This week, meet Juliet, leading lady in Annette Mori's latest, Captivated. Welcome Annette & Juliet!
* * * * *
The main character in my latest book, Captivated,
has a quirky lead character named, Juliet. At first, I wanted to name the book,
Juliet the Spy, because she was loosely based on an adult version of one of my
all-time favorite characters in the children’s book, Harriet the Spy. The
title got nixed, but the character remained.
Not only is Juliet the town snoop, but she
also skates the edge of a bona fide diagnosis of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.
Many of us have compulsions and joke about being OCD, but a person who truly
has Obsessive Compulsive Disorder must live with a set of challenges that most
people do not experience. I know this because my mother was a lot like Juliet
and her compulsions went far beyond minor obsessions.
It was important to me to portray Juliet as
quirky, but loveable. It is easy to cross the line into irritating. This was a very difficult balance and a lot
of my words ended up on the cutting floor because as my editors pointed out,
“we get it already, she has OCD.” Yet, I also wanted to help people understand
how the disorder affects every part of the person’s life, especially their
relationships.
I believe in the end, I did accomplish what
I set out to achieve. I wanted people to understand the basic concept of embracing
individuality and a person’s unique quirks…in essence loving them for those
traits, not despite them.
My grandmother often said that every pot
has a lid. I do believe that my mother found her perfect lid in my father, who
was her exact opposite. My father appreciated my mother and fundamentally celebrated
her OCD because he needed it! I expanded on my mother and father in my weekly
blog this past Friday if you’d like to read more about that. Suffice is to say
that my book, Captivated is a tribute to my mother.
Here’s a passage from Captivated to give you
a glimpse into Juliet.
Juliet pushed the
door open to a grinning Tanner. She was careful not to touch the door handle
and used her shirt again. “Did the housekeeper take a vacation or something?
It’s disgusting in there.”
“For someone who was
tied to a chair with a gun against her forehead, you sure have a smart mouth.
Didn’t anyone ever tell you that you don’t have to express every little thought
that pops into your head?”
“Trust me. I’ve kept
a whole slew of thoughts to myself. This is me being restrained,” Juliet
quipped.
“Hmmm. Good to know.
I recommend you working on your tact just a smidge more.” Tanner held out her
thumb and forefinger to demonstrate.
“Fine, but if you
expect to keep me alive, I need cleaning supplies to rid this cabin of whatever
harmful germs have been allowed to flourish without intervention.”
“I didn’t exactly
have time to make it presentable for company, and just for the record, I don’t
normally live this way. This was a last-minute decision. Come on, let’s eat.”
Juliet looked at the
old oak table and sighed. Although it didn’t have any obvious remnants of moldy
food or other repulsive items, she was distrustful.
“Stop eyeing the
table like it’s your enemy. The food is in a bag, wrapped tightly. Germs aren’t
skilled enough to burrow inside two layers of protection. God, I’ve kidnapped a
germaphobe.” Tanner shook her head and grimaced.
“I’ll just take the
sandwich right from the bag. No need to get out any plates or put it on the
table.” Juliet scrunched up her face.
Tanner rolled her
eyes and pulled out the bulging sandwich wrapped in white paper. After handing
it to Juliet, she dug into the sack and pulled out a bag of potato chips and a
cookie.
No comments:
Post a Comment