Q&A with Jessie L. Star

 

Describe The Do-Gooder in one word:
Feisty

 

The Do-Gooder tells the story of Lara Montgomery, a girl who is struggling to break free of the shackles of her troubled past. Her high school reputation follows her to university and though all seems far too difficult, Lara bravely attempts to turn her bad karma around by performing good deeds for all who ask. Amongst it all, Lara discovers some truths about herself and faces her past in order to confront her present and future. What sparked this concept for you?
While I like a traditional ‘baddie’ in a story as much as the next person, I also think it’s really interesting when the conflict comes from the character having to overcome/work through something in their own make up, so that’s very much where Lara came from. And I quite fancied writing someone prickly who, hopefully, readers would end up warming to.

 
The Do-Gooder explores the concept that a troubled past does not necessarily equate to a troubled future which is an encouraging and important message. Lara works hard throughout the book to remedy her situation which to the reader gives her strong and tenacious depth as a character. What personality trait do you think will most endear Lara to your readers?
Lara is the sort of character who ‘just gets on with it’. She’s set a path for herself that she barrels along with very little room for self-doubt or second-guessing and, while it’s maybe not the healthiest choice for her, I think her lack of self-pity is quite appealing.

 

What was your biggest challenge in writing The Do-Gooder?
The biggest challenge in writing The Do-Gooder was coaxing out Lara’s softer side without undermining her dignity and resourcefulness. That and getting her and Fletch to stop arguing for two seconds!

 

What’s next for you?
I’m currently finishing up my next novel about a cheerful, incurably honest woman who finds herself reassessing exactly how much she’s really into the guy she’s believed she’s in love with since they were teenagers, and how partial she may be to her new neighbour…!

 

 

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The Do-Gooder
Jessie L. Star

Does a bad girl deserve love?

A sassy, sweet romance perfect for fans of Christina Lauren, Colleen Hoover and Zoe Foster Blake

Lara Montgomery is no good. But she’s used to it by now – her high school reputation has followed her all the way to Bay University. She tells herself she doesn’t care, but a small part of her hopes she can neutralise the bad karma by doing good deeds for anyone who asks.

She’s really good at it, even if she does say so herself. But deep down, she knows there’s one thing she can never make better, no matter how many problems she solves . . . On the night her brother died, she was off hooking up with his not-so-single best friend, Fletch.

It’s been three years since that night, and Fletch has had it with Lara’s do-gooding – it only reminds everyone in their small university town about what they did. But Lara is determined to wipe the slate clean, even if it means heated arguments with Fletch whenever they meet on the way to class.

Trouble is, there’s more than just heat between Lara and Fletch – there are sparks and fire that can’t be ignored, and no amount of do-gooding is going to get rid of that.

Simon & Schuster  |  Amazon