Tour Stop! Guest Post by Jacqueline Gardner

Title: Besotted
Series: Thoughtless Series #2
Author: Jacqueline Gardner
Book Blurb:
After narrowly escaping the serial killer out to steal her soul, Bridget dreams of a drama-free Junior year at Hartfield Manor. But going to school with other teenage mind-readers is beyond complicated. The headmaster greets Bridget with an alarming warning, the Coven is plotting something sinister, and Bridget's caught the eye of the hottest guy at Hartfield. Suddenly one psychotic soul-sucker doesn't seem like such a big deal.

And then there's her ex-boyfriend Terrence. Bars aren't enough to keep him away.


Guest Blog - Combat Class 101

I love writing action scenes. I find it a fun challenge to try and accurately describe what a character is feeling as he/she lands a punch or dives to the floor to avoid being stabbed. Not an easy task.

While writing these scenes I try to draw from personal experience. Though I've never been in a hard-core fist fight, I've kicked, punched, and sparred. In Besotted, the second book in the Thoughtless Series, Bridget attends combat class and learns a bit about self defense. I thought about my own experience taking a self defense class when I wrote this scene.

In class when it was finally my turn to “resist a kidnapper” I remember my heart beating a million miles a minute. Walking towards my sparring partner felt like a slow motion stroll. I couldn't stop running through possible scenarios in my head (much like Bridget does). There was a brief moment where my mind went blank. I was “grabbed”, and it took a few seconds for my body to appropriately respond.

That moment of awkward hesitation went away the more I practiced. I'm definitely not an expert, but I do know how Bridget feels when she's forced to move so fast that it's hard to breathe.

Have you ever taken a self defense course?
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