Hi all,
JABB's anniversary was officially on the 19th but that
doesn't mean we can't keep celebrating... especially since I
had to cut the last newsletter short.
I hope everyone is staying safe and cool where they
are! I'm very glad to have each and every one of you
as part of JABB!
Happy anniversary!
God bless,
Jenni
Ask a JABB Co-Founder:
The Basics Continued
6. Why did you decide to make the Dyeland/Asteriana
stories such a departure from TBAA?
I didn't. It just kinda happened. I can't even
remember who made the first reference to Dyeland but it
eventually took on a life of its own. In hindsight, I
think it was definitely a good thing. TBAA had a whole
team of writers. These stories are largely written
just by me. And while I try to tackle some big issues,
I think if I had tried to do something like TBAA where every
story was helping someone new with some crisis, I would get
really burned out. Even as it is, burn out happens
sometimes. But it helps that I can stick with familiar
characters and zero in on a few themes. I don't want
to have to research a different social issue or situation
for every "episode." I definitely want to be
informed. But I also need breaks where I write a story
in which a couple of characters mostly just talk about their
feelings. Those are the kinds of things I enjoy
watching and reading. Relationships are really
interesting to me and while I loved TBAA, there really
weren't relationships that one could get very invested in
because it was always off to the new assignment. And,
let's face it, with the exception of the bond between Monica
and Tess, other friendships just weren't explored with that
much nuance or depth. And I think that was fine for
the type of show TBAA was. It certainly kept me
entertained and interested! But there's a big
difference between being invested in something for 45
minutes a week versus the hours and hours over days that go
into writing. For that sort of time commitment, I
needed a genre that was more engrossing to me... and that
was family drama.
7. What do you miss most about TBAA?
Andrew. Yes, Andrew is one of
the main characters in my stories. But that's a
different Andrew. Sometimes I really miss OG Andrew
who John Dye brought to life on TBAA. The Andrew in
the stories was, obviously, heavily inspired by him but by
now he's changed a lot and had heaps of life experiences
that TBAA Andrew would have never dreamed of. I wish
we could know what that Andrew would be up to these
days. I wish we could have seen him either happily
working on his own again or teaming up with some other
angels who might have been a lil more attentive than
Monica and Tess. I wonder how he would have handled
COVID and the increase in mass shootings. Would he
have still kept stuff close to his chest or would he, like
the Asterian Andrew, have learned how to open up more and
seek comfort from his friends?
Beyond that, I miss TBAA's musical moments. I can
make as many play lists as I like but nothing is ever
going to beat the perfect song actually playing over an
emotional sequence. Not being able to play songs and
not being able to do montages are the two main reasons I
wish I was writing for a screen production and not written
word.
8. Do you ever get tired of writing
newsletters?
Yes... You can probably tell
when some are more phoned in. And sometimes, like
with this one, I do really care but am just tired. I
saw Barbie earlier today and it was amazing!
I don't think I've laughed that much in a long
while. But it also got me in the feels numerous
times so between that and a 4 AM wake-up to do laundry and
yardwork, I'm a bit mentally frayed and tired. So
stringing together coherent sentences is a bit of a
chore. But I am really proud that JABB still exists
and want to celebrate that.
9. How much longer do you think JABB will go?
I plan to keep the web site up indefinitely unless the cost
becomes prohibitive. But there could come a time when
the newsletters decrease in frequency and then maybe
eventually go away. But I can foresee myself writing
stories indefinitely. There will always be new issues
that come up. I'll have new life experiences that
maybe I need to write my way through. I mean, heck,
maybe I'll need to write about JenniAnn going through
menopause or something eventually! Might just need to
live vicariously through her because I know Andrew would be
a trooper and bring her ice cream during hot flashes or
something (not sure that's actually something that would be
helpful but it seems like a good idea on its face!)
And, to be honest, there are still times when the fact that
John Dye is no longer on this earth feels more raw and p
ainful. Ditto for Charles Rocket and
Alan Rickman and others who I associate with the characters
that became part of Dyeland/Asteriana lore. And so
when I miss seeing them in new TV or movie adventures, it's
nice to write something featuring their characters and
imagine.
And to be brutally honest... I don't
see the Christian extremists going away any time soon and,
thus, keeping Joshua around is a real sanity saver for
me. And I think so long as I'm going to write about
Joshua, I might as well put it out there in case it's
helpful to other people. Speaking of...
10. What's kept you going with JABB all these years?
Every time I've thought about throwing
in the towel, I get random emails from people who found the
web site and were touched. Maybe they just were happy
to discover another TBAA fan. Maybe they used to be a
JABB member and now aren't really involved but they just
like the idea that it's still here, waiting, if they ever
need to come back. Maybe they read one or more of the
stories and found some peace in them. For all those
reasons and all those people, I've kept JABB going.
But also for me. Because it has been such a huge part
of my life that it really would be hard to fully step
away. It'll continue to evolve with the pieces that
don't quite work any more falling away and new pieces coming
in. But I was really struck by this quote in the movie
today: "Humans have only one ending. Ideas live
forever." I guess Andrew just isn't an idea I'm
willing to let go of yet.
This newsletter is dedicated to John Dye
for being such an important part of my growing up
years. I suppose I'm feeling nostalgic today and
reflecting on how bits of my childhood and teenagehood
impact me today. John certainly continues to have an
inspiring impact.
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(Photo Credits: The photograph used on this page is from
Touched by an Angel and owned by CBS Productions,
Caroline Productions, and Moon Water Productions.
It is not being used to seek profit.)
