LET'S WELCOME NICOLE JACQUELYN AUTHOR OF: HEART OF GLASS

LET’S

WELCOME

NICOLE

JACQUELYN

AUTHOR OF:

Rad-Reader:  How did you come to write this story? 

Nicole:  I thought about the first story in the Fostering Love series called Unbreak My Heart for over a year before I had the time to write it. The two main characters of that story had this large extended family full of these great secondary characters and I knew from the first scenes with the secondary characters that I’d love to write stories about them. Trevor’s story grew organically from there and I knew which direction the story would take after his little brother Henry died in the second book Change of Heart.

Rad-Reader:  Can you give us a little backstory on Morgan and Trevor that the blurb might not be able to give us?

Nicole:  Trevor is the oldest in a group of cousins and he’s always been the leader. He’s the quietest of the bunch. He thinks before he speaks. He’s the one that all the others go to for advice. He was adopted when he was young by a couple who couldn’t have children and he’s a total mama’s boy.

 Morgan has had a rough life. Her mom was a drug addict who passed away when Morgan was young, so she and her sister ended up in foster care until her dad regained custody of them. She’s really close to her dad and sister, but she’s also fiercely independent which makes things difficult when she meets Trevor who prides himself on taking care of the people he loves. 

Rad-Reader:  What is one certain something that made you say yes!  That’s it, that's a good starting point or did you just start writing?

Nicole:  Every story I write comes to me like scenes from a movie. The prologue of this story was the beginning of the story in my head, so I guess the answer is… I just start writing.

Rad-Reader:  Do you know anyone that this has happened to?

Nicole:  No way! This story is purely fictional. I do have family that has history in the foster care system, though, and I had the urge to write these stories because I think there is a serious lack, especially in romance novels, of stories that show loving and successful foster relationships.

Rad-Reader:  Ellie seemed so torn up about the baby.  How did they even find out about her?

Nicole:  In book two of the Fostering Love series, Change of Heart, Henry’s Will includes a note to Trevor about the daughter he left behind.

Rad-Reader:  How did Mike and Ellie come to adopt?  How many kids did they adopt or foster?

Nicole:  Mike and Ellie desperately wanted a family but were unable to have biological children. They decided to foster children and adopted two, Trevor and Henry. They also fostered Shane when he was a teenager, and though he was never adopted legally, their relationship with him remained close through adulthood. They fostered many children over the years.

Rad-Reader:  If Trevor has always wanted a family why hasn’t he tried before now?

Nicole:  Trevor hadn’t found the woman he wanted to spend forever with until he met Morgan.

Rad-Reader:  I got the feeling that Morgan may have noticed Trevor back in the old days when she was a foster child?

Nicole:  Sure, she noticed him! He’s a handsome guy. However, they didn’t interact much because he’s older than she is and he was fully grown by the time she was fostered with his family.

Rad-Reader:  We don’t get to hear his mom’s reaction to what the baby looked like or who her mother actually is.  So, how would it have gone?

Nicole:  Ellie was practically giddy when she heard about Etta. She was excited and worried and a million other emotions that she probably couldn’t have named if she tried. Knowing that Morgan was Etta’s mother didn’t mean much to Ellie because they hadn’t seen each other in a very long time, but it was a bit of a relief to know that Morgan wasn’t a complete stranger to their family.

Rad-Reader:  Why does Trevor feel like he needs to lock down his anger?  When talking about it, when it would do him good to let it out.

Nicole:  Trevor has been keeping his emotions in check since he was a child. He’s concerned—almost to a fault—about how he makes others feel. He tells Morgan in the story that he doesn’t use words to hurt people and that is genuinely how he lives his life. Anger isn’t an emotion that he’s comfortable showing others.

Rad-Reader:  Henry’s mom is being a pain.  Why don’t they correct her in a nice way but a firm way also?

Nicole:  Trevor loves his mom and he can’t imagine doing anything to hurt her, especially after she’s just lost her youngest son. Creating boundaries and enforcing them is something he struggles with throughout the novel.

Rad-Reader:   Is Morgan’s dad part of a motorcycle club?

Nicole:  No, Stan isn’t a part of any formal motorcycle club.

Rad-Reader:  When Morgan and Trevor had their moment at her dad’s house.  Why did she turn him away after the deed was done?

Nicole:  Morgan was feeling overwhelmed and freaked out about having sex with Trevor. It was a spur of the moment decision that she regretted afterward. Their relationship was complicated at the time and she didn’t want to complicate it even further.

Rad-Reader:  I don’t understand why Ellie turned on Trevor the way she did?

Nicole:  People react in strange ways to grief, and Ellie was grieving. Being angry at Trevor was something she could control, even if it wasn’t fair.

Rad-Reader:  Do you think Henry thought Trevor would do the right thing by going to look Morgan up?  They would hit it off?  Knowing he always wanted a family?

Nicole:  Henry was sure that his family would find Morgan and Etta after he was gone, but he didn’t have any idea that Trevor and Morgan would hit it off. Honestly, he probably wouldn’t have liked the fact that Morgan and Trevor had instant chemistry. He wasn’t a bad guy, far from it, but it would’ve made him very uncomfortable.

Rad-Reader:  Miranda has something happen to her on campus don’t they have security footage they could have looked at?

Nicole:  It wouldn’t have mattered to Miranda if the campus had security footage. She has a deep distrust of police and in her opinion, campus security is the same thing. She wouldn’t ask them for the footage.

Rad-Reader:  Ellie showing up at Trevor’s home that morning was totally uncalled for.  Yet, also so gut-wrenching.  How hard was that for you to write?

Nicole:  I actually love writing scenes that have such an emotional impact. It’s cathartic for me. I also believe that if I’m not feeling the scene, my readers won’t either so… this series has caused a lot of tears.

Rad-Reader:  If your book was made into a movie who would you want to play…

Morgan:  Tori Kelly

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/397161260868863859/

Trevor:  Michael B. Jordon

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/706291154033821968/

Etta: Little girl Pinterest

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/321937073341081536/

Ani:  Britt Robertson

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/531987774712923560/

Bram:  Scott Eastwood

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/422775483759864025/

Kate:  Margot Robbie

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/294282156895117503/

Shane:  Jai Courtney

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/385620786829718757/

Mike:  Jeffery Dean Morgan

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/550494754442386596/

Ellie:  Diane Lane

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/67061481922841693/

Stan:  Brian Bosworth

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/513903007455402105/

Miranda:  Avril Lavigne

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/291326669641195078/

Nicole:  These things are tough. I’d just like to say, before I pick any actors, that these characters look like completely random people in my head and I’ve never found accurate representations online. With that said, I think that these actors and actresses would do a phenomenal job and are the closest to what I envisioned, even if they’re not exactly how the characters are described in the book.
Rad-Reader: Best answer ever sometimes we get the pics and are like what this is nothing like the description. LOL!

Morgan:  Katherine Winnick

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/399976010651326336/

Trevor:  Chadwick Boseman

 https://www.pinterest.com/pin/486740672219717030/

Etta:  Mia Talerico

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/105834659973665407/

Ani:  Anna Kendrick

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/159807486761427212/

Bram:  Oscar Isaac

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/425730971010634761/ 

Kate:  Bryce Dallas Howard

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/356417757986123608/

Shane:  Chris Pratt

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/562668547182110157/

Mike:  Mark Harmon

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/177047829078246926/

Ellie:  Sally Field

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/405112928951957005/

Stan:  Sam Elliot

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/241787073717009162/

Miranda:  Elizabeth Olsen

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/764626842955917470/

Rad-Reader:  What song or songs best describe your couple or book as a whole?

“Let it Be Me – Ray La Montagne”

Trevor wanted to love Morgan and Etta until she was able to accept and maybe one day give love back but for sure a home.

https://youtu.be/5LWpw3CMCEg

“In Case You Didn’t Know It – Brett Young (cover – Brieanna James)"

When Morgan after dinner at his aunts and meets up with his parents.

https://youtu.be/TqCRVM-GsLE

“When it Comes to Loving You – Jon Langston”

After meeting Morgan and Trevor and she starts texting, talking and joking.

https://youtu.be/NOHiwED-_Cs

Nicole:  “A Place for Us- Fitz and the Tantrums”

I love this song for them because Trevor is just trying to convince Morgan to take a chance on them. It doesn’t matter how they met or what baggage they have—there’s a place for them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSA4tyUmOQ0

“Craving You- Thomas Rhett”

I had to add a country song to this list since Trevor’s a country boy. This song is perfect for the way Trevor feels about Morgan, especially when they’re spending so much time apart.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THfc1R09Te8

Rad-Reader:  When did you know you wanted to be a writer?

Nicole:  I’ve always loved to write, but I didn’t think that it was a feasible profession until about five years ago. If I hadn’t started writing novels, I’d still be writing short stories and poems late at night after my kids went to bed… but no one would ever see them.

Rad-Reader:  Any other writers in your family?

Nicole:  I’m the only writer in my family. They actually think that it’s pretty crazy that I can write entire novels.

Rad-Reader:  If money & safety was no object where would you visit and why?

Nicole:  If money and safety was no object I’d take my kids backpacking through Europe and travel around the United States in an RV until we got homesick.

Rad-Reader:  What other genres would you like to try your hand at if not this one?

Nicole:  I’d love to write suspense or young adult novels. The suspense for me—because I love reading them—and the young adult novels so that my kids could actually read them!

Rad-Reader:  What is your next project and when is it coming out?

Nicole:  My next project is a book in my Aces MC series. I’m not sure of the publication date, but probably in the fall of 2018. The last book in the Fostering Love series is also coming out in the spring of 2019.

Rad-Reader:  Where can our readers buy your books?  Links

Nicole: 

 https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/nicole-jacquelyn/heart-of-glass/9781538711842/

Rad-Reader:  Where can our readers find you on the Web?  Links

Nicole:  Nicole Jacquelyn is the author of the popular Aces series as well as the Fostering Love novels. She is also the mom of two little girls and one lazy Boxer pup. For more on Nicole and her books, visit her on Facebook @AuthorNicoleJacquelyn.

Nicole,

     Thanks so much for being with us.  Loved the answers to my fangirl questions.  This story touched me closer to home than you know.  I adopted three children through the foster care system and my eldest passed away in March.  Although we were estranged I too went through similar emotions as this mother, Ellie, went through and can fully relate.  

     For you may hate a child's actions yet, not the child.  You may have to put your heart in a box so the hurt doesn't take you under.  As you continue to raise the rest of your family.  It is learning to live with the hurt masked as anger that you find out later is the sheer pain.

     You want so much to make a difference that you know as I do with my own birth child, I had after I raised the other three, the last two were graduating, LOL!  There are no guarantees with any child.  All we can do is our best with the tools we have, the knowledge, and the Heart of Glass.  

Nicole, be sure to share with us the next book so we can put it on our Shout Out: An Author's Place page.

Thanks again,

Char