posted on November 20, 2013 by Jeannie Moon

Writing About Sisters

Unexpectedly Yours cover 200 x 300I don’t have a sister, but I have two daughters who are two years apart.  So, when the relationship between Meg and Caroline Rossi became a focal point in my new book, Unexpectedly Yours, I didn’t have to look far for material.

Meg and Caroline’s relationship is difficult on some days and wonderful on others, just like real sisters, but the problem I ran into most when writing the siblings is that readers already knew Meg from The Temporary Wife.  They knew her as feisty and vulnerable.  But in the second book of the series, we see her through Caroline’s eyes and things aren’t the same from little sister’s perspective.

Meg is bossy. Well, she IS the older sister and as a result she doesn’t see Caroline as the competent professional engineer that she is, she’s just her baby sister–the one who doesn’t have a lot of experience with men, the one who withdrew after their father’s death, the one who needs protecting.

Caroline, however, doesn’t agree. At all.

The mood between them goes from tense to hostile to teasing and at times the men in their lives have trouble keeping up.  But what never wans is the love between them.  As angry as Caroline is for Meg’s meddling, the love is always there.

The complexity of the relationship fascinated me.  It was part mother, part best friend for Meg and for Caroline it was the feeling of being smothered. Still, when things are rough between them there’s always the sense that something isn’t right in the universe.

My own daughters have a great relationship and I remember how happy I was that they would have each other.  That’s not to say it’s always been perfect, it hasn’t, but as they got older the bond grew stronger. It was fun exploring the dynamic between Caroline and Meg and seeing Meg’s character from a new point of view. That’s the beauty of a family centered series; I get to look at each character with different eyes.

Readers who knew Meg from book 1 and read early drafts of book 2 were worried that she was too strong, too overbearing.  I toned her down significantly from one draft to the next, but she’s still going to surprise people.  At times, she surprised me.

Caroline manages to come into her own over the course of the story and gains some understanding of her sister’s behavior.  Josh’s love for her gives her the confidence to separate the bossiness from the affection, and the sisters grow closer together by the end of the book.

It was fun exploring this sisterly relationship within the confines of the romance and I look forward to both Rossi sisters being able to torture big brother Kevin in the next Forever Love Story.

Do you have a sibling story to tell?  A stubborn younger sibling or a bossy older one?   Leave a comment and I’ll give away one digital copy of Unexpectedly Yours.  The drawing is limited to residents of the United States and you must be 18.

About UNEXPECTEDLY YOURS:

It was a win-win arrangement…until Caroline lost her heart…

Caroline Rossi needs to reinvent her life. Being a geotechnical engineer hasn’t exactly proved to be a guy magnet. She’s never really had the opportunity to let her hair down and have fun. But when a chance encounter with her big sister’s brother-in-law—millionaire Josh Campbell—leads to a night of unexpected passion, Caroline starts engineering an arrangement that will give them both what they want. She can help Josh with an important real estate project and he can school her in the art of amour. At first Josh balks—but there’s something irresistible about Caroline, something very different from the bombshells he usually dates. Can the friends with benefits agreement really work? Or are Caroline and Josh playing a dangerous game that may end in heartbreak?

Read a full excerpt here: http://jeanniemoon.com/books/unexpectedly/

smaller headshot MoonJean­nie Moon has always been a roman­tic. When she’s not spin­ning tales of her own, Jean­nie works as a school librar­ian, thank­ful she has a job that allows her to immerse her­self in books and call it work. Mar­ried to her high school sweet­heart, Jean­nie has three kids, three lov­able dogs and a mis­chie­vous cat and resides on Long Island, NY. If she’s more than ten miles away from salt water for any longer than a week, she gets twitchy.  Unexpectedly Yours is the second book in her Forever Love Series. Visit Jeannie’s web­site at www.jeanniemoon.com

Jeannie Moon

Jeannie Moon

Jeannie Moon has always been a romantic. When she's not spinning tales of her own, Jeannie works as a school librarian, thankful she has a job that allows her to immerse herself in books. Married to her high school sweetheart, Jeannie has three kids, three lovable dogs, and resides on Long Island, NY. If she's more than ten miles away from salt water for any longer than a week, she gets twitchy. Visit her website at www.jeanniemoon.com.

https://jeanniemoon.com

12 thoughts on “Writing About Sisters”

  1. Christine L. says:

    I have no siblings. When I was a little kid, I wished for a sister to play and share secrets with. As an adult with aging parents, I wish I had a brother or sister to share In the decisionmaking regarding elder care and such.

    1. I have one brother and he’s still a pain, but when my dad was ill, it was good to have someone else to rely on. You have my gentle good wishes. Thanks for coming by today.

  2. Robin C. Greene says:

    I don’t have a sister but but I have an older brother. I’m glad to have him but there are times that I could kill him.

    This sounds like a good book.

    1. I think that’s the way it is with brothers. Just one of those things.

  3. lynnerose says:

    My sister is 6 years younger than I am. We shared a bedroom growing up and there were times where we actually put a masking tape line across the carpet to keep to our own sides since we didn’t get along. She was the sloppy, clothes-stealing, climbing-out-the-window-to-meet-boys one — I was the fearful nerdy neat freak. It wasn’t until we were both out of our teens that we became best friends — now she gives me all of her (much cooler) clothing, too! And we both love our brother to pieces.

    Great expectations for your latest story, Jeannie.

    1. Thanks for commenting, Lynne. I always wanted a sister…I admit to being a little jealous.

  4. Shari says:

    I have a sister . I am the older one. He fought like cats and dogs growing up. We now live 12 hrs apart but talk or text to each other every day. She is my best friend!

    1. That’s so great that you’re close, Shari; the way it should be.

  5. LJT says:

    I am lucky to have two sisters!

    1. You are lucky. I’d be interested to hear your take on Meg and Caroline!

  6. Vicki P. says:

    Have two older brothers and a younger sister! Oldest is closest to the youngest, while I (next youngest) am closer to the 2nd oldest! Yet, or maybe because, the 2nd oldest is most like the youngest! Hope this makes sense!

    1. I think we gravitate to people who understand us. That sounds like an interesting dynamic. Thanks for commenting!

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