How do you encounter your own
characters?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Aurora Morelli – Heroine

 

– Sapphire blue eyes,
long dark hair, compact body. Looks feminine but hates it.

– Has always tried to
overcome her size by the strength of her personality. There’s a chip on her
shoulder that she nourishes. It’s her protection from getting hurt—that and
sarcasm, many times humorous.

– She wears
high-heeled boots and walks tall, with her head up and shoulders back to add
height because she hates feeling inadequate for being so short.

– Concealed under
those boots, she has ankle bracelets and painted toenails.

– She hates her bitch
of a mother because the woman killed herself in a drunken rage and never, ever
gave her daughter any inkling that she mattered. Therefore the little girl
hiding inside Aurora still craves those missing hugs.

– She’s a secret
romantic, loves the happy endings and hides her romance books all around her
apartment.

– She’s a little Miss
Homemaker, has recipes books and bottles of fancy oils in her kitchen. There
are homemade quilted pillows on her sofa and herb plants on her windowsill.

– Born and raised in
Casa Grande, loves the Coyotes and has a favorite souvenir coffee mug. Her
lieutenant grew up near her and they know each other’s backgrounds, and
therefore they have a special attachment.

– Las Vegas detective
for 5 years and has worked with a female partner, Debbie, who she loves more
than anyone else. They’ve formed an attachment closer than sisters, and Debbie
is the only person who she’s let inside her protective armour. From the night
Debbie gets assaulted, Aurora has a mission. Find the serial rapist who hurt
the person she loves most. Then put the animal away.

– When Debbie becomes
pregnant, takes leave, and gets married to none other than the lieutenant,
knitted within Aurora’s happiness, feelings of envy emerge. One day, she wants
to get married and have her own baby.

– She’s had lovers,
but never anyone who matters enough for her to change. The men she’s actually
attracted to aren’t the men she chooses to date. It’s the hotshot, sexy, cowboy
type that sets her heart beating faster, especially if they have the charisma
of a lover and the looks to back it up.

 

***Do
you make a detailed analysis or a short, spotlight into each person? A kind of
profile to give you an idea of what drives each person to act the way they do
under any situation.

 

 

 

Kai Larson – Hero

 

– This man is a Bruce
Willis lookalike, has a bald head and his eyes are deep and blue.

– He’s a natural
tease, a bit of a smartass, and sharp as a whip. Likes to take control.

– He carries a
computer case that looks like a purse and wears tight blue jeans, cowboy boots,
and favors t-shirts.

– Being that he’s from
L.A., it isn’t hard to believe that his favorite hockey team is the L.A. Kings.

– In L.A. he’s a
sergeant and has turned down multiple chances at moving up the ladder. He likes
working the streets and is good at it.

– He was in the army
with Aurora’s lieutenant, and after their stints were up, they went to the same
police academy. When Kai needs to move to Las Vegas to find and kill the man
who’d raped his sister, he places a call and the move is on.

– Except that when he
arrives, he’s forced to take on a partner. A woman partner who’s fixated on
getting the same man he wants, only she wants to put him in jail. A woman
walking around with a huge chip on her shoulder, and he soon realizes that it
turns him on.

– Blessed with good
parents, a happy childhood and a gift of attracting the females, he grew up
unconsciously feeling entitled.

– Then his sister was
raped. From that day he’s changed. Made a vow of vengeance. She lost her life
and so will the man who’d made her feel such despair that her only way out was
to kill herself.

 

***Or
like me, do you fill in these characteristics as the story grows? I find that
it’s only by how they deal with each conflict I throw at them, that their
personalities start becoming clear. And I do love conflicts!

 

I have a fairly good idea of their looks, because
before I ever put any words on file, I’ve lived with the characters in my head
for a few weeks. By then I can see them as clear as if I was remembering an old
friend.

 

It’s how they react under different sets of
circumstances that’s still a mystery which gets solved as I write their story.

 

***How do you deal with
the people in your story? It’ll be interesting to see how many of us
work in the same way.

 

 

 “Vegas”
Contest Rules

(Sept 15 – Sept 30th)

 

 

1. Read the book called “Roll the
Dice”.

2. Write an honest review for Amazon.

3. Send a copy of Amazon’s notice to

mimibarbour@hotmail.com

 

Then…

you’ll have a chance at being the lucky
winner of a

$50 Amazon Gift Certificate

 

I’ve purposely set the price of the book
from $3.99 down to $.99 for the duration of this contest.

 

Good Luck!