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[mare]

okay so my first Oprah question to you, What made you decide to write this sequel and tell us about your inspiration behind Clare.

[RokofAges75]

okay so my first Oprah question to you, What made you decide to write this sequel and tell us about your inspiration behind Clare.

Yay Oprah questions!


I hadn't planned on writing a sequel to Broken because at first, I didn't think it needed one.  I had a beginning, middle, and end, told in three parts, just the way I had planned, and I felt like the story I wanted to tell was told.

But really, only one part of the story was told.  Broken's focus was on Nick's battle with cancer, and the relationship with Claire that came out of it was just a subplot, even though it became more important as the story went on.  It was important for me to not have them get together until the very end because I didn't want it to be "a romance."  That wasn't the point.

But then, once they DID get together, I realized there was still plenty more story to tell.  These two characters have just started a relationship born out of shared misery, basically LOL - but beyond that, what else do they have in common?  Is that really enough to keep these two different people with very different lives together?  That was the general premise of By My Side, to focus on their relationship in the aftermath of the stuff that happened in Broken.  Of course, I was wary of the idea of writing a story that ONLY focuses on the romance, so I threw in some subplots, and there's built-in drama and angst already, and that's how the whole idea came about.


As for Claire...  I liked the idea of Nick finding a confidant and companion in someone who had been/was going through the same thing he was.  Someone who would understand him on a deeper level than even the guys would because she could relate.  And of course, because I'm a hopeless romantic at heart, it had to be a girl, but I wanted them to have a good solid friendship before it developed into anything more than that.  So my goal was to create a female character who is kind of a guy's girl - the kind of girl guys want to be friends with.  Outgoing, good sense of humor, casual, not overly girly, not afraid to get dirty, etc.  I wanted her to be strong and tough, yet not unrealisticall y so... I remember thinking she needed to get emotional when the really bad stuff happened because that's just what you'd expect a person in her place to do, and I think she does.  She's a character I'm proud of, because she really did turn out to be the way I wanted her, for the most part, in Broken.  And her character develops further in BMS, maybe not in ways that everyone likes, but she does change.

[mare]

So my next question is, and i'm not positive about this one because I have not read this story yet, but what made you decide to not have Nick and Claire together since one of the reasons you wrote this was to focus on their relationship. Because if i'm not mistaken she is with someone else in this story isn't she?

And I know how meticulously you researched your information for Broken, tell us your process behind that. What made you decide on leg amputation?

[RokofAges75]

So my next question is, and i'm not positive about this one because I have not read this story yet, but what made you decide to not have Nick and Claire together since one of the reasons you wrote this was to focus on their relationship. Because if i'm not mistaken she is with someone else in this story isn't she?

Well, they start out together... but you can't have a good story without conflict, and since the main storyline focuses on their relationship, that couldn't be without conflict either.  And I think it's realistic conflict, born out of the fact that you have two people with very different backgrounds and lives, brought together by a shared experience.  Once that experience is over, what's left?  Is it real love, or is it just a mix of empathy and lust?  They do break up in the story, but you have to read to understand why.  The simple answer from me is that they had to have a conflicted relationship in order for me to have a good story.

And I know how meticulously you researched your information for Broken, tell us your process behind that. What made you decide on leg amputation?

I knew I wanted to give the "cancer story" another try, but do it realistically, which meant researching.  I did most of my research online.  For the basic physical aspect of it, I used a lot of medical sites to get my facts straight, and blogs and other fiction books I've read (mostly Lurlene McDaniel) helped me with the emotional aspect of it.

My first step was to decide what kind of cancer... I wanted to do one that hadn't been done before, by me or anyone else, and bone cancer was one that I hadn't seen in a fanfic before.  I was kinda weighing my options, thinking where I could go with that, and the thought occurred to me that hm, if I gave him bone cancer, I could have him lose a limb...  And then I laughed at myself and was like, "Haha, right, you could never do that."   And that's exactly why I decided to do it, cause I knew it would be a challenge for me, and it would have some shock value with the readers, and it would be an interesting twist.  I had a lot of doubt about it, but looking back, it was absolutely the right decision to make for the story.

[MellzBellz]

Congratulation s Julie! You know I've said it to you a millon times but Broken and By My Side are clearly like two of the most brillant fan fics I've ever read. I'm not usually on for Nick with cancer stories, but this really suckered me in, probably because of the realistic aspect you tried to keep up. I have to admit I was VERY wary beginning Broken especially since the story starts out with Nick dating a stripper who cheated on him with Justin Timberlake but once the story REALLY gets rolling I forgot all about that.

I particulary love BMS though cuz it really is MY kind of story. Like you Julie, I do like to read romance, but complicated romances. Not where everything falls into place perfectly. I love the added drama and angst, so BMS just blew me away. There were so many great issues between Nick and Claire that you tackled (Claire being the first girl he was intimate with after losing his leg, their completely different lifestyles, their ongoing health problems even after battling cancer etc) I also LOVED LOVED LOVED the whole complication of the Nick/Laureen/ Claire/ Jamie plot. In a way you REALLY want Nick to get back with Claire, but I also liked him w/ Laureen too and yea it was just done really well. The only one I had no sympathy for was Jamie of course, but only cuz he's such a jerk.

I highly reccomend BMS to anyone who loves angsty drama-romances. This story has been a HUGE inspiration to me and actually has given me a lot of awesome ieas for my sequel to UMS that have got me really excited to begin writing it!

Oh yea... Side note. I used to love Lurlene McDaniels books LOl. Funny fact, but there's actually one where the girl gets diabetes (I don't remember the title) but she's a ballet dancer and her name is Rachel. Amyway she has a crush on this guy in school and guess what his name is? Dun dun dun.... Nick Carter!!! LOL How funny is that?

[RokofAges75]

Congratulations Julie! You know I've said it to you a millon times but Broken and By My Side are clearly like two of the most brillant fan fics I've ever read. I'm not usually on for Nick with cancer stories, but this really suckered me in, probably because of the realistic aspect you tried to keep up. I have to admit I was VERY wary beginning Broken especially since the story starts out with Nick dating a stripper who cheated on him with Justin Timberlake but once the story REALLY gets rolling I forgot all about that.

Thanks, Mel!    Honestly, I HATE the beginning of Broken - if there's anything I could change about it, it would be that.  But I'm too lazy, and I like to preserve stories in their original form - the only thing I like about the sucky beginning is that it's proof of how much BETTER the story (and my writing) gets as it goes on.  It did do what I wanted it to do, though, which was to set up the story slowly and make the readers think it was going to be totally different than how it turned out to be.  I was afraid of scaring people off with another "cancer story" because it'd been done before, and like you, a lot of people aren't into that.  I'm really glad you gave it a try and got into it though!

I particulary love BMS though cuz it really is MY kind of story. Like you Julie, I do like to read romance, but complicated romances. Not where everything falls into place perfectly. I love the added drama and angst, so BMS just blew me away. There were so many great issues between Nick and Claire that you tackled (Claire being the first girl he was intimate with after losing his leg, their completely different lifestyles, their ongoing health problems even after battling cancer etc) I also LOVED LOVED LOVED the whole complication of the Nick/Laureen/ Claire/ Jamie plot. In a way you REALLY want Nick to get back with Claire, but I also liked him w/ Laureen too and yea it was just done really well. The only one I had no sympathy for was Jamie of course, but only cuz he's such a jerk.

I highly reccomend BMS to anyone who loves angsty drama-romances. This story has been a HUGE inspiration to me and actually has given me a lot of awesome ieas for my sequel to UMS that have got me really excited to begin writing it!

Any compliment from a romance writer on this story means a lot to me because I don't really see myself as a "romance writer."  Many of my stories since the very beginning have contained romance, but never really as the MAIN storyline.  My older stories always contained a lot of drama, but usually it was drama outside the relationship.  BMS is one of the first "complicated romances" I've written, and it was a challenge because I'm not used to focusing on the relationship and its problems so much, so it's really flattering when another romance writer likes it!

I remember when I first started writing this story, I was afraid I wasn't going to have enough material to write about.  I had a basic sequence of events, but I was afraid of running out of filler material.  But as I started writing, the subplots you mentioned - the emotional issues and complications and so on - came into play and became subplots of their own.  In that way, the story kind of wrote itself.  It wasn't until I got into that that I could say 100% that it was a good idea to chop off NIck's leg LOL, because look at all the bonus issues it gave me in this story!  All of the insecurity/emotional stuff would not have really been an issue in this story without that, so I think it's added a lot.

I'm so flattered that it has inspired you - that's awesome!!

Oh yea... Side note. I used to love Lurlene McDaniels books LOl. Funny fact, but there's actually one where the girl gets diabetes (I don't remember the title) but she's a ballet dancer and her name is Rachel. Amyway she has a crush on this guy in school and guess what his name is? Dun dun dun.... Nick Carter!!! LOL How funny is that?

Oh wow!!  I actually haven't read that one!  I've read almost all of her older books (and own most of them), but I know she's written some new ones since I kinda stopped buying them.  I did order one of her newer ones last year and read it, but it didn't do anything for me.  I'll always love the ones I grew up reading, but I think she's too formulaic for me to really get into a new one anymore.  Her books still inspire me a ton though.  I still pull them off the shelves and read parts when I need inspiration or information for stuff I'm writing - like Broken and BMS.  If I ever write a "real" book, I think I need to include her in my thank-yous because she's been the biggest influence on my writing!

[RokofAges75]

I know several people on the board have read this story already, and some probably have no interest in reading it at all, but is anyone actually checking it out for the first time?  Or reading Broken for the first time?  If so, what are your thoughts so far?  Good, bad, anything?

[shrinkingviolet]

I know several people on the board have read this story already, and some probably have no interest in reading it at all, but is anyone actually checking it out for the first time?  Or reading Broken for the first time?  If so, what are your thoughts so far?  Good, bad, anything?

Well... I had never read Broken before, so when I saw BMS was a sequel, I decided to read Broken first. And when I saw how many chapters there were, I literally groaned. But, I persevered, and read it through completely last night/this morning (who needs sleep?). I was amazed at how quickly I was drawn in, and the characters were really true to me. I loved how Nick changed bit by bit, and not overnight like I've read in other fics. And Claire! God, words can't describe how much I love her.

I've downloaded the copy of BMS to read while I'm offline tomorrow/this weekend, and I'll be back with thoughts on that later. (I print out a few chapters at a time to read in bed and...other places *blush*)

[mare]

Well I loved Broken, but you already know this! lol

I thought it was great storytelling with a very original plot. And I know a cancer story doesn't always fall under original, but the idea of amputation does.

Plus you had the female in the story also have cancer but it wasn't the typical 'poor dying girl so everyone pity me' plot going on. I admit I was afriad of that. That suddenly the focus would be on her and not Nick where all the boys are "Oh my God is Claire okay?" lol that is always so unbelievable to me in fics like the boys would really all sit and mull over a random girl's illness for chapters at a time. Even a girlfriend.

I admit I loved the group moments the most. My favorite all time scene is with Nick and Brian on the beach. Moments like that define Broken to me.

I haven't read it in a looong time but it's still very memorable and for me who can't remember a thing, that says a lot. (watch there is no beach scene with Brian and Nick lmao)  

[RokofAges75]

Well... I had never read Broken before, so when I saw BMS was a sequel, I decided to read Broken first. And when I saw how many chapters there were, I literally groaned. But, I persevered, and read it through completely last night/this morning (who needs sleep?). I was amazed at how quickly I was drawn in, and the characters were really true to me. I loved how Nick changed bit by bit, and not overnight like I've read in other fics. And Claire! God, words can't describe how much I love her.

I've downloaded the copy of BMS to read while I'm offline tomorrow/this weekend, and I'll be back with thoughts on that later. (I print out a few chapters at a time to read in bed and...other places *blush*)

Wow, thank you!!  Thanks for reading it, and thanks for the comments!  I'm really glad you liked Broken!  I don't blame you one bit for groaning at the number of chapters LOL, but thank you for giving it a chance and perservering! LOL  I guess that's the perk of a long story, is that it allows for the characters to develop slowly and change in a realistic way, over the course of time, not just in a couple of chapters LOL.  Writing a story that gradually was something new for me - before Broken, I had never written a story that even came close to being that long.  I was shocked myself at how long it turned out to be.  I was never a very good character writer either, and I'm still working on that, but I'm getting better - anyway, it means a lot to me that you liked Claire's character, because that was one thing I challenged myself to do with that story - write a good, believable, likeable female character LOL.

I hope you're liking BMS so far LOL - thanks again for reading!

[RokofAges75]

Well I loved Broken, but you already know this! lol

I thought it was great storytelling with a very original plot. And I know a cancer story doesn't always fall under original, but the idea of amputation does.

Plus you had the female in the story also have cancer but it wasn't the typical 'poor dying girl so everyone pity me' plot going on. I admit I was afriad of that. That suddenly the focus would be on her and not Nick where all the boys are "Oh my God is Claire okay?" lol that is always so unbelievable to me in fics like the boys would really all sit and mull over a random girl's illness for chapters at a time. Even a girlfriend.

I admit I loved the group moments the most. My favorite all time scene is with Nick and Brian on the beach. Moments like that define Broken to me.

I haven't read it in a looong time but it's still very memorable and for me who can't remember a thing, that says a lot. (watch there is no beach scene with Brian and Nick lmao)  

Thanks Mare!

I totally know what you mean about the female characters in the story.  Like in Swollen Issues II... the first time I read it, I was totally addicted, happily reading along, and then entered this girl (named Julie LOL), who, like Claire, also had cancer, and I remember just GROANING and going, "Noooo, PLEASE don't ruin this story by turning it into some sappy romance!"   And they didn't at all, but oddly enough, they inspired me to do exactly what I didn't want them to do in their story and stick a female character in mine LOL.  I hadn't started Broken yet; Claire was planned pretty much from the beginning, but that's actually where she came from, and because of my reaction to reading it in another story, I knew that I wanted to make her different from what people were expecting - not someone that you're supposed to feel sorry for, or be inspired by, or anything like that.  And I didn't want any hints of romance until later in the story, after they already had a solid friendship developed.  I had to force myself to hold off on it, cause I'm still a hopeless romantic at heart, but I'm glad that I did cause that way I didn't scare people like you away LOL.

LMAO okay, I'm not saying this to be a smartass, but in all honesty, I'm blanking on the Brian/Nick beach scene.    There's one with AJ and Nick that I'm thinking of... but there totally could be a Brian/Nick one too, for all I know!  I only skim through parts of it once in awhile when looking up stuff for BMS; I haven't been through the thing in a long time either LOL.

[mare]

^ i'm thinking of the scene where nick is making up his mind whether he wants to have the surgery or not. Brian is there but i'm not postive if he stays on the beach the entire time. It's a big pivitol scene in the story lol and I know Brian was a big part of it but for the actual beach part, he might not have been there?  lmao

And yes, I did the same thing with Swollen as well lmao but luckily she went away and you're right because had Claire's character not been introduced slowly and just kind of overhwlmed Nick I probably would have stopped reading. lol although of course the anit romance perosn in me was like is she going to kill her off? COOL!! lol

[RokofAges75]

^ i'm thinking of the scene where nick is making up his mind whether he wants to have the surgery or not. Brian is there but i'm not postive if he stays on the beach the entire time. It's a big pivitol scene in the story lol and I know Brian was a big part of it but for the actual beach part, he might not have been there?  lmao

And yes, I did the same thing with Swollen as well lmao but luckily she went away and you're right because had Claire's character not been introduced slowly and just kind of overhwlmed Nick I probably would have stopped reading. lol although of course the anit romance perosn in me was like is she going to kill her off? COOL!! lol

Gotcha!  I did think of that too - I know exactly what you're talking about now.  Brian is there at Nick's house, and then there's a scene with Nick on the beach, but like you said, Brian isn't actually in that scene.  But same difference.

Yeah, I don't really like stories where all of a sudden, a chick comes in and just kinda takes over.  If she's there from the beginning, fine... or if she comes in slowly and becomes more important as the story goes on, okay... but when the story suddenly revolves around her within a chapter or two, that is kind of annoying.  It took a lot of patience and willpower for me to work Claire in slowly, but I knew it had to be done that way.

I dunno if I ever really considered killing her... I think in the beginning of my planning, I wondered if I should kill her or kill Nick, but I couldn't really think of a good reason for either of them, so I didn't LOL.  Carrie (Swollen Issues Carrie, ironically enough LOL) ends most of her emails to me with "KILL CLAIRE!" though, so you're not alone.

[mare]

Gotcha!  I did think of that too - I know exactly what you're talking about now.  Brian is there at Nick's house, and then there's a scene with Nick on the beach, but like you said, Brian isn't actually in that scene.  But same difference.

Yeah, I don't really like stories where all of a sudden, a chick comes in and just kinda takes over.  If she's there from the beginning, fine... or if she comes in slowly and becomes more important as the story goes on, okay... but when the story suddenly revolves around her within a chapter or two, that is kind of annoying.  It took a lot of patience and willpower for me to work Claire in slowly, but I knew it had to be done that way.

I dunno if I ever really considered killing her... I think in the beginning of my planning, I wondered if I should kill her or kill Nick, but I couldn't really think of a good reason for either of them, so I didn't LOL.  Carrie (Swollen Issues Carrie, ironically enough LOL) ends most of her emails to me with "KILL CLAIRE!" though, so you're not alone.

Ah okay well at least I was semi right lol I loved that entire chapter.

And lmao at Carrie. I guess it's always a hard decision when writing a story like that, whether to kill the perosn who is suffering or not. Did it ever run through your mind to have either of them have a recurrence? Although that might happen in BMS, i'm not sure.

[RokofAges75]

Ah okay well at least I was semi right lol I loved that entire chapter.

And lmao at Carrie. I guess it's always a hard decision when writing a story like that, whether to kill the perosn who is suffering or not. Did it ever run through your mind to have either of them have a recurrence? Although that might happen in BMS, i'm not sure.

I know... I just didn't see the point of killing either one of them, especially Nick, because after all that suffering, to not even beat the thing is just sad LOL.  Realistic, sometimes, but it's a story, and I just couldn't do it.  I wanted Nick to make it through the obstacles and come out a stronger, better person, not just die LOL.

About the recurrence thing, it did run through my mind, but I just decided it would be too much, especially for Nick.  And the way I saw it... he got cancer in his leg, they cut off his leg, it had already spread to his lung, but they cut out a lobe of his lung, so how long could I really keep playing the "Oh, it must have spread JUST before they got rid of it the last time" game before it got ridiculous? LOL   So instead of doing the same old thing and having it come back again, I focused more on the after effects... the physical and emotional complications of going through something like that.  There are still medical issues in BMS, but not a relapse for either one of them, no.