With: Michelle Karl
Congratulations to "Trish", the winner in Michelle's giveaway. Thank you to all who participated!
As a kid, I moved around a lot… we’re
talking from one side of the country to the other and back again! And our
family always drove across Canada to our new homes, which meant long and
painfully boring stretches of driving time through provinces like Saskatchewan
and Manitoba (no offense to those provinces, they have many beautiful areas!
It’s just driving straight through that’s a beast!). You’d think that we’d all
want to wring each other’s necks by the time we made it through 30+ hours of
driving from Montreal, Quebec to Edmonton, Alberta, for example. Not to mention
that all our family vacations involved driving, too—back across the country to
visit family, or eighteen hours of driving to reach Florida, and further!
How did we survive?! While I was writing
OUTSIDE THE LAW, I thought a lot about what it means to be displaced, to lose
your home or to not have your home accessible for long periods of time—about what
it feels like to leave what you thought was home and discover that your new
place, or a new person, is what truly makes a “home.”
On our cross-country moves, I think my
family managed to get through the outrageously long drives and the limbo
between houses because a living space isn’t what “home” actually means. We had
each other, we trusted each other, and that’s what made it possible to endure
the uncertainty and the constant disruption of moving from one place to
another.
For my main characters Yasmine and Noel,
they have to learn the same lesson. Yasmine has recently moved to rural New
York state from the fictional country of Amar (savvy readers will recognize
that this country made its first appearance in my previous book!), and Noel has
just completed his twenty-one weeks of training at Quantico at the FBI Academy.
That means neither of them really feel like where they are is “home,” and when
Yasmine is forced to go on the run—with Noel by her side to protect her—neither
she nor Noel know who to trust except for each other.
They can’t go “home” and yet they don’t
truly have a location to call home in the first place… all they have is one
another. And let’s face it, when it comes to romantic suspense, characters have to learn to trust each other over
the course of the story! Yasmine and Noel have to learn that “home” isn’t about
places or things, it’s about the ones you love. But when you’re feeling out of
sorts and disrupted with no true place to rest your head, that’s a difficult
lesson. I relate all too well!
We always cite that clichéd adage, “home is
where the heart is,” but let’s face it… it’s become a cliché for a good reason.
Have you ever felt displaced, or have you
moved around a lot? What was it that finally made you feel “at home?” Share
with me in the comments!
Giveaway:
Giveaway:

OUTSIDE
THE LAW
When her apartment is besieged by masked
gunmen, Yasmine Browder's convinced it's tied to her investigation into her
brother's "accidental" death three weeks ago. Narrowly escaping, she
flags down the car of a passerby she thought she'd never see again—her
childhood crush. Unlike the local police, newly minted FBI agent Noel Black
doesn't believe the attack is a coincidence, especially when the attempts on
her life don't stop. Yasmine's onto the truth about her brother, and someone
powerful wants her dead. With nobody to trust and just days out of training,
Noel must find a way to keep her alive…because now that he's found Yasmine, he
refuses to lose her again.
About
the Author
Michelle Karl is an unabashed bibliophile
and romantic suspense author. She lives in Canada with her husband, a
co-dependent cat, an unflappable bunny and an opinionated parrot. When she's
not reading and consuming copious amounts of coffee, she writes the stories
she'd like to find in her 'to be read' pile. She also loves animals, world
music, and eating the last piece of cheesecake.
Visit her at www.michellekarl.com, on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/MichelleKarlAuthor),
or Twitter (https://twitter.com/_MichelleKarl_)!
Giveaway ends 11:59pm EST March 18th. Please supply your email in the post. You may use spaces or full text for security. (ex. jsmith at gmail dot com) If you do not wish to supply your email, or have trouble posting, please email maureen@justromanticsuspense.com with a subject title of JRS GIVEAWAY to be entered in the current giveaway.
Giveaway ends 11:59pm EST March 18th. Please supply your email in the post. You may use spaces or full text for security. (ex. jsmith at gmail dot com) If you do not wish to supply your email, or have trouble posting, please email maureen@justromanticsuspense.com with a subject title of JRS GIVEAWAY to be entered in the current giveaway.
I've never moved much....except when my husband and I traveled in our RV. We lived in it full time and traveled around the country
ReplyDeletevandine3atmsn.com
Oh wow, Trude! I'd say that qualifies as moving around a lot! I bet you have a ton of great stories from that time. And if you hadn't felt "at home" with each other, I also suspect you'd have gotten sick of each other in a small living space like an RV *very* quickly!
Deletenot moved much
ReplyDeletebn100candg at hotmail dot com
I think there's a measure of blessing in that as well -- it gives you a greater opportunity to put down roots & really feel entrenched as a part of a community... which is certainly a sense of being "at home." ^_^
DeleteMy husband was in the military so we moved every 4years or so. When we first got married, he gave me a mantle clock that chimes every quarter hour. I love it. Once we got moved in and the clock chimed, we always said, now we are home. Trishleroy49 at gmail dot com
ReplyDeleteWhat a sweet story! Something that connects you and grounds you a place together, I love that. Thank you for sharing! ^_^
DeleteSounds real good.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Kim! I hope you enjoy it if you have the chance to read. :)
DeleteI have only moved a few times... the one that felt most like home was when I was near my grandparents...
ReplyDeleteThere's something truly special about grandparents, isn't there? I never lived close to mine, and I do feel that I missed out a bit on making that really special connection.
DeleteI have moved around a LOT throughout my life. It doesn't take much time to settle in. Usually once I have unpacked we are 'home'.
ReplyDeletemarypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com
That's definitely a blessing, Mary -- and the fact that you actually do unpack each time! There were several moves I can recall where we weren't in one place long enough to unpack, and then I think we got lazy and kept things boxed up, figuring it wouldn't be long before moving again... I think I formed a bit of a bad habit through that. Hah! But I think you're right, once you move enough times, it becomes a little easier to feel at home sooner. Get your favorite, comforting things out and have your people around, and home it is. ^_^
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