Who’s Got Character with Siri Mitchell

My first introduction to contemporary fiction was reading Siri Mitchell’s fantastic novel, Kissing Adrien. I’d decided never to write a contemporary novel up to that point, but something about the humor, suspense, and excitement drew me in, not to mention Adrien and France. Two years later, I’d completed my first contemporary romantic comedy. Funny what God uses to shock us into his plans J Kissing Adrien is one of those books where you read the last chapter about seven times before you can put the book completely down….sigh. 

Siri Mitchell doesn’t just write in the contemporary vein. Her most recent novels have been more historical, with enough emotion pumped through them to create a reality t.v. show. Each novel seems to hold a deep message that spans the years to relate to our struggles in our lives and cultures of today. 

To learn more about Siri Mitchell, visit her website at: http://www.sirimitchell.com/

Time for Q & A:

1. Who is your favorite heroine & hero you’ve ever written? Why?

I have to say Claire and Adrien of Kissing Adrien. That book was my first in print and the writing experience was magical. Their relationship was so tender and playful. The story nearly wrote itself and they both seemed to sparkle. Some of my other characters in later books have been deeper and more complex, but those two characters were just pure fun.

2. What is the ‘behind the scenes story’ for the creation of that hero & heroine?  

I was an American living in France, just as Claire was. Although all of the cultural differences she noted and spiritual thoughts she had were mine, I have to say quite firmly that she was not a re-creation of me. It was fun to place my experiences into someone else’s life and see how they would change the course of events. The book was derived from a non-fiction manuscript I had previously written and the point of both was to examine how sometimes we mistake our culture for our Christianity. Adrien was a conglomerate of all of the French men I had the good fortune to meet. It was fascinating to watch how they interacted with the women in their lives.

Oh Siri, your favorites are mine too. Yipee.

Those are my top characters of your books so far, BUT your newest novel, She Walks in Beauty, comes out in 2010, so I’ll have to find out how these compete with Claire and Adrien :-) 

Thanks for being a part of this, Siri.

To read my review of Kissing Adrien, click on this link:

http://greatchristianfiction.blogspot.com/2007/12/kissing-adrien.html

To read my review of A Constant Heart, go here: http://greatchristianfiction.blogspot.com/2008/10/constant-heart.html

Character Creation Tip for the Day:

Joy. Don’t discount the joy of writing amazing characters. There’s a lot of hard work involved, maybe even some heart-ache, but the bottom line is that memorable characters are written from the passion that flows from the author’s pen. There may be frustrations along the way, but if you’ve been following the posts for the past month, all of the authors expressed the fun and joy they experience when breathing life into their heroes and heroines.

 If there is no joy behind the process…no excitement in the creation by the creator, then maybe you’ve lost the purpose behind your writing. Joy of the author sets the pulse of the character.

 Tomorrow?

Last day for Who’s Got Charater with Lena Nelson Dooley.

Who’s Got Character with Nancy Moser

When Nancy Moser found out God’s purpose for her life, she took off at Nascar speeds and hasn’t looked back. Her books span genres and entice the reader with emotionally driven plots, ripe with brilliant characters, breathtaking endurance, and God’s redeeming love.

 Her newest novel, How Do I Love Thee, is the top book on my wishlist, because it’s a true love story…the bio-novel of the poet, Elizabeth Barrett Browning. It’s one thing to create believable FICTIONAL characters, but yet another to bring the true story of historical figures and revive them. Yet, the romance between Elizabeth and Robert Browning is one of those lovely pieces of history that too few people know. I’m so thankful, Nancy has brought this story back to the forefront of modern times.

 Can’t WAIT to read it, Nancy.

 To learn more about Nancy and her many books, check out her website at: www.nancymoser.com

 Now, for a little Q & A.

 1. Who is your favorite hero & heroine you’ve ever written? Why? (they don’t have to be from the same novel)

 My favorites are George and Martha Washington from my biographical novel of Martha’s life called, Washington’s Lady. I always thought of Martha as merely that plump, short wife of our first president, but as I began to dig into her life, I found a woman who was large in character and courage.  She was a very real woman who had flaws (she was far too indulgent with her children) and weaknesses (she had a weak spot for expensive clothes and do-dads). She was an ordinary woman who was presented with extraordinary circumstances.  When the rumblings of war against the British began she wanted nothing to do with it, she just wanted to be left alone to live out her life with her family at Mt. Vernon. I can identify with that desire to hunker down and let the chaos of the world go on without me.

   But then, she chose the extraordinary.  With her husband and thousands of other patriots, she took a stand against the tyranny of the oppressive British government.  She risked everything—and nearly lost.  If the revolution had failed, they would have been hung as traitors. And when George was chosen as the first president, Martha said no, he’d done enough for the country. But to George, duty spoke louder than anything else.  Actually, he was the perfect man for the job, a compromise between the military general and a normal politician. Yet as our first “First Lady” Martha counted the days until they could be home at Mt. Vernon, “under our own vine and fig tree”.  Duty.  Honor.  Sacrifice.  Courage.  Those are traits we don’t see enough in our world.  It’s been said that without George Washington there would be no United States, but without Martha, there would be no George Washington.  They were an ideal match.

   And they also loved each other deeply.  George called her, “my other self”.  Isn’t that lovely?

  2. What is the behind-the-scenes story for those characters?

 Many people don’t know this, but when Martha and George met she was a widow with two small children.  She also was the richest widow in Virginia, with a plantation that encompassed 17,000 acres.  She was quite the catch.  But the next time she married—having been married the first time at age eighteen to a man, aged thirty-eight—Martha wanted to marry for love. The dashing French & Indian war hero, Colonel George Washington, was that man. They met at a neighbor’s house and talked through the night until morning.  They were married a few months later and he took her to his “small” (1700 acres) Virginia plantation, Mt. Vernon. There they settled into a very happy life—until the threat of war changed everything.

For a review of Washington’s Lady, click on the link below:    http://www.titletrakk.com/book-reviews/washingtons-lady-review-moser.htm

For a review of 3:16, check out this site: http://www.faithfulreader.com/reviews/9781414320540.asp

Nancy,

Thank you so much for being a part of Who’s Got Character? Just Jane and Washington’s Lady stay on my bookshelf for rereading opportunities. I can’t wait to add How Do I Love Thee to the list.

Character Creation Tip of the Day:

A history. All characters have a history – a backstory. Without an author’s firm grip on the background of his/her character, the hero’s color tends to fade a bit, even dulling to black and white. 

To write colorful characters, which live, breathe, and grip our emotions, we must know them and their history. Create an outline; keep a journal from your hero’s point-of-view, something that will help you know that person better. And a hint? A lot of the information you put in their history may never make it into your book – but it will make it into your character.

Tomorrow?

Historical drama and contemporary humor are at the top of Siri Mitchell’s fiction list. Stop by and see which characters are her favorites.

The Five Ps of Writing With Purpose

Prayer & Praise

As Christians and authors, God has placed a special calling on our lives. But more than writing stories that glorify him, He’s changed our hearts so we have an eternal hope. We were not left in our sins to suffer the consequences of the Fall for eternity, our hearts have been transformed by His grace – so – we can praise Him.

1 Peter 1:3-4

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you…”

Now, knowing that God is our Father, and Jesus has rescued us for a present comfort and future glory, we can get our minds in the right place by reminding ourselves that we are loved, and that He directs the course of our lives.

Prayer is faith in action. We realize we don’t have all the answers and we turn to the One who does. Our act of praying, shows our recognition of our own humanity and acceptance of his Divinity.

Before writing, after writing, and anywhere in between, prayer & praise keeps our purpose in perspective and the eternal significance of our place in God’s plan.

 When things go right or wrong in our writing life (or any part of our lives), Prayer & Praise helps move us into #2 

Positive Perspective

In the writing world, publication make take months or years to happen. All your hard work and long hours may never be realized – and so we can feel discouraged, but when all these things start to bring us down, we have to remember our purpose.

 We were made for God’s glory. 

To keep a positive perspective, Philippians 4: 8-9 gives us thought submission guidelines: 

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.”

This doesn’t mean we ignore our hurts and disappointments, but we take the proper perspective in the middle of those disappointments. God is in control, he’s given us a calling, and He’ll provide the talents and energy to fulfill the call.

When thoughts that do not meet the above guidelines try to sneak into our mind, it’s important to give them an immediate rejection, and turn to the truth of God’s word. God has a plan for us – and he will complete the plan.

So we move into the next P

Perseverance

 My Granny has a saying – “When life gets tough, pray…and do the next thing.” Which means we never give up, we forge ahead along this path on which God has set us. Each rejection, each critique, help us to refine our skill and continue to reevaluate how we can best glorify God.

Is this easy? Nope – but the process changes us to refine our skills and our perspectives.

Hebrews 10:35-37

“So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. For in just a very little while,
   ”He who is coming will come and will not delay.
    But my righteous one will live by faith.  

 Along with the perseverance comes 

Patience 

We wait for the time when our ‘call’ comes. Of course, we’ve already received the call to be writers, but it might be a long journey to the CALL for publication. Patience may not be easy, but if we mix the first 3 with the last one, patience isn’t as inconceivable. It’s part of the process of writing and is a requirement for publication…and living

Colossians 1: 10-12

“And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.”

Finally and one of the best of the five, are…

PALS

Romans 1: 11-12

“I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong— that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith.”

God sends encouragers our way, people who help us to persevere, who wait with us through the tough times, who pray and praise with us and give us the positive perspective we need, when we’re only seeing the glass as half-empty. Our Pals can be fellow writers, family, friends, or even a judge from a contest – but they’re out there, and they are all part of God’s big design to keep us on the write path.

 God is good, faithful, and ever so gracious to give us the tools – and the people- we need to finish the story He’s written for our lives. From page one, He’s planned the chapters, and though conflict is rife, He’ll see us to our happy ending.

Who’s Got Character with Camy Tang

From biology researcher to chic-lit and suspense writer, Camy Tang’s tagline is unforgettable: Romance with a kick of wasabi. Her books blend humor, romance, and suspense along with a variety of characters. The wasabi portion of her tag refers to her Asian American characters who star in her books and spice up the story.

 Her blog offers helpful hints for writers as well as Story Sensei, an inexpensive critique service for writers.

To visit Camy’s website or blog visit these sites:

www.camytang.com

http://storysensei.blogspot.com/

Now it’s time for some Q & A:

1. Who is your favorite heroine & hero you’ve ever written?

   Venus and Drake from Single Sashimi. I liked those characters the best because Venus is strong and capable,and Drake is an alpha male without being a jerk. And I liked the
   chemistry they ended up having on the page

    2. What is the ‘behind the scenes story’ for the creation of that hero & heroine?

   Out of all the characters I’ve written so far, both published and
   unpublished, Venus and Drake are the strongest with the strongest chemistry between them on the page. I didn’t plan for that to happen,
   it just did. It all started with the first kiss–and those of you who have read the book know what I’m referring to. I actually hadn’t planned on that kiss happening at that moment, but when I wrote the scene, suddenly, Drake had grabbed her and I felt like I had no control over the book! From there, their interactions always had that
   spark of both conflict and attraction, and it was magical.

 Their characters solidified as the book went on.

To read a review of Sushi For One go here: http://blogcritics.org/books/article/book-review-sushi-for-one-by/

 Character Creation Tip of the Day:

Spice, Sizzle, and Chemistry. One of the best ways to sparkle up the scenes in your story is to make sure your two lead characters have a special connection, or attraction. If it means you place two opposites together to ignite a spark, or cause people with two different goals to crash wills, it makes for an explosive story. 

Next Week:

 Visits from Nancy Moser and Siri Mitchell to come on Monday and

Who’s Got Character with Tammy Barley

 With breathtaking historical detail and nail-biting emotional drama, Tammy Barley’s debut novel “Love’s Rescue’ has lots of people talking. Set in war-weary 1863, Love’s Rescue couples a beautiful love story with spiritual truths such as forgiveness, hope, and second chances.

It was in the top twenty of ChristianBook.com’s bestseller list.

Her next book in the Sierra Chronicles series is due out in July 2010, entitled Hope’s Promise and is a continuation of Love’s Rescue.

To learn more about her writing, visit her website at www.tammybarley.com

I’m so happy to have Tammy join me.

Now for the questions:

1.    Who is your favorite hero and heroine you’ve ever written and why?

Heroine—Jessica Hale! We women could all use a little more Jessica Hale spunkiness in us—she truly doesn’t believe in “can’t.” To her, “can’t” is merely a challenge issued, a tantalizing dare, to prove to the person who uttered it that they are wrong.

Hero—that’s quite a dilemma. I love Jake Bennett (he’s a horseman, a man of honor, and he looks like Hugh Jackman; what’s not to love? Pepper inserted an ‘Amen’ right here) but I also love Jessica’s brother, Ambrose Hale, based on an actual black and white photograph of a Civil War soldier, Isaac Stevens, who died in 1862. (The photo is currently at Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Stevens.)

Isaac Stevens looked like a man who was determined to fight to the end . . . and who appears in his photo to have somehow known that the end would come soon. He was a powerful inspiration for Ambrose.

I love Jake because he’s a heart mender, not a heart breaker. He lives by a code of ethics and a behavior toward that I admire greatly, one many women search their lives for but rarely see. Here’s a paragraph from Love’s Rescue:

“Cattlemen respect women, Jess. Other men claim to, but all too often their words and their actions don’t match up. Cattlemen live far from settled towns, seeing nothing dust and cows for months on end.” His voice softened. “When they finally catch sight of a woman, it’s like finding a diamond in the desert. That beautiful thing is so precious to them and they’re so awestruck by it, all they can do is stare. And rather than use it in some manner for their own gain, they’re likely to keep watch over it, as if the Almighty had entrusted its care to them. They’re likely to protect it, and not let anyone or anything bring it harm.” Jake searched her face. “Something rare is treasured, but there are those who have come to treasure the call of gold and silver above human worth.”

(Pepper here – Tammy, I couldn’t help but put in that pic of Hugh Jackman…I mean, seriously, why not?!? Great ‘teaser excerpt’ by the way)

2.     What is the behind-the-scene story for these characters?

Heroine Jessica Hale—I’ve been called “feisty” and “determined,” and someone even said “I think you were born wearing size 16 steel-toed boots” (believe it or not, that was said in admirationJ). When God made me, he didn’t make a willow, and I had to write a character with the same spirit and spunk. As a Southern woman in the Union-sympathizing and rugged Old West, Jess couldn’t be any less. One reader e-mailed me to comment that the woman on the cover of Love’s Rescue looks like Catherine Zeta-Jones. Jessica Hale is much like Catherine Zeta-Jones’s character in The Mask of Zorro and its sequel, though I wrote the character from my mind, experiences, and family history, before I ever saw the Zorro movies.

Hero Jake Bennett—Like Jessica, Jake came from my imagination and historical research. In the Old West, most cattlemen lived by a code of ethics, and Jake had to personify that code. He is honorable, works very hard, helps out anyone in need, protects those who cannot protect themselves, and doesn’t ask questions that are not his business to ask. In addition, I wanted a character with earthy wisdom and who listened—really listened—when his lady spoke to him.

At my Web site ( http://www.tammybarley.com/ ) you’ll find a book trailer for Love’s Rescue (which turned out fantastic—very enjoyable to watch), and also a contest you can enter to win—get this—a one-week vacation for two to a Western guest ranch resort to the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. Includes the lodge stay, three phenomenal meals per day for two, and all the horses you can hug (yes, you also get to ride them)! Hurry, though—the drawing is only a couple of months away!

(For a review of Love’s Rescue check this link out: http://rorreviews.wordpress.com/2009/08/16/loves-rescue-by-tammy-barley/

Thanks Tammy for being a part of this.

Character Creation Tip of the Day:

Everybody wants something. So, for your character, what is it? What makes them wake up in the morning? What keeps them alive throughout the day? What gives them the drive, the hunger, the ache, the need, the passion to make it through 60,000 words or more to get to some sort of resolution?

For every character it will be different at its’ core, but it will be there, and many times it’s more than one desire. Dig into the soul of your character and discover his/her hidden passion, then throw in an antagonist to ‘stop’ him/her from getting their goal, or a romantic partner who wants the very opposite. Sparks may fly, both good and bad, but it makes for a great story.

Tomorrow?

Seeker, Camy Tang, joins us to give us Romance with a kick of Wasabi. Come by to find out who her favorite characters are…and what they have to do with wasabi?

Who’s Got Character with Jeffrey Overstreet

Aspiring minds want to know how the colorful characters behind Jeffrey Overstreet’s fantasy novels came into existence. Not only does Jeffrey blend the colors of story to create masterpieces worth reading, he was a film reviewer and columnist for Christianity Today for most of a decade and is sought after for his insights about faith and film.

 His film commentaries and reviews have been featured in many film magazines, even noted in Time, and he was awarded The Spiritus Award in 2007 for his remarkable writing in the field of Film and Theology.

Get ready for some excellent and detailed answers to the questions today.

Thanks Jeffrey for being a part of this. I chose this particular picture of you because I thought it was the perfect blend of your love for film and writing.

1. Who is your favorite heroine & hero you’ve ever written?

That’s like asking me to choose my favorite from my 23 nephews and nieces. But I’d have to say that Auralia, the central character of my novel Auralia’s Colors, is my favorite “heroine.”

And that’s funny, because Auralia’s Colors was going to be an experiment. I was going to try to tell the story of a character who never actually appears in the book. My early chapters were all about a character who had just passed through, and everyone was talking about her, or thinking about her, or discovering the effects of her creativity. But the more I wrote, the more I realized that readers were not going to tolerate this. They would want to meet Auralia. And even now that the book is published, readers still tell me: “I want to spend more time with Auralia.” I wish I could write a “director’s cut” and add some new scenes for them.

Since then, one of my young nieces has been given the name Auralia. So now, there’s a real Auralia running around! But last time I saw her, she was six or seven years old, and she announced that she wanted to be called “Stinky.” I told her that when she’s old enough to read Auralia’s Colors, she’ll find that poor Auralia gets called worse names than that. Auralia’s a sort of prophet, and you know what happens to prophets in their hometowns.

My favorite hero? Well, in the series The Auralia Thread, the ale boy is my favorite hero. He’s so small and humble, and he has such a heart to serve others, that he can slip in and out of places almost unnoticed and have a transforming effect on their lives. But he’s also a very lonely, bruised character, and I look forward to the chapters when we will see his tremendous suffering come to an end.

But the hero I love best out of all my characters is, well, green and feathered. And that book isn’t out yet, so you’ll have to wait for him.

(To read a review of Auralia’s Colors, check out this detailed and wonderful review: http://fantasybookcritic.blogspot.com/2008/01/auralias-colors-by-jeffrey-overstreet.html )

2. What is the ‘behind the scenes story’ for the creation of that hero & heroine?
To answer that, I’ll have to tell you about a place.

Back in 1996, Anne and I joined some close friends to go hiking near Flathead Lake in Montana, not far from where a friend of ours, the writer and pastor Eugene Peterson, lives.

I was feeling particularly grateful that day, because I was with inspiring friends, and I was still getting to know Anne. (This was a couple of months before she married me.) The more time I spent with Anne, the more I felt that I was receiving an extravagant gift. Anne is a very quiet and observant woman. She writes poetry because she looks very closely at the world around her, and she writes with great care about the mysteries she encounters there. Spending time with Anne, I was learning to slow down and appreciate things that normally I would pass right by.

So there we were, hiking through a landscape of extraordinary beauty. I felt as if my senses were sharper than they had ever been. I was overwhelmed by what I was seeing.

We were talking our childhoods, and our ongoing passion for fairy tales and the imagination. It was odd, that we would find each other in a world where most people think that fairy tales are just “kids’ stuff.”

Then Anne said, “Isn’t it a shame how so many people, when they reach a certain age, fold up their imaginations, put them in a closet, and forget about them?”

When she said that, I suddenly began to imagine a story. The story would begin with a colorless kingdom, where the stuff of creativity had become illegal. That city sat there like a pile of cold ash in the colorful forest. (You can see that on Kristopher Orr’s amazing cover art for Auralia’s Colors.) 

By then I realized that, in my mind’s eye, I was looking over the shoulder of a character: a young woman who was crying because of the poverty of that colorless kingdom. She then began to weave together an expression of love for those deprived people. It was a work of art, containing all of the colors in the world. All of the colors that the kingdom had lost.

Well, needless to say, I was intrigued. I knew I had to start writing about her. So I did, right there, that day alongside the lake. I wanted to follow that character around, much the way that I still enjoy following Anne around.

 The name “Auralia” came after a lot of playing around with words. I love the word “aura”, and the name “Laura” means “light.” After trying several variations, I arrived at “Auralia.” 

I had no idea that Auralia would lead me into a four-book epic. But she did. She’s a boundlessly creative character, so I try to do her justice on the page, but it’s difficult. She uses colors nobody had ever seen before, and how am I supposed to describe that? She crafts clever inventions for her friends, and extravagant works of art for the rest of the world. Sometimes they inspire, sometimes they infuriate. But they are all revelatory in their beauty. I would later learn as I wrote the sequel — Cyndere’s Midnight — that Auralia also was capable of some dark and terrifying art. She could craft expressions of the evil she saw in the world, as well as the evil in her own heart.

Auralia was inspired by Anne, yes, but also by other artists I’ve met who take the beauty they encounter, and troubles they experience, and weave them into art that is true and beautiful. She inspires me to make something out of my own experiences. And she doesn’t explain them to people, because she doesn’t understand them herself. In the same way, I can’t paraphrase the “lesson” of Auralia’s story, because that’s not my job. It’s a big mystery to me. My job is to write the story, and let the mystery speak for itself. (This is why I’m aggravated when people say Auralia is a “Christ figure.” Her story isn’t finished yet, and while she is creative, she is also capable of making mistakes.)

Auralia helps me believe that, even though I’m broken and unable to repair myself, the Great Artist can work through broken people. And if I let him, he will weave me into plans much greater than my own.

And the ale boy? Well, in retrospect, the ale boy reminds me of anybody who is inspired by great art, and who then tries to live differently in view of what they’ve experienced. Auralia’s colors open up the ale boy’s heart and fill him with a desire to help others see their way out of darkness. But I really don’t know where he came from. He showed up very quietly at first, just an “extra” in the cast of characters. He was so quiet that he got my attention. So perhaps, in that way, he was inspired by Anne as well.

 (To read a review of Cyndere’s Midnight, check out this site: http://www.faithfulreader.com/reviews/9781400072538.asp )

 Character Creation Tip For the Day:

Imagery and Senses. Characters who breathe, who cause an emotional reaction in us, whose stories stay with us long after the book has gotten lost on our shelves, are the characters who come alive through the use of senses and magic of imagery. When the reader can ‘feel’ or ‘see’ the characters fear, joy, pleasure, grief…then the character becomes more than two dimensional – he or she becomes a memory.

Tomorrow? 

Come join us to discover what historical romance author Tammy Barley has to tell us about her favorite characters.

Who’s Got Character with Audra Harders

I am pleased to have another Seeker on board for today. With novels ranging from historical to contemporary, Audra has a whole slew of possibilities just waiting on the edge of publication and with the hint of writing she has on her website coupled with the company she keeps at Seekerville, we’re sure to see Audra’s books out on the shelf very soon.

 For a teaser into Audra’s tempting world of story, visit her website at:

http://www.audraharders.com/2009/04/my-books.html

Pepper: I’m so tickled you could be with us today, Audra. From the little bites of information you have on your website about your books, I can’t wait to have a chance to read them. Thanks for being here to tell us more about them.

 Audra: What an honor to blog amongst authors I love and admire! Pepper, honey, you’ve made my week!

 So…

Time for a little Q & A:

 Who is your favorite hero and heroine you’ve ever written? 

Hmm, my favorite hero and heroine? This is painful. When I’m writing historical romances, I usually have a dark, brooding lord or distressed lady. In contemporary, it’s between cowboys and a host of women who don’t really know who they’re looking for until some “he” makes it painfully obvious he needs her to save him from himself.

 I guess if I have to pick favorite children, I’d say Gabe Davidson from Rough and Ready, the first book in my Circle D series and Jennifer O’Reilly from Diamond In The Rough, the third book in the same series.

 Will you tell us a little behind-the-scenes creation of these characters?

 I had a long time to mull over Gabe’s personality traits considering he’s lived through two other books featuring his brothers, yet Gabe’s book is the first of the series. He’s a middle child and looks at life in a very keep-the-peace manner. He’s the guy his brothers know will pick up the slack for them. He’s the guy who wants to earn respect by being competent. It isn’t until he meets Melanie that his status quo is shaken. He’s finally met someone who refuses to let him shoulder their burdens for them. And he finds he wants to help her. The poor man really needed to discover out what HE wanted. With Melanie doing the unpredictable every time he turned around, he had no choice but find out why he cared so much. 

For my favorite heroine, I’d like to say Melanie Hunter who stole Gabe’s heart. But my real favorite is Jennifer O’Reilly, the heroine in Book 3 of the series. Jennifer had a major crush on Zac Davidson all the way through high school  … up until the day Zac broke her heart when she overheard him propose to the senior year rodeo queen. That’s when I found out that Jen had more spit and vinegar in her than I first imagined. When Jen agrees to help Zac while his receptionist is on medical leave, Zac realizes Jen is not the same childhood friend he once knew and, yes, loved. 

Pepper: Thanks so much for being a part of this, Audra. Let me know about when we can see Gabe, Melanie, Jennifer, and Zac in print so we can celebrate their stories with you.

Oh, and btw, Audra – of your books, my favorites are Blind Faith and Timeless Treasures. They both sound SOOO good

Character Creation Tip of the Day:

Trouble…with a capital T. As humans, the core of our personalities shine out in trial. Why not with fictional characters too? One way to find out what your characters are made of is to ‘throw them to the wolves’, or ‘in the fire’, or to the school of ‘hard knocks’…whatever it takes to refine their characters. What does your hero do when his dreams are taken away? What does your heroine do when she’s in a lose/lose situation? Do the fight? Flee? Fuss? Faint?…any of those things tell you more about his/her character and helps you develop them in a more three-dimensional way J

Tomorrow?

My hope is to have fantasy author, Jeffrey Overstreet, stop by for a visit.

Who’s Got Character with Linore Rose Burkard

Known for her witty Regency romances, Linore Rose Burkard introduces 21^st century readers to the fun, frolick, and faith of earlier readers. Her motto: Inspirational Romance for the Jane Austen Soul. So it’s a truth universally acknowledged that a lover of all things Jane Austen will know about memorable characters. 

Not only is Linore an author, but she also encourages other writers by presenting about Character Creation and Marketing, as well as sharing her wealth of knowledge on the Regency era and Jane Austen. Plus, she’s super sweet.

So, her favorite characters? Let’s find out.

Who is your favorite hero and heroine you’ve ever written? Why?

I haven’t written that many, but I suspect that no matter how many I go on to write, Ariana Forsythe and Phillip Mornay, from my Regency series, will always be tops.

What is the behind-the-scenes story for these characters?

With Ariana, I don’t have much of a back story except that I wanted a heroine who was smart and spunky enough to stick to her guns when it mattered most. I really wanted to show “faith under fire,” and then have a heroine who could handle it. My “hidden agenda” if you will, was to share the gospel with unbelievers in such a way that they wouldn’t feel preached at, but be able to hear the message uncritically.
With Phillip, I had an idea of needing him to be rather rotten in the beginning, but not so bad that he couldn’t be “reformable.” So he starts out intimidating and stand-offish, to say the least, but by the end of the book every reader wants him to marry the heroine.

 

Pepper: Marry the heroine AND he becomes one of the dreamy heroes the readers ‘sigh’ over. Go Phillip. I like him even better in the second book because he’s very in love and still so much the man from the first book. His development is wonderful…real.

Thanks so much for being a part of this, Linore.

To read a review on Before the Season Ends, check this link out: http://www.5minutesforbooks.com/1245/before-the-season-ends/

To read my review of The House at Grosvenor Square click here:http://pepperbasham.wordpress.com/2009/09/13/the-house-in-grosvenor-square-by-linore-rose-burkard/

Character Creation Tip of the Day:

Strong – As I’ve mentioned before, some of the most memorable characters have an inner strength which drives them through to the end of the story. Think about some unforgettable characters: Scarlett O’Hara or Rhett Butler, Heathcliffe & Catherine, Darcy & Elizabeth, Indiana Jones…

All of these characters have emotional muscles, willing to fight for what they believe is right OR what they want.

Wimpy heroes or heroines can only survive in a novel (and in a reader’s mind), if they are changing into stronger characters.

Tomorrow?

Author & Seeker Audra Harders joins me to share her favorite characters. Don’t forget to stop by.

Four Tips To Characterization

Where do characters come from?

I sometimes wonder where our favorite authors gathered their inspiration for their beloved characters. That’s why I’ve been featuring a series of posts called Who’s Got Character on my website. I wanted to get the ‘behind-the-scenes’ look at how memorable characters are made and why we (especially the creators) love them so much.

Not unlike Dr. Frankenstein and his ‘creation’, pieces of our characters can come from a variety of places and sometimes, they get a little out of hand, but in the end it’s what makes them memorable.

So what are some of the basic sources of inspiration?

1. Once Upon A Dream – Some authors actually ‘dream up’ their famous characters, whether from an actual moment of sleep or from a daydream. Somewhere in that mysterious world of imagination, characters emerge and are finally fleshed out through the story.

2. Me, Myself, and I – Almost all characters have some element of the author in them. Since we must feel what we write, many times little bits of our personalities blend in with our creations. It adds an element of humanness or reality to the fictional realm.

3. Love Your Neighbor – It’s true. Sometimes we borrow character ideas from other people we know. That quirky person who lives down the street, that interesting family member, a cousin with a unique story to tell – some of the most memorable characters evolve from the ‘true’ lives or the ‘what ifs’ from people we’ve met. Careful not to make them ‘too recognizable’.  I’m sure the Hatfields and McCoys didn’t start over a character in a book, but you don’t want to be the first

4. Across a Crowded Room – Here’s where the ‘what if’ and imagination bond to birth a character. A stranger across the room, a sales-clerk in the grocery store, a character from a movie…people you’ve never met, who may not even be real, but…what if….

Suddenly, you devise a personality, a backstory, and a plot based on the fictitious life you’ve given a stranger. Ooo, what fun.

Who’s Got Character with MaryLu Tyndal

I’m so pleased to have author MaryLu Tyndal visiting today. Known for her swashbuckling tales of romance and adventure, MaryLu’s stories blend amazing historical facts with high seas suspense and fascinating characters.

 Her website is lovely. Check it out at:

www.mltyndal.com

With stories bordering on ‘inspirational Pirates of the Caribbean’, I wonder who her favorite characters are?

 Who is your favorite hero and heroine you’ve ever written and what it their behind-the-scenes story?

Out of all the heroines in my novels, my favorite is and probably always
will be my very first heroine, Charlisse Bristol from The Redemption.
Charlisse holds a special place in my heart because she and I share the same
past. You see, we both grew up without a father, and we both grew up in an
emotionally abusive home. And like Charlisse, I left home at an early age
seeking anything to fill the very large hole that had formed in my heart.
Charlisse thought that if she could just find her real father, then surely
he would love and adore her and then everything would be right again in the
world. But in reality, her real father turned out to be a vicious pirate!
Although I often think it would have been better if my real father had been
a pirate too, my experience equaled hers in that my father wanted nothing to
do with me. Yet that was all part of God’s plan because like Charlisse, I
was forced to seek something else to fill that void in my heart. And in that
seeking, I found that God’s love was what I’d been looking for all along.

My favorite hero is Rafe Dubois from The Raven Saint. Rafe is the ultimate
“bad boy”. (I do love the bad boys!) Yet he’s a bad boy with a heart of
gold. He would be the perfect hero in every romance story; strong,
courageous, wise, bold, honorable, if not for his severely wounded heart.
And because of those deep wounds suffered from an abusive and competitive
father and a woman he loved who abandoned him, he appears on the outside to
be a cold-hearted ruffian who is only out for himself. I just love
characters who act one way on the outside but are completely different
within. How true is that of human nature? And even sometimes of ourselves if
we were honest. In Rafe, I wanted to show my readers that you can’t judge a
book by its cover, or in this case, you can’t judge anybody by their
attitudes or actions alone. You must dig deeper to find the genuine person
within. And unless that person is pure evil, there is always a reason for
their misbehavior. If we would only set aside our judgments for a moment and
take the time to truly get to know someone, maybe then, we could help them
and impact the world for the better.   

Pepper: Woohoo, I can’t wait to read The Raven Saint. MaryLu’s fascination with bad boys-turned-good sounds a whole lot like Julie Lessman’s. J The Raven Saint is scheduled for release in January 2010. It’s on my wishlist.

 Thank you for being with us today, MaryLu – and readers can check out your wonderful blog at:

http://www.crossandcutlass.blogspot.com

 A guy’s review of The Red Siren J Noteworthy, here. Guys read romance, especially if it involves pirates. http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1748260/the_red_siren_by_marylu_tyndall.html?cat=2

 For a review of  The Blue Enchantress read: http://www.victoriahillfarm.com/2009/09/book-review-blue-enchantress.html

 Character Creation Tip for the Day:

Redemption. Your main characters, flawed as they are, must show some change throughout the story. Stagnant characters equal stagnant stories. Change can be big or small, but any type changes the dynamics of the story. Redemption in a story automatically adds hope, and hope helps draw a reader through to the final page – hopefully with the desire to keep reading (in a satisfied sort of way).

 Next week?

Get ready for another week of Who’s Got Character, starting with Regency Author Extraordinaire, Linore Rose Burkard.