Have you read a book and said, “Hey! I’ve done that!” at least once? Do share your stories in the comments below for a giveaway (giveaway ends Saturday, July 13, 2019).
There I was, writing and cooking on the same day, as I have done for years. This time, I was revising Call You Home, Book 10 in my Savannah Sweethearts series. This novel is about two chefs trying to save a family restaurant, so I wrote a lot of scenes set in a commercial kitchen. As you know, kitchens are pretty dangerous places. Fires, cuts, falls, you name it.
While I was revising some of the restaurant scenes one day, I was also cooking a giant pot of chicken soup in my kitchen around the corner from my office. Well, the water was boiling. So I rushed from my home office to the kitchen to take the chicken out of the soup, the next step in the recipe. The long-handled tongs in my hand suddenly snapped underwater and splashed hot boiling water all over my face and chest. Thank God I was wearing glasses, so they protected both my eyes. But the rest of me… Let’s just say I was scalded at a few places and now have new scars for the rest of my life.
I remember thinking: Wow. There I was writing about an imaginary kitchen, and here I am scalded for life by hot chicken soup. Thank God for protecting me, especially my eyes!
In the same novel, I required my chefs to cook or mention dishes. Well, I also tried to cook some new dishes in my kitchen in real life. I didn’t like some of the dishes I tried in the making of this novel. Fortunately, my family was collectively a good sport (either that or they were starving because Mom was busy writing a book) and they ate what I cooked. I won’t cook those dishes again, let’s just say.
In Wish You Joy (Savannah Sweethearts Book 9), the book before Call You Home, one of my main characters locked her keys in her car. She didn’t mean to do it, but there she was. It was in the middle of a hot July day in Savannah, Georgia.
Have you locked your keys in the car before, or misplaced them somewhere? I’ve done it quite a few times myself. And my family members have too. No, I don’t have one of those newer keyless cars.
And maybe you haven’t, but I have also locked myself out of my own house. Life happens.
What about the books you’ve read? Anything sounds familiar?
Readers have told me that they have found other things familiar to them in my books. I do have quite an active imagination (much needed as a novelist), so I can imagine a lot. Some of the things that have happened to my characters do not happen to me in real life, so don’t think that everything I write about is from my own personal experience, especially in my other genres (suspense, for example).
Even in my contemporary Christian beach romances, I myself have never been a police officer, private investigator, or real estate agent, and so forth, but I have written about them. Yes, I know people in those professions, and I have asked them questions while researching for my books.
What about you? Have you read a book and remembered doing something similar to the characters in real life? Any funny stories you’d like to share?
What about this also: Have you read a book and go, “I would never do that!” You know, like skydiving? Or maybe you have gone skydiving. Do tell!
A random reader from the comments section will be chosen to win the first three books in my Savannah Sweethearts series of Christian beach romances, that I’ve boxed up as Markers (Savannah Sweethearts Prequel & Books 1-2). This boxed set is also in Kindle Unlimited.
Ask You Later is about an artist and the non-artist daughter of a gallery owner, Know You More is about a single pastor seeking God’s will for his personal life, and Tell You Soon is about a private investigator and the real estate agent trying to sell his house.
Thank you for stopping by. Have a wonderful weekend in the Lord!
In Christ,
Jan
USA Today bestselling novelist Jan Thompson writes clean and wholesome multiethnic contemporary Christian romance with elements of women’s fiction, Christian romantic suspense with an air of mystery, and inspirational international thrillers with threads of sweet Christian romance. Join Jan's mailing list for her latest book news: JanThompson.com/newsletter
I don’t drive but have forgotten my keys more than once. I did it around 3 times in one week after I had my Gall Bladder out! Thankfully I had a window easy to get in. I know have a key hidden.
The other day I commented about a spa bath scene I read in a Sister chick book and that I had done the same thing.
Also a couple of books I have read like Under the Maui Moon I had been to Hawaii that January and several places mentioned I was Oh I remember that place.
I love reading something in a book that I am familiar with, cooking is definitely up my alley!!❤️
I locked my keys in the car once. Ugh
These books sound really good! I haven’t locked myself out of the house, but my Mom did! It was almost time for me to be getting home from work, so it wasn’t too bad, and she went to a neighbors so she’d be inside. I locked my keys in the car one time, and my Daddy was soo mad at me, that I haven’t done it again!! My Mom, however, locked her keys in the car one time with the car running!!! She’d locked her door, shut it, and then realized what she did, and she thought she’d just get in the passenger side after helping Daddy out, but he shut his door before she could! So, she called me at work to go and unlock her car!! Last time she did that, too!! It wasn’t funny at the time, but it is now!
I’ve locked keys in cars and myself out of my house multiple times. Thankfully with the new car clicker remote things its harder to lock the keys in the car. I’ve also even locked myself out of my house along with my daycare kids, preschoolers and toddlers. Fortunately I had my cell phone and called my son who was on his way to work. He did a u— turn and came back. Now I make sure I have keys in my pocket when I go outside if I’m the only one home.
These books sound great. We’ve locked ourselves out of the house so many times. We have a window…lol
Wow! Climbing in through a window sounds suspenseful. If I did that I’m sure to scare the cat LOL! Glad you have spare keys! Those are always handy.
I’m assuming you’re all better now from your gall bladder procedure? I hope so!
I have flown through Hawaii but haven’t stopped there for a visit. It’s on my bucket list (which is getting super long)!
Thank you for commenting!
Me too! I am not done with chefs yet, as there is one more in another series. More cooking to come.
I’ve read some cozy mystery books where they included recipes in the back of the book. I thought that’s so much fun to try but I haven’t been able to yet. Time!
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I know, right! It’s no fun!
Hope you treated yourself to some ice cream or chocolate afterwards to make you feel better after you get the keys out of the car?
Thank you for your comments!
I just LOVE when the recipes are in the back of the book!!
IKR! It’s two-in-one!
:-)
I’m glad it’s funny now :-)
I do have spare keys in my purse just in case. But that time I locked myself out of the house, I was in the backyard, and all the keys were in the house! I wanted to climb the fence but I wasn’t sure whether I could do it properly LOL.
I’m glad all is well for you and me both!
Thank you for commenting!
Thank you for commenting! Those keyless cars are amazing! Some of my relatives have them and all they have to do is walk next to it and it automatically unlocks, even. And they just press a button to start the car. No more heavy keys in the purse.
I’m glad you had backup plans. I do that too – make sure I’m holding the keys when I go outside. Just in case! :-)
Thanks again for stopping by!
I’ve definitely locked myself out of the house. One time a went out to grab the mail, and my two year old closed the door on me, and it was locked. I finally got her to get her older sister who was able to open the door. It was winter, and it was very cold, and I had no coat on.
Jan,…this post requires a lot of thinking LOLOL
Just came back to work after a week and a a half vacation…wait…it wasn’t vacation – supervising 25 children during our kids camp wouldn’t count as vacation. Well, what I’m trying to say – I’m back to work, sleep deprived, drained from sport activities and night hikes…and my brain doesn’t function.
I would definitely do skydiving! Dreaming about it…as soon as my hubby agrees to do it with me (which is unlikely – his point is: At least our kids will have one parent alive) :)
We did parasailing – loved it!
Keys – yes…happened to me
Kitchen – must admit – don’t like to cook but have to :( would love to hire a cook :)
Oh, and we’ve got lost on the Christmas tree farm during the snow storm while looking for a perfect tree to cut. With four kiddos! We are laughing at it now but it wasn’t funny at the moment :)
Thank you for commenting! Windows are great!
Wow! Glad you made it back into the house! When I was locked out of the house, it was summer time. But because it was so hot, we had the AC on, and it being an older house, the AC was loud and if you’re inside, you can’t hear. Hubby was upstairs in his office and didn’t hear me shout for help from the backyard. I had to wait for a while until he came downstairs — and there I was, waving from the backyard. In that old house, we had a fence, but I was unable to climb over the fence! I wasn’t a tomboy growing up and I couldn’t figure out how to scale that thing LOL!
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That sounds like a surprise family adventure getting lost in a Christmas tree farm and in a snow storm! Maybe a campfire story to tell the grandkids in the future? :-)
Incidentally, Wish You Joy (mentioned in my blog post) does have a Christmas tree farm, but so far no one has gotten lost in it (maybe because it’s a small farm and fenced in).
I haven’t done parasailing yet! :-) When we went to the Bahamas, people were doing it, and I was like… Hmm NO. :-) I’m not brave enough yet.
Hope you’ll get some rest from your camp! That sounds like a lot of work. I’m sure all the kids had fun.
Thank you so much for commenting.
Yes all better it happened about 6 years ago. Our old house it was so easy to take the screen out just needed a screwdriver or even a pen. and lift it out. My room was the hardest screen to get out. Took me half an hour when mum had a meeting in the lounge room and hadn’t shut the door so I couldn’t get to my room from the back door.
This new house one screen the wire comes out so easy and the screen doesn’t take much to get out. On the inside was a table and chair so easy to climb in and down. Now its a bed which is full of stuff (selling for a friend) and would be more difficult.
I have actually looked after someone place feeding the cat, dog etc and they needed something inside and rang me. The husband said how will she get in to get the book (think it was a library book) and Jane said she will just go in the side window. It use to have an window air conditioner so it couldn’t lock I was more worried someone would see me breaking in and ring the police.
While this isn’t in a book I have a slightly cross eyed cat. You know sometimes in cartoons a cat jumps on something misses and goes down the wall. Well that is Henry. He jumps and miss judges sometimes and your see him failing to grab the edge then go down the wall (or one time side of washing machine).
Henry! I used to have a black lab named Henry. He passed away many years ago and I still miss him.
That’s an interesting cat! Looks like he has some adventures around the house!
I’m glad that you were able to find ways to get in the house. Many years ago I used to work at an old building in which they painted the windows shut. You could never open them if you wanted to. I remember thinking the entire time I was there (years) that if there was a fire, we would not be able to get out. Fortunately, God protected us from fires!
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Hi Jan, When my kids we’re young I always carried house keys with me when I’d hang out the laundry on the clothes line in our backyard. Of course, the one time I forget to toss the keys in the laundry basket was the day my kids closed the door and locked me out! Thankfully it was summer and a window was open and I was able to climb back inside, lol.
LOL! I’m glad the window was open! I remember a relative of mine was taking the trash out to a big bin/dumpster, and she had her car keys with her, and when she tossed the trash bag, she accidentally tossed the car keys into the dumpster. So she found out what it means to go dumpster diving that day. :-)
Thank you for commenting! I just saw your comment. :-)