Move over Wonder Woman! A new superhero is in town! #capecrusader #superheroes #comedy #romance .@capesandcorsets .@rararesources

CHARACTER BUILDING

by

Elle Spellman

One of my favourite aspects of beginning a new writing project is deciding on characters; who they are, what they like, how they act. There's always a whole host of things to consider. When I start writing a new book, I usually have a vague idea of my characters, their personality beginning to shine through as I get down that first chapter, but for me the fun part is delving into their lives and working out just who they are.

In my debut novel She's Bad News, the protagonist is Bella Brown; a twenty-nine-year old aspiring reporter living in the fictional small town of Hartleybourne, UK. Despite her childhood dream of becoming a successful journalist, luck hasn't exactly been on Bella's side, resulting in her still living in her uneventful hometown with a flatmate (albeit her best friend Chloe), and working as an Editorial Administrator (translation: typing up press releases and writing reviews for a 'health' column nobody reads) for the local paper, The Hartleybourne Gazette.

Still, Bella's determined to achieve her dream of being a real reporter, even though her boss, Layla, refuses to take her seriously. However, everything changes when she wakes up one morning to find that she has some amazing new abilities. Super powers, even.

After accidentally catching one of Hartleybourne's well-known vandals, Bella realises that her mysterious new powers have provided her with an opportunity she could once only dream of. Soon Bella's out tracking down local criminals for front-page leads in the Gazette, whilst trying to track down the source of the powers. For someone who's always hated feeling invisible, suddenly invisibility is what she needs the most.  

Bella Brown was one of the most interesting characters I've created. At first, when the initial idea for She's Bad News first entered my head, I knew that I wanted to write a superhero novel. Having been a fan of comic books for years, I wanted to combine my love for the superhero world and women's fiction. The idea for the protagonist just came to me; I saw a female journalist, in a small town. Someone who is perhaps struggling with life, and maybe love, and gets some superpowers thrown into the mix. And so there she was – Bella Brown. 

Of course, this was simply the brief idea. When it came to plotting the novel, there was a lot I needed to think about. Especially since the story involved a superheroine. Bella doesn't simply don a cape and take to the streets to fight crime; she uses the powers to her advantage. Which made me think; is she a heroine, or essentially a villain? Does her slightly selfish streak make her less of a hero? 

One of the main things I wanted to explore with the book was that question that we've all probably pondered at some point. If you had super powers, what would you do? Just like some of us question what we would spend a lottery jackpot on (I do, and I don't even play the lottery). Sometimes it's just fun to wonder.

When thinking about Bella's actions, I had to consider her ambitions. Her likes and ultimately dislikes. What makes her angry, what makes her care. Bella is a caring and determined individual; her life goal was to be an investigative reporter; finding the truth, helping people. Making the world a better place. However, as her dreams seem to have fallen by the wayside over the years, it doesn't take much to convince her that a step up on the career ladder is just what she needs. And if the strange new abilities she possesses can help, then what's wrong with a bit of, ahem, assistance?

The way I see it, Bella is more of an anti-hero. Her desire to do good in the community is always prevalent and has been throughout her life, though her determination can often be a downside to her character, becoming clear later on in the book.

As She's Bad News is a comedy, I wanted to make Bella relatable and fun, someone that I'd personally want to hang out with. Bella leads a relatively normal life; she goes to work, is newly single after a recent breakup. She writes a health and wellbeing column, but barely exercises and has a fondness for biscuits and cheap wine. But she's also strong and persistent. In the beginning, I based her partly on myself and others I knew (she inherited my sarcasm, at least), but by the time I had finished the novel I realised that Bella and I are very different. I could see myself teaming up with her perhaps – but we'd definitely have some disagreements!

During the rewrites, I tried out different 'versions' of the novel; for example, I wrote a couple of versions set in London rather than Hartleybourne, and at one point made the book a bit darker. I liked this new, darker Bella, but at the same time didn't think the change was for the best, preferring the small-town setting and more of a lighter story. Personally? I love the book as it is now, and enjoyed writing Bella Brown and her changes throughout the book, as she went from a seemingly invisible wannabe journalist to an actual superhero that really put her determination to the test.

When reading comics, I love the 'secret identity' aspect of the characters. Seemingly normal, everyday people, anonymous in their big cities, who take on other lives to help save the places and people they love. I really wanted to include this in the novel, and had so much fun with Bella and her (unplanned!) alter-ego.

So far, there are no plans for a sequel as yet, but truthfully? I already have some ideas for a possible second novel. Bella Brown was such an interesting character to write, that perhaps some more adventures in Hartleybourne are in order. At the moment though, other projects are taking over my writing life, but I thoroughly enjoyed working on She's Bad News and could hardly refuse writing more superhero-themed adventures in the future! I'm already missing Bella.

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 Introducing…

She’s Bad News

What would you do if you woke up with super powers?

For Bella Brown, life hasn't gone according to plan. She's almost thirty, still living in her uneventful hometown, and her dreams of becoming an investigative reporter have fallen by the wayside.

That is, until she wakes up one morning to find she's been gifted with some amazing new abilities. What’s a girl to do with heightened senses, super speed and the ability to lift a truck one-handed? Bella quickly discovers that her new powers can easily help her land front-page leads at local newspaper The Hartleybourne Gazette.

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Soon Bella's out every night chasing down local criminals for stories, while keeping her powers a secret from everyone besides flatmate Chloe.

But when a burglary-gone-wrong accidentally turns her into the mysterious Hartleybourne Heroine, Bella finds herself on the front page for the wrong reasons.

Her secret becomes harder to keep as she tries to track down the source of her powers, and especially when crime reporter Matt Gilmore is intent on unmasking the town's new vigilante...

Suddenly, having an extraordinary life is far more dangerous than she ever imagined.

Elle Spellman is a writer and comic book geek living in Bristol, UK. She's been writing since a very young age, spending her childhood afternoons penning stories about fictional adventures, and illustrating them too.

Now, Elle tends to write contemporary fiction with kick-ass heroines and a little bit of magic. She's Bad News is her debut novel, and she's just finished working on her second. Her other interests include running, wine, red lipstick, the paranormal, and all things Batman.

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