THE EVOLUTION OF WANDA JEAN, PART I
When I began writing NIGHTMARE IN ALICE SPRINGS in 1996, I had no intention of creating a series of novels featuring the same basic characters, nor did I have any idea that I would create an evil villain who would become as popular as my two ‘heroes’.
With the first manuscript about half completed, I decided to join an American writing site to test the quality of my writing and find ways to improve. I found, once the community got used to my Aussie spellings and expressions, that the story was generally well accepted. I learned a great deal about how to improve my sentence structure and how to construct dialogue that drove the narrative forward.
What I was not prepared for was the interest generated by Wanda Jean.
In the beginning, I’d planned for Wanda Jean to be nothing more than a red herring. The children of Alice Springs believed she was a witch, and I wanted my readers to wonder how much she was involved in the strange murders Martin and Claire were sent to investigate. But, as the storyline progressed and readers became more interested in this character, I felt compelled to round her out and have her play a bigger and bigger part in the action. By the time the novel was completed, I found myself bombarded by questions as to her origins and whether she’d return in later novels.
The trouble was, I had only the vaguest of ideas concerning either question.
By this time, a second manuscript was under way, and one of my readers suggested that my stories should be sub-titled The Oz Files. Again, I concentrated on my original agents and, to capitalise on the interest generated by her, I quickly included Wanda Jean, hell bent on revenge for Martin and Claire’s interference. Although I began to offer readers little insights into her character, I still had no real idea where I was going with her.
I instinctively knew that she was beautiful, that she could transform her appearance in an instant, and that she used sex as a tool. I also hit upon the idea that she had lived longer than most mortals and that her longevity was the result of a bizarre diet--she'd steal the livers of her victims while they were still alive and make them watch as she devoured them.
You can meet Wanda Jean in my latest novel:
Broometime Serenade
With the first manuscript about half completed, I decided to join an American writing site to test the quality of my writing and find ways to improve. I found, once the community got used to my Aussie spellings and expressions, that the story was generally well accepted. I learned a great deal about how to improve my sentence structure and how to construct dialogue that drove the narrative forward.
What I was not prepared for was the interest generated by Wanda Jean.
In the beginning, I’d planned for Wanda Jean to be nothing more than a red herring. The children of Alice Springs believed she was a witch, and I wanted my readers to wonder how much she was involved in the strange murders Martin and Claire were sent to investigate. But, as the storyline progressed and readers became more interested in this character, I felt compelled to round her out and have her play a bigger and bigger part in the action. By the time the novel was completed, I found myself bombarded by questions as to her origins and whether she’d return in later novels.
The trouble was, I had only the vaguest of ideas concerning either question.
By this time, a second manuscript was under way, and one of my readers suggested that my stories should be sub-titled The Oz Files. Again, I concentrated on my original agents and, to capitalise on the interest generated by her, I quickly included Wanda Jean, hell bent on revenge for Martin and Claire’s interference. Although I began to offer readers little insights into her character, I still had no real idea where I was going with her.
I instinctively knew that she was beautiful, that she could transform her appearance in an instant, and that she used sex as a tool. I also hit upon the idea that she had lived longer than most mortals and that her longevity was the result of a bizarre diet--she'd steal the livers of her victims while they were still alive and make them watch as she devoured them.
You can meet Wanda Jean in my latest novel:
Broometime Serenade
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