A to Z Challenge: J is for Jealousy AND the Cover Reveal for Dana Mason's Precious Embrace

Welcome to the 2013 A to Z Challenge!

This year, I’m focusing on two themes:  Emotions and grammar,

depending on which letter we’re on each day.

I’ll be sharing mostly what I’ve learned about writing emotion into a novel, but I’ll also be throwing in a few key grammar lessons, pet peeves I’ve picked up while working as an editor.

Today’s an emotion day!

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J is for jealousy:  a feeling of resentment against someone because of that person’s rivalry, success, or advantage, or against that success or advantage itself; mental uneasiness or fear of rivalry or unfaithfulness.

Jealousy is based in insecurity.  We fear losing something, or not having something someone else has.  Jealousy is unhealthy and all-consuming.  It makes people irrational and ill-content.  It’s different from envy, in that envy is all about coveting, whereas jealously is about fear and animosity. 

When showing a character’s jealousy, it’s best to rely on concrete details, focusing not just on what she is jealous of, but why.  So instead of simply telling the reader that Karen is jealous of her boyfriend’s old girlfriends, show why they threaten her, what exactly it is she fears, her own insecurities and confusion about herself, and how she believes the other women outweigh her in ways she might be lacking.  It’s all about comparison.

Having said that, most people don’t want others to know when they’re jealous, so the character has to exhibit physical signs that show her hostility to the reader.  Because jealousy is a defensive mechanism, use the character’s body language to express that, like crossing her arms over her chest, or scowling and sneering as she puckers her lips, swearing ugly insults or criticisms.  But inside, her stomach is tied in knots or filled with anxious foreboding, so she vows to get even and somehow make her rival appear ugly or obscene.

No matter what the character is jealous of, it’s her fear that should be concentrated on and how that fear diminishes herself in her own eyes.

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COVER REVEAL!

Cover design by Okay Creations

Book Two in the Embrace Series

Coming July 11, 2013

“A new love, a missing child, a family found.”

Blurb:

A second divorce and a new baby wasn’t the vision Alison Hayes had for her future. Now a single mother with two young boys, she wants to focus on her kids and what’s left of her stagnant career.

When Detective Johnny Rhay Bennett breezes into her life with his country-boy accent, she wants to run. She doesn’t need another man in her life, or another reason to make people talk. But when her worst nightmare becomes a reality, Johnny is the only person who can pull Ali out of her despair, forcing her to stay strong and not give up hope of finding her missing child.

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Who falls in love after a one-night stand? Johnny Rhay doesn’t believe it’s possible until it happens to him. With Nashville in his rear-view mirror, he’s determined to convince Alison she loves him, too, even if it means moving to the West Coast.

Ali’s not easy, and she’s living on just this side of bitter after her divorce, but Johnny doesn’t care. He’s up for the challenge. At least, he believes he’s up for it, until baby Micah is stolen right out from under his nose. Now Johnny has to keep it together and get that sweet little boy home safe before his dreams of having a family vanish, too. 

Find Book One, Dangerous Embrace, on:

Goodreads   Amazon  Amazon UK   Barnes and Noble   Kobo   iBooks

My pub-sister, Dana Mason, started writing to prove to her computer geek husband and her math and science geek kids that she actually has a brain; it’s just a right functioning brain instead of a left. She’s lived all over the country and uses that experience in her writing and character studies. 

Her debut novel, Dangerous Embrace is the first in a contemporary romance series about a group of friends from Northern California who learn just how short life can be when you don’t hold on to what’s important.

When not writing, Dana specializes in professional development and training. She’s also a board member on the local Art’s Council and does what she can to support the art community

Find Dana here:

Website   Facebook   Twitter   Amazon   Publisher