CG: Hi Jane! Welcome! Tell us a little bit
about yourself? Where did you grow up? What do you write? Why do you write?
JM: I grew up in New York State about an hour north
of New York City. Now I live in New Jersey with my husband, two kids & one
over-indulged cat. Not Every Girl is my debut novel. It is a young adult
adventure/romance with a feisty heroine, a standoffish prince and a few crafty
outlaws for good measure.
CG: The book sounds great! We are totally a cat
family too. What is one thing most people wouldn’t know about you?
JM: I have a bit of an obsession with movie
musicals—The Sound of Music and Moulin Rouge are right at the top of the list.
Naturally, I have all the soundtracks downloaded and burst into song at any given
moment in the safety of my home. My kids think I’m weird!
CG: Love it! I grew up on musicals thanks to my mother. Of the writing process, what do you
enjoy most?
JM: The limitless
possibilities to create stories and worlds. The excitement when you start a new
project and all the elements are half-formed waiting to be hammered out into
something that does the idea in your brain justice. (Of course, that’s when the
hard stuff starts!)
JM: I love the plotting/planning stage of
writing too. It gets me so excited! So, what came first the story or character
for Not Every Girl?
JM: Honestly, it all came at once—the idea of this
strong female character and what her adventure would be. Of course, each
evolved in different ways as I wrote and not always in the manner I expected.
But, the end result is more or less what I originally imagined.
CG: What love song would you pick to be the “Theme Love Song”
for Not Every Girl? Why?
JM: “Unforgettable” by Nat
King Cole because both Olivia and Liam never thought there was a person out
there who they would connect with so entirely. When I read this question, I
instantly thought of the line from the song, “That’s why darling, it’s
incredible, that someone so unforgettable, thinks that I am unforgettable too.”
CG: Oh
that’s awesome. I’m definitely going to have to read your book. Can you give us
a tidbit about Not Every Girl that readers might not know?
JM: I cried the day I had to
write the last scene Athos the outlaw has in the book. He was such an amazing character
to write and I felt like I had to say good-bye to a close friend.
CG:
It’s amazing how real our characters become to us. We only hope readers
feel the same way. Thank you so much for being here today Jane!
Here is more about Jane's YA novel, Not
Every Girl.
Blurb:
Olivia
Davenport’s plan is destined to fail.
She is going
through with it anyway, of course. After all, it is the chance of a lifetime.
The unreasonable rules of others should not stand in her way.
In her small
kingdom of Stewartsland, Olivia trains with the squires and harbors a secret dream.
She longs to become a knight under the command of the Master-of–Arms, who just
happens to be her father. He has indulged her passion so far, but they both
know a simple fact – girls may not attain knighthood. Dismayed by the constant
discouragement of her ambitions, she makes an impetuous decision to disguise
herself as a boy in order to sneak on a mission. The consequences are not at
all what she anticipated.
When
her deception is revealed, she is sent home in disgrace; however, an unexpected
turn of events puts her at the center of a dangerous plot against the King. The
ensuing adventure finds her grappling with mercenaries and outlaws, yet these
pale in comparison to her newly awakened emotions. She finds not only her life
at risk, but also her heart, when the aloof Prince Liam begins to affect her in
ways she never thought possible. In the end, it is her courage and unique
spirit which must guide her through the challenges she encounters both physical
and emotional.
Excerpt #1
"I came to offer the young lady
one of my guards as an escort home."
What?
That is not part of my plan! And
besides, my father could not seriously consider sending me off into the woods
with a strange man, royal guard or not. It takes every ounce of my restraint to
not jump up and protest.
"That is gracious of you, Your
Majesty," my father answers. "However, I am concerned about the
propriety of that arrangement. Not," he adds hastily, "that I would
expect anything less than the highest scruples from one of your men."
Good. So Father has a grasp on the
situation. Sending me back with any strange man and no female chaperone is
entirely inappropriate. And there are no other women on the trip. Too bad Puck
isn't here; my father would trust him with me. Now, they will all have to work
out the only viable option—that I continue on the trip. I merely sit quietly
and wait for them to come to this inevitable conclusion.
"Well, I certainly understand your
feelings. Especially since the young lady in question is your daughter,"
King William agrees. "I am sure if I had a daughter of my own, I would
feel much the same way."
They discuss me as if I am not sitting
right here, as if I have no capacity for thought—or hearing. I am actually
quite capable of taking care of myself and could get home without help from any
man, thank you anyway. Not that I will suggest this as an option, of course.
Time drags into a prolonged silence.
Birds chatter in the trees, the river bubbles happily by, the men are all
packed and ready to go. They stand in a huddled mass waiting for instructions
from their superiors. Come on guys, surely one of you can figure out the
answer. My father must be aware of the only solution, so why isn't he saying
anything? Perhaps he is waiting for the King to suggest it, so it appears he
thought of the idea and can take credit for it.
"If I may make a suggestion, Sir
Jack…" Prince Liam begins.
I am so happy someone is finally going
to state the obvious, I don't even care that it is coming from his egotistical
mouth. But then, he decides to become the next person to throw a wrench in my
plans.
"Why don't I accompany the young
lady home along with one of the guards. I give my word that everything will be
handled with the utmost discretion."
Excerpt #2:
I dust off and grab my bags, intending
to fetch the horses. Only one short step later I hear an angry voice yell,
"Peter! Where are you?"
It is Sir Michael. He is not happy.
Freezing in my tracks, I spin around to him, as does nearly everyone else.
"Get over here, lad," he
yells in my direction, "this stupid lace has broken."
In an instant, I am at his side.
Indeed, the end of the leather lace that secures the left side of his jerkin
has snapped off. His supply sack sits nearby. I rummage through it, hunting for
a replacement cord. Surely, Puck packed an extra lace or something that can be
used as a reasonable substitute.
Uh-oh!
Dread drifts in, envelops me in its icy
claws. My stomach becomes lead. Puck had spoken about replacing the laces of
Sir Michael's jerkin in the armory the other night. Obviously, he had planned
to do it before the journey, but he did not get the chance—because I had
interrupted him with dinner and…
My heart races, sweat beads on my brow.
I am paralyzed with fear until a boot toe jabs my side. "Look alive,
boy!" Sir Michael orders. Mechanically, I resume groping through the bag
hoping to find something—anything—that I can improvise with. There is nothing.
"What I don't understand is why
these laces were not replaced prior
to this trip. They clearly needed to be," he snaps.
Unsure what else to do, I mumble an
apology.
Bad move.
Sir Michael takes this as insolence and
yanks me up by the armpit. Spinning me around to face him, he roars, "I am
speaking to you, Peter, and therefore require your undivided attention. Do you
understand?"
I stand there mutely, aware that his
yelling has drawn the attention of everyone. Certainly, they all try to act as
if they are not listening, but I am sure every ear is perked up in this direction.
Before I can think of a way out of this situation…
"And take off that blasted helmet
so you can look me straight in the eyes when I am talking to you!" In one
fell swoop, he reaches out and knocks my helmet to the ground. "Surely I
have taught you more respect than…"
His words abruptly cease.
Under different circumstances, his
expression would be quite comical. He has stopped yelling in midsentence, his
mouth agape, eyes wide and disbelieving. His face resembles those painted masks
some gypsy vendors sell at our city's festivals. Lydia has one; she always
tries to scare Grace with it. Since no response from me seems to be required, I
stare at the ground and wait for all the pieces to fall into place for him. To
my surprise, he draws his sword and points the tip right at my throat. For some
reason, at this stressful moment, my brain manages to register that this is the
second time in three days I have had a sword to my throat. Not such a good
track record. His next words surprise me even more.
"Who are you?" He scowls. "Speak quickly!"
"Olivia," I say in a
strangulated whisper. It dawns on me that Sir Michael does not have the first
clue who I am. For all he knows, I mean them harm, particularly the King, whom
he is sworn to protect with his life.
"Who?" The point pushes
painfully into my neck.
"Olivia?"
This time the voice isn't mine. It is
my father's. He rushed over at the sound of the commotion and now stands with
much the same expression Sir Michael had a moment ago.
"How…? What are you…? Explain
yourself, young lady!"
Author Bio:
Reading was always a big part of Jane’s life. Over the
years, creating stories developed out of this love. Finally, she decided to try
her hand at writing a novel and that was when Not Every Girl was conceived.
She lives in New Jersey in a house full of boys, including
one over-indulged cat. When she is not running around with her family or
writing, she can be found curled up with a good book and said cat. It is her
belief that a good book, a loyal pet and anything made of chocolate can
brighten just about any day.
Connect with Jane:
