Cami 1/18/23 Cami 1/18/23

Behind-the Scenes: The Trials of Imogene Sol

I promised the story behind The Ring Academy: The Trials of Imogene Sol. So here it is.

At the end of 2019, I had just released The Bones of Who We Are, and in the in between before a new project was discovered, I decided I wanted to both have fun with writing, develop my craft, challenge myself, and include the people who followed me on Instagram. In my stories, I asked my followers to vote on what they were interested in me writing by choosing their top categories for me to mash up. The winning categories were SciFi and Romance (which is probably much better suited to Maci Aurora than CL Walters, but this was before Maci Aurora made the scene). Thereby, Imogene Sol was created. At the end of 2019, I wrote several chapters, but in early 2020 (pre-pandemic), after a trip to the hospital for an emergency gallbladder surgery, I lost the thread of the story.

For the next nine months, Imogene Sol’s story sat. Toward the end of 2020 in the midst of lockdown, I decided to look at Imogene’s story again, knowing I needed something for my newsletter and wondering if it might be something to include. I wrote another draft—a complete one—and published it in my newsletter in 2021 as a serialized story.

As I worked on publishing The Messy Truth About Love in 2022, I knew I didn’t have the creative bandwidth to write a new novel yet. So I decided to strengthen The Trials of Imogene Sol with a revision and publish it as a novella, hoping for a bit more time to refill the creative well. I was aware the story needed a few more scenes to help it feel more complete, but knew that could be done given the amount of time I was providing myself.

Now, three months into rewriting, it turns out there is enough story for a novel—and a fun one at that. I’m in the process of the first revision (after the drafted rewrite and armed with some feedback). With a few new scenes still to write, the book is nearing the 50,000 word mark. Shorter than most of my novels, but still considered a full length novel. For comparison, Swimming Sideways topped out around 82,000 give or take a few words and The Messy Truth About Love was around 95,000 words. My longest novel is The Stories Stars Tell which altogether is around 135,000 words give or take (very long for a contemporary).

Besides the length of the story, the biggest difference is the category. All my books up to this point have been contemporary stories with the exception of The Ugly Truth and The Bones of Who We Are which while still mostly contemporary, both contain elements of magical realism. Imogene Sol’s story is going to be the biggest change.

Set on a planet in an interplanetary federation, Imogene’s story takes place at a Federation Academy called The Ring Academy during her final year. She’s competing for job placement in the Federation, only it becomes very clear that someone is after her, and it isn't just her job on the line but her life. This story is going to be more plot driven than many of my other stories, but there’s still an important emphasis on interpersonal relationships, including a budding romance. While not strictly science fiction, I’d label it more space opera, or a subcategory of science fiction that emphasizes space warfare while capitalizing on the melodrama of high-stakes and high risk adventure, interpersonal relationships, and romance. A famous example of a space opera is Star Wars.

Ultimately, I am enjoying the opportunity to write outside the “norm” of what I’ve offered so far in stories I’ve published. I absolutely adore contemporary stories, but I am also a huge fan of other categories. Imogene Sol isn’t the last story you will get from me that steps outside the bounds of contemporary stories. I hope you are as excited about that as I am.

The Ring Academy: The Trials of Imogene Sol is scheduled for publication on August 1, 2023.

Cami 1/11/23 Cami 1/11/23

Behind-the-Scenes: Reading & All My Rage

An important part of my process as a writer is reading. I’ve mentioned this before… repeatedly. Reading across genre and category on a continuum from amazing reads to mediocre to needs so much work is a powerful tool. This practice helps me with my own craft and style. It helps me see amazing author choices and technique, to varied narrative structures, to how not to approach writing. All powerful lessons.

Every once in a while I come across a book that blows me away. These books are the ones that linger long after I’ve closed the book. They make it hard to sleep because I’m thinking about the characters and the dilemma. They make me want to slow down and savor them, but I can’t help but burn through it page after page because I need to know what happens. These are the books whose authors have a way with words that somehow connects with my bones and takes up residence in my marrow. Language so powerful that it somehow changes my DNA.

I want to share these books with you, so here we go. The first one this year is All My Rage by Sabaa Tahir.

All My Rage sat on my shelf since its release in 2022. I preordered it. Got a signed copy. Tahir is one of my favorite authors, and I have made the claim that Ember in the Ashes series is one of the best YA fantasy works I have ever read. And still All My Rage sat on my TBR shelf and sat and sat. Why? I knew I was going to love it, and I didn’t want it to be over. So rather than read it, knowing it was there waiting for when I was ready was comforting. Do you know what I mean?

Well, I finally pulled it from the shelf as my first read of 2023. I was right. I knew what it would be, how I would feel reading it. All My Rage is magic (and an award winner. It deserves all the awards!).

The story follows Noor and Salahudin during their senior year in the small town of Juniper. While they are in a fight and avoiding one another, the failing health of Salahudinʻs mom brings them back together. As they navigate the complicated and painful landscape of their lives, they can count on one another to weather the awful storms each of them face. But when circumstances tear them apart, they find themselves clinging to a solitary life preserver. Will they be able to find their way back to one another?

Tahir has a way with words that burrows under your skin. Her ability to get right to the heart of a thought with succinct clarity is powerful. She creates characters that are flesh and bone, trapped inside the black and ivory pages, ready to leap fully formed into the world. The narrative is adeptly pieced together revealing truths both ugly and beautiful in a way that isn’t rooted in blame or pain but rather in the matter-of-fact humanness. It is what it is. And yet still offers us a slice of hope that we can navigate the uglier parts to find the beautiful.

All My Rage is a tapestry layered with themes of grief, addiction, anger, abuse, racism, and poverty. A tour de force, this is a story that conveys the truth. From being a teen, to being caught by one’s circumstances, to finding love, to giving and accepting forgiveness, Tahir’s All My Rage captures the beauty of the human spirit in all it’s flaws and all its beauty.

When I closed the book with tears in my eyes, I wanted to read it for the first time… again. I had experienced something great. A work of perfection that I needed to share. All My Rage is everything, and the very reason I am in love with stories, with reading, and with writing.

Cami 11/16/22 Cami 11/16/22

Book Hangover List

Tomorrow is my birthday. When I was little, I loved my birthday. My parents made it magical. Ask anyone, and one of the first things out of my mouth was the date of my birthday. My cousins loved to tease me because I always said it backwards (at least in the US). “When’s your birthday ,Cam?” they’d ask. “Seventeen November,” I’d answer. I still love my birthday, though as an adult, I don’t struggle to go to sleep the night before excited about presents. Truthfully, now I wouldn’t mind the clock slowing down because I realize how much quicker each birthday arrives.

Speaking of gifts, one of my favorite things to receive are books. So to celebrate, I thought I would share with you the books that have given me a book hangover. You know those books that when you close the cover after the final page, you sit in silence. And sometimes, it’s even hard to move forward, since you’re walking around in that story fog as it lingers. In no particular order, these are books I read that left me reeling in some way (needing a debrief) so that I had to pick up a book in a different genre to read something else.

So in no particular order:

Marcus Zusak’s Bridge of Clay (OMG! I love this book.)
Carlos Ruiz Zaffon’s Shadow of the Wind (Pure magic.)
Sabaa Tahir’s Ember in the Ashes quartet. (The last one is A Sky Beyond the Storm. But I reread the series. Read the whole thing again. Seriously.)
Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner (Dear God… ugly cried.)
Jennifer Niven’s Breathless (Closed the book and felt empowered. My life finally made sense. )
Jeff Zenter’s In a Wild Light (Every book by Jeff Zentner has given me a book hangover. He has this way of capturing character and then they worm their way into your heart.)
Fredrick Backman’s A Man Called Ove (They’re making a movie of this one. I loved it so much.)
TJ Klune’s The House in the Cerulean Sea (Amazing characters and humor? Can’t go wrong.)
Emily Henry’s Book Lovers (*sigh.)
Mary E Pearson’s Dance of Thieves Duology. (I think about this story all the time. Like I’ll just be washing dishes and think about Kazi and Jase and wonder about their story.)
Rebecca Roanhorse Black Sun (One of the best fantasy novels I’ve read.)
V.E. Schwab’s Darker Shade of Magic (I remember being in awe when I read this. I was just shocked at how perfect this was).

I could add to this list, but it’s what I’ve got for now. Let me know if any of yours are on this list. Or better yet tell me one that isn’t so I can add it to my ever growing TBR.

Cami 11/9/22 Cami 11/9/22

Advice: Find your People

I was sitting in a high school classroom the other day listening to high school students chat with one another. They sat in clumps, computers open, phones out, some with masks and others without. Their conversations ranged from processing friendship drama to loud exuberance over a game they’d played the night before. Some begrudged the annoying dress code for an upcoming dance while others focused on an upcoming quiz in math. It made me think about my own experiences at that age and how important it felt to just be in the moment with one’s friends. How important it was to feel as if I had the opportunity to just be myself.

Only, through my teenage years I never had been. It wasn’t like I didn’t like myself. I did. I just remember being afraid that other people might not like me. I was an introvert in disguise as an extrovert, a chameleon shifting colors to adapt to my needs. All I really wanted to do was be at home writing or reading. I remember feeling like other people wouldn’t be able to relate. They were fun and energetic. They did fun things, went to parties, had significant others. They wore stylish clothes and did well in classes. In hindsight, I was those things too. I didn’t have a boyfriend, but I had friends. Teachers liked me. I worked hard and did well. I was fun and laughed and was very conscious about how I presented myself. Though high school was mostly positive for me, I wouldn’t want to return to high school. College was where I finally began to feel comfortable in my own skin.

I read in this book—The Tattoo by Chris McKinney—about how each person has three suns around which they revolve. Those suns are family, friends, and a significant other. The main character of the book—Kenji—expresses that if two of those suns function in your life, then all’s good, but if two of them fail, you’re screwed. The point being: you must find your tribe.

Some of my favorite stories include the found family trope. The Aurora Cycle by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman; The Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo, The Raven Cycle by Maggie Steifvater, Fable by Adrienne Young, The House on the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune. I love the idea of people finding their tribe. In the new story I’m working on, The Ring Academy: The Trials of Imogene Sol, Imogene’s found family is important as they help her clear her name of a horrible charge that could get her kicked out of the academy.

I’m not exactly sure what this blog is about—maybe just a thought dump, but clearly, I’m thinking about “the tribe.” If I could offer a young person any sort of advice it would be that: Find your tribe.

Cami 10/26/22 Cami 10/26/22

Contest Awarded Short Story: The Invalid

Back in September I entered a short story I’d written in Ghost Story and Horror contest at www.indieitpress.com . And guess what?!?! It placed! 5th. I’m proud of it. Is it horror? It’s horrifying. LOL.

I’m dropping a link to it, in case you want to read it. It’s disturbing, so be forewarned that it might be triggering.

The Invalid

If you don’t want any spoilers…. better stop reading.

Okay . . . a bit behind the scenes: I wrote a snippet of this story a long time ago. Which part? About a paragraph when the main character, Tom, collapses. I had an idea for the story, but hadn’t ever finished it, so when the contest rolled around, I wondered if I might use it to motivate me to finally write it.

“The Invalid” is a dive into the mind of a man who’s suffered a stroke and can’t communicate with his surviving children. The horrifying part of the story is that Tom wants to tell his children he’s sorry for all the horrific things he put them through as they grew up, but now he can’t. Their anger at him is palpable, and justifiably so. Of course, things aren’t exactly what they seem, leading the reader to a twist at the end.

I enjoyed pushing myself creatively to write outside my genre. While challenging, it pushed me to consider writing choices that I might not have otherwise when writing a romance, but also made me think about the same tools in a new way: tension, conflict, characterization. It was a fun way to expand my own craft.

I’d love to know what you thought about the story!

Cami 10/13/22 Cami 10/13/22

The WHY Behind The Messy Truth About Love

The Messy Truth About Love has been out for over a month now and I waited to write this post to avoid any spoilers, but I think its safe to explore this topic further without harming your reading experience. But in case you want to read The Messy Truth About Love without them, then probably stop reading NOW.

Here are the trigger warnings, just in case you need them

Ready to read more behind-the-scenes? Scroll for more…

When I set out to write The Messy Truth About Love, I had no idea that it was going to dive into an abusive relationship. In fact, since I was writing about Seth (a reoccurring character from The Ugly Truth) I thought his mental health recovery in the midst of his own childhood abuse situation would be as dark as I dove. Only Hannah made me look closer at her relationship with her ex-boyfriend, Sebastian. And suddenly, I was researching abusive relationships and the warning signs.

I’d planned to publish the following “Author’s Note” here, but before I did, in a fortuitous convergence of events, I was listening to a recent episode of Crime Junkies Podcast that aligned with my own purpose. It was the story of Yeardley Love.

Yeardley was a fourth-year college lacrosse player when her life was cut short in a domestic violence event. Her on-and-off-again boyfriend, also a fourth year college lacrosse player, in a fit of drunken rage, attacked her, killing her. He was arrested, found guilty of 2nd degree murder, and sentenced to 23 years in prison. That can’t bring back Yeardley to her loved ones, but they sought to honor her memory. In order to combat the pervasive way domestic violence haunts our society, Yeardley’s family started the One Love Foundation to offer education and support, specifically to college students, as they navigate their relationships. I plan on supporting with a portion of the proceeds from The Messy Truth About Love.

Here’s why (from my Author’s Note):

In 2020 the #blackandwhite challenge circulated on social media. Women posted a black and white picture of themselves to highlight empowered women, only I remember learning after the fact that the impetus of the black and white photos got lost as if we were playing a game of telephone. The origin of that particular “challenge” was rooted in Turkey when women woke up to yet another black and white photo in the newspaper of another murdered woman. This time it was of Pinar Gultekin, a 27-year-old Turkish woman who’d been murdered—strangled, burned, then buried in concrete—by her ex-boyfriend in what was called an “honour killing.” Why? Because she told him “No.” Because she didn’t want to date him. Because she had moved on, he hadn’t and decided to choose for her. The unfortunate reality is that Gultekin’s photo in the newspaper was one of many black and white photos of murdered women in Turkey. Fed up and needing a way to fight back, Turkish women created the black and white photo reminder to increase awareness about the horrifically high femicide rates, specifically in Turkey, at the hands of their intimate partners.

They wanted change.

Pilar Gulekin’s story might have appeared in black and white—a photo and words on the page—but her life was lived in color, in a collection of experiences and relationships that made her a real human. Just like the many other stories and statistics we’re able to access in black and white, but rarely offer the color image.

Consider these black and white statistics from the United Nations and the World Health Organization:

Of the approximately 3.9 billion women in the world, over 736 million of them have been subjected to physical or sexual violence in their lifetime. It roughly estimates to 1 in 3 women though this statistic doesn’t include sexual harassment.
Most violence against women is committed by intimate partners or former husbands, and for those women who have been in an intimate relationship, 16% of those women will experience violence perpetrated by their partner against them.
In 2020, 81,000 women and girls were killed, and over half of those were at the hands of their intimate partner or other family member (and that’s only the ones we know about).
Less than 40% of women who experience violence at the hands of family or an intimate partner seek help, and less than 10% of those reach out to law enforcement.
Globally, violence against women disproportionately affects women in lower-middle- income situations.

I’m a fan of Crime Junkies (the true-crime podcast) and watching true crime documentaries. I’m not exactly sure why that is, though due to their popularity, I know I’m not alone. Though many of these stories shared offer context and work to flesh out the truth for the victim, I wonder if they provide the listener with a voyeuristic ability to stand outside of it. As if we’re passing by a terrible car accident and need to see the gruesome reality but sigh with relief that it didn’t include us. What gets to me about these stories: most of the cases are crimes against women. I wish I was surprised by this, but the unfortunate (and frighteningly pervasive attitude) is that violence against women is the norm, and worse, the undercurrent that somehow it was probably her fault.

No one does black and white voyeurism better than Americans. We’re great about looking at a black and white photo of a woman who’s been murdered in Turkey and distancing ourselves from it. It isn’t in our country, right?

Except there are black and white statistics that say it is. A study done by Asher and Lyric about women traveling on their own in the world and how they might consider their safety relative to various locations in the world. Asher and Lyric ranked the countries using datapoints that examined things like “walking alone at night,” the country’s “homicide rates against women,” “nonpartner sexual violence,” and “partner sexual violence,” as well as “attitudes about women and violence against women in general.” Out of the 50 countries examined, want to know where the United States lined up? Nineteenth with a C- sandwiched between Tunisia and Ukraine. And get this, the United States ranked 7th highest for intimate partner violence (Only Brazil, Morocco, India, Thailand, Turkey, and Chile ranked higher in that category). Turkey was 5th.

Take that in for a moment. Turkey—where Pilar Gultekin was killed for telling her former boyfriend “no”—was only two spots higher than the United States.

We want to distance ourselves and claim that kind of violence doesn’t happen in the United States, but those black and white statistics don’t lie, those black and white photos in newspapers, and the words written to offer the latest true-crime story offer us surface level truth. We look closer—and every single one of us should be looking closer—tell us a deeper truth. Each of those faces, every single one of those names, and every statistic is linked to a full-color story. Like Yeardley Love.

Hannah’s experience in The Messy Truth About Love is meant to showcase the subversive way abuse occurs in an intimate partnership. I’m going to go out on a limb and make the claim that women don’t walk into a relationship thinking it will be or become abusive. Then once immersed in that situation, getting out of it isn’t a black and white solution of just walking away (even if we’d like it to be). How does one leave without financial stability? What if there are children? Does she have supportive friends and family to help her? What if she goes to school with her abuser, like Hannah? And even if a woman leaves, what if their partner doesn’t get the message? What if he doesn’t adhere to the law? Or what if there aren’t any laws to protect her?

Hannah’s experience in this story is mild (I needed a positive and hopeful ending, folks). She’s a singular perspective. The truth is that the women most adversely affected by these black and white statistics are women of color, women immersed in low socio-economic circumstances, trans women. I can’t trivialize women’s experiences to say that their stories all wind up hopeful and positive like Hannah’s. There are too many cold-case files, too many murders, too many statistics, too many young children without mothers, too many stories to say that women’s stories aren’t happy or hopeful. It’s heartbreaking.

I need hope.

And yet, I don’t have anything very hopeful to offer with respect to this issue. I don’t have that glimmer of light to say: “Look! We can get better.” Only after I wrote this, our nation’s highest court overturned the landmark Roe versus Wade reversing women’s bodily autonomy. So my hope meter feels like it’s running a little low. Why? While body rights may seem a separate issue from intimate partner violence, they aren’t that disparate. Both issues communicate an attitude about women and where her agency lies, both of which say it’s outside of her own autonomy and in the hands of someone else. As Americans we want to distance ourselves and say intimate partner violence isn’t an American problem, but it is. It’s a national problem. It’s a global problem.

If you are a woman in trouble, please reach out. Here are some national resources for you:

https://www.thehotline.org/ or 1-800-799-SAFE (7233)

https://www.rainn.org/ or 1-800-656-HOPE (4673)

https://www.joinonelove.org/ (a great resources to temperature check your own relationship. There’s an app as well and everything is confidential.

Please call 9-1-1 if you are in immediate danger

Cami 6/27/22 Cami 6/27/22

4 Things You Should Know about The Messy Truth About Love Before Reading

This book feels different to me somehow. I’m not exactly sure why, but for those of you who’ve followed the books since the beginning, maybe you’ll be able to tell me why this one feels different? And maybe it’s just me being insecure. (LOL).

Here’s what I think you need to know walking into it:

It’s a Second Chance Love Story

I enjoy the idea of getting a do-over. This one isn’t like the later in life do-over in The Letters She Left Behind with Adam and Alex who are in their forties. Instead, this is a retry between two characters—Seth and Hannah—who had crushes on one another in high school, but didn’t really have the opportunity to see where it might take them. That’s where the do-over happens, because now they are both in college, they’ve had some real-world experiences to teach them new lessons and they can try this again (and hopefully get it right).

It’s a Slow Burn

I wouldn’t want you walking into this book thinking: Oh. Since it’s a new adult college book, there’s probably lots of sex. There is some, but it takes a while to get there, my friends, and it isn’t overtly explicit. Think The Stories Stars Tell or In the Echo of this Ghost Town level rather than the typical “new adult” kind of book you might have read. I would rate it as an 18+ but I think it’s appropriate for a 16+ audience.

There are Trigger Warnings

If it’s a book by me, then chances are it’s got a trigger warning or two. This one isn’t any different. Here’s the trigger warning letter if it’s important for you to know.

I’m Proud of this Story

This was a difficult story to write. It wasn’t because of the content so much as it was writing a story about characters I already knew and were growing up. It feels like there’s a lot more pressure attached to getting that right because unlike new characters in which readers don’t have any preconceived ideas, these characters already have people who love them.

I think I did it. Seth still feels like Seth to me, only four years older. Hannah is still Hannah only more developed. Abby and Gabe make an appearance, and they also feel true to who they would be on this timeline.

The thing is: I was afraid to write this book. And I did it anyway. So that’s something to be proud of.

And there you have it. Four things… Four weeks and counting.

Cami 2/2/22 Cami 2/2/22

February Ideals: Dreaming

Dear Friends,

I was sitting at the beach the other day, drinking my coffee, watching the ebb and flow of the waves as the tide came in. The sun was warm against my face, and I thought about how though life feels static, it really isn’t. I sat on that beach for nearly an hour, and recognized the tide coming in because waves came in, drew back out, came back in, cresting and washing over the shore until a rock was submerged under the water. It was exposed and dry when I arrived. The tide is subtle and if I hadn’t been paying attention, I might never have noticed it.

One of my dreams as an author is to be able to make a living creating. Am I there yet? Nope. Not even close. (Thank God for my husband, who’s supportive of this dream, my mom, who supplements me when she can, and for each of you, willing to buy the books when they drop. You all probably have multiple copies of each). While I might feel discouraged sometimes at how little impact my ripples are making in this giant ocean of writing and publishing books, as I sat on the shore watching the tide, I realized that what I’m doing isn’t static. There is a dynamic ebb and flow to it, moving me forward toward my goal.

It’s subtle.

So this February I’m going to remember that. The steps I take, the moves I make, the people I talk to, the list of things I have to do are all contributing to that rising tide. My job is just to keep doing what I do with a joyful heart filled with gratitude.

Thank you for being on this journey with me,

Cami

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February Newsletter

Cami 12/22/21 Cami 12/22/21

My Top 10 Songs (w/Lyrics) 2021

I’ve mentioned I love music. There are probably lots of factors, but one is that I grew up around music. My grandfather and his three brothers sang professionally as a barbershop quartet in the 1950’s.

The House Brothers: Bill, David, Tom, and Dan (my grandpa).

One of the last times they sang together. From left to right, Tom, Bill, David and Dan.

My mom and her three sisters also sang together. My mom was in a band with my dad, and they were worship leaders at church. I grew up immersed in music, watching and listening to performances at every family gathering. Then I participated, spending time performing music with my parents and sister.

My mom and her sisters. From left to right: Terry (my mom), Danice, Susan and Judy.

As a writer, music contributes heavily to my writing process. When I sit down to work on a story, I make a playlist. The playlist is usually a mixture of music with lyrics and instrumental. Last year, Spotify informed me I spent over 85,000 minutes listening to music. That’s 16% of my year. Calculate it out into a day, it’s about 4 hours of my day. And if I’m only awake for an average of 16 hours a day, that calculates to more like 25% of my awake life is listening to music. That’s a lot of time.

I’m a moody listener. My tastes are often in a minor key. Lyrics are reflective, and I adore a vibe. One of my favorite things is to find “new” artists who are just getting started. It’s like unearthing a treasure (maybe a little like indie authors :).

So without further ado, this is the top ten songs I listened to this year starting with the most played. I filtered out the instrumental songs (because there were a ton) and kept it to only the ones with lyrics. Want to hear samples, hit up my Instagram stories. Want to hear them, look up my playlist on spotify “Top Ten Ten Times”. It has my top ten songs with lyrics for the last four years.

Happy Listening (please buy the artists’ music if you like it) and have an amazing CHRISTMAS!

Cami 12/15/21 Cami 12/15/21

My Top 5 Characters I've Written

If I thought selecting the favorite books from the stack I’ve written was difficult, choosing my favorite characters is infinitely worse. Why? I love (or love to hate) them all, but for the sake of this exercise and not because I don’t love these characters (who are like real people in my head), I will go through with this top 5 list. Here’s the criteria I used to help me decide:

Characters I’ve already written, not ones I’m in the process of writing.
The challenge of writing the character and the overall outcome on the page.
The way the character lingers in my mind after finishing the story.
How the character presented on the page with other characters

This presentation is in no particular order.

Tanner James

Truthfully, Tanner James from The Stories Stars Tell, jumped from the pages the moment I started writing his character. He was funny, daring, and heartfelt, but stuck in his small world. I loved getting to know this character and all the ways that his life influenced his choices. The first scene I wrote with him was the cliffside scene (I posted it to Instagram in a Sunday Snippet, here). The more I wrote Tanner, the more invested I was in The Stories Stars Tell.

Emma Matthews

Tanner’s antithesis in The Stories Stars Tell also tops the list. Here’s the truth, I struggle to write female characters. I’ve written about this before (want to read that: here), so when I stack up writing Abby, which was really the only other female character I’d written for ten years with Emma, I was able to present a more fleshed out young woman in Emma than I ever had before.

Griffin Nichols-Maxwell Wallace

I have decided to present this couple as a single character. Okay, this might be cheating, but hear me out. Griffin was really hard to write, and difficult to like initially. When you read The Stories Stars Tell (he’s Tanner’s best friend and not very likable) and In the Echo of this Ghost Town, he is so flawed right at the onset. Enter Maxwell Wallace (specifically the gas station-convenience store scene which is the first moment I met Maxwell) and suddenly Griffin popped off the page. As character’s go, Maxwell is the shiny light and Griffin is a grump. She really makes him, but she also makes the story. I could have just picked her, but I feel like it’s their relationship on the page that makes them both so dynamic. So I’m sticking to this choice.

Gabe Daniels

True story: Gabe started out as a fallen angel, and in the original story Upside Down (it’s here on Wattpad if you want to read it but please forgive me. It’s not great. I was just getting started finding my own voice). He was this idealistic, mysterious outsider who was over-the-top heroic. Obviously, I couldn’t get this Twilight wannabe story to work, but I couldn’t figure out why. Not yet, anyway. While revising, I wrote this horrific scene which I can’t divulge here (it’s a spoiler) and I had this minuscule voice in the back of my heart saying, “that’s me.” I knew it was Gabe talking to me, but I was terrified to write that story. It didn’t go with the original paranormal idea, and it was dark. Really dark. In hindsight, my journey hadn’t taken me anywhere where I could have written that story and given it justice yet. I needed time. So, fast forward seven years after I rewrote Swimming Sideways and The Ugly Truth as contemporaries and that scene resurfaced. Gabe said, “See. I told you it was me.”

Seth Peters

I feel like Seth started my whole journey, so he has a very special place in my heart. While I’ve been writing since I was a child, and I've written at least four other books (unpublished) before publishing Swimming Sideways, Seth’s character is the one that wouldn’t stop talking to me. Seriously, he’s a freaking nag. To be fair, if you’ve read Fallen (that Wattpad Monstrosity again), I left him trapped in the underworld, so his nagging was about getting him out (LOL), but then I changed everything up on him, and discovered he was trapped in the underworld in this world, not a fantasy one. Which led to The Ugly Truth.

Honorable Mention:Secondary Characters

I couldn’t leave it there, because I think secondary characters are amazing, and I have some really loud ones talking my ear off at the moment. I figure I’d share some that I was really proud of and loved writing:

Cal Wallace (In the Echo of this Ghost Town & When the Echo Answers)

The entire cast of secondary characters from The Stories Stars Tell. I mean really? Who doesn’t want to read more about Ginny, Liam, Josh, and Danny? What about Emma’s sister, Shelby?

Dale and Martha from The Bones of Who We Are. I especially loved writing Dale.
There’s a bunch of new characters showing up in some new stories I’m working on, but those are top secret for now. Join my newsletter if you’re interested in hearing about those books before anyone else.