Guest Post
Do your characters seem to hijack the story or do you feel like you have the reins of the story? Explain.
My control over my characters is pretty much limited to naming them, giving them some background (parentage, where they live, hair and eye color), and what role they’re supposed to play in the book. They go along with the first and second things. Often they develop in ways I don’t expect, which makes the writing fun. I would never have guessed that Alex in my second novel, Most Secret, would have a talent for amateur theatricals which proved an advantage in the story. But sometimes characters balk at their assignment in my story.
Before I gave up trying to control my characters, I had a novel stall and die because the male and female characters refused to fall in love. I was a much less experienced writer at the time and it took me years to understand that the characters would only act in ways consistent with their personalities. For some reason, the pair were not a good match. Even now, I don’t think I could have persuaded them into a relationship.
Now it’s most often the villains who act out. They feel they’re more sinned against than sinning, or have perfectly good reasons for their actions or think they do, or have been led astray by another character. Which is actually pretty true to life, isn’t it?
Recently I needed my antagonist to be out of the country for some years. That was almost all I knew about him except that he was supposed to have a horde of criminals in his employ. For a bit of backstory, I had him sent to live with an uncle in the American colonies as a boy. Why would that be? Ah ha! Behavioral problems! Of course he’d run away and end up working for an army officer who cheated at cards and taught him how to do so. Returning to England set off a chain of events that gave an unexpected twist to the story. Unexpected by me, anyway; I had to do some extensive revision but it improved the ending beyond recognition. Clearly he planned the whole thing.
Thinking about it, although the antagonists may fail to cooperate with me, they’re easier to deal with than the truly despicable characters who are not criminals and who are happy to be as evil as they can be. These are the toxic characters: the resentful stepmother in one or the hateful sister-in-law and spoiled nieces another. Most of us never deal with a level of villainy worse than that, which is bad enough.
Unexpectedly orphaned, Rosabel Stanbury and her younger sister are made wards of a distant, unknown cousin. Fearing his secretive ways and his intentions for them, Rosabel and Oriana flee to London where they are taken in by a women’s charity.
Drawn into Rosabel's problems, with his inn under surveillance by criminals, Allan has only a handful of unlikely allies, including an elderly general, a burglar, and an old lady who knows criminal slang. A traditional romance.
Excerpt
“Sir, we came to London to live with our grandfather, but he is ill, and we couldn’t see him, and our uncle’s wife didn’t believe we are his grandchildren, and now we have no place to go.”
Rosabel wished whoever he was might be able to aid them, knowing she dare not trust him, not after their encounter with the woman at the inn. He was probably a rakehell. Gentlemen did not otherwise concern themselves with females of the servant class, as they must appear to be, clad in their dusty, countrified clothing.
Blinking away her last tears, she was tempted to revise her opinion. His plain black suit, slight body, and untidy hair suggested quite another sort of man. His eyes twinkled when she met his gaze. “May I introduce myself, ma’am? Wilfred Simmons, curate, St. Giles-without-Cripplegate. If you and your sister have nowhere to stay, your situation is serious. London is a hard place even for men if they have no work and no money. A female without resources risks danger to both body and soul. Please let me assist you.”
She bit her lip. Mr. Simmons appeared to be respectable. He had a gentleman’s voice and was no more than four-and-twenty, she guessed. Beside her, Ory sniffed dolefully.
“You are wise not to be too trusting. I have friends who will vouch for me inside.” He smiled at her expression. “Ma’am, no one has ever been abducted from St. George’s Church, Hanover Square.”
About the Author
Kathleen Buckley writes traditional historical romance (i.e. no explicit sex). There are fewer ballrooms and aristocratic courting rituals in her books and more problems than does-he-love-me/does-he-not. Sometimes there’s humor. Kathleen wanted to write from the time she learned to read and pursued this passion through a Master’s Degree in English, followed by the kind of jobs one might expect: light bookkeeping, security officer, paralegal. She did sell two stories to the late Robert Bloch, author of Psycho. And no, he wasn’t late at the time.
After moving to Albuquerque, New Mexico, she wrote her first historical romance, striving for Georgette Heyer’s style, followed by nine more.
In Kathleen’s gentle romances, the characters tend to slide into love rather than fall in lust. Their stories are often set against the background of family relationships, crime, and legal issues, probably because of her work in a law firm.
When she’s not writing or reading, she enjoys cooking dishes from eighteenth century cookbooks. Those dishes and more appear in her stories. Udder and root vegetables, anyone?
Kathleen Buckley’s current work in progress is her first historical mystery, tentatively titled A Murder of Convenience.
Kathleen Buckley writes traditional historical romance (i.e. no explicit sex). There are fewer ballrooms and aristocratic courting rituals in her books and more problems than does-he-love-me/does-he-not. Sometimes there’s humor. Kathleen wanted to write from the time she learned to read and pursued this passion through a Master’s Degree in English, followed by the kind of jobs one might expect: light bookkeeping, security officer, paralegal. She did sell two stories to the late Robert Bloch, author of Psycho. And no, he wasn’t late at the time.
After moving to Albuquerque, New Mexico, she wrote her first historical romance, striving for Georgette Heyer’s style, followed by nine more.
In Kathleen’s gentle romances, the characters tend to slide into love rather than fall in lust. Their stories are often set against the background of family relationships, crime, and legal issues, probably because of her work in a law firm.
When she’s not writing or reading, she enjoys cooking dishes from eighteenth century cookbooks. Those dishes and more appear in her stories. Udder and root vegetables, anyone?
Kathleen Buckley’s current work in progress is her first historical mystery, tentatively titled A Murder of Convenience.
Linktree: https://linktr.ee/kathleen_buckley
Website: https://18thcenturyromance.com/
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Kathleen-Buckley/author/B072J2GPZ3
Giveaway
Kathleen Buckley will be awarding a $25 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner.
Thank you for featuring HIDDEN TREASURES today.
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