Pages

Victoria James on Secondary Characters and GIVEAWAY!


Author Victoria James is talking about secondary characters. She has a new book out, THE RANCHER'S SECOND CHANCE. You can read reviews here.


Connect with Victoria on the web:


Facebook         Twitter      Website      Blog 
Over to Victoria now...





The Allure of the series and secondary characters…

It occurred to me the other day, when adding a page on my website for ‘The Tall Pines Ranch’ that I never really set out to write a series. Or, at least I never used to. My ‘Red River Series’ sort of evolved. My latest book, The Rancher’s Second Chance, wasn’t started with the intention of writing more books set on that ranch. So what happened?

Secondary characters. I’ve always loved reading stories where family and friends play an integral role in the book. I guess it’s no surprise then, that I like writing books like this as well. But this did come as sort of a surprise. 

My secondary characters just take on a life of their own. I should be used to this by now, but I was pleasantly surprised when my editor wrote in the margins of The Rancher’s Second Chance that I needed to write the best friend’s story now. I loved that, because my hero’s best friend (Gage) grew in personality as I wrote that book and I knew as well that I needed to write his story.

So how does this happen? How do secondary characters take on a life of their own without stealing the main character’s thunder? Let their personality shine through in dialogue with the main character. I’m more of a panster than plotter, so for me this happens without planning ahead of time. Also, it’s important to have a little mystery surrounding their background-for you and the reader. I found myself intrigued by Gage’s backstory and how it has shaped him. By the end of writing The Rancher’s Second Chance, I had a fully fleshed out story for my next Tall Pines book. I took notes on Gage as I wrote Rancher. And then a week after I finished revisions for Rancher, I submitted a proposal for Gage’s story.

I love revisiting characters and places. For me it’s like coming home. So if you want to expand the personalities of those secondary characters, give them a little freedom! Let them have a significant enough role in the first book, without revealing too much.

Thanks so much for having me on your blog!


Victoria's latest release...
 The Rancher's Second Chance

Widowed rancher Cole Forrester is all about running his family's ranch and guarding his heart. The last thing he's looking for is love, but when his little sister can't make it home to handle some of her wedding details, he's forced to entertain the event planner, Melanie Simms. Melanie is everything he's not even remotely interested in: she's high-society, complicated, and high maintenance. But when he's stranded with her at his remote cabin in the Colorado mountains, he realizes he's seriously underestimated her. She's hiding something about her past from him, but despite everything, he finds himself falling for the last woman he ever expected, and the first woman to make him want to give his heart and risk everything...



Buy Links:


Amazon  


On  Goodreads 

15 comments:

  1. Kelly Hashway12 March 2014 at 14:45

    I love secondary characters as well. They always steal my heart. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Victoria James15 March 2014 at 04:08

      I love it when they get their own book too! :)

      Delete
  2. Meradeth Houston12 March 2014 at 14:59

    Secondary characters are so fun! They often end up as my favorites, and I can't help but write about them too :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous12 March 2014 at 15:23

    I love secondary characters. They give the story more depth and of course create more stories. I find that sometimes many secondary characters help bring put the good qualities of the main character.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Liz Blocker12 March 2014 at 17:58

    Man, is this another one of the joys of being a pantser? LOL. I'm such a plotter, and I know everyone's back-story as I write! BUT as a reader, I really love it when authors do what you did, and turn an intriguing secondary character into a main character in another book :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Victoria James15 March 2014 at 04:10

      LOL, Liz! I've tried so many times to be a plotter, but it just doesn't work for me :)

      Delete
  5. Helena12 March 2014 at 18:23

    Secondary characters can really surprise us, can't they? I've certainly been surprised by the way some readers really latch on to secondary characters of mine and want to know more about them. So it sounds as if you've got a natural hit with you next Tall Pines book.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Victoria James15 March 2014 at 04:10

      Thanks so much, Helena! It is nice to hear when readers fall in love with secondary characters, isn't it?

      Delete
  6. Vallypee13 March 2014 at 14:24

    Oh yes, secondary characters add colour and variety. They are often the real characters! I'm also a pantser!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Victoria James15 March 2014 at 04:11

      Thanks Val, glad to hear I'm not the only pantser!

      Delete
  7. Anonymous16 March 2014 at 05:49

    When I'm reading, I enjoy fully developed secondary characters. Often they're cardboard cutouts.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Old Kitty16 March 2014 at 07:37

    Yay for well rounded secondary characters - they do so give a story more depth to a story!

    Lovely to meet you, Victoria and I do so hope Cole takes a chance on mysterious Melanie! Take care
    x

    ReplyDelete
  9. Rachel Schieffelbein17 March 2014 at 05:59

    Sounds great! I love secondary characters. ;)

    ReplyDelete

Join the discussion. What do you think?

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)