Jamie from A Dream Across Time.
Column 2 -
In the beginning we had a general story outline for A Dream Across Time but needed a lead character who had characteristics we could admire. We wanted a woman who was gutsy, independent, committed, loving, creative, intelligent, and dedicated. Totally unacceptable was a woman who was a victim, weak willed, indecisive, and a poor communicator. How often have all of us suffered through books where, if the characters talked to each other, the story would have been over in ten pages? The woman who became Jamie had to be a modern woman with real strengths.
Our setting and the story seemed to work better if she was married but, as a person living in the real world, Jamie needed to have a less than stellar marriage. When we sent early drafts out we found a surprising number of people who thought Jamie should have immediately dumped her husband, Paul. As psychotherapists and experts on stepfamilies, we wondered if these people who were so quick to bail out had ever made a go of a marriage. One of the objects of marriage is to try to grow together and it can be uneven. Jamie is not a quitter and marriages need to be given a chance. Maybe a new start for the marriage WAS indicated.
Did she make an error with Paul in marrying him? Perhaps. We can go to pop psychology and speculate about how marriage to him was "just what she needed". That it was "perfect", etc. Baloney.
Human beings are programmed to get married and have children. As much as we may love the characters on Sex and the City, we do not aspire to their lives. We aspire to what they aspire to. It’s a fundamental goal to want marriage and family.
We can speculate about how Jamie might have been neurotically playing out deficiencies or pathology in her family of origin. Dredge up the collected works of Sigmund Freud and get out the fluffy duster. Now, let’s see. On second thought, forget it. Maybe that would be pointless. Not just because Jamie is a fictional character but also because people make honest efforts which sometimes don’t work out. Maybe Jamie married too soon after her father’s death and maybe Paul looked like a good bet. He might have grown up. Grown with her. We get married with high hopes and for half of us it ends in divorce. Move on.
Now we really get to the heart of the issue. What did Jamie do? Her husband had turned out to be a philanderer who was working hard on a case of alcoholism. When that was fully dawning on her, Jamie had a choice to make. She could go back to the States and "safety" or stay in an alien culture and take the "risk". She made a rational decision. In the States Jamie had only "safety" and a familiar environment. On St. Lucia she had found a beautiful island, lovely people, a job she might not have found in the States, and she had such a good friend in Barbara.
She also had to decide about a relationship. Her husband had turned out to be a "rat". Should she take a chance on another relationship, another man? Should she dream and go after the dream?
As you can see in the story, life was hitting Jamie hard. Jamie was determined not to turn tail and leave. She picked herself up, dusted herself off and started all over again as the song says.
We understand that sooner or later death will come knocking at our door. But what about when life is at the door? Do we pretend not to be at home?
How did Jamie come to this position of being so willing to confront life as it came? Life came to the door, she answered and she was dealt a hand full of dreams. A hand she took willingly, with commitment. Did her mother do a really good job of instilling confidence in her daughter? Let’s hear it for her mother! But then did Paul’s alcoholic mother sow the seeds of his problems? Is she responsible, in the end, for how his life turned out?
Oops! Was that "let’s blame it on Mom"? Parents get a lot of undue blame AND undue credit. We’d like to take credit for the accomplishments of our children but before we get too puffed up with their achievements or too guilty about their failures, it requires a close look at the record. Some really rotten kids come from great families and some great kids come from rotten families. Parents have an influence but kids have choices.
And this is who Jamie is. She has beauty, brains and talent. Squandering all those gifts is one option. She chose to make the most of them as she faced loss and adversity. For Jamie, the book shows some possible answers to the questions, " Where will you be if you dream? Who will you be if you dream?"
What will be true for you if you dream?
For Much More Come Visit Us at www.annierogers.com
posted by Roger | 9:14 AM
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