Jocelyn Adams | The Evolution of an Idea
February 11, 2016
I’ve always been fascinated by the stars. What’s out there? Are we alone? How
did we get here? Several years ago, I decided to explore that idea in fiction,
and what a journey it’s been. I knew what was out there in books on the subject,
and my goal was to write something new and unexpected. Not an easy aspiration
with all of the creative minds out there filling the shelves with their
brilliant works. As with every idea that evolves into a book, it began with a single question:
What if… Of course, the first few things I finished that sentence with didn’t
lead me anywhere interesting. Aliens and beasts and special abilities that have
been done and redone every which way. Demons and angels, gods and time
travelers. None of them were right, but what else was there? One night while
watching a movie—I can’t even remember which one now—I began thinking about the
power of emotion and how it can give someone seemingly super-human strength in
the face of a crisis, physically and spiritually. What if emotion could be harnessed as a shield or a weapon? Why would it be
needed? What foe could be so strong it endangered our way of life? And most
importantly, how did this ability come to be? Then came the next evolution of
the idea—what if there was a love so strong, so potent and pure, it drew the
attention of a higher being from out there in the vast black of time and space
that held all the secrets of the universe? And so the Mortal
Machine, a secret society of Earth’s champions, was born. Now all I needed
were the players in this new world of mine. I’ve always been a big fan of flawed
characters and hard-won love, and I began plotting against these poor souls to
put them through hell on Earth and beyond. Several times over. There are days
I’m really glad my characters can’t come to life, because if they could, I’d be
in some serious trouble right about now. I took my characters many places while we explored this new frontier together,
some we should never have gone. Dealing with such a complicated world where time
and space followed new rules brought more challenges than I’d anticipated. I
wrote myself into corners often. Even shed a few tears of frustration and
triumph. I’ve never scrapped more words than I did with the Mortal Machine trilogy,
leaving dozens of scenes littering the editing-room floor. By the time I finally
wrote THE END on FOREVER
DUSK, though, I had grown to know my characters as intimately as I know
myself. Their weaknesses, their fears, their most private wishes, were my
secrets to keep, some of which never made it onto the pages. I’m going to miss them. Although my curiosity remains about those sparkling diamonds in our night sky,
I’ll have to be satisfied with my own version of our origins. At least until the
great minds of or time uncover the truth that’s out there, waiting for us to
find it. To celebrate the release of FOREVER DUSK, the last of
the Mortal Machine
trilogy, Jocelyn will be giving away a tree of life pendant, along with a
$20 Amazon gift card. Just tell us what emotion would be the best as a weapon.
Ever think about that? It can stir up some thoughts!
Jocelyn is an office grunt by day and creator of romance and adventure by
night. Born a farmer’s daughter with a vivid imagination, she spent her
childhood dreaming up stories that remained untold until 2010. With no
formal training, she relied on the honest feedback of her writing group to take
her from that first short story all the way to THE END of her first novel. She
now has nine published novels and has recently signed a 3-book deal with
Entangled Publishing. When she isn’t slinging words, you can find her
shooting her bow or enjoying the serenity of family life in her little house in
the woods.
Mortal Machine trilogy
A love for the ages...but will it survive the final test? Since
their last battle, life for the Mortal Machine—the secret-society that protects
Earth and its inhabitants from dark outside forces—has become almost...normal.
For everyone but Addison. The evil she’s imprisoned in her soul has begun eating
away at her sanity, and despite her soul mate Asher’s efforts to hold her
together, it’s causing painful and terrifying delusions. Consequently,
nobody believes Addison's warnings that Marcus, their old enemy, has returned.
When Marcus threatens Asher and the Machine, she agrees to find what he seeks—a
treasure that, in his hands, could be deadly. If she relies too much on
Asher, she knows he’ll likely imprison her, if only to preserve what's left of
her deteriorating mind. But if she fails this final test, Earth will fall. So
Addison is forced to distance herself from her love, to prevent the life she
wants with Asher from being over before it truly begins.
Comments
32 comments posted.
Re: Jocelyn Adams | The Evolution of an Idea
There are so many emotions that can be used as weapons. Love, hate, desire, envy, anger. (Edward Washington 6:41pm February 11, 2016)
What emotion is the best weapon? I must say the Silician's proverb is best then, you know :revenge is best when serves cold." Mwa-hahaha.... 3:) (Jk Vaid 7:03pm February 11, 2016)
Definitely "Silent treatment"... has the same effect as "Silent but deadly", methinks. (Joy Johnson 7:06pm February 11, 2016)
That is something interesting to think about... emotions can definitely overwhelm people... (Colleen Conklin 8:12pm February 11, 2016)
I would say love. (G. Bisbjerg 9:57pm February 11, 2016)
fear since you never know what you do (Marissa Yip-Young 6:13am February 12, 2016)
Love and Hate. Thanks for the chance to win. I'd love to have this gift card to spend on books. (Cathy Thomas 7:48am February 12, 2016)
Anger. Definitely the best weapon but also tough to control. (Pam Howell 9:11am February 12, 2016)
I guess love is the best weapon..it make you do many things..not all good or bad. (Gwenn Ostman 2:31pm February 12, 2016)
The best emotion would be hatred. Strong and filled with emotion. (Sharon Berger 4:28pm February 12, 2016)
Fear is powerful. (Ginger Hinson 11:25pm February 12, 2016)
Silent, they never know what's going on inside your mind . They will fear you ( maybe ) . (Joan Thrasher 11:38am February 13, 2016)
I think Love would be the best weapon because every thing in life comes back to Love.So Love can hurt more than anything else. (Arleen Lancaster 6:33pm February 13, 2016)
I think anger would be a powerful weapon. (Kv H 9:01pm February 13, 2016)
Love would be the best weapon. (Wilma Frana 9:13pm February 13, 2016)
Love is mentioned as the strongest emotion, but reading the daily newspaper or following the internet makes hate seem to hold that distinction. The things that are being done throughout the world today because of hatred just overwhelm one. It would be wonderful if love could halt the harm that hate is causing. (Gladys Paradowski 12:13pm February 14, 2016)
I feel like hate is the strongest emotion. Hate makes people do unthinkable things....we all see it on the news everyday. (Lily Shah 1:36pm February 14, 2016)
The need for revenge could be used as a weapon. (Laurice McClung 4:06pm February 14, 2016)
Guilt. That would be the best emotion to use as a weapon. I've seen people get a lot of things by using guilt on a person. (Amy Morgan 4:29pm February 14, 2016)
Hate is the strongest emotion. (Kelly Powell 5:48pm February 14, 2016)
Jealousy (Donna Antonio 2:50pm February 15, 2016)
List or greed, which is just another form of lust. History bears out what destruction can be brought about by list or greed. (Vikki Wright 5:34pm February 15, 2016)
love (Ann Unger 9:38pm February 15, 2016)
I think the love of ones you love. (Leona Olson 10:49am February 16, 2016)
Guilt is a strong emotion (Patricia Wagner 11:15am February 16, 2016)
Love is the best weapon. (Anna Speed 12:03pm February 16, 2016)
Revenge because it makes you do things you wouldn't normally do! I love the cover! (Denise Austin 2:20pm February 16, 2016)
I think love would be the most powerful because it can make people do so many things. I think love itself can encompass a variety of other emotions that range from empathy, sadness, anger and many others. I feel that love as a weapon can almost create a weapon from any emotion based on how it is used. (Lauren James 2:47pm February 16, 2016)
Love, hate, revenge, guilt and anger are some. It would depend on the person you plan on using the emotion on. (Jane Komppa 4:12pm February 16, 2016)
LOVE , would been a good one. (Deb Pelletier 9:58pm February 16, 2016)
I think rage is the emotional that would make the best weapon because when you're angry, you focus all your energy on that, which could be pretty powerful. (Barbara Elness 11:19pm February 16, 2016)
Love is the best weapon of all (Jan Capstick 6:13pm February 17, 2016)
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