Jess Bowen
Jess was born in sunny, southern California. How her home base is now West Virginia, she’s still not sure. She spent several years moving along the southern states before landing in West Virgina when she was seven and she’s been there ever since. She started writing when she was fifteen, sure then it was all love letters to her boyfriend at the time, but they were works of art…that are hopefully now all burned in some cleansing ritual.
Since then she spent time off and on going through writing phases and reading books like they were going out of style. After having her first child and being couped up at home with a baby that never slept, she found her writing again and Breaking Point was born. It took several drafts and lots of long nights and re-writing, but she couldn’t be more proud (and bloody, freaking nervous!!) about the finished product and the next four books to come in the Order of the Elements Series. She wouldn’t be here without family and friends who tell her to shut the heck up when she starts whining and she’s thankful for every single one of them.
Jess believes that imagination and escape from reality is essential to life and there’s no better place to find that than in a good book or stretching those writing feathers of your own.
She also believes that Supernatural is the best show on earth and mirrors are evil. But that’s a matter for another time.
Now that I’m done talking about myself in third person, let’s get down to it. I’m scatterbrained, spontaneous, I’m probably certifiably insane, perpetually ridiculous and ninety percent of the time I’m pretty okay with that. When my kids are otherwise occupied or sleeping and I’m not spending time at work as a nurse, I’m a writer. Breaking Point is my baby (now that my real life babies aren’t really babies anymore) and I’m its worst critic. It’s gone through several revisions to become the version you will/are/may not read. The very first draft of the very first chapter of Breaking Point was so bad I still laugh about it to this day and I wrote it about three and a half years ago. In my defense, I was delirious with sleep deprivation when I started it due to children who decided I was better off without sleep. Despite the effect lack of sleep may have had on my sanity, I really do thank them for giving me the drive to write again.
What about this book do I love? Surprisingly, it’s not the fantasy elements, not the world I’ve created, it’s the characters. The emotional journey they go on more than anything else is what drives me to write this book and it’s sequels. They interest me, and these characters may be of my own creation, but any author will tell you that when you sit down to write, you never know what your characters could do to surprise you. Mine tend to do that to me a lot, sometimes they make me mad and other times they have better ideas than I do.
I sincerely hope that this journey is one you can enjoy with me, because I’m not done having fun yet!
“Sometimes, rather most times, I believe, imperfections make us strongest if we are willing to embrace them for what they are, rather than try to hide them or deny they exist. So, perfection lies in imperfection and our willingness to accept those as part of who we are.”
“The sound of the waves was more soothing than any other sound in the world, save maybe the rain.”
“One never knows what they're capable of until they try.”
“People usually respond better to someone they can relate to. Statues are kind of hard to like.”
“I won't say anything, but you should tell them. It's not weakness to admit you're not perfect.”
“Why did you throw your shield up yesterday when we sparred?'She smiled. He was genuinely curious. 'Well, you didn't even flinch when I elbowed you in the stomach the other day, and to be quite honest, it hurt my arm. So you can understand why having a boulder thrown at me would cause self-preservation to kick in.”
“I know. Just understand that as long as you want me around, I'll be here.”
“Nobody is perfect; Nobody is expecting you to be.”
“Sometimes, just crying things out was therapeutic, especially when there was nothing else that could be done.”
“Confidence is my middle name.''Funny, I was thinking more along the lines of arrogance.”
“I trust you, even thought I don't trust myself.”
“That was Lucy's tactful way of saying 'In case you feel like murdering Kali tonight, we are making sure you don't break your ankle in the process.”
“Evan still stared in disbelief. 'Seriously? She won again? Is there no justice?”
“This had just gone beyond suspiciously easy to how-stupid-do-you-think-we-are easy.”
“There is no glory in death, Evan.'Evan's smile vanished. 'Then I'm going to make sure you make it back alive.”
“Darkness is the absence of light. Happiness is the absence of pain. Anger is the absence of joy. Jealousy is the absence of confidence. Love is the absence of doubt. Hate is the absence of peace. Fear is the absence of faith. Life is the absence of death.”
“You saw weaknesses but turned them into strengths.”
“With the last months spent preparing to face this darkness, it was improbable that the end of her story would be a happy one. She had considered death, maybe even accepted it, at times even wished for it. But no matter how many times she had thought it over, no matter the circumstances, it didn’t matter to her now.”