Character Building

For my first post, I'm going to answer a question that many people have asked:

"How did you create the character, Ruth?"

Although everyone relates to Sheila, Ruth is the person that people seem to love. It makes sense. Ruth is Sheila's savior with common sense advice and, let's face it, she always has food!

So let me tell you how 'Ruth' came to be...

While I was writing the story, I was stuck on a certain storyline. Sheila was supposed to go on a date but wasn't cooperating with me. (I'll share in a later post about what happens when characters take over your brain.) I went to a two-day writers workshop at my local library and asked the fellow writers what to do. That's when someone suggested using someone else's romance to teach Sheila about love. I instantly had a breakthrough.

In my life, I had three strong female role models (in addition to my Mother) who gave me advice about life. My Nana, Virginia; my Grammy, Rose; and my good friend, Ruth with whom I worked for years. Each of these women lived through the depression and WWII so whenever I had a problem, they always seemed to have the most perfect advice, especially about relationships.

By the time I was writing FINDING OUT, each of these amazing women had passed away and I missed each of them terribly. I can truly say that I think of them every day. I was lucky to have spent hours talking with each of them over many meals, on the phone, and in letters. As a result, they live in my heart.

So, I decided to combine the best of each woman to create the 'fairy godmother' for Sheila.

From Virginia (who has a character named after her), I chose her sense of style and dressmaking. In our family, the dresses were always handmade and received many compliments. Virginia was also an amazing cook Every Sunday we went to her house, or another family members for homemade Italian cooking. The character, Senita Scalese, is also a good cook and is named after my great-grandmother.

From Ruth, I chose to create the storyline about WWII. Ruth was held in Germany during the war. For her, the stories that she told were like many others so she didn't dwell on it. I did a lot of research for the WWII segment of the story, including contacting some survivors of the war who were hidden as children. I also included Ruth's relationship advice about dating and marriage.

From Rose, I took some of her greatest quotes of all time, such as "Your education has been neglected". I heard that phrase when I didn't know a piece of history or the different patterns on Spode china. The red couch in the story (and the image on the book cover) also represents my Grammy because she had a red velvet couch in her home. The last time I was with her, I looked at that couch as I walked out the door and thought of all the memories that couch held. I didn't know that would be the last I would see my grandmother alive.

All three women also had careers that were fulfilling and gave them great pride. Each was married for many decades and put their families first, which gave me the basis to be the person I am today.

They were truly from the 'greatest generation' and I am so thankful for their wisdom. I am glad that readers like it, too.