By now you’ve probably figured out that I have a lot of fun doing research for my books.
Yes, I let my children and their friends (whose faces have been smudged to protect the innocent 😉 ) believe I was taking them on a school trip to the fire station all those years ago, but really… in the far recesses of my mind, I must’ve known some day I’d write about a firefighter and want to know what it felt like to wear all that stuff!
And since I have so much fun brainstorming new books, I thought I’d let you in on the fun, too!
And…if your suggestion makes it into the book, you will be rewarded! 🙂
So here’s what I need:
1) A famous person, such as a celebrity, that resembles my hero Jake.
If you can give me a link to an image online, all the better. Jake is a firefighter who lives in a small town close to Seattle. He’s a widower with a four-year-old son, Tommy. Jake is tall and lanky. His brother Sam, looks like Mike Fisher (Carrie Underwood’s husband-to-be) and Jake looks nothing like him. Any suggestions? Update: I’m leaning toward Amber’s suggested Paul Walker, but still open to more suggestions.
2) A name for the community program he wants to start to help Single Parents get through the Christmas holidays (things such as men helping put out Christmas lights or bring in a Christmas tree for single moms or women baking for single dads–stereotypical, I know, but they do tend to be the areas that each struggle with). This was his wife’s brainchild and he wants to name it something that will honor her memory. Her name (at the moment) is Stacey. Although if another name lends to a better name for the program, I can change it. If you have additional suggestions for the program that would be great, too! I’ve decided to play with a variation of Dianna’s suggestion in the comments for this one!
3) A Title for the story. The heroine is hiding out in Jake’s town (under witness protection). She was a kindergarten teacher and dog trainer, but now she works in a library. The threat of being found by the person she’ll be testifying against (kidnapper of a child) hangs over her head throughout the story. The story takes place between Thanksgiving and Christmas in a small town called Stalwart. Update: I’m still collecting great title ideas! Thank you to those who emailed me additional suggestions. 😉
Your Turn: Let your creativity run wild! The more off-the-wall the suggestion, the more intriguing twists it sparks.
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Hmm…if Tommy looks nothing like Mike Fisher, maybe make him blonde? My hubby has brown hair and brown eyes and his brother has blonde hair and blue eyes. LOL
I thought Sean Lowe from the Bachelor was pretty darn cute: http://www.policymic.com/articles/29470/the-bachelor-2013-spoilers-sean-picks-catherine-desiree-hartsock-the-next-bachelorette
Titles: Hiding in Plain Sight, Faithful Witness
Thanks for the suggestions, Jennifer! I agree, Sean is cute. 🙂 Hiding in Plain Sight has already been used by LIS, but I’ll add Faithful Witness to my list!
Ooooo! this is fun. OK, for how he looks…I would suggest Paul Walker! Super yummy–blonde hair and blue eyes. Very dreamy. That’s all I got. I’m terrible with titles. LOL
Hope that helps a bit!
HUGS!!!
Amber
Oooo, is right. I actually had no idea who he was, so I googled him. I didn’t like his shaved look, but I really like this one: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0908094/ Great suggestion! Thanks. 🙂
This sounds like a great story premise. Love firefighter heroes.
Just throwing random ideas out there:
Protecting Her Heart or Protector of Her Heart
Destiny’s Firestorm
Shelter from the Inferno
Identity Withheld
Awesome suggestions, Susan! Thanks so much.
Suppose Jake’s wife was a librarian who loved children, and Jake has decided to raise money to build a special addition to the small town library for use with children. Encouraging them to read and have fun while doing it. Maybe call the addition “Stacey’s Corner”?
Then mob type danger would hit not only close to the heroine, but would endanger the library and all of Jake’s efforts as well. Actually, then Jake could become witness to something as well.
Cool idea, Dianna. My hesitation to change his wife’s former occupation to being the same as the heroine’s is that it might seem like he’s not seeing her for her, but as what he loved about his wife. Of course…that could add a whole other dimension to the romantic conflict…and it would definitely give them a strong reason to work together. Hmmm…you might have convinced me to rewrite. 😉
You’ve made a good point. How about this: his wife was a homeschooling mom (which would make it a double hit for the son in grieving) who volunteered time at the library for literacy. When I homeschooled I started a once a month reading for homeschoolers during the year that usually got anywhere from 20-30 kids there, which was a LOT of kids for my little small-town library.
Anyway, this angle would still put importance on the library without her actually working there, and he could still work to add the addition with her name on it in the name of literacy for children. If it’s a small town then the library would be small as well, and homeschoolers, teachers, and parents would come together to see the library improved (at least I would hope so).
She dies soon after her only child is born, so she wouldn’t be homeschooling, but I could make her a volunteer instead. In my opening chapter the heroine (who isn’t supposed to be doing anything close to teaching–her former occupation) has had to fill in reading to a group of children, so the idea really fits well with how I’ve already started the book. And I’m liking the idea of having “his project” more closely tied to her occupation. Makes for a tighter story. Awesome!
Here are some ideas.
Ben Affleck
Alex Pettyfer
Hugh Jackman
Josh Duhamel
Ryan Reynolds
John Cusack
Joseph Gordon Levitt
Great suggestions. Thank you. There are a few in the list I’m going to have to Google. Bonus points for suggesting a Canadian, too–Ryan Reynolds. 😉