RedHotRomance

I'm starting my next Wolf Tales single title today. I had actually planned to begin writing on Friday, but I still didn't know my characters well enough. They've been in my head for a couple weeks, now, both of them briefly mentioned in Wolf Tales II with just enough description for me to think about them as real, live people. Unfortunately, they were still strangers. Saturday, I made a point of thinking about them all day long. When I walked the dog, I realized that Shannon Murphy, my heroine, always walks fast, as if she's either trying to catch someone up ahead or escape something behind her. Jacob Trent is just the opposite--very slow and deliberate, though he can move fast when he has to. I thought more about Jake yesterday while I was painting the trim around the bedroom door. I know he's a loner, that he's been Chanku for about fifteen years, ever since Lucien Stone brought him into the pack. Jake was originally a paramedic, but he got burned out after calls to one too many drunk driving accidents where children were victims. What I didn't realize is that Jake hates being so alone, yet he's not able to allow himself to trust anyone enough to really share the private side of who and what he is. Right now, Shannon needs him, even though she has no idea her life is in danger. Jake figures he's been sent to protect her because he really screwed up by making a serious pass at Lucien's mate, and he thinks the rest of the pack just wants to put some space between Jake and Luc. Okay, since none of you have read Wolf Tales II, (it's not out yet) you have no idea what I'm talking about, but there IS a point to this! I know it sounds confusing, but then new characters always are. We get to know them in our heads and hearts, we give them substance and form until they finally are real enough to begin putting them down in writing. I think this part of writing, the development of characters, is the most seductive part of the process. It's where I, as author, play God. I create living, breathing characters to people my world, put words in their mouths, lust in their hearts and, at some point, after making them really miserable for a long time, I give them a happily ever after.

I woke up this morning anxious to get started. It's all right there, that opening scene that's so important to a story. I see Jake's face the first time he sees Shannon. I feel her heart race when she first sets eyes on him. I know he's barely in time to safe her life, and the threat isn't going away any time soon. Finally, after days of thinking about them, I know Jake and Shannon well enough to tell their story. I feel like a horse at the starting gate, waiting for the bell. It's an adrenaline rush like nothing else, and I wouldn't trade this feeling for anything. If anyone needs me today, I'll be right here doing what I love most. Writing.