Jill
asked
Alexie Aaron:
Did you plot out Mia's romantic path from the first book....or has it meandered and changed around a bit as you have written each book? Since I finished The Seige (EXCELLENT, by the way), I have gone back to your first book in the series and am reading my way back to The Seige again. It is interesting to see how the information we know from later books gives some new interpretations to events from earlier novels.
Alexie Aaron
This answer contains spoilers…
(view spoiler)[Mia is a very complex character to write. In the "The Hauntings of Cold Creek Hollow" she was just emerging out of a self-imposed prison. She lacked social graces, and although attractive, had few experiences being "sought after." She lacked self-esteem. I decided to take her on a journey some late bloomers, male and female, may have gone through.
In the beginning, I had to ignore the comments about her bed hopping and "man of the investigation," in order to have her mature and realize that the person she belonged with wasn't your typical hero. As a writer you have to listen to your characters. Mia needed to be appreciated for who she was right now, not molded into what she could be, or worse, should be.
Did I plot it out? I always had someone in mind, but I didn't want to show my cards too early. I wanted the reader to get to know the individual first. By "Sand Trap" there were signs. In the two following novellas, "Eternal Maze" and "Homecoming," I highlighted this individual, and by the heart breaking "Darker than Dark," I was ready. I chose this title for more than the creatures that crawled out of the woodwork, I also wanted to emphasize the darker sides of some characters. What brought them to this point? Was it there all along? Were they influenced by incidents along the way? In some cases it was paranormal, in others, established personality traits.
Reading the series from the beginning - aside from spotting some typos, ugh - you're going to be aware of undercurrents that you may have missed. Also, you'll see that in some places even the author was lead on a merry chase.
I hope this answered your question. Enjoy.
(hide spoiler)]
In the beginning, I had to ignore the comments about her bed hopping and "man of the investigation," in order to have her mature and realize that the person she belonged with wasn't your typical hero. As a writer you have to listen to your characters. Mia needed to be appreciated for who she was right now, not molded into what she could be, or worse, should be.
Did I plot it out? I always had someone in mind, but I didn't want to show my cards too early. I wanted the reader to get to know the individual first. By "Sand Trap" there were signs. In the two following novellas, "Eternal Maze" and "Homecoming," I highlighted this individual, and by the heart breaking "Darker than Dark," I was ready. I chose this title for more than the creatures that crawled out of the woodwork, I also wanted to emphasize the darker sides of some characters. What brought them to this point? Was it there all along? Were they influenced by incidents along the way? In some cases it was paranormal, in others, established personality traits.
Reading the series from the beginning - aside from spotting some typos, ugh - you're going to be aware of undercurrents that you may have missed. Also, you'll see that in some places even the author was lead on a merry chase.
I hope this answered your question. Enjoy.
(hide spoiler)]
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