Plain Jayne (39 page)

“I thought I did…”

“You don’t.”

“Fine. But what about the
content
?”

“Jayne, it’s 4:00 in the morning. I’ll give you a full
critique tomorrow, complete with fancy red pen marks.”

Grudgingly, I accept, “Fine. I’m just excited.” I know it’s
good, anyway. I don’t necessarily need his stamp of approval. I simply wanted
to share my good news with someone. “I already have an idea for the next one…
It’ll be told in first person from the point of view of a guy who works at a—”

“Jayne…!” He pulls me against himself and kisses my
forehead. “Tomorrow.”

“Okay, okay.” I rub his chest with my palms. “I’m sorry. I
had a lot of coffee tonight.”

Already sounding half-asleep, he says, “Don’t apologize.
You’re inspired. That’s a good thing. But I’d rather hear about it when the
sun’s up.” He gives me a final hug. “I love you. G’night.”

Before I can return the sentiment, he rolls over and, in the
process of rearranging himself and getting comfortable, elbows me in the face.

THE END

Acknowledgements
& Author’s Note

This is one of those books that started out as a “You should
write a book like that” idea. So I started it. Then I hit a wall and stopped.
Then I came back to it. Then I thought I was finished. Then I decided it needed
more substance. Then I decided it needed less of some other things. More than a
year later… here we are. It’s come a long way from the original idea Cara,
Laura, and I hatched in a movie theater lobby, but I still owe the two of them a
bunch for planting the seed.

I had so much fun writing this book! It was a great break
from my
Secret Keeper
characters and plotlines. It’s exciting to create
new characters in new settings and new situations. I related a lot to Jayne in
some ways, but much of her personality and character was foreign to me. I
really had to step outside of my own experience to imagine what life was like for
her. Jayne only has herself to worry about. Although that’s not by choice, it’s
still her reality, and it makes her life incredibly uncomplicated, something
she doesn’t realize or appreciate until professional success takes hold.

As for Luke… Well, Luke was fascinating to develop. He’s
complicated and bad-tempered and belongs to a world that takes itself entirely
too seriously. It was fun to pair the two of them and imagine what would
happen. It was interesting to see each of them gain perspective from each other
in completely different ways.

In any case, it feels great to actually follow through on
one of those, “You should write a book like that” ideas, instead of just
agreeing to it and forgetting about it, or starting it and then running out of
steam.

Thanks to all the usual folks:  family, friends, fellow
writers, BETA READERS!! Without you guys, my experience would be a little bit
too much like Jayne’s was in the beginning, and although I joke about wishing I
could live a more solitary existence, it’s all talk. Of course, you already
know that. Big, heartfelt thank-yous to all you readers, too. Without the most
fabulous readers in the universe, I’d just be typing stories about imaginary
friends into a vacuum. Thanks for your support and for tirelessly cheering me
on!

--Brea

About
the Author

Brea Brown lives in Springfield, Missouri, with her husband
and three sons. Her previously-published books are
The Secret Keeper, The
Secret Keeper Confined, The Secret Keeper Up All Night,
and
Daydreamer
,
all available exclusively on
Amazon.com
.
When she’s not writing books… Ha! Well, sometimes she’s not. In those cases,
she catches up on her reading and hangs out on Facebook (
www.facebook.com/breabrownauthor
),
and she dabbles in blogging, as well (
http://breabrown.blogspot.com
).
She also has a borderline-unhealthy fascination with British culture in general
and Colin Firth, more specifically. Please, take a minute to send her a message
on
Facebook
, follow her
on Twitter (@BreaBrown3), or email her at
[email protected]
.