Ideas for Lacey's Light

*L&J talking at the nail salon, discussing Chad
XChad playing ball with his buddy (Jake?) talking about Lacey
*Chad's birthday
*JJ-Jake randomly walking up behind J, rubbing her shoulders to help her de-stress...before they are "anything", while they are friends.
Xchad not wanting to hurt Justyn's feelings, since they've all been close for so long, not wanting Justyn to feel left out
*justyn wanting L&C to be together
*Put Jake in gala scene, even if only briefly
*For JJ~does Jake offer J a job as child advocate (or some such thing) after Justyn kicks some seriuos ass during Lacey's kidnapping??
*how do L&J meet?
*J convincing L at the salon to NOT get their hair done, so they can drive with the top down, head out to the coast for a spur of the moment drive, just for the fun of it
*L toJ "dont let the campaign be your only focus, relax, get interested in a guy, worried about you, don't want you to be lonely"
*Are L&J roommates....no they have their own homes
*lacey's long time desire for chad
*stalker=constituent, unhappy with some law or ruling of lacey's, so it would be after election?
*J willing to 'trade' her car for l's safety
*how the three of them want to protect their friendship
*stalker someone who doesn't want l to be mayor.....not become mayor till end of story, build that in?
*l&c getting together
*J&J "collaborating" about l&c?
*
*stalker in L's campaign
*justyn's fight with the stalker-WHY...what is motivation for stalker? Why is Lacey targeted? has she pissed someone off a long time ago, or a rival campaigner?
*research a campaign manager
*Lacey sidetracked at work
*chad worried that some lapse on his part allowed kidnapping
*planning chad's surprise party
*J getting mad at L for 'inaction'
*road trip with girls? how about a road trip with the four of them? Maybe in JJ?
*background on each of the four
*not reveal stalker till end?
*not find out about election results until end?
*does kidnapping change L's desire for politics? how? intensifies it, maybe, makes her more determined to fight crime
*research rep vs dem (ie crime, gun control, etc)
*L&J relationship strained a bit, but J still goes above and beyond for her job
*chad's anguish at lacey being threatened/hurt
*justyn's story ("Justyn's Journey" an entire different story....with Jake? Does Jake love Justyn already<don't want to repeat the same theme>? Justyn's hurt <neal et al>. how do J&J meet? How long have they been friends? Loving a cop=tough and worry. How do J&J realize they are in love? justyn is afraid to love Jake, or to let him know, she's afraid to be hurt again. Jake dates someone else, a blond named Cassie? They flirt and flirt and flirt, never meaning anything, until one of them falls in love, and is afraid to change the tone of their friendship by getting serious; Jake gradually realizing that he doesnt' want anyone else to call him "Stretch" and secretly delighted that Justyn does)
*remembering back to the party theymet at?
*the night on the porch, after the 2nd gala
*research police dept security vs PD...especially at gala...what purpsoe does Chad serve, waht purpose does Jake serve
*dress marathon with L&J, talking on the cell phone at the same time
*subsequent nights of the three of them talking/two of them talking
*lacey asking justyn to "chaperone"
*lacey not wanting a scandal during her campaign
*true love winning out
*the love scene when lacey and chad finally are together (after the stalker)
*the words that chad says to lacey, and lacey says to chad
*the "after sex" time when lacey and chad talk (what do they talk about?)
*research Portland, kidnapping, shock, state police vs city police, head of security, campaign manager
*clean up all details, check for close weave and good flow



How to campaign for mayor

You should be knowledgeable and concerned about your specific community and its future. You may or may not have previous experience working for the community, but your passion and devotion to the city must be expressed in all your correspondence to donors and voters, in all your speeches, and all your actions. Announce your run for mayoral candidacy. Issue a press release in the local newspaper, or announce it in a speech at a public event. Make sure there are television crews, reporters, and a large amount of voters at this event. (HOW does Lacey announce to ‘the world’ her candidacy? With the first gala? What is it for? Is it a fundraiser for a local charity/good cause? Second gala should be LACEY’s fundraiser.) Gather campaign funds from family, friends, and local businesses (who? Chad and Justyn should make significant contributions). Contact special-interest groups who’s ideas are in alignment with your own. Request sponsorship from big businesses (again, who? Now you need to decide what lacey’s ideals are, and what her main running points are. What does she want to change or enact or put a stop to?) Get out and visit with the public. Schedule speeches and public appearances (Justyn schedules, do a super-detailed degree) on a daily basis. You want your name out there as much as possible, and you want constituents to know what you stand for. Advertise yourself. Give away pins, shirts, mugs, etc (look through Oriental Trading company for unique give away ideas). Go on television, or radio (local public radio format?) Put yard signs around town. (Is perhaps Portland too big a venture for first time out? “WHile Lacey’s ultimate goal was politics on a much grander scale, she knew she had to start somewhere. So she was perfectly happy campaigning to be the Mayor of <smalltown, OR…just outside of Portland>). Emphasize change. Many voters want to see a change in local government (locate a need, or a local unhappiness in the town). If you are going to change things, you need to let the voters know. Send EVERYONE a thank you letter (Justyn is very adamant about this, and she has a special assistant who sole job handles thank you notes. Justyn is also adamant that Lacey personally signs the great majority (if not all) of her notes personally. Its that added touch, and Lacey trusts Justyn enough to be able to sign without needing to read every document <show not tell> ). All who donate funds or sponsor your campaign should be recognized by letter, at the very least. Regardless of whether you win the election or not. Design a lawn sign (Lacey’s forte, creative/art pursuits are her passion, she loves to use them for her job) that will stand out, and can be seen from the road. (decide what Lacey’s ‘signature campaign’ colors/logo will be…something easily recognizable…that I can describe). Only release information if it is factual. Check and double check all sources thoroughly before releasing any information. Do not engage in dirty politics. Don’t vote on a law just because of a large ‘donation’ (enter kidnapper?? Lacey refuses to be bribed, or accept the ‘donation’ so they kidnap her to ‘force’ their issues? Is the kidnapper political? I would say yes. Also, I don’t think the kidnapper and the stalker should be the same person. I think the stalker should just be some random psycho ‘fan’. However, Justyn and Chad don’t know that, at first. When writing about the kidnapper/stalker, write the same way, the same perspective so that people don’t know that they are two different people…until later in the novel, when the two begin to have differing views, agendas. I think they should uncover the stalker towards the end of the campaign, <Lacey and Chad get together soon afterwards, when they realize that their love is too important; the danger from the stalker has imprinted the desire to ‘live for the moment’ because you never know what will happen.> Lacey gets elected mayor, and then the kidnapper comes along. OOH!!! How about you never know that the stalker and the kidnapper are two different people. The whole book the stalker makes himself known, but the kidnappers thoughts and plans are thought to be the stalkers. After the stalker is caught, Lacey and Chad have their happy reunion, everybody is safe, happy happy joy joy. They begin to work on Lacey’s campaign. One of the very last scene is of Lacey and Chad at the beach, being watched but unaware of it. So Lacey gets elected mayor towards the end of the book. And the kidnapping scene is the first scene of JJ. Lacey has been elected mayor, and has been mayor for a while, and kidnapper comes along, but you see the follow-through of some of his plans from LL)



Campaign manager will be your primary resource during the campaign. Your manager should be effective at achieving victory. Successful campaign mangers share certain skills and abilities. Someone who has years of experience, relevant education or combination of both. Personal knowledge of success and failure in the field. Knowledgeable in the reasons for success and failure in a variety of campaigns. (What has Justyn done in the past to prove this? Lacey didn’t just randomly pick her because she was her best friend, but because she knew that Justyn could and would effectively do the job.) confirm ethical capacity of campaign manager. Manager should align her ethics with electee. Contact everyone on your manager’s networking list. A good manager will have a network of associates that can offer new and profitable possibilities and opportunities. (Who are some of Justyn’s networking associates? How can they benefit them? Is this how Jake is introduced into the story? And then they develop a closer friendship?) Campaign manager should be well organized , one of the most important leadership skills (perfect for Justyn….write about details….”meticulous” organizing…sometimes anal tendencies…..is something misplaced on her desk, and she goes ballistic, because she always knows how to find things? After kidnapping, Justyn insanely tears her desk apart, because she is looking for something that was sparked by a memory…possibly a clue to the identity of the person.) Make sure your campaign manager is devoted and committed to your victory, unshakeably loyal as well, no matter the cost. Pay her well (she does own a brand new hot car), she works at all hours of the day. Get references from previous assignments (what have some of Justyn’s previous assignments been? Grant Aldrich? Reference to references for Justyn? Not that Lacey needs them, but this is her career, and that is the most important thing. If she didn’t’ think Justyn was capable, she wouldn’t hire her. SHOW, not tell, how Justyn is capable/organized/has leadership capabilities, etc. Lacey and Justyn should have a partnership approach to managing the campaign. (Because they have been friends for so long, Lacey [again, show not tell] unconsciously turns many duties over to Justyn, more so than might be customary, but again, attributed to years of friendship and closeness)/. Don’t fire a manager in the middle of a campaign unless absolutely necessary. It causes a drastic down turn in public relations, and in the running of your campaign (Do Lacey and Justyn get in a big enough fight that Lacey unhappily considers this , knowing that her campaign must come first, but hating the choice?) Justyn should have referrals from a candidate who has won political campaigns,. She also should have mayoral campaign experience.

How to support a candidate-encourage others to vote for her. Bumper stickers, campaign buttons, yard signs. Name recognition is a crucial fundamental to any politician. Network with candidate and her supporters. Go to candidate’s website, join email list (is this how stalker first gets introduced? When readers are learning about the stalker, it should be like some of the Sidney Sheldon antagonists, where you don’t know WHO is doing the stuff, just a small chapter from his point of view). Volunteer in her campaign (again, stalker??) Email or call contact for volunteer inquiries (Justyn) , explain what skills and interests you have, they will find a match with their needs.