J.M. NORTHUP

MEET MY CHARACTER

1. Tell us about your story:
   • What is the name of your book?
     • LURE: JESSE & HAWK
   • What genre is it?
     • ROMANTIC SUSPENSE, GRITTY SMALL-TOWN ROMANCE
   • When and where is your tale set?
     • LURE RIVER IS A SMALL FICTIONAL TOWN THAT BORDERS A CHIPPEWA RESERVATION IN MINNESOTA.
     • “LURE RIVER WAS ITS OFFICIAL NAME ON ACCOUNT OF THE MASSIVE WATERWAY THAT RIPPED THROUGH THE LAND, BUT EVERYONE WHO LIVED THERE JUST CALLED IT LURE. IT WAS LIKE ANY OTHER SLEEPY TOWN IN THE MIDWEST EXCEPT FOR ONE THING. IT STRADDLED THE CHIPPEWA RESERVATION, WHICH BORDERED THE OTHER SIDE OF THE RIVER, LIKE A CROW ON A FENCEPOST. LURE WAS A FERTILE TOWN OF TREES, LAKES, AND CONTRADICTIONS.”
2. Who are you?
   • What is your name?
     • JEDEDIAH VANHOUTEN, BUT THREE YEARS AGO, BECAUSE I FELT RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DEATH OF MY GIRLFRIEND AND THE LOSS OF MY CHILD, I TRIED TO KILL MYSELF. IN THAT MOMENT, JED DIED, AND I BECAME HAWK. MY OLD ANISHINAABE FRIEND, JOE, NAMED ME LITTLE HAWK WHEN I WAS YOUNG. JOE TAUGHT ME TO SURVIVE IN THE BUSH AND STOPPED ME FROM TAKING MY LIFE THAT DAY. I’D TRAINED TO BE A DOCTOR AND JOE SAID MY HANDS WERE A GIFT AND I’D HEAL MANY PEOPLE. HE WAS ANGRY THAT I’D TRIED TO SEVER MY HANDS FROM MY BODY. “ONE DAY YOU’LL FLY BEYOND THIS GRIEF. BUT UNTIL THEN, YOU MUST WALK WITH IT. BE WITH IT. YOU CAN’T ESCAPE BY DYING. THERE’S NO HONOR IN THAT, HAWK,” HE SAID.
     •  JOE WAS RIGHT. SO, I TOOK A SWISS ARMY KNIFE AND WALKED INTO THE BUSH TO LIVE IN A CAVE ON THE RESERVATION. THERE I DISCOVERED AN ORPHAN WOLF PUP AND NAMED HER SISTER BECAUSE THE ACHE WAS SO STRONG FOR FAMILY. LEARNING TO LIVE WITH THE LAND WAS THE ONLY THING THAT KEPT ME ALIVE, MY GRIEF AND GUILT WERE SO INTENSE. WHEN YOU HAVE TO FEED YOURSELF, YOU BECOME CONNECTED SPIRITUALLY TO THE LAND ON WHICH YOU WALK. I BECAME A HUNTER, AND THAT’S HOW I MET JESSE.
   • Are you a fictional or historical character?
     • I THINK YOU KNOW THE ANSWER TO THAT.
   • What’s your role in the story – are you the protagonist or a supporting character?
     • I’M ONE OF THE PROTAGONISTS. THE OTHER IS JESSE JARDINE, A STRONG BEAUTIFUL WOMAN.
   • Are you a human, animal, alien, robot, or something completely different?
     • A HUMAN WHO UNDERSTANDS THAT WE ARE ALL CONNECTED, THAT ALL OF US ARE SENTIENT, SPIRITUAL ENTITIES INCLUDING THE ANIMALS, THE PLANTS, THE ROCKS, THE WATER, THE WINDS, THE MOON AND STARS
   • Do you consider yourself to be good, bad, or indifferent?  Would others agree with this assessment – why, or why not?
     • THAT’S TOO SIMPLISTIC A QUESTION. THERE’S GOOD AND BAD IN EVERYONE. WE’RE ALL CAPABLE OF HARMING OR HEALING. I HAVE DONE BOTH.
3. What do we need to know about you?
   • What is your personal goal?  I mean, what do you ultimately want?
     • TO BECOME WHOLE AGAIN. TO MEND MY BROKEN SPIRIT. TO RECLAIM MY STOLEN SON. TO LOVE AND BE LOVED. TO CARE FOR THIS WOMAN WHO’S COME INTO MY LIFE.
   • What is standing in your way?  What conflict(s) do you face?
     • GUILT. I SHOULDN’T HAVE ALLOWED SHEN TO BIRTH HER BABY AT JOE’S CABIN. I SHOULD HAVE INSISTED SHE TALK TO HER FAMILY, EVEN THOUGH SHE HATED THEM AND THEY’D BEEN ESTRANGED FOR YEARS. IF WE’D KNOWN HER GENETIC HISTORY . . . IF SHE’D DELIVERED IN A HOSPITAL . . .
   • Why is this goal important to you?  What’s your motivation?
     • TO BECOME THE MAN I’M TRULY DESTINED TO BE, I MUST BE WHOLE. I OWE IT TO SHEN TO RECLAIM HER SON FROM THE PEOPLE SHE HATED. I OWE IT TO MYSELF TO MEND. I OWE IT TO JOE TO BE ABLE TO HELP HEAL OTHERS AND I CAN’T DO THAT UNTIL I HEAL MYSELF. I OWE IT TO JESSE TO HELP HER SURVIVE.
   • If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be, and why?
     • FOR AS LONG AS I CAN REMEMBER, I FELT I WAS BORN INTO THE WRONG CULTURE AND FAMILY. THAT’S WHY, EVEN AS A BOY, I CROSSED THE RIVER INTO THE RESERVATION TO BE WITH JOE AND HIS WIFE. BUT THAT WASN’T SOMETHING I HAD THE POWER TO CHANGE. JOE TRIED TO CHANGE IT BY TEACHING ME, BY ADOPTING ME, BY ACCEPTING ME AND GIVING ME A HOME WHERE I FELT I BELONGED. BUT I ALWAYS RETURNED TO MY FATHER, MOTHER, AND BROTHER ACROSS THE RIVER IN LURE RIVER AS THEY HAD GIVEN ME A LOVING HOME TOO.
4. How do I get a copy of your book?
   • Is it available now, or when can we expect to see it released?
     • YOU CAN FIND IT ON AMAZON. ALSO LOOK AT THE “BUY BOOKS” PAGE ON MY WEBSITE TO ORDER SIGNED PRINT COPIES – BLUE HAVEN PRESS.