by Angela Smith | Sep 26, 2018 | Characters, Relationships
Ah, Reagan. She was a difficult one to understand. Probably one of my most artistic characters to date, she stays in her head a lot (as many artists do).
- She holds on to things to try to prove to herself that she can settle but also because she’s afraid to let go of the past in fear of what the future might hold for her
- Failure to her means leading a boring, monotonous life, however succeeding is scary to her because its way out of her comfort zone
- Success to her would be living up to the far out dreams that she fantasizes about for herself (but she’s too afraid to admit these desires and dreams).
- In addition, with that she’s afraid that once she makes it to the top, she might get bored and intentionally destroy it so that it doesn’t hurt as bad.
- Garret opens her eyes to adventure. Not just to an extreme sport type adventure, but to the adventure of love and possibility.
- Generally a realist
- Analytical
- Harsh on herself and her decisions
- Guarded
- Creative
by Angela Smith | Sep 19, 2018 | Characters, Relationships
It was hard not to fall in love with Garret. With his sea-green eyes and engaging personality, Reagan quickly fell for him. He isn’t generally deceptive, but in his line of work he has to be. An undercover agent with the FBI’s jewelry and gem theft program, he’s assigned to investigate Reagan. But his investigation turns into so much more. He falls for her, and she learns of his deception. Boy does he have some relationship advice to offer if he wants to save his relationship with Reagan!
He’s supposed to be on vacation when he’s assigned to investigate Reagan. Here’s a quick excerpt on what Garret does in his “down time”:
What does an FBI agent do in his down time?
Break his brother’s previous ski records, almost kill himself by ice climbing, freeze his balls off. Question his motives for bedding only one woman in the past while and worse, falling for said woman.
Investigate a murder.
Garret trolled through the snow covered hills, phone attached to his belt loop, ear bud planted in his ear, and reported everything he knew to Buchanan thus far. Buchanan trusted Garret to finish the investigation, so he hadn’t called in other agents. He thought it best to keep a low profile.
Garret sat on a knoll and spread his backpack out on the snow, placing his notes on the backpack. A normal person would be indoors, at a desk, his notes scattered everywhere, but Garret couldn’t function inside a normal environment. He had to get out, away from the artificial lights and sounds, and in with nature.
Garret has a romantic side, and we see it often. Here is a quick excerpt from Reagan’s POV that gives us a glimpse into his romantic side:
The door squealed open. Reagan jumped and sat up, plopping against the mound of pillows.
“Hello, sleepyhead,” Garret said.
The painting in her mind didn’t include balloons. She gasped as his feet shuffled against the floor, an array of colorful balloons trailing behind him as he held a tray of food and a flickering candle.
“Happy birthday,” he said as he sat the wooden tray on the bed. The balloons were tied to the side and one red rose reached across the tray.
“What is this?” she asked, her mind a muddled mess of confusion and contentment. “It’s not my birthday.”
“Maybe not today, but it’s the first time I’ve celebrated it with you. Besides, it gives me an excuse to woo you.”
“You need an excuse?”
“Mmm,” he groaned as he leaned over and kissed the side of her mouth.
And now for his relationship advice:
by Angela Smith | Sep 5, 2018 | Characters, Relationships
The hero and heroine in Final Mend were two awesome characters to create, and I had no idea what I was getting into at first.
Jake Inman had a great future ahead of him until his parents were killed in a car accident. He fell into drugs and alcohol for many years, until one day, with his cousin’s help, he pulled himself out of that stupor and changed his life. Now, he’s a professional triathlete who does this as a career and has high-end sponsors. His life changes (yet again) when the cousin who helped him out of his addiction and is now the manager of his career is murdered and his god-child is kidnapped. He seeks out Winona Wall, a private investigator.
Winona has her own past. A difficult case and her mother’s death had her turn her back on her career and flee to her brother’s bar, which she now happily tends. But when Jake walks in and asks for her help, she’s drawn to him. One of the conflicts between these two characters that I loved creating is the fact that Winona works in a bar, and Jake is a recovering addict. He sees Winona for the first time in that bar, and walking through it with the taunting, blinking signs is almost too much for him. Especially since he’s already lost so much.
Here’s a bit about Jake. Next week, we’ll learn more about Winona:
Jake’s Relationship Advice:
Be genuine.
by Angela Smith | Aug 29, 2018 | Characters, Relationships
Naomi strives for perfection. She wants her fridge organized by height and color and tends to be way-too controlling when it comes to what disrupts her life.
Is it any wonder why Chayton disrupts her life?
She has a few issues, but that’s what I loved about creating her character. She went through a traumatic experience in her younger days because she had no control over the situation, and that experience made her largely who she is today. And yet she is optimistic and fun-loving, good-humored and intellectual. Sometimes irresponsible, self-absorbed, tactless, blunt, and superficial. Her biggest goal? To take a break and get away from the cattiness of her job as a fashionista.
Naomi’s Relationship Advice:
Don’t be afraid to be charmed or pursued. But don’t ever let an intense relationship turn vicious, in any way. If you’re going to fight, fight nice. Don’t say anything in anger you’ll regret later.
by Angela Smith | Aug 22, 2018 | Characters, Relationships
Characters are like children to authors. We probably aren’t supposed to pick favorites. And I usually don’t. Every character I am creating at the moment becomes my favorite at the time.
But if I absolutely had no choice but to pick a favorite, Chayton would be at the top of that list.
Chayton Clark Chambers stands for calm, cool, and collected. Not callous, critical, and careless. He respects women and has many women friends, including affable ex-relationships, so he doesn’t understand why this burning fervor for Naomi leaves him with such bitterness. She considers him a damn bartender. Never mind the fact he owns a frigging bar, the coffee shop down the street, and half the ski shops in town. His brother asks him to play nice to the haughty wardrobe stylist, but her sultry glances and pouty lips make her kisses impossible to resist.
Chayton is broody. He isn’t violent but does get jealous, especially when Naomi’s ex comes to town looking to rekindle their relationship. He doesn’t give his heart away easily, but when he does he does so 110%.
Chayton was left on his father’s doorstep when he was baby, and the only link to his mother was a portrait of her. He grew up with bitterness and abandonment issues, but the only mother he ever knew as his mother taught him about unconditional love. She gave him a jar and told him each time he felt unloved or abandoned, to drop a quarter into that jar. He now has many. He and his brother, Garret, grew up together and were very close.
Chayton is an extremist. He loves ice-climbing, Jeeping, 4-wheeling, hunting, heli-skiing, and extreme sports. He owns a bar called Air Dog, along with other businesses in town such as a ski shop. His parents are dead and, although he inherited money, he learned to invest a long time ago, so he is well off enough not to have to worry about finances.
He never thought to be ready to commit to a relationship until Naomi enters the picture. He met her in his brother’s story, Burn on the Western Slope. They became friends, but Naomi left without saying goodbye after he had gone on a day-trip with his brother to go ice-climbing and got injured. So when she returns to Tanyon to help his brother and her cousin plan a wedding, he is bitter about her. And some of his abandonment issues arise.
At the end of Chapter One, this is what he thinks of Naomi:
He was a rugged, outdoor man who owned a bar and liked to jump out of airplanes. She was a classy, sophisticated girl who dressed celebrities for a living and liked to ski down the black slopes of hell just as much as he did.
Maybe that’s why he was so attracted to her.
But hey, all of my books have happy endings, which means Chayton has a happy ending. Here is his relationship advice for having a happy ending with the person you love.
Chayton’s Relationship Advice:
Get over yourself. Seriously. It is the only way to have a good relationship. While charm is good and fun, sometimes that charm is overcompensated because of cockiness and fear. I know this from experience.
