The other day I was reading Watch Me by Shelley Bradley, and I totally fell in love with Alejandro Diaz. Dear Mother Mary, in my mind he is so hot. He has it all, sexy, Latin, can dance, great body, rich and of course bedroom eyes that make you melt. But somewhere along the line I started wondering about the secondary character Del.
Shelley seems to have this affect on me with her first and secondary characters. Take “Ice” for example, from Tempt Me With Darkness. His role is very small but so powerful I will be reading all of the Doomsday Brethren series (which I would do anyway – by the way because I loved TMWD) hoping for bits and pieces of him and all the other boys too, but him most definitely.
Huh, I thought, why is that? Good writing for sure, but there has to be more.
So in my twisted mind I came up with my own theory on why secondary characters become the front runners sometimes.
It’s not right to steal your girlfriends love interest. Yep, it was that simple—common courtesy—even for an imaginary character.
And when you are so involved in a book that character is a part of your life (hence a friend to you). It’s a pat on the back saying “oh you lucky girl, does he have a friend.” And low and behold he does, just flip a few more pages and there he is. Now voila, you’re not cheating on your girlfriend anymore. You have your own boy toy to dream about, even though she might be the lucky stiff that gets the happily ever after with your first choice. Oh well, number two will now be number one for you, and you can’t wait to find out more about them, once you make sure your girlfriend is safe and happy in her own relationship.
Now when Ice gets his own story, I’m only hoping to have more choices to dream about in my own twisted mind.
And just so you know Del has his own story in Sneak Peek. Giving nothing away you need to check it out yourself ;-)
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Who are your favorite secondary characters?
Hugs,
LKap
12 comments:
In Shelley's books? Luc and Duke (and no, not just 'cause they rhyme LOL) and I'll take them both, thank you very much....
Ohhhh Bonnie -
Those are both good ones!!!
I love this post. Although I know as a writer, I need for my readers to fall in love with my hero, I also want them to love the secondary characters just as much.
It's kinda like your HHB, I know him and yep when LKap tells you her man is hot, she ain't kidding. :) BUT, I could never really think about him like that. He's HERS. Now, should someone who's nothing more than a friend come over who is the same hot as HHB, well then, I can drool all I want then. :) Of course I don't, I've got Science Guy...okay maybe just a little bit, I still know a hot guy when I see him.
Thanks, Laurie, for the great post!
Bonnie, more Luc coming in March 2010... That man NEEDS serious attention. LOL
Vicki, I agree. The other thing is, when you're writing, if a character isn't real to you, then they won't be real to anyone else. And the truth is, mine talk to me ALL THE TIME. Sometimes even bug the heck out of me... I often say that being a novelist is the one job you can have and confess to hearing the voices in your head without being carted away by the nice folks in white coats. Seriously, characters often do things to get my attention. Some shout (read: Deke, Bram), some threaten and bully (read: Logan, Shock), and some go to other extremes. Hunter, for instance, stopped speaking to me altogether. Sneaky bastard made me come after him. But I know his issue now...
With Del in SNEAK PEEK specifically, my co-author in the anthology, Jaci Burton, gave me his name and vital statistics. We discussed what sort of person she saw him as being. I had to write my story before she wrote hers...and weirdly, he started talking to me too. He wasn't even my character at the end of the day, but because I had to write him first, he had something to say!
As just a reader I have to say I second and third Vicki's choice of Ice, and then there is just something lurking underneath about Shock...Shelly sure does have a special way of creating man candy that no one else does...hmmmm
Carol
Carol -
Ice is amazing (what we know of him that is).
Thanks for stopping by
Shayla
A pleasure - anytime!!! You know I love you and your "men"..LOL
I also want to thank you for stopping by and giving your time when I know you are on deadline.
XOXOXOXO
Shock was that character for me. I just wanted to grab up that big bad-ass brawny man and cuddle him. What I'm looking forward to is right before books 2 and 3 (cause they are back to back releases) I'm going to re-read TMWD and get that warm yummy feeling all over again.
Totally agree with the secondary character thing. You can't keep drooling all over the main dude cause then chickie is gonna be pissed and you shouldn't do that to a friend unless totally necessary. ;-)
I have not had the chance to read Shelley's books yet but I completely agree that there are times secondary characters become the front runners.
My interest is sparked now and I will have to track down her books.
Brandy -
Shock is a good one too - still want some Ice, Ice...baby though...LOL
Donnas -
You must, you must. I can honestly say I haven't read a bad one yet from Shelley or Shayla - go forth and find them!!!
Carol, wait until you read about Ice. In the twenty-something heroes I've ever written, I think he's my favorite.
Brandy, cuddle Shock? LOL. Good luck with that... I hope the next 2 books give you that same warm fuzzy too!
Donnas, I hope you'll decide to give one of my titles a try and that you enjoy it.
Thanks again, Laurie. You've been a doll!
Oh Shayla I expect Shock to be a very bad boy for a bit. At least that is the impression I get of him. He'll work it out though. I do LOVE a very bad boy.
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