Let's talk character development today ladies and gents. Why you ask? Because I want to, and it's my blog. :)

But really, it's kind of been on my mind, mostly because, now that I've effectively moved onto my second WIP, with the first book being all but done, I'm very surprised at how very different the characters are in this new book. Granted, the stories are very different as well. Originally, I had thought that, after finishing my first book, I would continue to write paranormals, but I was stunned to find that the next characters to clamour for attention, wanted a story that wasn't like that at all.

Book 1 (we'll call it that for now, since for some reason, it hasn't quite "found" its name yet), is a dark paranormal, complete with immortal warriors charged with the responsibility of protecting mankind from hell's most evil demons. Needless to say, these were some pretty tough and dangerous characters, and we're just talking about the heroes. The main character, Julian, is a 900 year-old soldier in this epic war, and has his own deep emotional scars to prove it. When he meets Amy, the heroine, he finds her fascinating, not only because she's brave (maybe stupidly so), but also because she is like a vibrant burst of sparkling colour in his otherwise dark existence. He fights his powerful attraction to her, but cannot completely put her from his mind, partly because he keeps dreaming that she is in danger, and his dreams have a bad habit of coming true.

Book 2 (and at this point it's being called "Lost", for a number of reasons), is a contemporary romantic tale with a hint of mystery thrown in for good measure. The characters meet and at first are more annoyed with each other than anything else. There are no supernatural forces bringing them together, but a mutual attraction has them eager to explore the possibilities. The hero, Max, is a former cop who now owns a rustic mountain lodge in the volcanic mountains of Oregon. The heroine, Cam, is a writer (fancy that), who has come to town as part of her book tour.

For me, the interesting part of writing Book 1 was bringing characters together who are from extremely different worlds, and who will fight their attraction to each other from the word "go". Even so, for both Julian and Amy, their past becomes the biggest obstacle between them and their happy ever after.

In Lost, Max and Cam aren't drowning in the horrors and guilt of past events. They are both strong, independent people, who weren't necessarily looking for each other, but aren't afraid of being together. But how does love blossom when these two become embroiled in intrigue and murder?

So there you go. Two books. Two couples, and author who is pretty surprised at the turn of events.

Well, I guess you can tell that I haven't been around here much recently. I mean, the last blog was from August or some such nonsense.

Sorry about that.

I can tell you that the passage of time has been both good and...not so good.

We had a number of unfortunate deaths in our family this year, and I miss them all very much. But we also celebrated birthdays, weddings, Christmas, and all those fattening-type holidays, and enjoyed every minute of it all. My sister is now a happy married lady with a little baby on the way, and everyone is looking forward to when he arrives and we find out that the doctor was wrong to tell her it was a girl...just kidding. They don't tell you those kinds of things unless they're sure--right?

Derek started junior kindergarten in the Fall. He loves it so much, and I couldn't be prouder of how well he's doing, how many friends he's made, and how quickly that comment "nothing" starts coming out of his mouth already when I ask him what he did on any particular day.

For those of you who were aware of the fact that I was writing my first novel...ta da!! It's done, finis, and now we enter the dreaded editing phase. Actually, this part I like. It's the time when I get to re-read the book with a lighter frame of mind, not so worried about dreaming up plot strategies. I just get to fine tune minor inconsistencies and enjoy the actual story-imagine that.

The new book is well underway. The first one was more of a "pantser" exercise, meaning I wrote by the seat of my well-worn oversized sweats. But this time I'm trying to be a little bit more methodical, and I've actually got an outline!

Hopefully, I'll make it back here soon. Love