R.E. Butler Shares Advice and Her Newest Book
I’m the sort of person that packs for a trip a week in advance so that I can be sure I don’t leave anything important behind. Could I survive a visit to my parents’ without the charger for my Kindle? Probably, but I’d rather not find out. I use the calendar on my phone to make sure I never miss appointments. I leave fifteen minutes earlier than necessary so I’m not late anywhere. You might think that I’m a fairly organized person, and you’d be right. Except when it comes to writing.
The fine art of planning ahead as a writer: being able to look at a character or storyline and envision it as its own book.
I used to randomly choose character names, give characters cool traits, or a prophesy about them without thought. In my early days of writing, it never occurred to me that readers would want to know more, until a storyline came back to haunt me.
When I wrote the first two books in my Wiccan-Were-Bear series, I created a secondary character named Daeton, who was the sister of the two heroes. Daeton was everything that my heroine Elizabeth was not: shy, innocent, young. In the second book, Daeton leaves her family so that she can be safe. I set up the scenario as simply an issue to solve on the heroine’s part – she was having nightmares and the solution was keeping Daeton safe. So it was much to my surprise when I started to get fan mail requesting a story about Daeton. My first reaction was one of utter disbelief. She was, after all, a secondary character and meant only to be the source of drama. Little did I know that she would resonate with readers, who would want to know what happened to the sweet, young were-bear once the second book ended. The problem? I hadn’t thought that far ahead. I had no clue what happened to her after the second book was over!
I called my beta-reader in disbelief. She laughed her head off. I had literally written myself into a corner with Daeton’s character and now I had a choice: leave my readers hanging forever about Daeton’s future or write the darn story. I wrote it, and it turned out to be one that I really enjoyed. But more than tying up a loose end I hadn’t meant to leave in the first place, Daeton’s story taught me to be more careful of what I write. Not only in cool-sounding prophesies and supernatural abilities, but also with names and physical descriptions. Now I ask myself…if a character becomes popular, can I write their story? Am I prepared to explain why a character has a fear of spiders or what a prophesy about a woman with white wings means? And now, thanks to what I learned with Daeton, I can honestly say that I can.
About R.E. Butler A Midwesterner by birth, R.E. spent much of her childhood rewriting her favorite books to include herself as the main character. Later, she graduated on to writing her own books after “retiring” from her day job as a secretary to become a stay-at-home mom. When not playing with her kids, wrestling her dogs out the door, or cooking dinner for her family, you’ll find her typing furiously and growling obscenities to the characters on the screen.
Her best-selling series The Wolf’s Mate, Wiccan-Were-Bear, The Necklace Chronicles, Hyena Heat, and Ashland Pride are available now.
My Blog | Tweet with me: @rebutlerauthor | Facebook | My Amazon Page
The Wolf’s Mate Book Six: Logan & Jenna
Babysitting a bunch of barely-legal wolves on a Saturday night? That was not how he’d pictured his life turning out.
Across the buffet from him, as he speared a thick wedge of pot roast, Ben said, “Look, there’ll be lots of human and wolf females there looking for a good time, but there will also be other males as well. It just makes sense to have someone who’ll be the voice of reason. Plus, you’re big as hell, man. With your tatts and everything, no one will mess with us, except maybe some tasty ladies.” Ben grinned broadly and Logan was struck by just how young Ben was and how old that made him feel.
“When is it again?” he grumbled, taking his meat-laden plate back to the table.
Ben plopped down across from him with an equally piled-high plate, and lifted his fork and knife. “Tomorrow. It’s in Somerset, so we need to be on the road by seven. There are four of us going, so we can’t fit in your pickup. Want to take my Jeep?”
Logan snorted but conceded there wasn’t really a choice, since his truck only held two comfortably; three if they squeezed onto the bench seat. “Fine. But I make the rules for the trip. No leaving anyone behind, no bringing anyone new home, and if any of your buddies annoy me I reserve the right to toss them out of the Jeep without stopping.”
Ben shook his head with a chuckle. “No problem. I’ll let Jason know. You won’t regret it, Logan.” His grin softened slightly, and he looked older than he was. “There’s a female out there for you somewhere. I know you’ll find her.”
Suddenly uncomfortable, Logan cleared his throat and turned his attention back to his plate. “Eat your food, kid. Dancing takes lots of energy.”
