My Top Ten Favorite Secondary Characters by @KaraONealAuthor #RomanceGems

On September 7th, my fourth book, The Miller Brides will release. This story contains one of my favorite characters. 

But...he's not the focus of this romance. He is a secondary character and holds a supporting role. 

But, let me tell you, it was fun writing each one of his scenes. He's grumpy. Abrupt. Blunt. And...he has three sisters. They all live with him. And run his general store.

In this one book, he ends up walking each of his sisters down the aisle. The drama that enfolds throughout this romance just makes him ALL kinds of happy! Ha!

So, this got me to thinking...are there more secondary characters I like written by other authors? Hmmm...

I pondered this for awhile. I love to rank my likes. I give it a lot of thought, and this list was no different. Now, some of you might not consider some of these secondary characters, which is fine. I suppose my criteria could be wrong, but I couldn't stop myself from making my list.

So, without further ado, here are my favorite secondary characters:

1. Jane Bennett from Pride and Prejudice -- because she is Lizzie's touchstone

2. Mrs. Jennings from Sense and Sensibility -- because she is hilarious

3. Elizabeth McKenna from The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society -- because she has an amazing amount of courage

4. Neville Longbottom from Harry Potter -- because he is courageous and kills the snake

5. Rudy Steiner from The Book Thief -- because his cheerfulness and exuberance and sweetness during Nazi-controlled Germany made my heart squeeze every time

6. Miss Havisham from Great Expectations -- because her eccentricity was so sad and my heart broke for her

7. Wulfric Bedwyn from Slightly Married -- because, well, he just stole the show with his intelligence, his presence, and his melancholy demeanor

8. Deets from Lonesome Dove -- because he was always so cheerful no matter what happened and because he wore pants made of patches

9. Dallas Leigh from Texas Destiny -- he loses his bride to his brother, but still steps to the side with kindness and humor and I fell in love!

10. Mr. Collins from Pride And Prejudice -- because he is amazingly ridiculous but I still hope he's happy with Charlotte

And there you go! It was hard. I have an honorable mention, though...Boo Radley from To Kill A Mockingbird because he saved the kids and was so mysterious. (I just couldn't stop myself from adding one more.)

My character, Thomas Miller, does get his own story. But that's a post for later. 

Now it's your turn! Tell me your favorites in the comments and one lucky person will a free book from my Texas Brides of Pike's Run Series! Make sure you leave your email address and spell it out, too!

After Eulalie Miller was left at the altar, her younger sisters, Susannah and Lucy, pledge to never forsake her, not suspecting the vow would label them "Spinster Sisters". Neither did they realize Eulalie would become so formidable, the male population would be too scared to darken their doorstep.

But, while Eulalie makes it her mission to protect her sisters from men, she can't stop Brady Callahan, the saloon owner, from turning Susannah's head. Nor can she keep Harold Dawson, recently widowed, from stealing Lucy's heart. And when Richard Morrison comes calling for Eulalie, expecting courtship, marriage, and her love, Eulalie’s world is turned on its axis.

As the "Spinster Sisters" tumble into romance, the people of Pike’s Run might have to seek a new title for them. One of distinction and hope…

The Miller Brides.

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Thankful by Karen Kelley #RomanceGems

I'm thankful that I don't have to go back to Cosco and the grocery store again for quite a while. We did that today and I'm drained! I'm thankful all the presents have been bought. Okay, I still have a few to wrap.

Christmas really is my favorite time of the year. I love the memories I have. When my parents became very ill, my husband and I brought them to live with us. It was right before Christmas. I quit work and transformed my dining room into their bedroom because it was large enough to fit Mom's hospital bed and a regular size bed for Dad so they could be together.

Dad had end stage cancer and Mom had had a stroke that left her unable to turn or even feed herself. They required a lot of care but I figured I was a nurse and Karl was a paramedic so, along with home health, we could manage. And we did.

The night before Christmas, I was still up at midnight finishing everything that needed to get done. I had an iron skillet with cornbread almost done and pies cooling on the counter when I heard them talking about how good the cornbread smelled (hint, hint?). They both had this thing about cornbread. I still smile thinking about it.

As soon as I took it out of the oven, I cut them each a slice, poured them a glass of milk, and carried it in to them. While we all ate cornbread, we laughed and talked. It's one of my favorite memories. Yes, I was totally exhausted, but somehow it didn't really matter anymore.

Dad passed two weeks later and Mom lived another sixteen months.

I don't remember the times I was so tired my feet ached. I remember sharing stories, laughing, hugging--and yes, eating hot cornbread at midnight on Christmas Eve.

I hope everyone makes really good Christmas memories.

Don't forget to enter our cool giveaways this month.

 

Remember to enter CANDY CANE KISSES. For all the details, visit our Monthly Giveaway page. Or, go straight to the ENTRY FORM.

 

Karen Kelley

www.authorkarenkelley.com

What More Could a Navy Seal Have to Learn? - by Judith Hudson

Life Lessons are the backbone of each of my Fortune Bay books. In fact, they are the lynch pins of most romance novels and—dare I say—the real story in most books. But let’s stick to romance.

In writing a good romance, the problem is always keeping our two obvious love-interests apart. Often the problem is in the form of low self-esteem in their personas. Isn’t it heartwarming to find out that the sleek, model-esqe female protagonist, (who is also a vet who rescues animals with life threatening issues and restores them to health and then finds them happy homes if in fact not adopting them herself!) still struggles with body issues from her chubby childhood? And the Navy Seal, who rescued fifteen orphans in El Salvadore and, needless to say, has the body of, well, a Navy Seal, struggles with opening up to women because his older sisters teased him mercilessly when he was a child.

So, when he rescues a kitten that was stuck up a tree, who has an additional terrible injury, and takes it to the vet, he can’t believe she could ever go out with him, to say nothing of LOVE him, because he is so fundamentally unlovable. And need I say, high-jinks ensue.

Only when both protagonists confront their issues and learn their life lessons can we allow them their happily-ever-after.

Now, some people think this is contrived, but isn’t life actually often exactly like this? Okay, maybe minus the god-like physiques, and sometimes the happy endings, but we all have life lessons to learn, and so must our characters. More than the actual romance itself, these are the parts of the book that to me are the most satisfying to write and, as a reader as well as a writer, to read: the struggle, the shame or sadness, the inevitable coming up against it, whatever it is, and then the epiphany that follows.

The Good Neighbor is the second full length book in the Fortune Bay series, which coincidentally is on sale on Kindle for 99¢ this week, beginning tomorrow. It is a story about fathers and daughters; a woman whose widowed father couldn’t show love, and a man who still struggles with the shame of having given away his baby girl as a young teen. These issues became the heart of the book.

Stories about women who give up their babies are painful and poignant, but are often known. At least among women. The fathers, however, seldom have a voice. In my research I found, not surprisingly, they too often harbor painful feelings of loss and failure. The difference is, in that manly way, they usually don’t talk about them.

Sean may have been my favorite hero to write. I might have fallen a little in love with him myself. 🥰 The Good Neighbor also a fun Thanksgiving story - all hell breaks loose at Thanksgiving dinner and what’s more fun than that! So take advantage of the 99¢ sale this week and get the ebook on Amazon Monday November 25th..

If you want a reminder, CLICK HERE and I’ll let you know when all the books come on sale in the next few months. I'll even throw in Lake of Dreams, a 100 page prequel novella for free. 😊 

bit.ly/Thegoodneighbor

Happy Holidays!

Judith Hudson

Life's Takeaway Truths by @Bonnie Edwards #RomanceGems

None of us is an island. This is something I've learned throughout my journey as an author. In the beginning I needed to connect with more experienced writers to learn what they knew. I attended workshops every month, studied, went to conferences to absorb more. I met with editors and agents and felt my way through the bewildering maze of the publishing business. 

AMAZON EXCLUSIVE

Everything was new and exciting and I didn't know what I didn't know so I asked and listened to the answers. Eventually, I learned enough about the craft to sell my work to different editors at different publishing houses. You'd think I didn't need to learn anything more, right? Wrong. By the time I knew how to craft a romance into something marketable, the market tightened and the publishing world tilted.

I could have quit then, but I'm a storyteller and stories just kept bubbling around inside looking to get out. But I had to learn even more because self-publishing came to my rescue. In this journey, I quickly learned that I could not do everything myself. I learned about my strengths and my very real weaknesses.

I write good stories. I have warm characters and decent plots. But can I market? Not well. This is where boxed sets have been a wonderful learning tool.

I hang out with excited, ambitious women who know how to write, market, and promote their work. They can create ad campaigns and memes and videos.

And I'm reminded again of those early days of writing when I didn't know what I didn't know...so I'm asking and learning all over again. It's wonderful!

My book Like An Angel is included in this boxed set of eclectic romances. In Love Defines Us: Winning at Love you'll find a romance to suit just about any taste, all for only 99c. If you have a Kindle Unlimited subscription you can read it that way. 

So, Life Lesson? Keep learning, keep asking and know that you're not an island because we need connection, help, and knowledge. 

Join us this month in celebrating the Life Lessons we all learn. Click the link and enter our November Rafflecopter now for a chance to win 1 of 5 Amazon Gift Cards.