Jocelyn Modo's Blog, page 9

Mike Arsuaga on Creating Strong Supporting Characters

When speaking or writing about a supporting cast of characters, movies usually come to mind. Starting in the 1920's first British and later American film makers recognized the importance of them. Interestingly writers used the tool practically from the first novel written. Robinson Crusoe had his man "Friday". Don Quixote had his squire Sancho.

This type of supporting character complements one or more main story figures, either by contrast or through some form of supplementation. The relationship is designed to enhance both personalities and make them come alive.

A good example is the character of Linda in "My Life as a Dog". She is private investigator and shape shifter Drake Martin's secretary. I used her insouciant competence to showcase his frequent inattention to detail. She is the classic "I am woman; I am strong" female who balances work and family keeping both on course, while complaining of being under appreciated by all.

On the other hand nothing beats a good villain. Where would Superman be without Lex Luthor, or Batman without The Joker? The character of Cynthia in "Subspecies" provides a sometimes humorous, sometimes guileless, high energy teenage foil to Sam's cool adult behavior, with insights only the young can come up with. The contrast between her persona and that of the main characters, Sam and Jim, more clearly defines all three of them. She's the kind of character you can both laugh and marvel at. Without her the personalities of hero and heroine would be watered down.

You build a supporting character using the same methods as any other. Plan them out. They should have unique and believable attributes. In "My Life as a Dog" I contrasted Linda's teased hair, East Texas speech, and general confident sassiness against Drake's more laid back deeper thinking persona. That she doesn't know about his shape shifting ability keeps tension in the interactions between them.
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The character of Jethro from "Subspecies", on the other hand, is what Mark Twain called "flourishing villainy", that most despised of all creatures by humankind. Holding sway until the very end he keeps the hero and heroine on their toes, without respite.

So, build the supporting cast with the same care you take with the lead roles and the work, whatever the genre, will benefit.

Bio
Raised in New Orleans, Louisiana, Mike completed careers in the United States Navy Submarine Force and the Transportation Security Administration. He lives in Orlando Florida with wife and Editor in Chief Cynthia, daughter Jennifer, six year old granddaughter Larrna and partner in crime Thumper, a Yorkshire terrier.

Mike's extensive travels in the Navy took him throughout the US, Canada, Europe, the Caribbean, and the Middle East, providing accurate and vivid settings for his stories.

Subspecies, Subspecies, Inc., Children of Subspecies, and Tenth Legion are scheduled for release in May, September, December 2011, and February 2012 from Muse It Hot Publishing.


About My Life as a Dog

Drake Martin is a unique shape shifter. Instead of transforming into a ferocious animal, he morphs into an eight pound Yorkshire terrier. Six year old Kady Hartley rescued him from an animal shelter. As "Precious" he was her "bestest friend" for twelve years, leaving when she started college. Ten years later they cross paths. He's a PI; she's FBI. Continuing to keep his abilities secret from her, he follows Kady as she pursues a case. Accompany them on an odyssey to New Orleans investigating human traffickers and watch the fur fly. To protect Kady, Drake remains in the shadows. For her sake he puts aside his loner life and accepts protection and assistance of the local shifter pack under its leader, the Sufi. The pack and Drake soon discover they have a common cause, leading to a bloody confrontation with the Russian human traffickers.

During the adventure, will Drake and Kady rekindle their loving friendship or will it become much more?


About Subspecies

A Professor on CampusDr. Jim White, a 130-year-old Vampire, as a mathematics professor and man of science, rejects the ways and lore of old in favor of modern solutions. Lycans and Vampires, The Subspecies, live invisibly in society, because discovery is their worst fear. Resulting from a chance meeting, he has the best sex of his life and  regrets the intriguing girl had to be his next victim. But she has a secret. As a Lycan, she hunted him as he hunted her. 

The Girl in the LibrarySamantha "Sam" Johnson, a Lycan, lived through world wars and The Great Depression, counting Al Capone and Babe Ruth as acquaintances, before settling into decades of anonymity, quietly preying on humans to live. On a chance meeting with an intriguing professor, her decision to devour him comes into question. Kill after a night of exquisite sex?
A Dynasty is BornAfter discovering each others secret, neither can resist the physical attraction. Together they hunt and reach out to others of their kind using modern technology to form a support group which becomes more than either imagined.Follow The Subspecies' journey as they open a universe of possibilities with the promise of life being more than hunting, living in shadows, and fruitless mating.Thanks again to Mike Arsuaga for being a great guest!
Love, light, and laughter!
Jocelyn Modo
www.jocelynmodo.com

Manic Monday Hush

Manic Monday and today's secret word is "hush". Time to free write!


Whisper in the library, the doctor's office, the church, the funeral home. Quiet. Observe respectful hush in a rush of social conscience. Do not run. Shout. Pout. Push. You can smile but not too big. Stand but not too tall. Sit so you don't fall. Emotion has no motion when constrained by social obligation to know your station in a hushed life.




Love, light, and laughter!
Jocelyn Modo
www.jocelynmodo.com

Manic Monday Chair

It's just another manic monday and I'm free writing using the word, "chair" for inspiration:

The chair dares me to play duck duck goose, to drop my caboose in a cushioned seat, put up my feet and hang out. As I bang out these absurd words, the misfiring of my brain refuses to settle. I listen to the kettle whistle its warning for tea time, "Stop the rhyme and sit. Your chair is there."




Love, light, and laughter!
Jocelyn Modo
www.jocelynmodo.com

Eve McFadden Interview

Alright grrrls, I have a treat for you today! Please welcome the super sexy Eve McFadden to Meta Modo for a fun and friendly interview!

Jocelyn: Hi Eve, I'm not big on formalities so let's get the basics out of the way. What's your sign?

[image error] Eve: Aquarius. Which probably explains the frequent bathroom breaks.

Jocelyn: Aquarius is a fabulous sign! I'm a leo (hence my obsession with cats). Even though I'm fire and you're water, Leos and Aquarius can get along famously. Have any of your characters every used cheesy pick-up lines like, 'What's your sign'?

Eve: You know, I don't think they have. That may be in large part because no one ever used one on me, so I don't think of it. In a story I'm working on, involving a hockey player and a musician, hockey player tries a few lines in a joking way, but none are quite that cheesy. Then again, few are.

Jocelyn: Any scary/crazy/strange writing rituals? Inability to write without…?

Eve: I don't think I've been at this long enough to develop any rituals. It'd be fun to have some, like I could only do it if I was wearing big fuzzy slippers or a foil hat or something like that. Or small fuzzy slippers, just to be different.

Jocelyn: *Staged Whisper* I won't tell your characters your answer to this next one: Who's been your favorite character to write?

[image error] Eve: Oh, they're all my fav… oh, scratch that. I think my favorite was Jura Griet from Young Blood. She's the type who tends to act first, then think, which has its drawbacks, but she's not going to back down from anything. I also enjoyed Quentin in Numbers Game. He was gay and modeled after some guys I knew; not flaming, exactly, although he could if he wanted to. I like to write characters with a sense of humor, even the bad guys.

Jocelyn: Is writing romance a deep dark secret or do all your family and friends know, read, love your stories?


Eve: I'm supposed to tell people about this? Oh, well. Ahem. Some friends and some family know, and it's a case-by-case basis. Like my Grandmother, does she need or want to know this? Probably not. So that's fine. Mom found out by accident; she's a little iffy on the sex, but she thinks it's cool that I'm e-published. I told my husband, and he's very cool -- a beta reader, editor, supporter, and I suppose he'd even test out a few things if I asked.

Jocelyn: What's the worst thing you've ever written (published or unpublished)?

Eve: I got a C on an English paper in high school when I said The Talisman by King and Straub was boring. Does that count? In all fairness, she was right. We were asked to write about themes, not critique it, even if the thing was pretty damn boring.

Ah, you probably meant my stories. That's a tough one, because every time I read over an old story I find stuff wrong with it. If I had to pick, I'd go with Cost of Loyalty, which is up on free sites and that I wrote like fifteen years ago. That was an age when I could do things with angels and devils and purgatory and not feel like a dope.

Jocelyn: If you could date any character from any book, who would it be and why?

Eve: Now, see, this is tough on two fronts. First, I'm married, and my husband is kind of traditional in the "not dating anyone now that we're married" sense. Who knew? Second, all of my characters get paired off -- or occasionally killed off -- so I wouldn't want anyone to think I was into wrecking relationships. Or threesomes. Or even fictional necrophilia.

However, if I was single, and he was single, I wouldn't mind a night out with Ian from Ghosts of the Forum (in Melting the Ice). He was such a sweetie.

Jocelyn: What real life inspiration do you use in your stories?

Eve: You can do that? Whoa.
I have found that I insert little things. In Numbers Game, which is set in Washington, DC, the female lead, Sara, works at the National Archives. I worked there for a couple of years myself and thought it was fun to put that in. Not that she goes looking for treasures like Nicolas Cage or anything.

In Nothing Gets Through, a short story (which I hope to expand sometime), the couple meets in a Starbucks-type place after witnessing a big fight between two people. That fight is based on one I personally witnessed in a Burger King in The Hague, The Netherlands. Yes, they have BKs there, and everyone speaks English.

Many ideas come from songs, and others from reading and thinking, "Hey, what if he/she did this instead?"

Jocelyn: What stories are rolling around in your brain right now?

Eve: The rolling around got really old, so I have them on computer now. Even backed up. There's quite a range. First up is another hockey romance, which has proved a surprisingly popular little niche. Then I'm working on a little light fantasy involving a character from my first Christmas story, Unexpected Gifts. But I have a slew of stuff on the computer in some stage of progress: a sequel to The Hunted Key, possibly another in the Exiled series, a sf/fantasy on a planet of islands, and more.

Jocelyn: Thanks for the interview, Eve! Love getting to know you!

About Eve:
Eve McFadden was born and raised in southern New Jersey. She attended college at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, PA, receiving a BA in Russian Studies and International Relations. This led her to graduate school at Georgetown University in Washington, DC, where she received an MA in Russian Area Studies in 1994. She remained in the Washington area until 2007, when she and her family moved to Pennsylvania. It was here that she found some sites with free online reading material, which led to her to try her luck at writing herself.

Her first effort, "Make a Wish," was posted on Literotica.com and received many positive reviews, and so she continued writing. After the positive reception for her first novel, "Exiled," she was approached by Republica Press in 2009 about publishing a sequel. Since then, she has published four e-books with Republica Press.

Backlist:
Exiled, Republica Press
Young Blood, Republica Press
All Too Human, Republica Press
The Hunted Key, Republica Press
Light and the Darkness, Yellow Silk Dreams

Coming soon:
Numbers Game, Republica Press

Find Eve Here:
http://www.republicapress.com/Eve-McFadden.aspx
http://www.facebook.com/evemcfadden
http://evemcfadden.wordpress.com

~
Love, light, and laughter!
Jocelyn Modo
www.jocelynmodo.com

Bragging Rights

I swear I don't usually go around tooting my own horn but I couldn't help posting these two new reviews for On Vixen and Paradise Moon:



Amazon Review of Paradise Moon:

"Jocelyn Modo's novella is a sexy, fast-paced tale of love conquering all. Her characters, other-world setting and futuristic elements blend effortlessly to make this novella well worth reading. My only regret was its length. I wanted more, and look forward to reading Ms Modo's other titles."

Amazon Review of On Vixen:

"On Vixen is a wonderful take of the shape-shifter genre. Right from the start, Ms Modo catapults her reader into the heart of the story, taking them on a wild, raunchy romp that contains surprising twists. Her characters are believable, the male truly Alpha and his woman an equal in every way. Highly recommended and well worth reading."


T00t! T00t! ;)
Jocelyn Modo
www.jocelynmodo.com

Interview with Jacqueline George

JM: Hi Jacqueline George and welcome to Meta Modo. I am excited to interview you today and I know my grrrls love a good contest. Can you explain the contest to us?

JG: Hi Jocelyn. Thanks for inviting me - it has definitely been worth the trip over from Australia.

Now, the contest: there are 3 questions at the bottom of this interview. They are about me and where I live - in northern Queensland near the Great Barrier Reef. If you can send your answers to Jocelyn at Jocelyn (at) JocelynModo (dot) com, the first 3 correct entries will win a prize ebook. You can choose one of three: The Prince and the Nun, Her Master's Voice and Light o'Love.




JM: Ooo! Sounds fun! Wish I was eligible to participate in the contest, but I have read Light o'Love and was thoroughly entertained. ;) Ah, well. Will you tell me about these three books?

JG: That's difficult. I suppose you'd say they are all 'proper' books, real novels you can lose yourself in. I try to write books you will want to keep and re-read in the future, so I work hard at creating stories with some meat to them. And they are all different.

The Prince and the Nun is set in a Central European castle in about 1940. There's a war going on, but it's not Hilter's war, it's an imaginary one. The heroine of the story is a nun, well, an ex-nun as it turns out, called Therese. She has a terrible time trying to protect the local villagers in those troubled times, and at the same time entertain the officers of the occupying army. And that does not mean giving them coffee and biscuits, as you can imagine.

Light o'Love is almost a Harry Potter story for adults. The heroine here is Shirley, and English girl at university in Liverpool. I say university, but the college she attends is actually full of witches. She gets dragged into dangerous times, but manages a certain amount of fun and mischief along the way. Why is the book called Light o'Love? You're going to have to read it yourself, but I can say it has a lot to do with Shirley's specialization as a witch. She grows into a powerful and very sexy person.
Finally, Her Master's Voice is an action adventure set in South East Asia - Borneo, Malaysia and Singapore. I love that part of the world. The food, the scenery, the people - mmh! It was not trouble at all to set my story there and portray Sherry, a sexy lady whose relationship goes through some significant and very exciting changes.

All three books are good, old-fashioned stories that I hope will stay in your library for years.


JM: I'm drooling over all three. What was your inspiration for The Prince and the Nun, Her Master's Voice and Light o'Love?

JG: Well now. I suppose the first inspiration is that I have been lucky and lived in all three places. That gives me the settings. The stories come out of the blue, I suppose. I do recall wondering if a nun's vows are immutable, and what would happen if you backed a nun into a corner and said 'I want you to run an officer's club full of your girls, and if you don't I'll force girls from your friendly villages'. Not a comfortable situation of any nun to find herself in.

Light o'Love is a paranormal fantasy because I was upset at the large number of TERRIBLE paranormal books around. This one is fantasy, but it is fantasy with its feet on the ground. Much more satisfying that way.

Her Master's Voice is attempt to show how light bondage and discipline can work in real life. I hate stories that have women as pinioned little dollies spending their whole life getting whipped and abused, and loving every minute of it. They're stupid - when do these bimbos get to do the shopping or raise kids, for goodness sake? This story shows how it's meant to be, and if it runs riot around a beautiful part of the world at the same time, so much the better.


JM: Let's get personal. Do you have any quirks or oddities that fit with the writer cliche?

JG: Apart from an untidy office crammed full of books where I spend hours all alone tapping at a computer? No, I'm not odd. It's the people who spend the best hours of every day working boring jobs that are odd! And I don't have quirks, thank you very much. I have endearing characteristics.


JM: LOL. I feel the same way. How about your writing process? How do you begin planning new books?
JG: I find I have two or three projects fermenting at the back of my mind, and I revisit them when I am doing something long and boring. Like driving. We're over 200 miles from the town of Cairns, with the nearest shopping mall, decent restaurants, dentist, cinemas. We run down there every month or two, and as I drive I'm mulling over what might happen in those stories. The next one is paranormal, set in the Sahara. I have written the start, and now I am thinking, reading reference material to do with the plot, and generally building up background. I expect it will be well into it by Christmas and finished in the new year. I hope. Then there's another, a sort of road movie story set in Central Europe. That one is going to wait until we can spend a couple of months touring there, to soak up atmosphere and experiences.

JM: Do you listen to music when you write? If so, tells us a few of your favorite artists.
JG: Yes, I love listening while I work. I have a rag-bag of albums of My Music, all sorts of stuff from WWII hits to British rock - to Brazilian sambas. I love Astrud Gilberto, the original girl from Ipanema. she's just so natural, and very sexy.

JM: What is the craziest thing you've ever done?
JG: I don't do crazy things, only normal. I'm a very ordinary person. But to answer your question, I suppose we did some pretty crazy things when we were living in Eastern Turkey. There was not much in the way of entertainment there, so we would take to the hills and go walking around looking for history on the ground. There are so many things to see off the beaten track, and it's safe enough as long as you don't get lost. The people are not crazy like neighbouring Iran, and are happy to see you suddenly appear in their villages. Our Turkish was not so good, but that never seemed to matter. I'd go back any day, but not in winter. It can hit minus 40 in those hills, and there are no trees to shelter behind.


JM: Do you have other artistic talents? Music? Painting? That sorta thing?

JG: I dabble. I have a guitar and used to be part of a small group, but that was in another place and I don't have partners here. I do a bit of painting now and again, mostly to annoy my brother who has degrees in fine art, knows all about it, and is farming sheep as a result. He looks down his nose at my pictures because they are simple, but it's surprising which ones people prefer. That always puts his nose out of joint. Nowadays, most of my artistic ability is used in making covers for my books. I seem to have developed a style of my own, with strong tropical colours and in-your-face images. I enjoy doing those.


JM: The worst movie or book you have ever seen/read?

JG: I hate tear-jerkers and horror. I don't go to the cinema to cry or be scared out of my mind. Nowadays, you can read all about movies on the net, so we choose ones we are going to like. I haven't walked out of one for ages, but I remember walking out of Alien years ago. Too scary, and stupid as well. And worst book? Well, I don't like to speak ill of the living, especially when they have sold millions of books, but I have to say The Da vinci Code and Twilight are both in the running here. (I hate modern vampires, with the exception of those in Tery Pratchett's books.)

JM: What was your first pet? Name? Do you have a furry friend now?

JG: My firsts pet was a patient white cat called Felix. I like dogs too, but they are such a responsibily... We have two maramalde cats now, but there is a very good reason for not telling you any more about them. Intrigued? I hope so.

JM: Heels or boots?
JG: Both! Of course, I spend most of the day barefoot in a sarong and not much else, but when we're in colder places, I wear skirts with good quality European tights or stockings, and boots with heels. The combination works wonders on men. Any man who does not drool over a well dressed woman's legs, can go back to his boyfriend and stay there.


JM: Ha Ha! I totally agree...well, that's it for the interview! Not too painful, I hope. Thank you so much for hanging out on Meta Modo.

Grrrls, don't forget to enter Jacqueline's contest and win one of her awesome books! For more info on Jacqueline George, check out her kickin' website. Don't forget to email your answers to me by August 6th.

Question 1. Why does Jacqueline write romantic stories?
Question 2. Who's Rudy
Question 3. What shores does Jacqueline live on?
http://jacquelinegeorgewriter.com/
Love, light, and laughter!
Jocelyn Modo
www.jocelynmodo.com

Manic Monday There

It's Monday again. A brand new week and after a peek into the mind of a pelican who became tangled in a fishing line and hung by her wing in a tree for days before one out of many people finally called for help. I produced this as my free association writing:

Barely breathing. Barely there. Whispering. Fading. A ghost, almost. Transient and translucent. A sidewalk away from the cemetery. A breath away from eternity. Caught up on a line. Hung from a tree. Unable to break free. You. There. She sees you. Shouting. Solid. Permanent and opaque. She's not like the others. She won't cross the street; walk away from you there. Dangling by one wing. Head down. Pushing into the wind, trying to break free. She sees. And your sea will be yours once more. Her call manifests stairs and prayers and blessings. Down but not fallen. Free to be. Breathing. There. Full-bodied. A winged thing with a guarding angel. Yes, there.


Love, light, and laughter!
Jocelyn Modo
www.jocelynmodo.com

Romance by Rose Anderson

Have you ever fallen so deeply in love with the characters in a romance novel that thoughts of them linger long after the last page is turned? Have you ever been so completely immersed in a love scene that you'd swear you've just been kissed or more? Meet Rose Anderson's strong, confident heroines and be seduced by compelling heroes you'll wish were there beside you. Come see how their lives intertwine and through their stories discover love profound. From her novel Hermes Online and newly released Dreamscape, to the passionate stories that follow, this new author will sweep you away on a sensual tide of  memorable story-telling.

Hermes_Online_book_trailer

Rose Anderson ~ Love Waits in Unexpected Places

Love, light, and laughter!
Jocelyn Modo
www.jocelynmodo.com

Three for Chloe JonPaul

Modo grrrls, please welcome Chloe JonPaul, author of This Business of Children, a book about:

Four elementary school teachers in the fictional town of Blevins, Maine whose private lives dramatically change. 

About to retire, Vera vents her anger during a Board of Education meeting. Deidre, an exceptional teacher, leaves the job she loves to become a corporate trainer down South. Then Mark what he's always wanted, a corporate position with more prestige and pay, but turns it down. Stu, a popular teacher, struggles with a dark secret that he can only share with Deidre. 

All four teachers are eager to share their intriguing secrets and entangled lives with you. Read This Business of Children today! 

Not only was Chloe kind enough to answer my top three questions for her, but she also wanted to treat my grrrls to the opportunity to win a $10 Amazon.com gift card!

To enter to win the $10 Amazon gift card, just shoot me an email at jocelyn (at) jocelynmodo (dot) com with "Chloe" in the subject line. The winner will be selected randomly and the gift card emailed to the address you use to enter the contest. 

Now check out what Chloe has to say about the wonderful world of writing: 

Tell me a little about the character development for this novel.
It was a real challenge to develop the male characters in this story because I had never written from a male point of view.  Capturing their thoughts, mannerisms, language (which in a few scenes is somewhat coarse) required real effort.  These characters are not based on real people I knew; rather, they are probably a composite of different people I've known through the years – and not necessarily teachers.
I must admit that there's a little bit of me in both female characters.  Vera's maternal instincts and Deidre's fiery union activism are reflections of me in a way.
Deidre's decision to break her relationship with Mark is similar to something I experienced many years ago.  

What made you become a writer after teaching?

I have always loved to write – even as a young child but I never really thought about doing it seriously.  As an adult, I wrote occasional articles for small magazines and newspapers. I started writing my first book in 2002.
This novel came about as a result of having experienced the joys and sorrows of being a classroom teacher as well as the union activist I had been in the past… and as Vera says in the Prologue: " because the story that claws at my brain and keeps me awake nights has to be told."
I had lived much of what your readers will discover in reading about the problems teachers face in the classroom.
I have three published books since 2003: 2 non-fiction, 1 fiction.

What have you've learned about yourself through your writing?
I've learned that I have more determination and optimism than I thought  I possessed.  I've also been able to reinforce in my mind something I've known for years: that every mistake can be a perfect opportunity for learning something new.
~

Thanks again, Chloe, for stopping by Meta Modo to give us all insight into your world. And congrats on your new novel, This Business of Children.

Love, light, and laughter!
Jocelyn Modo
www.jocelynmodo.com

Book Sale

Oooo! A sale on books! Must be my birthday :) Woop Woop!
For the first week of August you can save 40% and more. New Dawning Bookfair is having a spectacular sale. Buy any available book on the site and with the coupon code 'Bookfair Buddy' receive a 40% discount. If you happen to have selected one of our top ten bestsellers, you will save another 20% as all Top Ten books are 20% off for this sale. That means you can buy our Top Ten books for less than 50%.

If you're looking for a fun Yahoo group with benefits to hang your hat give Bookfair Buddies a try: bookfairbuddies-subscribe@yahoogroups.com         


Love, light, and laughter!
Jocelyn Modo
www.jocelynmodo.com