Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Romance Weekly


My, oh my, but the weeks do fly by. Here it is Tuesday again and that means it's time for Romance Weekly. This week's questions come from my dear friend Kate Robbins. I've just finished reading her soon-to-be-released book, PROMISED TO THE HIGHLANDER, and loved every word of it. I'll be featuring Kate and her new book on my blog on June 11, so be sure to come back for that.

Here are my answers to this week's jackpot questions:

How much of yourself do you write into your characters? Or do you write characters completely opposite to you?


This is a tough one. Obviously, there are components of myself in my characters. Otherwise, I couldn't give them depth, and some of them have experiences drawn from my life in their back stories, but mainly I wouldn't say they're reflections of me. I go through a pretty involved process to create my characters, including assigning them an astrological sign that fits the personality I'm considering to fit the storyline. I also use the Enneagram to get at motivation and try to give them a back story that reinforces these things. Right now, for example, I'm creating the characters and story for The Knight of Pentacles, book three in my Knights of Avalon series. Each of the books is named after one of the knights of the tarot and emulates the qualities the card represents. Unlike the other three knight cards, the Knight of Pentacles is stationary. His horse is standing still, in other words. So, my hero is stuck. Pentacles are associated with the element of earth, so he needs to be an earth sign. I decided he's Taurus, which fits the story and sets up his conflicts. The heroine, I'm thinking, might be Virgo. At the start of the book, she's been dumped by her fiance the night before their wedding after a very long engagement. Because it's too late to get a refund on the honeymoon cottage she's rented, she decides to take the time alone to heal her broken heart. While there, she meets the knight who guards the adjacent glen where the portal into Avalon can be found.  I was once dumped by someone I was engaged to. The circumstances and reasons were different, but the feelings of heartache and loss were the same, so I will draw on those feelings to make her sympathetic and believable.


Has your writing helped you see events in your own life clearer?


Not yet, but there's still time! It has helped rekindle my interest in paganism and the tarot cards, so that's something.


Have you written a character with more of your personal characteristics than any other? What are they?


Now, there's a loaded question if ever I saw one! I'd have to say all of my heroines suffer from feelings of inadequacy and self-doubt and many of my characters share my view of the world. But not one more than another.

Thanks for stopping by. Next stop, the lovely and talented Jo Richardson's blog: http://jrrichardsonfics.wordpress.com/

9 comments:

  1. I too give my characters birthdays. I have a birthday book where you can look up the date and it will give some personality insights into someone born on that day. I definitely use this as a base for each character.

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  2. Fascinated by the Eneagram. I'm a 4 FYI

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  3. I think dreaming up the details of a character's personality is the best part--even more so than the plot line. Love that you get their signs involved too. :)

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  4. I think if writing can help you re-find a passion for something, then it's got to be worth it! :D

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  5. I'm going to have to look into the Eneagram. Hadn't heard of it. I do use Tarot to break through writer's block though. The Knight of Pentacles sounds awesome. And make her a Virgo - that works for me (late August)

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  6. I do the same with the characters in my vampire/witch stories. I start what direction the witch is from (north, east, south, west) then determine their sign, which helps develop their characters, :) Loved your blog!!!

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  7. I've never thought of giving my characters an astrological sign. Your writing process sounds fascinating.

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  8. Okay, so I totally had to google Eneagram and now I'm all intrigued! Love your answers! Thanks so much for sharing!

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Writing smexy paranormals with a Celtic twist. Blogging about good books.