Ed Ireland asked Patrick Parker:

What quality makes a character your most loved character?

Patrick Parker Hi Ed,

Characters are people; no two are the same. How they act and what they say can really make them stand out. It can be a little thing or a flaw they overcome. It should really come out based on their situation.

In my new book due out shortly, aside from my protagonist who has edges, I have an FBI agent I really like as well. She has foul mouth that would embarrass any sailor and is brutally abrupt and direct. Not quite the picture most people have of an FBI agent. In fact, an author friend raised her eyebrows at the character and though I'd make all the real agents angry. She didn't think an agent would be like my agent. I was a bit surprised as that author wrote detective novels. She did remember my character!

I like a character that is real and reacts in accordance with their background to a given situation. Like my FBI agent, that character was based on a real person. Have fun with your characters. Give them warts, bad breath, crossed eyes, crooked teeth, bad manners or whatever to make them stand out. They are people.

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