Scene 1; Act 5: Guest Author & Blogger Jo Davis and Domestics

In our continuing program to feature new and exciting authors, I present this week's special guest as part of my contribution to the Virtual Book Tour.


Write What You Know or Can Research

I am Jo Davis, author of the book Domestics. It is an auctioned packed tale of a domestic abuse victim’s rise from prey to predator. In the book, Sarah turns the tables on her loss and victimhood to become an assassin for hire, fighting for the good of other battered women.

Of all the questions I am asked while on the road for the “Domestic Seduction Tour” with fellow erotica author Omegia Keeys, the most difficult is, “Did you draw from experience to write this book?” I guess the most interesting answer would involve a tear-jerking tale of my own abuse at the hands of a lover or my subsequent escape from such a situation. In truth, I married my high school sweetheart, who gave me the idea to make Sarah an assassin. We have four kids, a dog and a house with a picket fence. There’s lots of domestics involved in my real life, but none of violent—mostly the average stuff that a wife and mother faces each day. This answer, the truth, makes most potential readers of my work turn away, a little disappointed.

But, hold on a minute. I am a writer, a creator of stories, spinner of yarns. Why is it necessary for me to have lived the life of the domestically abused in order to write about it. Surely, this is not what my curious potential reader is trying to say, but in a way it is. When did it become necessary to make fiction accurate?

My best guess is that many people misinterpret the old piece of writing advice, “write what you know.” This phrase isn’t meant to restrict a writer. It is meant to help writers in search of their stories and to reign in those who get a bit too overzealous and take too many liberties.

So, what is my answer to the curious? At the end of the day, writers create tales. Some of the scenes, characters, mannerisms and plot points are taken from the writer’s life. The rest is simply, purely, fantastically……fiction.

Pick up a signed copy of Domestics at:

www.bylinesbyjo.com/buy_the_books

Find more information about the Domestic Seduction Tour at:

http://domesticseduction.webs.com/