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Josephine Grant lives a charmed life - a husband, three perfect children, strong bonds with family and friends in the small town where she's lived her entire life. She's the helper, the hostess, the one who always shows up. The person who can do it all.
Then the bus carrying her son's basketball team crashes, and Jo's husband and son are among the lives lost. Now she has a new identity. Widow. Single mother. Woman who lost everything. Grief begins to tear apart the place that's always been her home. Infighting among friends. Gossip and rumors. Wounds that may never heal and bonds that just might.
Now Jo has to rebuild her life, but as the person who thinks of herself as the helper, asking others to help hold her together is impossible. Jo must learn to lean on others as she learns to stand on her own.
Read an Excerpt
I handed my husband his sneakers, shoes he should have been able to keep better track of, given how often he wore them. At least he didn’t leave them where I’d trip on them, like the kids did.
“Thanks, Jo, you're a lifesaver.” He cupped my face with his free hand. My shoulders relaxed and I melted against him, forgetting all the things on my to do list. My eyes drifted shut as he kissed me, the lingering kiss we were rarely allowed, with three kids running around the house. Our daughters were spending a few hours with their grandparents, and our son was upstairs ignoring us. And even without the kids interrupting us, Steve’s cell phone pulled us apart, ringing incessantly from his pocket.
“Ignore it, Steve,” I murmured against his lips.
“It's Reston, and we have to leave anyway.” He stepped away from me and answered the phone call before sitting down to tug on the sneakers, grubby with constant wear. “We're on our way, I swear. Walking out the door as we speak.”
A lie. Despite multiple reminders we needed to leave, Matt was still in his room. Matt and Steve were due at school in ten minutes to catch the bus to this evening's basketball game. And if the head coach was calling, we had to leave the house now.
Author Interview
Tell me about yourself. Where are you from?
JR: I’m originally from Southern California, but I’ve lived in eight states total (no, not a military family, it’s actually been academia that’s moved us so much). I currently live in Louisiana.
What genre do you read? Who's an author you read? Name your top 5 authors.
JR: I am a genre bouncer! I read non-fiction (mostly memoirs and pop science - think Mary Roach), crime (true and fictional - I have all my Patricia Cornwell books lined up on the bookshelf behind my desk), and lately dark romance (hello, Katee Robert).
What book are you reading right now, and what do you like about it?
JR: I’ve currently got Educated by Tara Westover (audiobook) and Butcher & Blackbird by Brynne Weaver (eBook) going. They’re very different books (see above genre bouncing), which is great for keeping me straight on what’s happening in which book. I like Educated because it’s showing me world that’s entirely foreign to me, and Butcher & Blackbird is fun escapism (murders aside haha).
Favorite sports.
JR: I’m a huge hockey fan (how ‘bout them Sabres, huh?). We have a small professional team in the town where we live, and my family has season tickets and lives for the games.
Favorite thing about the state/country that you live in.
JR: I’ve been in Louisiana since 2021 (pandemic moving was not fun!). I love how much our city is trying to create a community feel - there’s always something going on, from art crawls to artisan markets to dragon boat races (yes, really).
How long have you been writing?
JR: In sixth grade, we had an English assignment of writing books, and I remember distinctly ripping off a Baby-Sitters Club book for the project. But I was thirteen when I started filling notebooks with original characters and original stories. Some of those characters are ones I still write stories about (I’ve got an upcoming book starring some of those characters I originally created in my mid-teens. They’ve come a long way in thirty years, just like I have).
What inspired you to become a writer?
JR: It’s always felt natural. I read books, might as well also write them. It didn’t occur to me that I could ever get a book published - I wrote for myself to read for many, many years. I didn’t start getting feedback on my work until 2010, when I joined my first critique group. At that point, I’d been reading and rereading my own stuff for fifteen years.
What is your writing process like? Are you more of a plotter or a pantser?
JR: I am a full on pantser! Typically I start with a vague idea - for Haven Strong, it was taking the real life tragedy of the Humboldt Broncos bus crash and trying to write my way through my (entirely parasocial) grief. Once I know a bit about what’s going to happen to them, my characters take over. I’m a pantser in large part because I let the characters do what they want. Jo decided for me how she was going to make her way through her grief process. That usually means I have to do a lot of clean up on the editing side, but it’s worth it. I also usually write the whole book start to finish linearly - I don’t skip around from scene to scene, because I’ve found that when I do that, the characters mess up the future plans I had for them, and I can’t force them to do what I’d already written. Haven Strong didn’t end the way I’d assumed it would going into the story, but I think it ends in a way that’s true to the characters.
How do you celebrate finishing a book?
JR: I’ve never done anything special. Maybe I’ll have to next time! For me, there’s a certain level of trying to keep from getting too excited - can’t let the book know I love it too much.
What would you tell a writer who is just starting? What program do you use for writing? What advice would you give to a writer working on their first book? What’s your writing software of choice?
JR: I would tell anyone getting started at writing to read and write constantly. Both make you a better writer. I’m not huge on craft books or classes or things like that - it feels like a great way to worry about doing things “the right way.” It’s no longer about your own story or characters, it’s writing to a formula. Maybe I’d sell more books and be a household name, but I wouldn’t love what I’m doing. And I use good old Microsoft Word and Google Docs as my writing software, and when I get in a slump, I write with pen on paper.
How do you organize everything and find the time to sit down and write?
JR: That’s the biggest trick! I’m in a season of life where I don’t often have that time. I use Google Docs specifically so I can whip out my phone and jot a few sentences down when I’m waiting in line at school pick up or when I’ve arrived early for a band concert and no one has taken the stage yet. I try to keep a pen and small notebook in my bag so I have something with me in case I need to get a few thoughts out at random times. Actually sitting at my computer and writing means carving out time, and that’s an absolute luxury.
As an author, what would you choose as your spirit animal?
JR: If I had a familiar, it would probably be a beaver - taking on too many solo tasks, never delegating, trying to do it all.
Who has been the biggest supporter of your writing?
JR: I have a fantastic critique group (the Stubborn Hearts), and they’ve kept me motivated. My kids are also huge supporters, even though they don’t read anything I write (at eleven and fourteen, they aren’t my target market haha). They love to tell people to read my book.
How do you name your characters?
JR: For Haven Strong, the main character, Josephine Grant, is actually named for the place where my father died (Grant’s Pass in Josephine County, Oregon). The other characters came from me looking up popular names at the times the characters would have been born (assuming the book took place in roughly the same year I was writing it). For some of my characters in other books, I have a character I’ve been writing a long time (since my teens) who I named after my first celebrity crush, a character I wanted to have a strong female name who I named after a police officer on a Law & Order spin off (not Olivia Benson haha), and sometimes I simply use names that I think sound cool.
Can you describe a typical day in your writing life?
JR: Generally, on a day when I’m carving out writing time, the Pomodoro Technique features heavily. I have to set timers and give myself breaks for goofing off or doomscrolling. It helps me to focus on the writing without worrying about the other things that need to get done (work, cleaning, getting kids where they need to be, etc.).
Tell us about your current release.
JR: Haven Strong is a story of grief and resilience set in a small town after a tragedy hits everyone. Jo loses her husband and son, and she has to find a way to keep going. She’s managing her own grief, the grief of her daughters, and the losses that other friends are facing from the same accident.
AA: Thanks for joining me here at Always Reading-Melissa
Jessica Rakus is a debut novelist, after many, many years of writing practice. She currently lives in Louisiana, after living briefly in seven other states.
More information available at http://JessicaRakusBooks.com
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0F9QNWVDF/ref=sr_1_1
Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/haven-strong-jessica-rakus/1148809286
1 comment:
Thank you for featuring HAVEN STRONG today.
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