Meet Cerridwen, the hero of the novel

Cerridwen Lynn Baker is the protagonist of my novel Ghost Mountain and the sequel I'm currently working on. In fact, she will be the protagonist of an entire series. My villains, however, are a one-time character. They show up in one book, never to be seen again.

For me, therefore, Cerridwen is much more difficult to write. She must learn and grow from book to book. She has to have a consistent voice. She must be likable, otherwise who would read the books?

Cerridwen, who prefers to be called "Cerri," is like a friend to me, and that's a good thing. As the author, I need to know what Cerri likes and dislikes. Her favorite foods. Things she absolutely hates. Because my novels are written in first person, I really need to know everything there is to know about Cerri!

I can be a little more secretive about the villains in my work. I don't need to know quite as much about them. I don't need to know, for example, the name of his or her best friend in the third grade.

So what do I know about Cerri? Here is a list of 10 really important things about her (in no particular order).

1. She hates her name.
2. She's married with three kids.
3. Cerri loves her family and puts them above everything else in the world.
4. She is a freelance journalist and photographer.
5. Cerri's dad was in the military, so she grew up moving often.
6. She really just wants to be "normal" and doesn't want anything to do with the wise woman ways of her mother.
7. As much as she doesn't want to admit it, she's pretty good at reading Tarot cards.
8. Cerri sees much of the world as "black or white," "good or evil," and wants to make the world a better place.
9. She has a short temper and can get frustrated easily.
10. She truly judges people on their actions, and not their appearance.

There you have it. Some of the important things about my main character. Enjoy her!

Blessings!

Nichole

Breathe...

Have you ever read a book where it seems as though the characters are someone you've met before? Do you feel like you know there life history, or should? Some writers have a talent for making their characters breathe, but how do they do it? Is it the deep point of view we hear so much about? Their emotional and physical encounters with each other? Their past? Their growth through the novel? Or is it simply an innate ability on the author's part, a talent that can't be taught? Maybe its a little bit of all of those things.

Nothing ruins a book more for me than flat characters. If I can't see, hear, and feel them and their emotions, how will they imprint the story in my mind?

I give my hero/heroine pasts and so much conflict it scares even me. Inner thoughts (innerds as one of my editors calls it) are a great way to see inside the character's mind.
On another note, I got the cover for Earth Enchanted in yesterday. It's a smidge racy so I won't post it up, but if you'd like to see it. http://www.lyricalpress.com/brynna_curry
Beth (who is going back to refinishing the dining room hardwood and laying down tile. yip. eee.)