Meet My Character Blog Tour

The wonderful Monica Enderle Peirce invited me to participate in the Meet my Character Blog Tour. I originally connected with Monica through the now defunct Six Sentence Sunday group and we've remained in touch via the WeWriWa group. If you're unfamiliar with Monica's work you're depriving yourself of some high quality writing. Technically, her debut novel, Girl Under Glass is sci-fi, but the entire time I was reading it, I couldn't help thinking that the starkness and desperation of the characters reminded me of Louis L'Amour's western novels.

Monica's sophomore novel, Famine, is a sensual bit of writing. It provided Monica with the perfect setting to showcase her fluid writing style and knack for detailed descriptions. It will be greatly appreciated by anyone who enjoys steam punk, paranormal, or apocalyptic novels.

In addition to sharing some information about the main character, I'm currently writing about, I also had to tag someone else to participate in the blog tour. I chose another talented author I met through the WeWriWa blog hops, Sharon Butchbinder. Anyone who likes suspense, fast paced novels, damaged characters, and great romantic chemistry will not be disappointed by her novel, Obsession. Once you start reading it, you won't be able to put it down. Sharon's a talented writer and I can't wait to read her next story.

Meet My Character Blog Tour

1  1)   What is the name of your character? Is he/she fictional or a historic person? 

Rosika . She’s a fictional character, but hopefully, she’s someone lots of people will be able to relate to.

2) When and where is the story set? 

In my mind, the story is set in Sparta, Michigan, a little town just outside of Grand Rapids, though I don’t know that the town will ever be mentioned in the story. I choose Sparta because I wanted the bulk of the story to take place in an apple orchard, and Sparta has always been the heart of Michigan’s apple industry.

The story takes place on October 18^th, 1941.

3) What should we know about him/her? 

Rosika is half German/half American. She lived in Germany for the first six years of her life. After her father died, her mother packed everything up and moved back to the States. When the story takes place, Rosika is seventeen years old. She’s independent, loyal, and is the kind of person who rushes into things without taking the time to consider consequences.

4) What is the main conflict? What messes up his/her life? 

The main conflict of the story is that Rosika’s best friend since childhood, David, is falling for her, which puts a strain on their friendship. Rosika is also worried about a secret her mother is keeping.

5) What is the personal goal of the character? 

Rosika’s main goal in the story is to figure out her mother’s secret. Her secondary goal is working out a way to maintain her relationship with David, a task that’s much harder than she imagined it could be. Internally, Rosika is also worried about her German heritage. At the time, a large portion of the American population wasn’t worried about the war in Europe, but Rosika, with her German background, is. In addition to being worried about the family she still has in Germany, she also has to wonder what will happen to her if the United States enters the war.  

(Side note, it’s not easy writing about a group of characters who aren’t too worried about the possibility of war when I know that in about 6 weeks, Pearl Harbor will be attacked.)

6) Is there a working title for this novel, and can we read more about it? 

The working title of the novella is Rendezvous with Destiny, which I borrowed from a Franklin D. Roosevelt quote. The story is a YA historical novella that will be between 20,000 and 30,000 words long. It has both romantic and suspense threads. If all goes according to plan, it’s going to be the first story in a trilogy that focuses on David and Rosika’s relationship. The 1^st and 2^nd story will take place prior to the USA’s involvement in WWII. The final story will explore what happens when the war ends and the characters return home.

Early snippets of the story have been posted as part of the Weekend Writing Warriors blog hop.

7) When can we expect the book to be published? 

If things keep going at their current pace, I’m hoping to self-publish Rendezvous with Destiny late 2014.