411 on Books, Authors & Publishing

The Magical Experience of Writing Novels about Love and Healing

The Tess Lee and Jack Miller novels are a love letter to love itself and the power of love to help us heal—love in all forms—romance, friendship, patriotism, love of art, and most importantly, learning to love ourselves. Let me tell you a little bit about these books and then how I came to write them. Tess Lee and Jack Miller’s love story is the heart of these novels. Tess Lee is a world-famous novelist and philanthropist. Her inspirational books explore people’s innermost struggles and the human need to believe that there is light at the end of the tunnel. Despite her extraordinary success, she’s been unable to find personal happiness and is in the lifelong process of recovery from childhood abuse. Jack Miller is a federal agent. After spending decades immersed in a violent world, a residue remains. He’s dedicated everything to his job, leaving nothing for himself. He also struggles with grieving the death of his four-year old daughter, whom he didn’t know existed until she was on her deathbed. These are two innately good people who have sacrificed in service of others, and found little for themselves, until they find each other. There’s a saying that “hurt people hurt people” but Tess and Jack show us that hurt people can love each other in extraordinary ways. In essence, the couple, along with their dear friends, model what love looks like in action.

Penning these novels was unlike any other experience in my life—the way the story came to me, how quickly it happened, and the way I approached the writing. The truth is, I’ve always wanted to write a love story. When I was about ten years old, I began to give serious thought to becoming a writer. I tried writing a novel at the time, an epic love story between people who help each other heal, but because I was ten, it didn’t pan out. By the time I became a professional author, I had long since abandoned the idea of writing about love. Then one day, Shooting Stars came to me in a burst, which was very different from the way my other novels have materialized. Usually, I stew on an idea for a while, and then spend a year or two drafting a manuscript. Shooting Stars came to me quickly, and I wrote the entire first draft in about ten days. I barely slept, I didn’t respond to emails, and if anyone spoke to me, I’m sure I didn’t hear a word they said. I was completely immersed, more than I’d been with anything before. It was magical.

I spent every waking moment of every day and night mentally in this story’s world. It was an immersive, emotional, and cathartic experience. I’ve never enjoyed writing anything more. The writing process was completely different than my previous novels. In the past I had always drafted a rough outline and then written in chronological order. I viewed this one as a compilation of scenes, and that’s how I wrote it – completely out of order. The last chapter in the book was the first one I wrote, then I skipped around in the middle, and I finished by writing the first chapter. In fact, because there was no outline, I had no idea how many chapters there would be so I saved each one with names like “cake scene” or “cereal scene,” confident that in the end I would be able to string the scenes together. The structure of this novel is completely organic; there was no formula. By abandoning everything that had worked for me in the past, I was able to achieve something new. Shooting Stars could not have been written any other way. The process pushed me creatively and made me a better writer. How was I able to do this in ten days? It was possible because of the discipline and skills I developed over many years. When the moment of inspiration and opportunity presented itself, I was ready to serve as a scribe and allow the story to come through my filter. While I had experienced magical moments of discovery writing previous novels, those were just fleeting moments. With Shooting Stars, the entire process was magical—one of cocreation with a source of inspiration that somehow came to me as if it had been waiting all along.

Differing from previous works, Shooting Stars takes place entirely in real-time. I didn’t utilize some of the literary devices I’ve used in the past. There’s no interior monologue, nor are there any flashbacks. These choices were made so readers could experience these characters as they experience each other: together and in real time, through their interactions and dialogue. Instead of relying on flashbacks, I use storytelling as a way of providing backstory, in which characters share stories from their past with others. In terms of other literary tools, I also used foreshadowing, dropping subtle clues throughout. Themes were interwoven in numerous ways including through dialogue, symbolism, and metaphor. For example, the theme of darkness and light shows up through dialogue, but also through clothing, photography, the sky at different times of day, and other means. Let’s take clothing, which may seem innocuous at first glance, but was consciously chosen throughout. Tess and Jack only wear black, white, and gray—symbolizing darkness and light and their attempt to balance the two. The only time this changes is when they are in Hawaii, their special place, where they wear bright colors.

After I finished drafting Shooting Stars, I fell into a deep depression for twenty-four hours. This was the best writing experience of my life, and I felt strongly that it was also the best thing I’d ever created. Finishing it was devastating. Would I ever feel that way again? My heart also ached for the characters that had become so near and dear to me. Waking up without racing into their world left me with a profound sense of loss. I missed them. While I always experience some measure of sadness finishing a novel and saying goodbye to the characters that have occupied my days, this time it was worse. I knew more about them then I was able to share. I loved them more. And we only had ten days together. It wasn’t enough.

Standing out on my balcony looking up at the sky, suddenly, I realized I wasn’t ready to say goodbye to the characters. I knew there was much more to explore. Again in a burst, Twinkle came to me. I immediately started writing. This time, I knew it wasn’t merely a sequel, it was a part of a serial. I drafted Twinkle in about twelve days, in the same manner as Shooting Stars—writing scenes out of order. I loved this book even more. More books followed, five in total, each drafted in the same manner—out of order as scenes, in real-time, using dialogue, interaction, storytelling, foreshadowing, metaphor, and symbolism. It’s important to note that while these novels were drafted quickly, they were each revised dozens of times, in addition to receiving peer feedback and professional copy editing. Magic came in the first draft, polish in the many that followed.

I’m so excited that Shooting Stars and Twinkle are both out. I look forward to releasing future titles in the series: Constellations, Supernova, and North Star. Each book can be read as a stand-alone novel. Shooting Stars and Twinklehave embraced me in the warmest hug, and now that they’ve been released, I hope they do the same for others. In the end, these are books about the power of love to help us heal and to accept that we are enough exactly as we are.

Book Description:

Twinkle follows Tess Lee and Jack Miller after two years of marriage.

Tess is a wildly successful and world-famous novelist. Her inspirational books explore our innermost struggles and the human need to believe that there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Jack is a federal agent. After spending decades immersed in a violent world, a residue remains.

As they both heal from past trauma, their epic love, fostered by their ability to truly see one another, has brought them true happiness. However, when an anonymous threat is made against Tess’s life, everything changes. Will they learn to lean on each other, or will they fall apart into the darkness?

Their friends are along for the ride: Omar, Tess’s sarcastic best friend, who calls her Butterfly; the female president of the United States, who Tess visits regularly to discuss politics and bake cookies; Joe, Jack’s friend from the Bureau, who understands the sacrifices he’s made; and Bobby, Jack’s younger friend, who never fails to lend a calming presence.

Twinkle is a novel about the nature of doubt, the struggle to feel worthy of love, the relationship of the small part to the greater whole, and the ways in which love – from lovers, friends, or the art we experience – can help us move from trauma to healing and redemption. Written as unfolding action, Twinkle is a poignant novel that moves fluidly between melancholy, humor, and joy.

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