It's been a busy week ... but not with writing :-( I spent time with my hubby up at the family cabin in Pennsylvania this past weekend. It was relaxing and fun. Nice to see the surrounding sites and have them remind me of years gone by, AND picturing them as scenes in my WIP. That's an interesting experience, thinking of the characters as they act out a particular scene in a place I'm visiting. Over all, it was a relief to unplug and not worry or stress about writing or getting work published. Always wise to put that into the equation once every so often!New experience -- I have never really liked vampire stories, aka, NOT a Twilight fan, and don't agree to recommendations of said topic. However, my daughter suggested I might enjoy the Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris. And this is how she peeked my interest: interesting, entertaining characters. Yep. One comment on how these reminded her of my story characters, or at least some of them, and the MC's bold, independent, sassy ways led me to check it out. Well, sort of. I took a sneak preview of the HBO series, True Blood ... and I love it! Although it's sometimes a bloody, gory vampire mess, the characters are engaging, warm, and entertaining. AND it takes place in Louisiana! BAM! Bonus points! Seriously, I will start reading the series -- always like to compare book to tv, movie versions. And I'll get back to you with comments later on.
All of this reminds me of how important characters are when writing. I like to create ones that are unique in at least one or two ways, I mean extremely unique. Like Louise Picault in my Dying to Dream who's a spry eighty-year-old loaded and ready to zap you with her voodoo and Cajun powers. Or Kooky Colonel Crockett in Lilly M's Whips, Cuffs, and Little Brown Boxes, an eccentric, somewhat crazy neighbor who thinks he's Davy Crockett protecting the frontier with his gun, Betsy. They are secondary characters, but they are what make the story colorful and pull you into their world and keep you there until the last page!
Sure, the plot drives the story but it's the characters who make it interesting enough to stick with it and set it apart from the million other stories out there. Anyway, it was nice to be reminded of that. Thank you, Charlaine and Sookie!
That's about it for this week. On professional notes: 1) I sent out Grave Maker Blues to Carina Press. Another 12 week wait, I'd guess. But it's doing something, and I'm all about that!; 2) The Lilly M cozy series is making waves on Amazon. I priced #2 for free in Kindle and it's pushing sales for the other two. Weee!; 3) A Deadly Deed Grows is moving slowly, but it's being checked out at local libraries which means gathering new readers! Always a plus and I love sharing what I write. Next book signing -- July 6th.
Take care and happy reading!
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