A few days ago, I introduced you to Jasmine, my trainwreck heroine. Today, I’m going to introduce you to her volunteer groom. (Premise: Jasmine is left at the altar and instead of wallowing in misery, Jasmine decides to ask for a volunteer from those waiting in the pews to marry her and go on her honeymoon to The Bahamas with her. Shawn is the sole volunteer.
Now, to anyone who read the first version of this story when it was on Kindle Vella, you might be scratching your head going, who is Shawn? Wasn’t his name Sebastian? (Bastian for short. My homage to the one and only Sebastian Stan-yum.) Why yes, that was his name. But then, when my editor was reviewing the manuscript, she noticed that there was a movie coming out that had a vaguely similar premise to mine (marriage to a stranger) and one of the main players in that movie was named Bastian. Well, poo. I didn’t want to be compared to that movie, or accused of ‘stealing’ an idea, especially when I’d never heard of it! No idea is original. Just our take on it, still, I didn’t want there to be such a comparison. So, I had to think of a new name for him. The answer came from the photo inspiration of the one and only Mendes.
I mean, the guy defines cute. (There are a few others who fall into this category for me, but Shawn met all the other criteria I needed for this character.) The physical description is about where the comparison ends. My Shawn is not musical and has a slew of personal issues because that’s how I do with my characters. I like giving them flaws to overcome. Or embrace.
I can’t show you the rest of his character sheet because it’s full of plot spoilers for not just Vol. 1 but for the ones to come.
Suffice it to say, writing sex scenes with this man in mind was not a challenge in the least. *wink, wink, nudge, nudge.
I’ll be curious, if after reading Where You Left Me. Vol. 1, if you picture Shawn as I do, or if you create a whole new Shawn in your mind. Let me know who you see! I’d love to know.
The book releases 2-8-22, but if you want to pre-order yours now, you can do so here:
WHERE YOU LEFT ME, Vol. 1
Amazon: https://amzn.to/32DkLM4
B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/where-you-left-me-dani-bannister/1140823397
iBook: https://books.apple.com/us/book/id1602398564
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/where-you-left-me-1
Other Platforms: https://books2read.com/u/4Ap79A
Book Trailer: https://youtu.be/Bgax_Gu5pbU
Until next week, stay awesome!
Danielle Bannister, Author 