Whenever I get stuck writing a book I ask myself – what would be the most unexpected thing for this character to do? And then I do that. I started this plot process in my very first book, Clutch. I got to a point in the story near the end and I had no idea what this Junco character should do. Then I thought up something unexpected and unusual. Crazy, really. And made her do it. It changed everything. I knew how the book ended, but there are a million ways to get to that end. I have done this several times since then. I don’t do it for every scene, only when I get stuck.
So when it came time to plot out the characters tor Taking Turns I did this with Quin. It would’ve been very easy to just make him have some sexual fetish that would shock readers. But that’s doing things the traditional way. The expected way. I’m nothing if not non-traditional. I’m nothing if not unexpected. I was in love with the idea that Quin and Chella would be more friends than lovers. That Quin was sick over the fact that Rochelle walked out on him. And that he needed to reevaluate his choices and decisions. I loved the scene in Taking Turns when Chella brings him up to the attic and shows him all Rochelle’s secret stuff. It was my favorite scene in the whole book because that’s when it hits him. He thought he knew Rochelle, but he didn’t. He only saw what she showed him and he was satisfied with that. The attic scene is Quin’s first hint that he’s not satisfied just knowing her that old way. Not at all. And his complacency might’ve fucked up his chances for being with his one-true love for good.
The theme of Turning Back is turning back. Reevaluating all those past decisions. Did you do it right? Did you fuck it up? Can it be changed? Are you willing to change? What will it take to change? Can Quin really give up the comfort he gets from being in a relationship with Bric as a buffer, and do it on his own? And I know Rochelle is the one who physically turns back, but this story is really about Quin.
I know you guys all like the sex, and I’m not gonna deny that writing ménage sex is kinda fun. But I don’t write these stories for the sex scenes. I think this series would’ve been just as good without the sex. It wouldn’t have sold as many books, but it would still have been great.
When I look back on 2012 and 2013 when I was struggling to make it as a fiction writer I get that same feeling I had when I was about to graduate from CSU. This shit is hard. And thank fuck I didn’t know how hard it was gonna be when I started because I never would’ve done it.
Grad school was the same way for me. Grad school was so fucking hard for me. I got accepted into a pretty elite PhD biomedical science program after I graduated from CSU, but I quit a year and a half into it and got my master’s degree from another school instead. I was done. I knew how hard it was and I was done.
But that failure is how I started writing. I decided to use all my science education to write science textbooks and made more than two hundred online courses for homeschool kids. (Yes, I homeschooled my kids – that was yet another clue that my fate was firmly rooted in the non-traditional). And after I got tired of writing non-fiction I started writing fiction.
I took a lot of risks to become a fiction writer because it’s so different from writing non-fiction. You are not judged by the knowledge you possess in fiction like you are in non-fiction. You are judged by your creativity. Which is scary because creativity is a very personal thing. I took this risk because I was clueless and fearless at the same time. And what a great ride it has been. Even better than finishing that final exam in show jumping class.
No, I’m not jumping horses anymore. I’m writing books that push your limits now. I’m writing books that make you uncomfortable but keep you reading anyway. I’m writing Julie books because… well, I’m Julie. And I don’t see myself writing those traditional love stories any time soon. As far as traditional goes in love stories, this is pretty much as close as you’re gonna get from me. lol.
I think my books, and especially this series, are all about celebrating the road less traveled. It’s nothing against the traditional. I’m very traditional in a lot of ways too. But writing books about the non-traditional gives people a new perspective on things. Maybe the game of Taking Turns isn’t the best way to find love, but it is one way. And isn’t that what makes life interesting? All the different ways to get to the same end?
I told my Shrike Bikes fan group that the subtitle of this EOBS is Fun Facts About Julie. And even though I went about it in a very non-traditional way, that’s still what I’m calling it.
I hope you enjoyed this story about Quin’s non-traditional normal life (and this EOBS) and if want to keep going and get Bric’s take on things, you can get the next book, His Turn, here.
Thank you for reading, thank you for reviewing, and I’ll see you in the next book.
Julie
JA Huss
P.S. Don’t mind my typos. I never edit the EOBS.
About the Author
JA Huss is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than thirty romances. She likes stories about family, loyalty, and extraordinary characters who struggle with basic human emotions while dealing with bigger than life problems. JA loves writing heroes who make you swoon, heroines who makes you jealous, and the perfect Happily Ever After ending.
You can read her writing craft and marketing articles at her website and chat with her on Facebook, Twitter, and her kick-ass romance blog, New Adult Addiction. If you're interested in getting your hands on an advanced release copy of her upcoming books, sneak peek teasers, or information on her upcoming personal appearances, you can join her newsletter list and get those details delivered right to your inbox.
JA Huss lives on a dirt road in Colorado thirty minutes from the nearest post office. So if she owes you a package from a giveaway, expect it to take forever. She has a small farm with two donkeys named Paris & Nicole, a ringneck parakeet named Bird, and a pack of dogs. She also has two grown children who have never read any of her books and do not plan on ever doing so. They do, however, plan on using her credit cards forever.
JA collects guns and likes to read science fiction and books that make her think. JA Huss used to write homeschool science textbooks under the name Simple Schooling and after publishing more than 200 of those, she ran out of shit to say. She started writing the I Am Just Junco science fiction series in 2012, but has since found the meaning of life writing erotic stories about antihero men that readers love to love.
JA has an undergraduate degree in equine science and fully planned on becoming a veterinarian until she heard what kind of hours they keep, so she decided to go to grad school and got a master’s degree in Forensic Toxicology. Before she was a full-time writer she was smelling hog farms for the state of Colorado.
Even though JA is known to be testy and somewhat of a bitch, she loves her #fans dearly and if you want to talk to her, join her Facebook fan group where she posts daily bullshit about bullshit.
If you think she’s kidding about this crazy autobiography, you don’t know her very well.
SEE ALL HER BOOKS HERE