As an author,
it’s in my DNA to make up characters and throw them into situations that test
their faith and sometimes push them to their personal limit. In each situation,
the characters have issues in their life that they must be overcome before they
can find their happily ever after.
As someone
who writes Inspirational Romantic Suspense, there is an element of danger in each
of my stories. It adds another wrinkle to the dilemma the characters face.
But sometimes
when I making up stories in my head, I find that my characters actually teach
me a thing or two about life.
For instance,
in Forgotten Past, Faith McKenzie
taught me that no matter how dark the road ahead of you may seem, if you have
someone to travel it with you, you’ll never have to face the darkness alone.
JT Wyatt taught
me that there is such a thing as second chances in this life, no matter how
painful the starting over might be.
Teddy Warren and
Derek Thomas taught me that if you have a few good friends to back you up and
believe in you, even if you don’t believe in yourself, you can make it through just
about anything.
In Rocky Mountain Pursuit, Jase Bradford
taught me that true men of valor still exist. They serve our country in all
branches of the military and they sacrifice their safety to protect ours. Jase
taught me that you never leave a man behind. And when one of your comrades dies
suspiciously, you will move heaven and earth to bring their killer to justice.
Reyna
Peterson taught me that you don’t have to serve in the military to risk your
life for your country.
Eddie
Peterson taught me that there are some things in life that are worth chancing
everything to protect.
In my
upcoming June 2017 LIS – Deadly Memories,
Ella Weiss taught me that you can survive just about anything as long as you
have faith. And CIA Agent Kyle Jennings taught me that sometimes, all you have
to cling to in life is hope.
So what about
you? Whether you’re an author or a reader, we all have characters that speak to
us. What have some of your favorite characters taught you about life?
All the best…
Mary Alford
Deadly
Memories – Coming June 2017
WOMAN WITHOUT
A PAST
Amnesia may
be keeping Ella Weiss from remembering her past—but not from saving the little
boy who's been her fellow prisoner the last seven years. After managing to
escape her cell, all she wants is to find where little Joseph is being kept.
Instead she runs straight into CIA agent Kyle Jennings. Kyle isn't sure if Ella
is actually a kidnap victim or if she's working for the gunrunner he's been
after. One thing he is certain of is her uncanny resemblance to the wife he
thought he'd buried. To save a child's life and stop a terrorist from slipping
through his fingers, he'll need to uncover the secrets of Ella's past—and
whether or not she's really the woman he's never stopped loving.
Posts
Mary, your blurb for Woman Without a Past hooked me! Love the whole premise...and then you added that the heroine looked like his dead wife! YIKES!!! It all sounds so, so good!
ReplyDeleteMy characters often struggle with baggage issues that keep them from embracing life--and love--to the full. I see that happening in real life too often so it's a theme that resonates with me.
I agree, Debby, but I think that makes the characters so endearing to me. We are all flawed. I love the struggles they go through to find their happily every after.
ReplyDeleteI can't think of a specific incident, Mary (I've been in too many meetings today), but I know I benefit from writing my characters' struggles. They force me to wrestle with my faith and how I live it.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely, Cate. And I feel that I've grown as a writer through each book. I love them for that.
ReplyDeleteI always pray before brainstorming a new story and ask the Lord to help me create a character that will touch someone somewhere. Hopefully that happens. The process itself enhances my trust in the Lord. He never abandons me.
ReplyDeleteI often put bits and pieces of my life into my stories from a topic I'm passionate about to a specific incident.
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