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What happens when you think you've died, only to wake up on a movie set and find out your whole life may be a figment of someone else's imagination?
What if everyone sees you as the hero?
JayJay's new life may seem like a dream to him--but it's a miracle to everyone else.
Chapter One
JayJay aimed on setting the ranch in his rearview mirror two hours earlier, only his sister followed him from room to room while he packed his meager belongings. Clara, who had raised him after the floods swept their parents off in his tenth winter, had never been one for quarreling. But she did her best. "Think of everything we've been through to keep this ranch! Evil bankers, greedy oil barons, locusts, tornadoes, typhoid, hail, snakes, and now you're going to just walk away?"
JayJay's only response was to slip into his boots and stomp down on the heels to make them set right.
Clara pointed through the living room window, past the shed holding the pickup, back to where the cottonwoods tracked the creek leading off the stream. To the tombstones by the meadow's border.
Clara's voice rose an octave and a half. "You mean to tell me you can just walk away and leave all that behind?"
JayJay shouldered his canvas duffel and said, "I reckon so."
He couldn't take their lone truck and leave Clara without a way to get to market, and his horse, Skye, was still lame. So JayJay hoofed it down to the highway and thumbed a ride to Simmons Gulch. There he waved down the bus for Los Angeles, the only city serviced by the only bus that still called on the only town he had ever known.
JayJay hesitated there on the first step of the bus and took a last look around. He was about to enter a world he'd never had any interest in before. Which of course was why his fiancee had dumped him for that feller who traveled the rodeo circuit riding wild bulls.
That recollection was painful enough to drive him into the bus.
Soon as he took a seat, the bus rumbled to life and pulled away. He tilted his hat down over his eyes and dozed off, dreaming of better days.
The grinding sound of the accident almost woke him. The bus jolted hard, and there was a flashing pain, and it was almost natural to stay asleep and let everything go . . .
--------------------------------------
"Peter?"
"Upstairs."
Cynthia clambered up the steps to his attic office. It was a tough climb, as she was eight months pregnant with twins. "Why aren't you getting dressed?"
"The script is due tomorrow and I'm still stuck on the same scene."
"Poor Peter." His wife had changed out of her current favorite T-shirt, which read "frontloader." Instead she wore a frock that billowed like a navy-blue sail. "How long have you been working on it?"
Peter stared at the computer screen. "Three weeks and one day."
"Do you want to tell me about it?"
Normally Peter responded to such questions with a look. The one that said, I'll talk about it when I'm done. This time, however, Peter replied, "I've got JayJay leaving the valley. The bus has an accident. Then nothing. JayJay Parsons has been napping on the LA bus for twenty-two days. He's as good as petrified."
Cynthia walked over and hugged him from behind, pulling his hands from the keyboard. "I thought you told me you had the sense in your prayer time of everything being okay."
"That was then. This is now." He had come upstairs on a whim, hoping he could finally make some headway. What he felt right now was power. Despite his dissatisfaction over the lack of progress, the room felt electrified. "We both know what's going to happen tomorrow."
"It's just more rumors."
"No, Cynthia. Not this time." He touched the edge of the laptop. The force hummed so powerfully he could feel his entire body vibrate. Yet he still could not write a single word. Which was ridiculous. "I feel so alone."
"That's the one thing you're not. The church has been spreading word all over. People are writing from places we've never heard of promising to pray--how many e-mails did you get just today?"
"It doesn't matter. The show is doomed."
"This is not the way you're going to start our anniversary evening." Cynthia reached over him and turned off his laptop. "For six years, people all over the world have found a hint of goodness and light in Heartland. I'm as sorry as you the show's in trouble. But this is--"
"No you're not." Peter swallowed hard. "Nobody's that sorry. Not even you."
Cynthia did not argue. "Don't do this, Peter. Keep the fire alight where it matters most. In your creative heart."
Peter kept his fingers on the keyboard. Even turned off, the computer seemed to hum with a barely repressed force. He wondered idly if there was a short in the connection. "Tomorrow I'm meeting with the studio chief. And he's going to tell me what everybody on the set has been saying for weeks. That Heartland is finished."
Cynthia ran the fingers of one hand through the hair at the base of his neck. Rubbing him like she would a cat. Saying nothing.
Peter caught her expression reflected in the plate-glass window beyond his desk. The emotion etched into her features brought a lump to his own throat. He swallowed hard and asked, "What am I going to do?"
"You're going to come downstairs and get dressed. Tonight we're going to do our best to put all this aside and give thanks for the blessings we still have."
"And tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow we'll pray that you have the strength and wisdom to face whatever happens." She pulled him from the chair. "Now you come with me."
As he started down the stairs behind his wife, Peter cast one final look back at his desk.
He could almost hear the computer humming.
--This text refers to the Paperback edition.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Bunn's engaging style and the fact that the unexpected twists and turns keep coming,
By FaithfulReader.com (New York, New York) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Heartland (Hardcover)
"Heartland" is a long-running television western whose lead character is a hero whom audiences love to cheer for. Often, in these kinds of programs, the public confuses the actor with the role he plays --- and that's exactly what happens with the character of JayJay Parsons. Through the years, viewership has been shrinking for "Heartland" because actor Neil Townsend is gaining weight, boozing and exhibiting erratic behavior; he no longer looks like the manly winner-take-all hero.
The Centurion Studio hires a replacement actor, whose real name happens to be JayJay Parsons. JayJay can't explain where he came from; he just got off the bus and landed at the Studio. In an uncanny way he looks, walks and talks like the television character yet has never appeared on camera. The lead scriptwriter, Peter Caffrey, adds a romantic interest to the show, with Kelly Channing, a relatively inexperienced actor, assuming the role. Director Britt Turner has always worked in television and wants to direct feature films, but he never has had the chance. To every observer, "Heartland" is positioned for cancellation. Early in the novel, JayJay befriends some Vietnamese Christians who invite him to live with them. Their Asian grandmother loves "Heartland" and has hated the decline of the show. Film student Ahn Nguyen ends up becoming JayJay's agent and negotiates his contract. For almost 10 years, Davis Bunn has been on the inside of the motion picture and television industries. He uses this background to craft a well-told story with multiple threads. The dialogue is crisp, characterizations sharp, and plot vivid. One of the subplots revolves around Martin Allerby, Centurion's Studio Chief and Greenlight Man, and his director of sales, Milo Keplar, who are attempting to orchestrate a takeover of the studio. Allerby has no interest in "Heartland"; he is merely following orders from the majority owner of Centurion stock, Carter Dawes. The mysterious and elderly Dawes lives on a ranch, never comes to the studio and sends his attorney to board meetings to carry out his instructions. Allerby directs the "Heartland" crew to create the studio's first feature film. However, they face a number of key challenges, as there's no script and they're merely writing as they go along, while the actors and those working behind the scenes are inexperienced. Almost everyone, including the "Heartland" cast, thinks they may get cancelled at any point in the process and not complete the project. Then something new begins to stir, which Allerby has never seen before on a studio lot. The lead actor, JayJay Parsons, begins a prayer meeting and invites anyone in the cast and crew who would like to attend. These spiritual elements are woven into the fiber of this well-told story. Will the Christians be able to rise to these seemingly impossible challenges and succeed where others have failed? Audiences love "Heartland" because the stories are predictable and good wins over evil. It's the behind-the-scenes drama that drives this novel and the uncertainty that the inexperienced cast and crew will succeed. I highly recommend this contemporary novel because of Bunn's engaging style and the fact that the unexpected twists and turns keep coming. --- Reviewed by W. Terry Whalin
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
3.5 stars but could have been 5,
By
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Heartland (Paperback)
I found "Heartland" to be enjoyable and with a little more meat it could have been one of the best books I've ever read. Unlike L. Lorton's review I actually read the entire book, understood why JayJay spoke in cliches, and realized that Hollywood's movie business is far from a Christian industry, as the book clearly shows.
The secondary characters were interesting and well written. JayJay however seemed to be a bit more troubled then I believe he should have been. I realize Bunn was trying to make him human but let's face it, he wasn't. Except for JayJay's internal turmoil's the fantasy aspect of the story could have continued throughout the book but it wasn't and if it had the possibilities could have been endless. There should have been a few surprises written in at the end but that didn't happen either. In fact some of the story didn't have an ending i.e., what happened to the problem the town was experiencing? What we get is a fairly straight story (even though JayJay is a fictional character), good versus evil, Godly standards beating worldly ones. Not preachy to those in Christ but to your average close-minded unbeliever they may find the obvious Christian references and lifestyles a bit to loving and kind. If you want a "mainstream" book you may want to look somewhere else but if you want an enjoyable story and an eye-opening look into Hollywood I recommend this book. 1 Star = I've been robbed! 2 Stars = Why'd I finish it? 3 Stars = Good 4 Stars = Excellent 5 Stars = Life changing
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting twist,
By T. Suzanne Eller, Author "Suzanne Eller, Author" (beautiful NE Oklahoma) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Heartland (Paperback)
At first I thought I had accidently picked up a Western novel. But then Jay Jay is involved in a wreck and wakes up nude in a Hollywood studio. The twist in this story intrigued me. Heartland isn't a classic literary novel, but is it meant to be? I don't think so. Rather it's a fun book with a cool twist that keeps you reading to the end.
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