Blog Tour and Giveaway: Author Nora Weston

I am so pleased to welcome author and my new friend, Nora Weston. Today she shares a bit about her latest release--Guardian 2632--and talks about how she creates her fabulous characters. Nora is being very generous today by giving one lucky commenter their choice of a FREE $10 Amazon gift card OR up to $10 at the Book Depository Giveaway. Be sure to leave a comment or question for Nora--even a simple "hello" will do--to have your name entered into the drawing.

Nora Weston’s fiction and poetry slips in-between and all around science fiction, fantasy, and horror. Her publishing credits include the anthologies Mind Mutations, Cyber Pulp’s Halloween 3.0, and Dark Pleasures. Other venues in print and online include; The Hacker’s Source, The Dream People, Hoboeye, Abandoned Towers, Lost in the Dark, Sputnik 57, Soul Engravings, and Decompositions. Recently, Dark Gothic Resurrected Magazine, Worlds Within–Worlds Beyond, Trapeze Magazine, and Four and Twenty published her work. Melange Books has accepted The Twelfth Paladin for a May 2011 release. Nora has had the pleasure of reaching people through the airwaves on radio stations throughout the US, and episodes can be downloaded from Block Talk Radio’s show Not Picture Perfect.


Guardian 2632:

Zane Grayson, the most accomplished executive director Guardian TMF has ever seen, is breaking the law…his law against time surfing. Zane has the supreme power, in 2632, to decide which paradoxes in time need altered, or deleted, but he’s frustrated. Something, or someone, is missing from his life.

Time surfing in illegal time zones is the rush Zane can’t live without. As addictive as the Martian dust called kilred, time surfing becomes Zane’s obsession. And knowing full well if caught by the Elite Guardians, he’ll suffer an unwelcome death by Time Mercs, Zane still dives deep into trouble. Soon, he discovers a mission in 2035 left him trapped in a timehole. This timehole places him in Pittsburgh, PA in 1998, instead of home. In Pittsburgh, Zane strolls into a coffee shop to see the bewitching Julia Emerson. From that point on, his life spirals out of control as he fights to protect what he loves most.

It’s possible Zane’s future is no longer in 2632...but actually in 1998. Slip through time with Zane Grayson as Guardian 2632 reveals what he will sacrifice to save a life.

Character Boot Camp: Make Your Characters the Best They Can Be



A writer breathes life into characters by taking full control over their personalities, and for better or worse...their fate. For example, as master and commander of Zane Grayson, the protagonist in Guardian 2632, I shaped his physical attributes, intellect, emotional state, desires, dislikes, habits, and his conscience. Was he a well rounded, memorable character at this point? Heavens no! Zane shaped up to become the executive director of Guardian TMF...a time monitoring facility, because his development went through what I like to call, character boot camp.



I force all of my main characters to undergo this potentially character killing process to see if they can make the grade and stay relevant to the story. Sometimes, this applies to inanimate objects, like Zane’s super quantum computer, named Gabriel, because it needed a convincing personality. Whatever the case, characters must suffer through this ordeal to stay alive.



Here’s a smidgen of what Zane went through...



• Name Choice- Zane Grayson had several names before I finalized that one. The other names bit the dust because they sounded too soft and were commonplace.



• Physical Attributes- Zane is an accomplished soldier living in the year 2632, so his body is lean and muscular. His jet black hair dangles in front of his dark eyes that, at times, have an indigo sheen to them. His linage is a mix of European and Japanese, so that’s another detail for readers to use for their perception of him. Consider your characters’ ancestries to define their physical attributes.



• Emotional Status-Is your character determined to succeed, no matter what...and tackle the dilemma ahead? If not, can this character be the hero or heroine? If your story is devoid of heroes, still ponder about the emotional status of each character, because that will determine their actions.



• Desires, Dislikes, Habits- Take time to flesh out your characters by racking your brain with these character traits. Zane came to life as I filled him with unstoppable desire for Julia Emerson...a pastian from 1998. He is addicted to caffeine, loves Sizzlers...a rock hard candy so hot few can endure, and he’s an insomniac.



• Past-Give your characters a history by diving into their dreams, remembrances, and discuss their history in dialogue. For example, Marissa Scott...Zane’s girlfriend at the beginning of Guardian 2632, hated her military father was always on leave and he seemed to prefer it that way. A deep down ache to be cherished grew inside of her. This background check on Marissa suggests she may be obsessed with Zane because he’s a workaholic like her father, so by attaining his affection, she can fix the past.



Continue on with this character boot camp process by eliminating anything useless, and then strengthen your characters by adding to their likes/dislikes, accents, scars, musical/literary interests, educational backgrounds, etc. In addition, I suggest using flawed characters rather than characters who are the embodiment of perfection. Flawed characters are much easier to relate to, and it allows for more changes to occur throughout the story.



If you kick out everything that’s drab from the start of your character building process and recruit quirky, distinctive details about your characters...those characters will be the best they can be.



What do you do to create exceptional characters who linger in the minds of your readers long after the book is finished? Please feel free to comment and share your wonderful tips!



Thanks for reading.


Nora


Visit Nora:


Website: http://www.2noraweston.com/
Noracast: http://noraweston.wordpress.com/
Buy Guardian 2632: http://www.melange-books.com/
http://www.allromanceebooks.com/storeSearch.html
Book Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcCg1wY60YQ

HERO OR ZERO?

A little over a year ago, research called for me to immerse myself in the genre of category romance. As luck would have it, my local library was holding their annual book sale at the time so off I went, $5 bag in hand. I stuffed it to the brim with every romance/category romance I could pry from the hands of little old ladies and lonely housewives, (note: sarcasm intended because I truly hate this very untrue stereotype) and headed home for some sexy, steamy, trashy, OH, BABY! research.

Since I had never been much of a romance reader, the next few months were, let's just say, eye-opening. I love category romance authors. Truly, I do.They're not often enough given the credit they deserve as valid writers. Having now completed an experimental yet viable romance novel, I can honestly say they have their work cut out for them. To take a formula, a rather strictly defined one, and to turn it into something new is not as easy as it might sound. Matter of fact, I think it's harder to write when given such specific rules which confine you far more than any other genre.

That said, I do have a few complaints. For the sake of all things super fun, my grumbles are centered around men! Don't get too excited. I don't know all of your husbands/boyfriends, and if you are a man, you're off the hook...this time. I'm talking about the men of romance novels. The mighty Hero.


1. ) Apparently, in order to be the hero, the man had to have slept with half the country. It seems a prerequisite for the hero to be a reformed man-whore in order to gain his HEA, (happily ever after) with the girl next door, who is a virgin herself but has no qualms about the possibility of contracting syphilis.

2.) At some point, there will be accidental nudity. Or...

2 1/2.) Not so accidental nudity where said hero goes flasher on little Miss Plain Jane. Of course, she appears aghast, but she is internally thrilled at his perverted and completely inappropriate display of length and width. Her thoughts baffle me more than his at this point because--hey, who could blame him for being proud of his obscene girth, right? But her...she acts more like an infant chewing on her favorite teething toy than the lady she's supposed to be.

3.) Alpha-male confusion. I'm not so sure about these heroes who think alpha means being an egotistical jerk for the first hundred or so pages. I think we're, somehow, supposed to get past his arrogance because he is so gorgeous and wealthy and popular and funny. Sure, it's fun watching a woman resist admitting her attraction to such a man, but about halfway through I find myself hoping the publisher got it all wrong. I recheck the binding, thinking the genre marker on the side will have changed from Romance to Action and she'll go Lara Croft on his ass. A few roundhouse kicks to the head will do this guy some good.

4.) So what if she has a massive scar or major deformity? He's never been more attracted to anyone in his life! Really? Really really? I find this hard--no, impossible--to believe. Can't he just admit she's not all that hot and let the chemistry grow as they get to know each other? I'm not dissin' girls with severe imperfections, but if I met a man with a third arm growing out of his face, it might take me a while to see the centerfold in him. Besides, men are far more visual than women, and we need to keep them that way. I spend my days in frumpy house clothes, chasing kids and cleaning up messes. On the occasion I throw on some sparkly lip gloss and jewelry, I need my husband to have his typical fish-syndrome reaction. Ohhh, shiny, flashy. Pretty. Keeps me from having to workout.

Really, I could go on and on. But here's my final observation:

5.) Unlikely and bizarre hang-ups. Oh, yes. We've all seen them. And they range from huh? to creepy. Like... "The reason I can't let myself fall in love with you is because my puppy died when I was nine." When these two finally get their HEA, they are walking hand in hand through a poppy field with a golden retriever running beside them. Ahhh. Okay, so I made that one up, but you know what I'm talking about.

Oh, and there's my favorite hang-up. "I'm not good enough for you." And then he saves her from himself by sleeping with her big-chested, slut sister. Yep, that will seal the deal, buddy. Way to be selfless.

This concludes my rant. Luckily, authors who go their own way and don't hold themselves to these standards (if they can be called that) are plentiful. Editors and authors are actively veering away from the old style of Fabio-on-the-cover romance and aiming for more realistic love stories between credible men and women. These editors and writers are shaping the rules of category romance every day, and I can't wait to see where they'll take us next!