Jo Bissell has written the book Beyond the Reach of Judgement. She is a physician fromIowa City, IA and is only recently beginning her career as a writer. She writes in the Paranormal Romance/Urban Fantasy genre.
In the author’s words:
Beyond the Reach of Judgementis a paranormal romance novel about the circumstances that bring together a worldly, centuries-old vampire, and a naive small-town woman with a troubled story. Both have secrets and enemies forcing them together. But when the chance comes to part, they find themselves reluctant.
In exploring her characters, Bissell paints a picture of some complicated and intense personalities. “Ruth is a woman stuck in a rut. She is married to her high school sweetheart who turns out not to be the man she once fell in love with and now she needs a way out. She is naive but tough and determined. She can be impulsive and stubborn. She is slow to trust.
“Julien is a conflicted being with a good heart but a need for blood against which he can't fight. He is indecisive and uses alcohol to quiet his thoughts. He does not trust himself.
“My experiences definitely play a role in shaping my characters but not in the way you would think. My characters are almost the "anti-me" in many ways. I've been very fortunate in life and had many advantages, unlike my characters. In a way though, I think I use my characters to challenge and explore parts of myself and my personality which would otherwise remain dormant.”
Bissell is “inspired by things on a daily basis and most of my writing begins which just a small thought; some sort of "what if" scenario. If when I play out the scenario in my head, it seems interesting, I will write it down and flesh it out with details over time until I am ready to actually write the story. I've got many of these "pre-stories" written just waiting to be finished.”
Often, writers face challenges. Bissell says that one of hers is “I find it difficult to step out of the story and see it from a reader's perspective. Many of my beta-readers have opened my eyes to just how much I tend to assume readers know when I haven't yet told them. I find it hard to capture some of the details I know about my characters that make them real to me but aren't necessarily crucial to the plot.
What is interesting about Bissell is that “I work as a full time physician so finding time to write is often not easy. However, I wouldn't have it any other way. Writing for me is like therapy and allows me to explore some of the thoughts and feelings I encounter in my job but can't allow myself to dwell on during that time.”
You can discover more about Jo Bissell at the following locations:
Short story, “His Eyes”
Blog: http://jobissell.blogspot.com/
Website: http://jjobissell.wix.com/
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