Sandra Orchard's Blog - Posts Tagged "deep-cover"

Thank you to all who shared their hilarious pet stories over the weekend. Today, we’re going to talk about a different kind of character, or rather character trait. Being honorable.

I think it’s safe to say that most female romance readers, as well as the heroines that populate romance novels, long to fall in love with an honorable man.

My dictionary defines honorable as “having or showing a sense of what is right and proper; honest; upright: It is not honorable to lie or cheat.”

Ouch! Not looking good for Deep Cover’s hero Rick Gray, an undercover cop who’s...

I love writing villains.

Not the mustache-twirling villains of old that modern readers find laughable. Multi-faceted characters that I can exploit for good and evil, and in the process, surprise the reader. At his best, a villain will make the hero stop and take stock.

If the reader does too, all the better...

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With the ACFW hoopla behind me, I’m finally returning to the primary focus of this blog—conversations about characters.


At the end of Deep Cover, the hero realizes that he’s been trusting in his own strength to protect the heroine, rather than God’s.

Believers often seek God’s help or guidance as a last resort, don't we?

Or, like me, we go to Him, but… sometimes we don't stay still long enough to hear His answer.

With so many things vying for our time and attention, oftentimes, it’s difficult to shut out the clatter and just rest in Him.

Thank you to all who shared their ideas for my book signing on Friday, and to those who prayed me through it. (For those who don’t follow my FB updates, a dear writing friend had died the night before.)

I’m happy to report that the event was wonderfully attended. My local writing friends came out in full support in Kate’s stead, and I didn’t cry once. I had so much fun meeting new readers who’d read about the event in the newspaper.

Since Mondays are dedicated to character discussions related to Deep Cover, today, I’d like to talk about the dove pictured on the front cover.

Last Wednesday, I explained how I develop my characters’ spiritual growth by looking at the lie they believe at the beginning of the story and the truth that will set them free by the end. We brainstormed ideas for the hero of our evolving story, and this Wednesday we’ll have some fun with the heroine.

But today I’d like to look at Ginny Bryson, the heroine of Deep Cover, and discuss the lies we believe.

Ginny cares for a dying mother, and is absolutely devoted to her mentally challenged younger sister. She pours her life into helping others, championing a group home for special needs adults seeking independence, and coaching a T-ball team of special needs youth.

Yet, when her mom takes a sudden turn for the worse, Ginny says to Rick, “I’ve taken care of Mom and Lori my whole life. When they’re gone, I’ll have no one. Be no one.”

As promised, today we’re looking at how I develop characters. A technique I learned from award-winning author and mentor, Susan May Warren, is to ask what is the lie my hero or heroine believes.

Often the lie is something from his past that changed the way he looks at himself or relationships or the world around him. More than that, it changed his approach to those things.

By uncovering the lie he believes, I can frame a story that will reveal the truth that will set him free.