A small excerpt

 We’re pretty much knee deep into the busy season at the day job for the past month. And it’s only going to get busier June/July/August and start to slow in September/October. I’m easily doing 10 -12hr days now.  So progress on the wip is still slower than I’d like, but I’m still crawling forward in increments.
Came across a couple interesting surprises while doing some editing/revising.  Authors usually have a general feel for their characters before they start writing. Sometimes it’s really in depth and you know all about their childhood, etc., right on down the line to the present.  Sometimes it’s just basic bare bones stuff, like Character A is angry at Character B for this reason. Then after writing some of the story, you’ll realize that there are actually several reasons A is angry at B, and it may not be all B’s fault.  Sometimes a character’s dialogue/internal narrative runs away from you on the page and you learn a bunch of stuff you didn’t know/plan. Or it could be a single line that makes you think *that’s it! That’s the key to your character/motivation!* And the character comes alive for you in a way they hadn’t been before.
So there I was, cleaning up some of the writing and I came across a couple of throw away lines for my hero, that made me pause and chuckle and think *this is soo you. Such an arrogant asshole. lol*  But in the end, lines like the final one below, just help to make him a little more real.  .
My hero, Balthazar, is the dragon-shifter Alpha. In little snippet below he’s having a polite (coughcough) discussion with the heroine’s father, a powerful wizard.  Figured I’d throw in an eye candy pic of Jason M, because he’s the inspiration for Balthazar.
* * * * *
"Speak."

"I want your promise—”

"You want? Who the f**k are you to make demands of me? You're just the latest Wizard, in a long line of them. All of whom I've outlived. Or killed."

"I'm not demanding. I'm asking for your help."

"I don't like the way you ask. You need practice. Down on your knees."