Characters - His story.

In the post before the last, I shared a little glimpse into my head, into my writing process. Today I’m going to share a little something about where the Mortal Monsters series will be heading.

The first three books are Mackenzie and Eli’s books. It’s their story. Beyond that, there will be several stand alone, offshoot books that are the stories of some of the characters you’ll meet in the first three books.

I’ve been thinking of these characters for a long time. Some of them I’ve even begun their stories. One in particular has my heart. It torments me with want for me to tell it. This one particular character, he has a theme song. A song that puts me in his world, in his story, in his life…

I am not sure if his book will be the first to be released after Mack and Eli’s arc is complete or the second, but he’s in my head, in my veins, this morning and I want to share him with you. So, I thought I’d give you a short, cryptic glimpse and let you know what is to come, what you can expect from the series in the future. So there are no surprises when you pick up book four or five and maybe six.

This particular character’s theme song is: In My Veins by Andrew Belle

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vlcrjw1ZISE

Here it is on youtube – I’d use the one from Andrew Belle’s youtube channel, but the image this person used when they posted the video captures the tone in my head perfectly.

I dreamed him and his story up before Eli and Mackenzie came along. When I was weaving him into their story, I had moments when I wanted to rebel against the course his story has already taken. I thought, maybe I could just change it up, but his path is already set, and if I didn’t follow it, his story wouldn’t be the one I have to tell. I wouldn’t be able to tell it, and show you his life, who he is and why I’m completely in love with him.

If I were to change his course, you’d never get to meet the other’s in his story that have stories of their own, ones that also deserve to be told.

I think I love him and his story so much because it’s so personal. There is so much of me in it, of the people who have come into my life and left their mark. One in particular stood out to me this morning. He has shaped parts of this character, and I can’t wait for you all to meet him. I hope you’ll fall as deeply for him as I have… both the character and the one who exists in real life that’s colored parts of him.

 

 

Cover Reveal - Powerless by Monica Millard

BOOK INFO:
Powerless by Monica Millard
(Mortal Monsters #2)
Publication date: October 27th 2015
Genres: Young Adult, Paranormal

Synopsis:

Werewolf, shapeshifter, seer. If you’d said these words to me two months ago, I’d have said they were the things of stories and legends. Now, they’re my classmates, my friends and even those closest to me. Best friend, boyfriend and my own mother.

So what does that make me? I’m something different. Something dangerous?

I’ve kept my abilities locked up tight, hidden, even from myself, but the shapeshifter that was after Eli set them free, when he kidnapped and tortured me. With no one left to rescue me, I was forced to accept what I am in order to free myself and save Eli.

Now that my abilities have been awakened, I can’t turn them off. If I can’t get control, they might destroy me, and everyone else with me.

I might just be the strongest supernatural there is, but I feel completely powerless.

 

 

Add it on Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26320125-powerless

 

Characters - Who's story is it really?

Today I thought I’d share something about my writing process. I’m what in the writing world is termed a pantser. I don’t outline a book before I begin writing it. Usually going into it, I know the overall premise, the main characters and I know how it ends, but not always. Sometimes I find that out as I go.

For me, writing is discovery. I’m getting to know the characters, finding out what makes them tick, seeing what happens just like a reader would. Only, I’m living in the world and getting to know the characters over the course of about three months, which is about how long it typically takes me to write a first draft.

There are always surprises along the way. Things I didn’t expect to happen, characters doing things I had no idea they would. That sounds a little crazy, I know. But that’s normal for someone who daydreams for a living.

One of the books I’ve written, I went into it with the all of those things I said above. I knew who all the players were, and even how it ended, but in my vision of how this book was going to play out, there were bad guys and good guys, no grey areas. It ended exactly as I envisioned, but the tone, the characters I fell in love with and rooted for were not at all the ones I had originally planned.

I had written the first five chapters, maybe more with this idea of who this one particular player in the story was, but he was quietly picking at my mind, wanting me to hear his side, to tell his story. When I finally stopped trying to be in control, when I listened to what he had to tell me (not literally, but still in a way I can’t explain), the story blossomed into something I loved. A story that wasn’t just words on a page, but had life and breath and tears. There were lots of tears while I wrote his story.

And even though he wasn’t the main character, the POV (point of view) character, it was just as much his story as it was hers.

When I write, I always write from the girl’s perspective. Not because I don’t think I could write a boy, but because it’s what comes to me, but also because I’m usually telling a boy’s story too and I fall for them organically, like I would in real life, from the outside, watching them, seeing little things revealed over time that make me love them for who they are in spite of how life has tried to defeat them.

Even though I write from the girl’s perspective, I often empathize with the boy much more. It’s true when I’m reading a book too. I often see the book as their story, even though they aren’t the focus. I have much more tolerance for the boy character as well. I was raised to be a strong girl, and I think I expect that of all girl characters, whether I write them or not. Or maybe it’s because I’m in their head and therefore on some level, they are me too, because I’m reading or writing them.

I share this because my next blog post will be a glimpse forward in the Mortal Monster series.

Stay tuned.