Since Griffin was initially so unlikeable in The Stories Stars Tell, I knew I was going to have to balance him out with a cast of secondary characters readers would like. There’s only so much drudgery many of us are willing to take as readers and keep us engaged, so I knew that in order to move through Griffin’s difficult journey, he was going to need some help and some light. Enter, then, the secondary characters. These characters are necessary to support or hinder the protagonist’s growth.
When writing secondary characters, I approach it the same as when I write a protagonist. I dive deep into who they are to learn the details. I want to know everything I can about them to understand how those characters' motives might impact the protagonist. My goal: make them feel alive and real.
With that in mind, here’s the primer on who you’re going to meet when you open In the Echo of this Ghost Town:
Maxwell Wallace—in a sort of meet-cute but it really isn’t—walks into Griffin’s life at his low point and she pushes his buttons. Her humor is something I love about her. Another thing I love about her: she doesn’t take anyone’s crap, especially Griffin’s, which pushes him off balance.
Initially, I thought In the Echo of this Ghost Town would be a dual perspective story like The Stories Stars Tell that would vacillate between Griffin and Max, but well, it didn’t work out that way. I’ll write more about how Maxwell got her own story in a couple of weeks, and the why of how In the Echo of this Ghost Town is structured, but I think this is a great example of how secondary characters can take a narrative and create their own.
Callum “Cal” Wallace, Maxwell’s dad, is so freaking great that I want to meet this man (he has jumped up to Atticus Finch status for me and I might be crushing...hard). This secondary character is a co-mentor to Griffin’s growth. When this story went through beta reads and ARC reads, so many readers have said: I WANT MORE CAL! I completely agree (hmmmm - adult romance possibilities?)
Griffin’s family: Kat, his mom, Jaxon, his dad, and Phoenix, his brother, are very important to Griffin’s journey. They aren’t the healthiest of families having experienced a lot of trauma, but isn’t that the nature of things? People work through their own stuff often side by side, and it isn’t always easy or pretty. Of course, if you have read my work, you know I can’t leave them there, so we’ll see how these three characters push and scrape against Griffin to make him more whole. Head’s up: Phoenix has become a reader favorite, too (possible spin off?)
Bella Noble: We met Bella as a very static character in The Stories Stars Tell. She was hitting on Tanner poolside the last time we saw her on the page. She is back in Griffin’s story, and if you recall, Griffin was hyper focused on “getting with” Bella in The Stories Stars Tell. Now, In the Echo of this Ghost Town, she’s far more fleshed out, an important part of Griffin’s journey, and I’m not sure we’ll like her any better than we did when we first met her. Or—let me drop this here—maybe we will. You’ll have to let me know.
Griffin’s friends (yes! They are back): Tanner, Josh, and Danny are really important to Griffin’s growth. Whether it’s calling him out, pushing his buttons, setting a boundary, or offering support, Griffin’s friends are very important to his growth as a person.
Available now!
So there you have it. The primer. If you are so excited about reading this book and need it ASAP, you have a couple of options. First, read The Stories Stars Tell. It will set you up perfectly for In the Echo of this Ghost Town. Been there and done that? There are review copies available on Reedsy-Discovery if you’re a reviewer. Copies will be on Netgalley in September (that’s only 8 weeks away!), and if you just need the book ASAP and are willing to drop a review, I’ve got some eBook ARC’s available. Send me an email. ;) I also have four other books already published, so The Cantos Chronicles is a great place to start. Swimming Sideways is the first book in that series. Happy reading.