On being mean to fictional characters.

Death, accidents, suicide, heartaches, disasters… fictional characters have seen it all. A single fictional character may go through all sorts of horrible things in one book, and I think that that’s okay as long as it serves the story. In a recent discussion with my fiancé, I said that I don’t mind hurting my characters if it moves the plot along. After all, it’s just a story. It’s not like I’m harming a real person by the words I write, so I don’t feel bad.

I think it’s important to maintain...