The Alpha's Daughter
From Goodreads
There is a balm in Gilead, to heal the wounded soul…
Jazz Phillips is on the run, fleeing from a fate most females in her pack accept as their lot in life; an arranged mating, something Jazz thought wasn't in her future as the Alpha's daughter and only child. She doesn't want to be the next Alpha's Mate. She doesn't want to be anyone's mate. She likes her life just the way it is until she finds herself stranded in the mountain town of Gilead, home to a small and close knit pack of wolvers. Once there, she begins to question her life as it was and begins to wonder about what it could be, especially in the arms of the wolver the people call Doc.
Doc Goodman claims to have settled in Gilead because he saw a need for his services, but in fact, he's a runaway, too. He's rejected his wolver heritage and the warring politics that stripped him of everything he loved most. He's biding his time, waiting to die, until he meets the blue haired, foul mouthed beauty who shows him there are still things worth living for and the most important of them are worth fighting for.
To See Ourselves As Others See Us
"O wad some Power the giftie gie us, To see oursels as ithers see us!" (O would some Power with vision teach us, To see ourselves as others see us!)
I've always loved the poetry of Robert Burns [1759–1796] and while this line from To A Louse (Yeah, you read that right. We're talking lice here) refers to something else, I've always thought of books when I hear it. Books, for me, have always been a means of escape, a way for me to vicariously live another life in a different place, in a different time or even a different world. I get to walk in someone else's shoes for a while. In my favorite books, I get to see a little bit of myself in the protagonist, usually the heroine, but not always. That's the giftie, the vision; to see myself as others might see me. These are the characters that inspire me even when the story has nothing to do with my real life. They beg the words, "What if…?"
At some point in a good story -usually about halfway- there is a moment of enlightenment where the main character comes to the realization that they are more than what they thought they were. In some books this is a moment of high drama ("I'm going to lead this army to victory!") In others, it's more subtle. ("I'm going to stop being afraid and give love a chance.") Quite often, these changes occur because the characters begin to see themselves as others see them. In romance, it's often the hero who 'sees' the heroine or it can work both ways and they 'see' each other.
I try very hard to make this happen in my books. I want my women (characters) to see themselves as others see them. I want my readers to see themselves in my characters and take a good look in the mirror.
Take Elizabeth (The Alpha's Mate) for example. A reviewer complained once that she was a wuss. Oddly enough, I don't disagree. She started out that way. In spite of her age, she was, in some ways, a sheltered and naïve wuss. The important thing is she didn't stay that way. Okay, she made mistakes and misjudgments, but she also learned she was stronger and braver than she thought possible and that her eclectic store of knowledge could be put to good use.
My women come from a variety of social backgrounds; from wealth and privilege and higher learning to poorer neighborhoods with little formal education. They come in different shapes and sizes and range in personality from quiet and demure to downright aggressive, but they all have things in common. They're unhappy with their lives as they are and don't recognize their own strengths. Even Jazz, (The Alpha's Daughter) who's the most confident of the bunch (and hell in a bar brawl) doesn't see her compassion for and understanding of the human condition as a strength.
It's through the eyes of others that they begin to see themselves. Does that mean they all turn out the same? Absolutely not! The Alpha brothers in my wolver series are very different from each other in personality and temperament and even in what turns them on! But each is best suited to the Mate who falls in love with them. The Guardians are the same. Grace and Canaan (Guardian' Grace) have a playful and exuberant sex life. They like to play games. Hope (Guardian's Hope) would be mortified by the things they get up to. Quiet and tender loving is what both she and Nico need. Is one right and the other wrong? Of course not.
Which brings me back to Grace. I sometimes think she was the wrong Daughter of Man to start with, but she was the first to speak up in my head, so she got her story written first. In all her life, Grace only wanted one thing; a family to care for and one to care for her. Cooking and cleaning for the members of the House is an expression of her love. Some readers misunderstand this (no doubt they're housework haters like me) and assume that all my characters will end up as Suzy Homemaker. They don't understand that Grace isn't trapped in a traditional role. She chose it. She thrives on it! She is the driving force that binds this diverse group of individuals into a functioning and supportive whole.
Hope, on the other hand, was raised to be a household drudge and finds no fond memories there. She discovers her head for business and that's where she grows and is happy. You won't find JJ (Guardian's Joy) in the kitchen, either, and she'd pull her short, spiky hair out by the roots if she had to sit at a desk all day. We should all be more like the Daughters and support each other's choices even when they're different from our own.
The women of my Alpha series are the same; different tastes in men, in sex, and in attitudes. I say, "More power to them!"
My books are about finding love and about realizing dreams and not just in the bedroom. They're about ordinary women in extraordinary circumstance who find powers and strengths in themselves that they never knew were there. Through the eyes of their lovers, they learn to see themselves as beautiful and in the way that others see them, they find the strong and capable women they truly are.
That's what I want for my readers. I want them to see a bit of themselves in my characters. No matter what age they are or what their circumstances might be, I want them to learn and grow and have the courage to become the women they never thought they could be. I want them to pursue their dreams. I speak from experience here. I waited a long time to pursue my dream, but here I am, a writer of books.
My very best to you all and may all your dreams come true!
Jackie
Jacqueline Rhoades is giving away an ebook copy of The Alpha's Daughter to one lucky winner!
Contest is open to international entries! Just fill out the Rafflecopter below!
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