Author/Character Interview: Rebekah Ganiere and Co.

I apologize for being a little discombobulated lately. See my previous post about my cat. But, I'm happy today to welcome the lovely Rebekah Ganiere and get to know some of her characters. I also appreciate Rebekah being a guinea pig for this format and her fun and imaginative answers.

1. If your character were to go to a psychologist, er, wise woman or healer who handles people problems in your world – willingly or unwillingly – what would bring them in? Yes, a court/Village Council order is a valid answer.

Adrian- I'd never have a need to seek one out.

Redlynn - (rolls her eyes) Never?

Adrian(Cocks an eyebrow) Never.

Redlynn - What about the time you thought I was injured?

Adrian- Well that's different. I'd do anything to save you.

Redlynn - (Shakes her head) Stubborn wolf.

2. Is the presenting problem one of the main internal or external conflicts in your book? If so, how does it present itself?

Redlynn - Our problems are two fold. You have the external problem of girls going missing in Wolvenglen Forest but you also have the internal conflict, like Adrian's conflict.

Adrian - I don't have conflict.

Redlynn- Oh really? No conflict? None? You just were so happy to find me knocked out in the woods?

Adrian - Okay so it took me a while to get used to the fact that we were supposed to be together, what do you want from me? You know what I've been through. And what about you? Are ready to tell me you were okay with everything about me when you first found out?

Redlynn - Well...

Adrian - Exactly.

3. It's always interesting to see how people act when they first enter my office. Do they immediately go for my chair, hesitate before sitting anywhere, flop on the couch, etc.? What would your character do?

Redlynn - I would never flop anywhere. I would find the chair with the best view of the entire room and scope out the easiest exit route and sit there.

Adrian - I'd sit on the couch. If I have to do this, I might as well be comfortable.

4. Does your character talk to the therapist? How open/revealing will your character be?

Redlynn - I don't know you, so I'd be polite, but you're not going to hear me moaning about my problems. Those are personal and things I only share with Adrian

Adrian - Likewise. Any problems I have I share with Redlynn, together we can work out anything.

5. Your character walks into the village pub or castle cellar after his/her first therapy session. What does he/she drink? Do they interact with anyone?

Adrian - I might have a cup of ale or mead if offered, but I wouldn't have too much. I wouldn't want my tongue to get too loose and spill things that I shouldn't.

Redlynn - If I were forced into in therapy session, I wouldn't want anything impairing my judgment. I'd have anything I needed before arriving and sit without speaking till I got the layout of the land. And even then I wouldn't speak unless absolutely necessary.

6. When you're building characters, do you have any tricks you use to really get into their psyches, like a character interview or personality system (e.g., Myers-Briggs types)?

Rebekah - As an author I let the characters build themselves in the first draft. What they say, do and think is all them. After that first draft I do a large character profile to help define them a bit more and get more of their GMC into play. Then I go back and see if the two match. If they don't I fix places where it doesn't.

Redlynn - We as characters don't care for that sometimes, but other times it works well. For instance in my story, Rebekah couldn't even finish the book before she went back to the beginning and changed a few things about me. I just wouldn't let her. I pulled the brakes in the second to last chapter and let her know that I would never do any of the stuff she'd written in the last five chapters.

That is very true. She wouldn't. Redlynn is stubborn that way. Most of my characters aren't but I have had a few!

Thanks so much for stopping by, Rebekah, Adrian, and Redlynn! My review of Red the Were Hunter will be forthcoming next month, but the book itself is available now.

You can find Rebekah, the book trailer, and cover at her website.

Guest posts: An Interview and Novel Resolutions

Happy new year, fellow authors and readers!

December ended up being sort of a bust for me with regard to writing thanks to a nasty cold that knocked me on my rear end for a week, but I did reach 23K on the third Lycanthropy Files book, and I wrote and submitted a short story to an anthology. I guess that's not so bad.

Mid-December, author Nancy Lee Badger interviewed me on her blog. She asked some fun questions including three things people don't know about me (the answers may surprise you), when I started writing toward publication, and what's been rewarding about it. You can read the full interview here.

Today I'm pleased to be guest posting on RWA's Futuristic, Fantasy, and Paranormal chapter blog on a novel way to approach writing resolutions. I talk about how we can apply Mindfulness principles to our process to minimize stress and keep us motivated.

So one of your New Year’s resolutions is to write a novel?

Congratulations! I wholeheartedly support choosing to do something that brings you joy and won’t require you to give up favorite foods or otherwise deprive yourself of something you love. Let’s talk about how you canmindfully support yourself as you embark on this journey of discovery into your own mind and life.

According to the definition of Mindfulness on Psychology Today (link: http://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/mindfulness), “Mindfulness is a state of active, open attention on the present. When you’re mindful, you observe your thoughts and feelings from a distance, without judging them good or bad. Instead of letting your life pass you by, mindfulness means living in the moment and awakening to experience.”

I teach this principle to my patients, and research has demonstrated its effectiveness with insomnia, anxiety, depression, and other psychological disorders. Since it’s generally accepted that we writers are a little nuts, this is a good thing. Okay, I’m kidding (mostly).

Here are some Mindfulness skills that I’ve tried to apply to my own writing life:

To read the rest, click here. Even if you're not a writer, you may find some tips that are helpful for you. 

I hope 2014 brings you peace, love, and good surprises!

My first interview!

Fellow romance writer M.V. Freeman, author of the paranormal romance Incandescent, invited me to answer some questions on her blog today, both about me and my debut novel The Mountain's Shadow. Yes, I had to turn the psychologist's eye on myself. Come find out the answers to how long it took me, what strange combination of circumstances prompted me to come up with the idea originally, and what carnivorous bunnies have to do with the writing process.

To read the full post, click here.