While I wrote The Bridge Between, the story was most vivid in my mind, like a movie playing in my head. Yes, that happens much of the time. :) But particularly for this story, because it's set in my hometown of Lambertville, New Jersey.
Though it's not a straight romance, it has a love story at its center. Actually, more than one. :) The characters practically wrote the story themselves, and I merely took dictation. I love those kind of stories. :) And who were these characters?
Jessie Moore is the photojournalist whose life seems out of focus.
She returns to Lambertville for the funeral of an old friend, and rekindles her affair with her first love, Billy Black.
Claire Danes was always Jessie, in my mind.
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Who can resist Billy Crudup? Smart, sensitive, artistic, incredibly sexy, but oh so screwed up. Jessie can't help fall in love with him again.
I fell in love with him when I saw Almost Famous. :) My sisters and I even went to NYC to see him on Broadway. Outside the stage door, we caught up with him, and he was nice enough to pose with me. (sigh) Do I look like I might lick his cheek? I think it occurred to me at the time. :)
Ahem. Back to the story. :)
Billy heals Jessie's heart after her crushing breakup with Matt Cleary.
Ah, Matt could be no one else than Luke Wilson. I fell in love with Luke after watching The Family Stone. It's now one of my favorite holiday movies (though not just because of Luke, lol).
For a secondary character, political reporter Alec came through loud and clear too. Paul Bettany's suave, sophisticated and charming to a fault, just like Alec.
Finally, Spencer Tipton, another of Jessie's suitors - rich, handsome, driven by success. Matt Damon seemed to embody all these things and more.
Here's the story blurb:
Once, Jessie Moore had inexhaustible energy for her art, but after this past year, her art – like her life – feels out of focus. Working at the fledgling Philly Times newspaper with reporter Matt Cleary proves draining after their breakup. When a longtime friend dies of AIDS, Jessie travels to her hometown of Lambertville, NJ. At the funeral, she reconnects with her first love, Billy Black, who becomes a bridge back to the safety of her old life, and also to the origins of her inspiration. But Billy’s more lost than Jessie. Too often, he drowns his worries in beer, threatening to drag her down too. After she rekindles their affair, Matt’s jealousy confuses her. Before she can truly give herself to anyone, Jessie must learn to be true to herself.
