Ask the Author: C.J. English
Answered Questions (7)
C.J. English
Tabitha, sorry for the delayed response, Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ trips me up sometimes! I'd be happy to share more with you. Could you shoot me an email at [email protected] and I'll send you the first 50 pages or so? Let me know what format you prefer.
Thanks you!
CJ
Thanks you!
CJ
C.J. English
Allison I so appreciate your reading AFFAIRYTALE and opening a dialogue with me about this sensitive subject, I'll try to answer as honestly as I can.
AFFAIRYTALE is a love story about two people coming together under impossible circumstances. When I wrote it, I tried to stick to Grant and I, and the core of the story. I didn't want it to revolve around an angry wife bashing her husband and spewing out all of his perceived faults to justify having an affair. Any events or feelings I may have had like that, I kept to myself.
I chose to include events, emotions and memories that supported our unusual love story from my perspective while being as sensitive as possible to other individuals involved. When it came to Grant and I, everything I wrote is uncensored.
Regarding Dani, I chose to keep this a story about two people coming together and spared you the from the details of us playing light bright and making Halloween costumes. The absence of Dani in the story does not mean the absence of Dani. I chose to keep her story to a minimum. In my brief absences, she was well taken care and is thriving today much better than I did at her age.
I am incredibly proud to be able to model for her the relationship that Grant and I have. I would be so sad if I hadn't broken the cycle of being surrounded by unhappy marriages. She is growing up in a loving home, free from arguments and dysfunction, full of morning hugs, kisses, siblings and quality family time. Dani sees and talks about the difference in the life and marriage we have in comparison to the accepted norm.
Our life with Grant has turned out to be even better than I imagined it would.
AFFAIRYTALE is a love story about two people coming together under impossible circumstances. When I wrote it, I tried to stick to Grant and I, and the core of the story. I didn't want it to revolve around an angry wife bashing her husband and spewing out all of his perceived faults to justify having an affair. Any events or feelings I may have had like that, I kept to myself.
I chose to include events, emotions and memories that supported our unusual love story from my perspective while being as sensitive as possible to other individuals involved. When it came to Grant and I, everything I wrote is uncensored.
Regarding Dani, I chose to keep this a story about two people coming together and spared you the from the details of us playing light bright and making Halloween costumes. The absence of Dani in the story does not mean the absence of Dani. I chose to keep her story to a minimum. In my brief absences, she was well taken care and is thriving today much better than I did at her age.
I am incredibly proud to be able to model for her the relationship that Grant and I have. I would be so sad if I hadn't broken the cycle of being surrounded by unhappy marriages. She is growing up in a loving home, free from arguments and dysfunction, full of morning hugs, kisses, siblings and quality family time. Dani sees and talks about the difference in the life and marriage we have in comparison to the accepted norm.
Our life with Grant has turned out to be even better than I imagined it would.
C.J. English
Giovanna, you mean cause I disclosed a scene about masturbation or hung all of my dirtiest laundry out to dry in the biggest public backyard?
Here is the truth. I wrote it, told myself to be as honest as I could possibly be and to not hold back, then I closed my eyes and hit PULBISH!
My eyes are still closed...
Here is the truth. I wrote it, told myself to be as honest as I could possibly be and to not hold back, then I closed my eyes and hit PULBISH!
My eyes are still closed...
C.J. English
Jessica, sorry for the late response, the Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ interface trips me up every time!! Yes, it is me and Grant. Only because I couldn't find models I could afford! Funny thing about these pictures, (1) I had to talk him into it. (2) I was 8 months pregnant in all of them!
The one with the piano in the background is the only one that's not me, my belly was too big to pull off the shot so I had a stand in.
Check out the behind the scenes pics on @affairytalbook on pinterest there is one of my extra large baby bump!
The one with the piano in the background is the only one that's not me, my belly was too big to pull off the shot so I had a stand in.
Check out the behind the scenes pics on @affairytalbook on pinterest there is one of my extra large baby bump!
C.J. English
Three years ago I sat down to seriously finish the weight loss book/cookbook I'd been working on for years and AFFAIRYTALE is what happened instead!
How do I get inspired? I don't seek it out, inspiration comes to me, and if it doesn't, I can't write about it. I've tried to write other things, I tried to not tell this story! But inspiration wouldn't leave me alone. AFFAIRYTALE happened because I had no choice, it was stuck in my head and the only way to get it out was to get it down on paper!
The only way I can write something is in that place of inspired thought that comes from somewhere other than me. If it doesn't show up, I don't write.
How do I get inspired? I don't seek it out, inspiration comes to me, and if it doesn't, I can't write about it. I've tried to write other things, I tried to not tell this story! But inspiration wouldn't leave me alone. AFFAIRYTALE happened because I had no choice, it was stuck in my head and the only way to get it out was to get it down on paper!
The only way I can write something is in that place of inspired thought that comes from somewhere other than me. If it doesn't show up, I don't write.
C.J. English
I suppose writers block when writing memoir is much different than writers block when writing fiction. Instead of struggling to create a scene, I sometimes struggle with remembering the details. Luckily I have people I can ask, pictures I can reference, text messages I've saved, and journal entries around the time of the event that spark memories I otherwise would not have remembered.
The best ideas on how to put it all together, what to include or what isn't important have come to me when I go for a long walk. Specifically when I'm listening to a tutorial on writing or publishing that has lost my attention. It seems that listening to boring content makes my mind drift away and come up with it's own entertaining content!
The best ideas on how to put it all together, what to include or what isn't important have come to me when I go for a long walk. Specifically when I'm listening to a tutorial on writing or publishing that has lost my attention. It seems that listening to boring content makes my mind drift away and come up with it's own entertaining content!
C.J. English
This deeply personal love story was just to romantic not to share with the world! It occurred to me three years ago that I needed to start writing it down, that it had value, a message and that women could relate.
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