September 29, 2017

Meet the Muse / CARRY ME HOME by Jessica Therrien

Book Title: Carry Me Home
Publisher: Acorn Publishing
Date of Publication: September 26, 2017

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1. Tell us about your recent release. 

CARRY ME HOME is a fictional novel inspired by the true story of a teenage girl’s involvement in several Mexican gangs in San Jose and Los Angeles. The members of her crew call her, Guera, Spanish for “white girl” and it doesn’t take long for her to get lost in their world of guns and drugs.

* * *

Lucy and Ruth are country girls from a broken home. When they move to the city with their mother, leaving behind their family ranch and dead-beat father, Lucy unravels.

They run to their grandparents’ place, a trailer park mobile home in the barrio of San Jose. Lucy’s barrio friends have changed since her last visit. They’ve joined a gang called VC. They teach her to fight, to shank, to beat a person unconscious and play with guns. When things get too heavy, and lives are at stake, the three girls head for LA seeking a better life.

But trouble always follows Lucy. She befriends the wrong people, members of another gang, and every bad choice she makes drags the family into her dangerous world.

Told from three points of view, the story follows Lucy down the rabbit hole, along with her mother and sister as they sacrifice dreams and happiness, friendships and futures. Love is waiting for all of them in LA, but pursuing a life without Lucy could mean losing her forever.

Ultimately it’s their bond with each other that holds them together, in a true test of love, loss and survival.

2. Who is your muse?

My muse would have to be my sister. Carry Me Home is about her. The things that happen in the book are 90% true. She not only inspired me to write the story, she continues to inspire me daily with how strong she is.

3. What does your muse look like?

Well here’s a picture of her, then and now:



4. Describe your muse’s personality.

Stubborn, resilient, unstoppable, which can all be good or bad depending on what she’s trying to accomplish. In her teenage years, it got her into a LOT of trouble.

5. How do you tempt your muse to work?

I beg her, lol. This book started as her memoir. She wrote about 40 pages and stopped. Once I got her blessing to finish it, she would send me memories and I would mold them and fit them into the story. But she has 3 kids now, and a full-time job, so getting the good stuff required a fair share of hounding her.

6. When/where does your muse inspire you the most?

Every day. While I was writing I felt especially inspired, because I would read her memories and think, “This didn’t really happen, did it?!” But, most of it did. I still feel amazed that she came out of it and got her life together. Even to this day she empowers me to be better, stronger, more grateful for the little things.

7. Has your muse ever gone on strike?

I think we all did a few times. My mom, my sister, and I all wrote the first draft together. It took us several years to get through it. We’re all happy we did, though.

8. What would your muse’s motto be to get your butt into gear?

Life is tough. So what. Get over it.

9. What was your relationship like with your muse while writing CARRY ME HOME?

Best friends. Still are.

10. Are you and your muse working on something new?

No, she’s not a writer. But I’m co-writing another YA book with screenwriter Joe Gazzam. It’s a suspense thriller. Can’t wait to share more about it!



Bio:

Jessica Therrien is the author of the young adult series Children of the Gods. Book one in the series, Oppression, became a Barnes & Noble best-seller shortly after its release. Her trilogy has been translated and sold through major publishers around the world, such as Editions AdA (Canada), EditionsMilan (France), and SharpPoint Press (China).

Aside from her Children of the Gods series, Jessica is the author of a kid’s picture book called, The Loneliest Whale. Her award-winning stories can also be found in a published anthology of flash fiction.

Jessica currently lives in Irvine with her husband and two young sons. She is working on an a YA suspense thriller series and a middle grade fantasy series.

Author Links:



29 comments:

  1. Sounds like she is quite the muse indeed and been through a lot. Like the motto too. Keep on a pushing through.

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    1. Yes she is :) Thanks for checking out the post, Pat!

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  2. Wow. Sounds intense and I'm glad she is still your muse and best friend.
    sherry @ fundinmental

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  3. Obviously you all held it together and Lucy is living a much better life now.

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  4. This looks like an amazing read. I absolutely LOVE the cover. I don't say that about very many books. But this really seems to capture the story. Congratulations Jessica on your new release and I can imagine what it took to write this. Thanks for the share, Chrys. It's always wonderful to discover new-to-me writers.

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    1. Thank you SO much, Lisa!! The cover is actually a picture of my niece. "Lucy's" daughter :) Cool, huh?

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  5. An interesting challenge to write your sister's story. I wonder if she likes the final product?

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    1. Yes! She does...I've written other novels, but this is her "debut". We're getting mostly rave reviews, but she loves it so much she's having trouble with people being even the tiniest bit critical, lol! It's funny.

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  6. This is truly a heartwarming story and writing about your sister is awe inspiring. Loved the review Chrys.

    Yvonne.

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  7. Very Interesting!! And wonderful review Chrys and Jessica.

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  8. Thanks for featuring me and my book, Chrys!!

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  9. Know Lucy. She's a strong woman with a good heart. Looking forward to the read.

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  10. Congrats to Jessica! I saw this on someone else's blog and it sounded so good that I bought it.

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  11. Wow, what a story!!! Congrats Jessica!

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  12. The book is on my list. It sounds awesome.

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  13. This sounds like an intense story. It's so personal. I like how it's fictionalized truth. It's sounds like something I'd have trouble reading, but would be so glad I did.

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  14. Wow, what a story that all makes for. And the fact that it's 90% true is even more incredible. I have a muse, but I've never actually written about her.

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  15. We all like to think that we would never join a gang, but there really are kids out there like Lucy who feel like it's the best (or only) choice for themselves. I've taught students like Lucy who "fell down the rabbit hole" of gang life, and it was sad to watch them fall because I wanted to protect them and save them from all of it. But unfortunately, there was only so much I could do because some of them were resistant to outside help.

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  16. Wow, I love this story. Congratulations Jessica!

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  17. Congrats, Jessica and Lucy! This book sounds like something special. Gritty but ultimately rewarding.

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  18. Sounds like a great story! Congratulations, Jessica!

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  19. Jessica's book sounds very intense and I am glad her sister made it through the 90% that was based on her life!

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