Winner Announced + Guest Post by Lillie J. Roberts {Author of "Life After Death"}

Hi Larissa!

Thanks for hosting me on your blog! :)

Hi lovely readers! In case you don't recognize me, I'm Dottie from Tink's Place, but I write under the pseudonym Lillie J. Roberts. My debut novel was published on March 18, 2013 from Crimson Romance.

I thought today I'd talk about something many aspiring writers struggle with: character development.

I've been asked many things about writing... Why do I do it? What drives me to write? How do I write?

For me, I write for the characters, those people sharing my brain, refusing to quiet down until I let them come to life. But one thing that I'm rarely asked about is character development. How do they come to be? Because when I'm listening to them, for me, their story unfolds as I write, but I always have a sense of who the characters are.

To me, it's the life blood of your story. If you can't feel for the characters, then you can't relate to the story. How many times have you read a book and felt the characters were one-dimensional? Or that the

heroine or hero was too unbelievable? Or they left you feeling flat? These problems occur when there is a lack of character development.

Character development can mean the character's physical attributes, but that's not all it means. Without ever 'telling' your audience, you want them to get a feel for what it's like to walk around in their shoes.

How they treat others and the world around them, what makes them tick, what really works their last nerve, or heats them up to the point of no return are all important aspects of character development, and it all has to be believable, even in a supernatural world, paranormal romance, historical fantasy, or space odyssey.

In my new release, Life After Death, the heroine, Chelsea Karmikel, worms her way into your heart, she's part klutz, part romantic with a touch of comedy, and she has to learn to be a kick-ass heroine all rolled into one. She doesn't take heat from anyone, living or dead. My hero, Brad Rearden, has always been grounded in the real world. He's always known wealth, but it isn't something he takes for granted, he prefers to earn his own way instead of relying on his family. When he plays, he plays hard, but prefers a quiet life instead of the glitz and glamor wealth can provide. It makes the two characters, who are polar opposites, clash, but from the clash, sparks fly with burning heat, and they find themselves in

each others arms, a perfect match, one for the other.

Just from those brief descriptions of my characters, you already have a sense of who my characters are, you know they've had to struggle to be who they are, if they're someone you could be friends with, and someone you can care about. Now, my story goes into much greater detail of course, there are many factors that create the individuals these characters become.

I hope I've given aspiring writers a sense of what it's like to write, that was my object for today, because characters are the most important part of your story.

One last thing, and I can't emphasize this enough, if you want to write, do it!! And never stop reading, all authors are prolific readers. It helps you learn more about your craft. One last tidbit of the most important advice I've ever received: Never give up!

If you have any questions I haven't answered, and you'd like to know more, drop me a line or visit me on Facebook or Twitter. You can always stop by one of my blogs to see what I'm working on next.

Again, many thanks to you, Larissa for allowing me to share your blog! :)

Lillie J. Roberts

Facebook | Twitter @gymmom_027| Twitter @LillieJRoberts

Author Blog | Tink's Place Blog

Email: dottietaylor1960@gmail.com

Chelsea Karmikel has led a pretty uneventful life…until she finds herself electrocuted. Now, she’s discovered her family’s secret heritage. She’s a seer of the dead, lending her sight to help those in need. Ghosts are her new reality.
Her mission is to encourage those who have lost their way to follow the Watchman, the crazed guide for the Inbetween…a way station where souls move from one existence to the next. But, there’s something deeper and darker than the ghosts who come to her for help. If Chelsea’s not careful, those eager to swallow her soul’s light may devour her alive… if she allows herself be drawn into the Nevernever.
When Brad Rearden, a darkly handsome, insufferable private detective and walks into her life, he touches off a wild-fire of desire that entraps them both, scorching them with need. Together, they work to solve the mystery of his Aunt Deloris’s death, because Chelsea’s next on the murderer’s list. But who will catch whom—the murderer or Chelsea?