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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Andrew Mackey offers tips of the trade to authors from character building to research! @rararesources @Andrew_CVB #satire #underdog

Writing humour, horror, crime, romance... all under the banner of satire

by

Andrew Mackay

Henry Williams is the lead character in The Belch Park Field Trip. In many ways, his character is one of the most traditional arcs anyone could have in their story.

He’s a foot shorter than his classmates.

He’s a bit of a dweeb.

No-one thinks of him as a leader.

Of course, by the end of the trip to the theme park, he’s determined to prove himself.

Throughout the course of the story I used the challenges of the theme park for him to overcome. He’s an inch shorter than is required to go on the bigger rides. So he stuffs his shoes with stones and rocks to gain the extra inch. But it hurts his feet through the day. He’ll use the same rocks and stones to throw at the bad guy, thereby strengthening his resourcefulness.

He’s desperately in love with the new girl at the school. She thinks he’s a wet blanket. Of course, he’ll rescue her at the end and get a kiss. But throughout the day, there are many events which embarrasses him.

Henry is also something of a by-the-books kind of guy. He follows protocol and is a little bit selfish. When the bigger, badder rival school turn up, he’s put to the test. Henry carries a map to the park and figures out where they can hide, and tries to organise the day.

As an author, I threw every conceivable challenge his way. From food fights at the restaurant, to having to stand up for himself in the face of death.

It’s a true underdog story.

Henry’s arc is very traditional in that respect – from zero to hero via all these challenges.

As for researching for Belch Park, it really depends on the author’s overall aim. Belch Park is a theme park like Six Flags, or Disneyland. I’ve spent a lot of time at theme parks and I know how they work. I know the themes they adopt and the layout of the attractions and facilities at the parks. Because my book is a satire, I was able to parody the rides. For example, there’s a ridiculously violent roller coaster called THE VOMINATOR. My friends and I used to joke about renaming some of these rides when we were kids. The launch coaster is called THE BASTARD which was inspired by some of these jokes.

So, The Belch Park Field Trip didn’t need too much research. Although, I found some very useful V-Logs on YouTube of hardcore fans reviewing rides and taking their cameras on them. Also, there was one exceedingly stupid guy who tried to climb a roller coaster after the park closed for the day and nearly fell off. I have a character called Jasper Pratt in my book who does the same thing – but, spoiler, he does fall off. It’s a plot device, because the lead character Henry has to climb the same one in order to rescue his friends.

In the past, I have done a lot of research. My crime thriller, VERSUS, is about

the UK’s first ever school shooter. He decides to shoot his school up on the same day one as one of his classmates, a radicalised suicide bomber decides to blow it up. I had to scour some very peculiar ends of the internet to get the info I needed. I even interviewed some people I won’t name to make sure it was authentic.

In Their Shoes –The Nurse (Book V) obviously needed interviews with nurses on the British NHS frontline. They were invaluable. I couldn’t have written the book without it. I guess my research extends to my desire to treat whatever I’m writing about accurately and fairly. No-one really takes my stuff seriously (I hope) even though the themes are current and relevant.

But research never, ever gets in the way of a good story. It is possible to overdo it to the point where you never start writing, and I hate that.

My next book is sci-fi. I don’t know loads about sci-fi, but I know enough. My intention is to watch three specific sci-fi movies, and three carefully selected sci-fi novels. I’ve decided in the interests of sanity and satire to invent a lot of my own science for it. As long as it’s passably believable, especially for that crowd, then I’ll be okay.

  Introducing…

The Belch Park Field Trip

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IT'S A JUNGLE IN THERE!

Henry Williams has never been a leader.
Or stood up to the bullies.
Or kissed the girl of his dreams.

In fact, he’s never stood out from the school crowd.

Mind you, he’s only twelve years-old.
And a foot shorter than his classmates.

All that will change today, though.

The school inspectors are visiting Chrome Junction Academy.
The principal needs to get rid of the cream of the cr@p!
He would have preferred to send them to another galaxy far, far away...

Instead, the obnoxious, high-on-energy-drinks brats are off to...

BELCH PARK!

Roller coasters! Mega-drop towers! Ghost trains! Ferris wheels! Bumper cars!

No end of opportunities for fun, thrills and spills!
The perfect place to run rampant and enjoy themselves...

But wait!

South London's notorious Our Lady of Sacrifice Roman Catholic school is also there.
They're Chrome Junction Academy's natural enemy.
Oh bugger...

NOW IT'S WAR!

Limbs will break...
Dares will result in irreparable damage...
The innocent will be caught in the crossfire...
Even the park may not survive

Henry’s destiny awaits...

Chrome Junction Academy's underdog must step up... and grow a pair.

He'll have to ensure the safety of his friends.
Fend off the bigger, badder kids.
...and get them out of Belch Park in one piece!

  Amazon UK  |  Amazon.com 

About Andrew Mackay​, in his own words:

Some authors are afraid to cross the line.

Me? Oh, I'm glad you asked! I make "the line" my starting point...
My brand is satire.

I hop between genres like madman on crack because my razor-sharp literary knife is hungry for political and social commentary. One genre just can't cut it (if you'll forgive the pun.) I'm obsessed, I tell you!

I write straight-up humor and farce, horror, crime, romance... all under the banner of satire.

My novels often contain a ruthless commentary on society, delving into the darker machinations of modern life. They can be uproarious, funny, outrageous and shocking. Make no mistake, though. They are this way for a reason, and always come equipped with a sense of humanity and wit.

My influences include John Cleese, Tom Sharpe, Kurt Vonnegut, James Patterson, Hunter S Thompson, Douglas Adams, Imogen Edwards-Jones, Michael Frayn, Chris Morris, Jerry Sadowitz, Christopher Hitchins, Bill Maher, George Carlin, Jordan Peterson, Pat Condell, and writer/director Larry Cohen.

My obsessions include (and are essentially limited to) obscene amounts of: smoking, drugs, alcohol, caffeine, sex, debating, daydreaming and writing about himself in the third person.

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Bring your characters ALIVE by Siobhan C Cunningham @SCCunningham8 #authortips #paranormal #thriller @rararesources

How to Make Your Characters Believable

by

S C Cunningham

When building a character I draw from observations of people I know or have closely watched, it’s easier to write from truth.  I enjoy complex characters that slowly reveal themselves, that are not who they seem, that engage with the reader and pull at heartstrings or worst fears.

I try to create characters that the reader would either like to hang out with or see as their worst enemy. Someone they feel empathy for and understand their choices, right or wrong. Someone they champion and punch the air shouting “Yessss!” for.

Working on a series allows you to build characters that hopefully people will fall in love with and can’t wait to see their next move. In my David Trilogy, David is a very bad person, but fans often write saying that they love his character, warts and all, and can’t wait to see what he does next. They understand and champion David the boy, but fear the man he has become. They’ve become hooked on him. In The Deal, book I of The Fallen Angel Series, I wish for the same character impact.

The Deal starts with the main protagonists, Amy Fox and Jack Mallan. Amy’s character and the plot were formed on an incident that happened to me as a child. At 4yrs old I was taken, I survived, another little girl was taken the following week, she didn’t.

Coming from an Irish catholic family, I prayed each night to God asking him for a deal. That if I was a good girl, when I died, would he let me sit on a cloud, invisible, and help catch the baddies who slip through his fingers? 

That incident and how a little girl reacted to it stayed with me. Like many people I like to look out for the underdog and dislike injustice. I’ve worked as a Crime Investigator for the Police and with all the crazy things going on in the world at the moment, the thought of something looking out for us appeals to me.

I’m not religious, but I do believe there’s something out there, an energy, maybe quantum physics we don’t understand yet. So I’ve turned the idea into an action fantasy, a paranormal romance series. With the lead character Amy based on that little girl and her deal.

We start with career girl Amy aged 30yrs, God and her deal long forgotten, mysteriously dying, under a London tube train. Awakening to find herself in an MI5’esque Unit that dishes out tough karma from the skies, wondering what the hell is going on? 

Having formed Amy’s reason and background story, I pushed her outside her comfort zone and add the following details to her character;  appearance,  defects/flaws (stubborn, demanding, soft hearted), internal dialogue (muttering to herself, asking why, talking through insecurities and dilemmas), ambition/ motivation (the end game, revenge), weaknesses  (the handsome ex SAS Jack, impatience, honesty, insecurity), relationships (Jack, parents, best friend Sally), a third party love triangle (Jack and his evil ex, Mara).

 And before you know it I have a 3D character to build on for the rest of the series. She will make mistakes, snap, fight back, learn, grow… all the things that make a person.  I hope you enjoy her journey with me. Enjoy, and keep safe.

Siobhan

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Introducing…

The Deal

By

S C Cunningham, Book I of The Fallen Angel Series

A Paranormal Thriller for those who dare to believe that there is something else out there...

At the age of four, Amy was taken…She survived.

A week later, another little girl was taken…She didn't.

Buy NOW!

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A Paranormal Thriller for those who dare to believe that there is something else out there...

At the age of four, Amy was taken…She survived.

A week later, another little girl was taken…She didn't.

Angry that a bad man has gotten away with murder, feisty young Amy Fox makes a deal with God. When she dies, if she’s been a good girl, would God let her sit on a cloud for a while, invisible, to get bad people who slip through his fingers?

Her deal and God long forgotten, career girl Amy mysteriously dies. Her lifeless body is found beneath a London underground commuter train.

She awakens in the afterlife to discover an international network of like-minded souls who’ve all made the same deal. A sophisticated MI5-esque justice machine sits in the skies, protecting, righting wrongs, tracking criminals, and working within strict rules of play…all against time.

Each country's Unit shares intelligence, surveillance, and resources to deactivate dangerous situations. The only evidence they leave behind during their earthly visits is a small white feather sashaying to the ground.

In a chaotic world, powerful adversaries try to close her Unit down. A complex SAS vigilante has been assigned to work as her partner, but with his jealous violent ex-girlfriend on her heels and with her own vendetta to settle, Amy has never worked so hard in her entire earthly life. She has to wonder if making a deal with God was a mistake.

About the author:

Author of The Penance List, Unfinished Business and The Deal,  Siobhan C Cunningham (S C Cunningham) creates Paranormal Romance and Psychological Crime Thrillers with a skilled mix of fuelled tension, dark humour, and pulsating sex scenes. Having worked in the industries she writes about, her novels offer a fresh level of sincerity and authority, rare in fiction.

Abducted as a child, she survived; and every night for months afterward, she prayed to God, asking for a deal. This personal journey sparked the fuse behind the intriguing and riveting fictional world she portrays in The Deal, the first in The Fallen Angel series. Twenty years later Cunningham crossed paths with a violent serial attacker, sowing the seed for her mind-bending thriller, The David Trilogy; The Penance List, Unfinished Business, For My Sins.

An ex-model, British born of Irish roots, she married a rock musician and has worked in the exciting worlds of music, film, sports, celebrity management and as a Crime Investigator for the British Police (Wanted & Absconder Unit, Major Crime Team, Intelligence Analyst, Investigations Hub).

Her first novel, The Penance List has been adapted to film screenplay.

She is the proud mother to contemporary Artist Scarlett Raven and owned by three dogs.