 I know. I know.
He shows up in a lot of novels. You know who I'm talking about. It is that dark brooding bad boy that we all love. We love the guy who can't be tamed and whose rough exterior hides passion and allure. The heroine may hate the man or want to fix the dude, but no matter what by the end of the story she is with him. You might want to roll your eyes at this theme, but it is as old as time. There are many instances of this trope in classic literature, and it became particularly prominent in the 1800s. A famous example is Heathcliff from Wuthering Heights or Mr. Rochester from Jane Eyre (I read that when I was sixteen.) Anyway, the point is, this guy is here to stay, and he offers a particular challenge for authors. You see the character must be bad to bring that danger and tension to the story, but he can't be so bad that he turns into the bad guy. Also, there is a slim line that must be walked so that we don't hate the character by the end of the novel. I have had that happen to me before. As I write I keep in mind the characters overall morality and likeability. This is complex. I have to have him honorable in some ways but ruthless in others. I want him cold yet with his love match, he has fire. I need that compassion in some places, but we all love a rule breaker, don't we? I tend to like outsiders because I feel that way in my own life. So often my bad boys are not family oriented, but I want them to yearn for connection. I am working on a character like this right now. He is a handful, but I'm getting there. I can't wait for you to meet him in 5:05 a.m.
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 There is a saying that goes, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
No matter what you choose to do, that saying holds true. Writing a novel is no small journey. And writing lots and lots of them and building a writing career is no joke. I think no matter what, we all have to start somewhere and that is what I am doing. After 3:05 a.m. came out, I felt like I was back to square one. Because of taking so long to release my book, I had to try and remember what to do like I am a new author again. And then I realized, it might always be this way. Every book that I release into the world is new and shiny and I don't know what is going to happen next. I can plan and guess, but in the end, it's a surprise. What I do know? I know I can't worry about it. I have come to discover that I have to accept the good with the bad. I am here and showing up as an author because I must create. I write to breathe and if people love it, great. If not, it changes nothing. I must write. I must.  We would like to give a big thank you to all of you who did a review for our new Ice Era Chronicle. 3:05 a.m.
Reviews are so important because rarely will someone give a book a chance if they have zero reviews next to the picture. For everyone who said a little something good and bad, thank you. When I first started writing, I used the hate any reviews. If they were five stars, I used to think I didn't deserve that rating. When I look at a book, I can see the mistakes I've made. And as for the one star? That is just a big giant bummer. Now, it's all cool. I like the five stars because I am happy that I created something that gave you some enjoyment. If you offer one star... it's okay if it wasn't your bag. Life is full of books that I shrugged at, but in the end, I always keep in mind that someone spent their time to write that and so good on them. Anway, one more time. Again, thank you for the reviews my friends. And if you are on a kick, stop by some other author pages and do some more. If you are at work, don't worry about it. Your boss won't mind. |
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