Unapologetically, Juliet

Fun Facts

Hey!

Thanks so much for reading Unapologetically, Juliet! Below are fifteen fun facts to give you a "behind the scenes" look into the story, some of the characters, and my inspiration behind certain aspects.

Enjoy!

1. Juliet's relationship with her mom was very closely based on my own relationship with my mother. In fact, the very first couple of paragraphs in the story, are nearly identical to reality.

2. I came up with the characters, Trixi and Shel (and all the Burke siblings), long before I ever dreamed up the idea for Unapologetically, Juliet.

3. The project that Juliet's little brother, Sumner, is working on is a graphic novel version of Interstate Blues, another story I wrote.

4. Juliet appears in Interstate Blues as a side character. It's a story that stars Jack and Ash Slayer, who make an appearance toward the end of Unapologetically, Juliet. 

5. The relationship Juliet has with Rosalie is very closely based off my relationship with my youngest sister. After I moved out when my sister was eleven, we started a once-a-month scary movie night, which has continued until now.

6. Juliet's character is probably the most like me in real life, than any other character I've ever written.

7. Every conversation between Juliet, Trixi, and Shel is one hundred percent in American Sign Language. In fact, many of the characters in this story know ASL and use it throughout. I started writing this story about four months after I suffered a traumatic brain injury, and subsequently lost some hearing. I had been learning sign language before that, but afterwards, I had an intense motivation to continue. It's been almost three years now of rigorous studying and practicing everyday, to hopefully one day become fluent.

8. This story was originally written for NaNoWriMo 2017. It was a winner. ;-)

9. I wanted Juliet's dad to make more of an appearance, but it didn't really work out that way.

10. All five of the Burke siblings (Roald, Lewis, Grimm, Beatrix, and Shel) are all named after children's book authors. Roald - Roald Dahl, Lewis - Lewis Carroll, Grimm - The Brothers Grimm, Beatrix - Beatrix Potter, and Shel - Shel Silverstein.

11. The little old monk that Trixi and Shel mention as their guardian growing up is named, Brother Anthony. He's entirely based off of a monk my parents knew as teenagers and through their twenties. The Burke siblings star in a story of their own, and he's a central character throughout that.

12. I love Juliet's building manager, Howie. He's one of my favorite characters, and maybe a little understated in this story. I imagined he might have a bigger role, but it never seemed to really fit. Still, I love him.

13. Saber's character and his family were all very fun to develop. I had the idea for the  Rosewood clan about five or six years ago, and started writing their story, but I never got to a place where I was really happy with the plot development. So, I really enjoyed being able to add them to Juliet's life.

14. The nightmare that Juliet tells Saber about is identical to a nightmare I had a few days before I wrote the chapter. The dream was so chilling to me at the time, I wrote it down, and didn't really think about it again until I realized how perfectly it fit with the story.

15. I love the way this ends. It took me a long time to come up with an ending that didn't feel forced or stereotypical or... I don't know, unrealistic, I guess. Honestly, the final result makes me way happier than it should, especially to have weaved the thread between Interstate Blues and Unapologetically, Juliet so perfectly. :-)