Orillia author Jessica Hamilton has released her second novel, a thriller, titled Don't You Dare.
The book written by the Orillia District Collegiate and Vocational Institute (ODCVI) graduate follows the story of Hannah, a 36-year-old stay-at-home mom of two daughters.
“She’s not very happy in her marriage,” Hamilton explained of the main character. “She had to leave a career for mental health reasons.”
Then, an old college boyfriend, Thomas, returns to town and seemingly puts a letter in Hannah’s mailbox, asking to meet at their old meeting spot, the "daring" tree.
“The reason it’s called that is because they played a game in college called the Daring Game, with another friend that they had, Scarlet,” Hamilton explained. “They would dare each other to do different things.”
One dare went wrong, which is why Thomas had to leave college. It was the last time Hannah and Thomas had ever seen each other before he returned 16 years later.
“Hannah and Thomas start playing the Daring Game again, just the two of them,” she explained. “Things turn elicit and they start having an affair.”
Later in the book, Hannah and Thomas start receiving dares from a mysterious person who has indicated they know about their current and past secret.
“They have to figure it out before Hannah’s whole life is destroyed by it,” Hamilton explained.
Hamilton, 48, says the inspiration for the new book came from a dream she had about a couple that was having an affair through a notebook.
“They would write things down and pass them to each other,” she said. “It was a very strange dream, but the idea for the book grew out of that.”
While writing the book, Hamilton felt she herself was in between stages of life.
“I was mostly at home with my kids,” she said. “I was recognizing how much a woman can lose her identity when she is a stay-at-home mom, and her whole job is to take care of other people.”
Hamilton says the book serves as a reminder that marriages can break down, and if couples turn away from their adversities and get complacent, things can get destructive.
“There is a difficult time in adulthood when you hit your mid-30s, your kids grow a little older, and you are more settled in," she said. "If you work harder at it, you can maybe make it through that time"
When Hamilton published her first book, What You Never Knew, she had to do all her publicity through social media because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This time, Don't You Dare will be launched this evening (May 16) at Manticore Books. Hamilton will be there from 6 to 8 p.m. to meet with fans and personally sign copies. The book will also be available at Indigo Books and Music.
“I’ve been able to do some library visits and go different places,” she said. “I’m really enjoying it.”
Outside of being an author, Hamilton manages income properties along with her husband.
“It leaves me time to write because it’s a job that kind of comes and goes,” she said. “It gives me a lot of flexibility with my hours.”
More recently, Hamilton says it’s becoming more difficult to balance the two different careers.
“I find that after my debut book, I have more of a reach, more people asking for interviews, and more activity on social media that I have to tend to,” she said. “It’s certainty progressing slowly, but surely.”
Hamilton’s goal is to become a full-time author, and hopefully, the success of Don't You Dare will make that dream a reality.
