Get ready to learn more about the book The Found Jar in this discussion with sapphic author Jaycie Morrison.
Join us for an exclusive peek behind the scenes as we quiz Jaycie Morrison about The Found Jar, writing, reading, and more.
This book is part of the Addiction category in the 2024 IHS Reading Challenge.
Why did you write The Found Jar?
The setting came to me in a dream. I often get ideas from dreams, and in this case, I also saw the jar in my dream, and somehow knew it was called the found jar. This was the first time I had the title before I wrote the story.
Who is your favorite character in the book?
Beck is certainly the sweetest character, but I think I’m more like June, who turned out to have a bigger role than I initially thought. She might have started out with the wrong woman, but she turns out to be a good friend.
What was the biggest challenge writing this book?
This was the first time I wrote in first person, and there were some challenges with that. For example, when a character leaves the scene, how will they know what went on?
How much research did you need to do for The Found Jar?
I actually went to the Outer Banks for a long weekend, because even though I had never been there, it was very clear that was where the story was taking place. I’m really glad I did, because I would have gotten a lot of things wrong. Google is great, but it can only do so much.
What is your favorite line from your book?
“Even broken things are beautiful when they find their place.”
Is there a particular genre you would love to write but only under a pseudonym?
Mystery, for sure. I even have a plot in mind, but don’t yet know whodunit. That’s what happens when you’re a pantser.
Do you have any odd writing quirks?
Sometimes if I’m really stuck, I’ll play some really simple video game – bubble pop type or solitaire – just to get my head working again.
Do you have a pet who helps/hinders your typing?
My dog Tilley – a three year old red heeler that my sister calls “The Red Menace” – is really great at interrupting me at crucial moments of my writing to tell me there’s a deer in the yard or that she needs to go outside RIGHT NOW!! She’s actually very smart and I think she understands more English than any other dog I’ve ever had.
When you’re writing an emotional or difficult scene, how do you set the mood?
Sometimes I find a particular song that helps me find the right head space for a certain scene. But I don’t play it while I’m writing, only before.
Do you feel bad putting your characters through the wringer?
I deliberately put Emily (of The Found Jar) – who doesn’t swim well and gets uneasy around too much water – on the Outer Banks. Oh, and she doesn’t like boats either. It’s important to for such characters to understand they have a decision to make. Are they going to get outside their comfort zone and grow, or are they going to take the easy way and remain the same semi-miserable person they’ve always been?
Have you ever hated one of your characters?
Mel, Emily’s agent and friend(?), is a narcissist, and I think most readers will find her very easy to dislike. I suppose its possible for such people to be redeemed, but that’s not how I wrote Mel. She serves as the rather extreme “other side of the coin” for Emily’s life choices.
What books have you read more than once in your life?
I often re-read books that have impacted me in some way – with lag time of a year or so in between readings. The first one I remember re-reading is One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest. I thought the movie was okay, but it couldn’t begin to replicate the depth of language in the book. Re-reading stories is like driving down a familiar road, in that you know where you are going, but this time you might see something different. But knowing the ending is a kind of comfort, like that favorite shirt that fits just right, but has become really worn and faded. So it sits in the back of your closet until one day you notice it and you’re so happy when you remember it – but you’re probably not going to wear it out in public.
Describe your favorite reading spot.
I love to read, and I can read almost anywhere, anytime. I can read while someone else is watching television. I can read in the car. I almost always read in bed before I go to sleep, but that’s not always wise, because then my mind starts finishing the story after I’ve turned off the light and then I don’t fall asleep.
