Tina Ann Forkner | Inside the Heart of a Character

One of my earliest memories is of my mom filling up a box with old clothes and telling me we were giving them to someone who needed them more. All through my growing up years I saw Mom’s charitable example playing out over and over, even though she didn’t have much to give. She was a small town Girl Scout leader, helped organize chili supper fundraisers, was part of the booster club for both the band and the football team, and even ran a pageant that gave small town girls a reason to dream of things like college and a career.

These are the kinds of charitable things small town women do, so when I created the main Southern character for my recent novel, I knew she had to be philanthropic – small town style. In WAKING UP JOY, Joy Talley wakes up from a coma with a need to face her troubled past, but also a deep aspiration to be a better person. Up until her coma, Joy is living a predictable, mundane life. She doesn’t have a man, she has secrets her family doesn’t know about, and she feels stuck in a rut with her life. This has to change, so along with finding romance and facing her secrets, she looks for a new purpose in the form of helping others.

Joy doesn’t have any money, but after some soul searching she settles on a charity that her late mother was involved in. Inspired by her mother’s charitable heart, she resurrects fundraising for The Tulip House for Girls, a home that meets the needs of girls who are displaced due to some hard knocks. Joy understands hard knocks, so she throws all of her energy into planning events to raise money for the home - and of course the events must include food, just as they did when I was a kid.

Like my character, Joy Talley, I was inspired by my own mom to participate in charities as an adult, so naturally I borrowed this aspect of my life for the novel. While Joy’s charitable heart isn’t the only focus of WAKING UP JOY, it is an important part of her character and gives us a better picture of who she is. She is a woman who dreams of finding joy, and she must do so by looking outside of herself.

Joy’s heart makes her character more real. It makes her more like us.

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About WAKING UP JOY

Behind every lost dream lies a second chance…

When adored town spinster Joy Talley ends up in a coma after a peculiar accident, she is surprised and incensed to hear what is being said in her hospital room, including plans for her funeral. When she finally wakes, her well-meaning, but bossy, brothers and sisters dismiss her claims, thinking her accident has knocked her off her rocker, but Joy has never felt better, and is determined to set the past right.

Now Joy must face her darkest secret and risk reopening wounds caused by an old flame who rejected her more than twenty years ago. But taking risks brings change, as well as a new, younger man into Joy’s life, making her feel like a teenager again. Suddenly Joy’s once humdrum life is anything but boring and routine and the future beckons, exhilarating and bright.

About Tina Ann Forkner

Tina Ann Forkner is the author of WAKING UP JOY, ROSE HOUSE, and RUBY AMONG US. A Southern girl at heart, she lives with her husband and children in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Learn more at www.tinaannforkner.com