Thursday, June 24, 2010

Editing insights part 3: Jamie Lynn Miller




Jamie Lynn has previously written for us about EMT fire fighters -- Burnin' For You, Where There's Smoke---
and television actors --
Darkness Falls --

In her latest contemporary action-filled romance, the attraction is between a police officer and a movie star. Gentle and compassionate authenticity is Jamie's forte; the feelings between the two evolve believably and gradually in the face of conflicts and situations that feel pulled from actual Los Angeles life.

To top it off, there's a dog hero! What more could you ask of a heart-warmer?

Jamie is one of our founding authors, with her first release at our previous press a compelling reason to establish Dark Roast as a vehicle for promulgation of all sorts of love stories. Though plenty of dark and terrible things happen to her characters, she holds true to the golden romance formula that love is the solution-- however it may come, and however it may flow. We end up in love with her lovers as well.

I never have a problem with the pacing of the events in Jamie's writing. She needs a few grammar and spelling reminders, and I generally help with the paragraphing, but that's about it. Her feel for contemporary mindset and stream-of consciousness are superb and let us see through the eyes of the characters as if we inhabit them. I seldom have to ask her to add crucial details or re-order a sequence. The flow was already in her loving tale from the beginning. I sense that she takes care of her characters as if she's their fairy godmother!

I first worked with Out of the Shadows in excerpt form, as Jamie allowed the first section to be part of our free anniversary read, Barista's Choice, available at our main store. You can sample it that way and I guarantee it will whet your appetite for the rest. But it also stands alone as a well-balanced hurt-comfort story. It made me wonder if the rest of the book might just be filler! I was ever so wrong. It is merely the first of three extremely natural stages in the development of a relationship, and to top it off, there is nonstop action. It's easy to see why Jamie's other books with us have been so well reviewed and placed sixth in last year's Reader's Poll at P & E.

If you have a taste for unusual pairings in a contemporary setting, you will love Jamie's lovers as much as I do.

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