Heather Ames's Blog - Posts Tagged "indelible"

Due to circumstances beyond my control, the tentative publication date for "Indelible" has been moved to June 24, 2014.

I'm often asked whether I draw my characters from real life. Some of their traits, yes, but usually only for minor characters. The main protagonists come strictly from my imagination, and most of the time, they come with their own personalities and opinions, once I have the basic details worked out. My characterizations start from hair and eye color, work their way through height and then somehow, they take on a life of their own and start telling me how they are going to live their lives. Brian and Kaylen were that way. I knew he was blond with blue eyes, very tough and sarcastic. I also knew that she was strikingly beautiful with long, curly chestnut hair and a lot of attitude. I realized that when I had them face to face, she was as tall as him, and that she was going to have to learn to stand on her own two feet in any situation if she was going to keep up with him and make him want to be with her whether he thought it was a wise choice given the circumstances, or not.

When I read the first book in a series, I want to feel that I'm invested enough in the characters to want to go forward with them on their journey. What I've done with "Indelible" is put Brian and Kaylen onto the path of discovery: self, emotional, even career. This will not be a static world where everything remains basically the same, with only cases needing to be solved. Relationships evolve, careers go through peaks and valleys, old scars have to reopen in order to heal, and riddles left unsolved will slowly be answered.

I want to take readers with me on the emotional roller-coaster of their lives.

My daughter texted me: my shipment of "Indelible" arrived at her home, ready for the book signing with fellow-author, Bonnie Schroeder, Saturday, August 2 at the Glendale Central Library. I'm ecstatic because a book signing with no books would be a real challenge, even though I warned everyone attending that they need to purchase ahead of the event if possible. Murphy's Law did not strike there. I'm hoping the rest of my trip has smooth sailing, too. Looking forward to seeing a lot of you LA peeps there!

Only one more day before Bonnie Schroeder and I are speaking about the value of critique groups and signing copies of our books at the Alameda Writers Group's general meeting, Glendale Central Library. Looking forward to seeing everyone attending. It'll be a fun and informative morning!

Spoke with Bonnie Schroeder at the Alameda Writers Group General Monthly Meeting (GMM) yesterday. We shared experiences, our journeys to publication, some fun anecdotals, war stories from the trenches, and hopefully, gave some attendees food for thought, encouragement and information to avoid some of the pitfalls we both encountered along the way. We signed books, reconnected with fellow-members and for me, friends and former critique group members I haven't seen since moving from LA to Portland, OR 5 years ago. If all book signings and speaking engagements are as much fun as this one, I'll be participating in a lot more.

So many signed up for the giveaway, I'm really thrilled. I hope the winner, Rose, really enjoys "Indelible" and that the rest of you will consider purchasing it, anyway.

Then you'll be up to speed when the sequel comes out, hopefully next year!

I've enjoyed pinning outfits to a board I created for Kaylen Roberts, my female protagonist in "Indelible." She's quite the clothes-horse, as she openly dubs herself, and high-end fashion is her particular weakness. Choosing outfits and accessories she would wear during the book gave me an opportunity to make her more visual, both for myself and my readers. I usually clip from fashion magazines and keep a file, but this is way better!

I loved the book club meeting where "Indelible" was the book of the month. Questions were as varied as the attendees. Readers asked about my research, and how I came to choose the names of the protagonists (I have always liked Brian, Swift came from the writer, Kaylen just came to me, and no, although I fleetingly thought maybe her mother was Kay and her father, Len, that wasn't the reason she has that name at all. Her father will feature in book 3, "Maine Issues," and he's a bit of a pill and named Preston.)They were interested in how I knew about boats, clubs, and many other topics. They didn't ask about how I wrote about people going into dark places and even darker situations. Perhaps they were afraid to find out the answers? They are all waiting for the sequel, "Swift Justice."

I'll be attending this year, since it takes place in Portland, OR, my home town. Really looking forward to this. "Indelible" will be available in the book room, and I'll be at the event for the duration.