Characters pick their own power
By Jacqueline Paige
Everyone thinks when
a paranormal author sits down and plots out a story they plan which
character is going to be able to do what. While that may be true in
the beginning it never seems to stay that way for me, once the
characters are finally free on the pages (and out of the writers
head) they seem to pick their own power.
This is what
happened when I started writing In Our Dream. Dominic and
Jennah were supposed to only possess the ability to dream walk. They
weren’t happy with just being able to communicate in their sleep,
so they changed the rules and what they could do. It seemed by the
end of the story they also established the rules for their abilities.
I was able to
control these two characters for the most part in the first part of
the short series, but once they came back in the sequel From A
Dream they brought with them another character that had
abilities. At first Tess was supposed to be an average female
officer with a little attitude. When she first demonstrated what she
could, I stopped and sat back reading over the last scene and
couldn’t have been more surprised. Not to mention that what she
can do it just plain cool and if I could do that my life would be
simplified.
The third part of
the series After The Dream I did actually set out to have
several characters with different abilities or powers to go along
with Dominic, Jennah and Tess— what I didn’t know until I
actually typed it out was what power they would have. I decided to
let them tell me what they could do.
Here are a few
random scenes from the three stories that make up Dreams to
give you a little example of what my characters decided they were
doing.
Excerpt 1
Jennah
motioned toward the warden’s SUV. “I’m going to disable that
so we can go get the car and go help.”
He
shook his head and cursed under his breath as he felt for the mic on
his collar. “Tess, are you still on the west side.” He looked
back toward the cabin. “Move in and cover me. I’m going to put
the SUV out of commission.” He took two steps toward the cabin and
then stopped and turned to glare at her. He pulled off his glove and
hit the collar again. “She won’t, Dom! We’re well back just
keeping an eye out.”
She
smirked at the pleading look on the man’s face. “Dominic?”
“Why
aren’t you sitting back at the house drinking tea?” He
sounded out of breath.
She
shrugged. “I’m not thirsty. I feel bad for almost crippling
Brody and slicing him up. I wanted to stay and help in case they
double back.” She kept her voice soft and pleading.
“I’m
fine, just a little battered.” She heard Brody mumble. “I will.
I’m going to go disable the SUV and then head for the cars.” He
turned back to her. “Cover me.” She nodded and knelt down and
started skimming for movement in the trees along the cabin.
“Babe,
you watch his ass and then get yours back to the car.”
“Yes,
dear.” She heard his exasperated sigh.
She
saw a movement in the trees and it wasn’t in the direction Tess was
supposed to be in. “Dom, tell Brody to get down.” As
soon as she’d said it, a shot rang out. She looked quickly toward
the direction Brody had gone in. “Someone doubled back. Brody’s
been hit.” She moved as fast as she could while staying low to
the ground.
“Tess
is on it.”
“So
am I. Tell her they’re in the trees to the southeast. I’m
heading to cover Brody.” She cleared the trees as she said it
and ran as fast as she could toward the snow bank between her and
where she’d seen the movement.
“Shit!”
was the reply she got back inside her head.
“Is
Brody all right?”
“He’s
pissed, but will live. He says he sees you coming and you’re
covered.” He growled. “I am going to kick someone’s ass
when this is over!”
She
smirked, but decided she’d better not comment. “Does Tess
have him?”
“No.
I’m heading back that way. I’ll be coming out of the bush on the
northeast side.” She ducked down behind a mound of snow and
looked to where Brody was laying flat and with his gun aimed at the
trees across from him. “First I beat him and try to slice him,
and then I let him get shot!”
Dom’s
chuckle filled her mind. “He needed to be taken down a few
pegs, babe. Don’t let it concern you.”
She
carefully scanned the trees. “Tell Tess I’m going for him.”
“Dammit!”
She
jumped up and headed straight for Brody. Sliding in beside him, she
flipped and aimed her gun at the trees. “You looked like you
needed company.”
He
snorted and moved his weapon down the line of trees. “I could use
a beer, too. Did you bring any?”
She
sighed. “Sorry, small pockets.”
“Figures.”
Excerpt 2
“They
had to have the things shut off, right? Wouldn’t that mess with the
trucks electrical system or something?” Her eyes looked hopeful.
“I
don’t know.” Motioning to Joslee, he waited for the other man to
move over closer. “Get on the mic with Gray and see if whatever
they made would screw up the truck if they were still on.” Joslee
nodded and began talking quietly.
Tess
moved over beside him and knelt down. “If those containers are
moved, we may never get another.”
She
was right and he didn’t like to think what would happen if they
lost them and couldn’t track them down again. The idea of what the
person in charge of them could do was too vast to even figure out
where they might start with them. Turning he looked over at Joslee.
“What’s he say?”
Looking
skeptical Joslee moved back over beside them. “He seems to think
the truck would be protected by the boxes of foam and copper they’d
have to have lined the containers with.”
“So
it shouldn’t affect me.” Tess added quietly.
Looking
around for the hundredth time, Brody hoped to spot a way of getting
down to the truck and back without being seen. It was impossible and
he knew it. Sighing loudly, he put the mic piece back in his ear and
depressed the switch. “Dom. They’re going to move out and we
can’t follow from this point without being seen. Tess wants to
flash down and disable the truck to slow them down.” He studied
the pale skin on her face as he listened. “I don’t like it
either, but unless you have the Calvary rounded up we’re out of
options.” Her soft eyes pleading with him wasn’t helping him to
focus on the situation. “If we lose track of this shit we’re
screwed.” Clenching his jaw he nodded. “Got it.” Pulling out
the ear piece, he leaned closer to her. “You go down, cut the blue
hose between the truck and trailer and then get your ass back up here
and clear.”
Avoiding
the look of doubt on Joslee’s face, he watched her pull the cutters
from the bag and secure them on the side of her belt. She checked
the clip in her gun. Her special gun, that wasn’t metal or steel
and would transport with her. He still didn’t like it. When she
nodded at him, he turned and looked towards the truck. “Try to aim
for just behind the cab.” He picked up the binoculars she’d set
down and scanned all doors in the building. “Be fast, Tess.”
“I’ll
be right back.”
When
he turned to remind her to put her mic piece in, she was already
gone. Shit. Grasping the binoculars tightly he looked at the truck.
He checked in front and behind the cab, she wasn’t there. “Do
you see her?”
“Yeah,
she came out between the two containers.”
His
head snapping in that direction he spotted the red hair. “This is
the stupidest idea yet.”
“She’s
okay,” Joslee reassured. “There’s no one around. She’ll get
in and out before you know it.”
Raising
the binoculars, he zoomed in on her. She knelt between the
containers, with her eyes closed. Shit, this wasn’t the time to
have the side effects that went with her jumping location. She
opened her eyes and it seemed like she looked right at him. Putting
in the ear piece he watched her reach for the mic switch. Shaking her
head, she pulled it back out quickly and turned and looked at the
container. “I don’t think she meant to land there.”
“Yeah
I was just thinking the same thing.”
“Her
mic doesn’t work.” Brody, scanned the building again. “Hurry
it up Tess,” he muttered under his breath.
DREAMS
By
Jacqueline Paige
A
Dream series - three steamy tales of romance, suspense with
unexpected paranormal flares
ISBN/EAN13:
9781463685331
Page
Count: 326
Binding
Type: US Trade Paper 5" x 8"
Genre:
Fiction / Romance / Paranormal
Review
of 5 delightful diva’s for In Our Dream
IN
OUR DREAM
She’s
a small town cop. He’s an inmate undercover. They meet in a
dream.
Blurb
IN OUR DREAM:
Jennah
Best left the adrenaline packed life of being a cop on the edge for a
more peaceful place. She escaped a marriage that almost destroyed
her and now lives her life working for a small police station in the
town of Ridge. At her age, she’s accepted that it’s too late and
too much work to start all over again, until she meets a man in a
dream...
While
young, Dominic Palmer has always proven he can get the job done. Or
at least, that was the case before he accepted a job and agreed to go
undercover as an inmate.
When months go by and there’s no word from his outside contact he
wonders if he’s been left on the inside for good. He’s fighting
to stay alive and keep his sanity, but finds himself completely
distracted by a mysterious woman he met in a dream...
FROM
A DREAM
She
wakes up in a dark hole, alone. He’ll stop at nothing to find her.
Blurb
FROM A DREAM:
Jennah has
found happiness. She wasn’t looking for it but isn’t about to
give it up now that she has it. Everything she craved for years was
now right in front of her--a man that makes her feel cherished, a
peaceful life, and a job she enjoys. It all changes when she wakes up
in a dark hole, alone, unarmed and unable to connect with the one man
she’s grown to need.
Dominic realizes he is one of those men that wants the whole package of marriage and a family, and he’s found the woman to have that with. He’s going stir crazy having to stay hidden until the leader of a criminal organization is caught, but he’s more than willing to stay right here with her.
All of his plans evaporate when a vindictive criminal takes her from him as a hostage. He won’t rest until she’s in his arms again.
Dominic realizes he is one of those men that wants the whole package of marriage and a family, and he’s found the woman to have that with. He’s going stir crazy having to stay hidden until the leader of a criminal organization is caught, but he’s more than willing to stay right here with her.
All of his plans evaporate when a vindictive criminal takes her from him as a hostage. He won’t rest until she’s in his arms again.
AFTER
THE DREAM
Brody
believes he’s a normal man. Tess has felt like a freak most of her
life- except when she’s around one man.
Blurb
AFTER THE DREAM
Feeling
less then worthy as a normal man surrounded by a team with special
skills, Brody has to wonder why he’s a part of it. If it weren’t
for one team mate being there, he’d transfer back to normalcy.
Tess
has always felt like a freak, even surrounded by others that are
different she still feels like an outsider. Only one of her team
mates make her feel like an everyday person.
About
the Author:
Jacqueline
Paige is a world class multi-tasker being a mother to five
adventurous and unpredictable children, a cafe manager and having a
colossal imagination that allows her to step outside of reality into
a world of paranormal romance —with just a touch of suspense.
Jacqueline
lives in Ontario, Canada and avoids the ever changing weather of the
region she lives in by creating other worlds to fall into in her
stories of all things paranormal.
Her
first book was published in 2009 and since then has published ten.
She is always writing and currently has more than a dozen stories in
one stage or another of the writing process.
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