WHAT, ME WORK? EEK!

We all have to work to pay the bills, to eat, and to put clothes on our backs. Oh yeah, and, I don't know about you, but I like a roof over my head and a car to get to work so I can pay the bills, eat, and cover up. Horrible little vicious cycle/circle we've created for ourselves to support the creature comforts we desire.

Millions of jobs exist in order to manufacture and maintain our chosen careers/lifestyles. In my family alone we have an import/export broker, a cable installer for satellite TV, a refueling tech at DFW, a buyer for area grocery stores, retail merchandiser, an Emergency Room RN, and a fireman/EMT. The characters we write about mimic our day-to-day.

Yesterday, I posed a question to readers and fellow authors on the Launch Event for the box set I'm participating in, 9 Ways To Fall In Love. We talked about jobs we've held through our work years. So I posed this question: How do you feel about characters jobs? Should their jobs reflect their character? Their place in the story? Do their occupations tell you a little about them and why they react the way they do? As a reader, what's your take on that? What do you prefer?"

I thought all of the responses were spot on and insightful to me as a writer so I can make my characters believable. Here are a few of the responses:

From Dennise Harral, "I think the job ads to their character/personality. A teacher shows that they have patience and compassion. Security or military shows that they are protectors, they have that sense of honor and duty. It helps solidify personality traits."

 Annetta Sweetko said, "Sometimes a not so great job like a waitress, store clerk ...the ones that are hard, pay stinks and aren't glamorous ... are perfect jobs for characters. They seem more real for us average joes ... "

 Stacey Greene added, "I think a job can go either way...it can reflect the person and their attitude, ethics etc...or it shows what they're willing to do to get to their goal...working a crummy waitress job at night and dry cleaner job in the afternoon to pay their way through school or take care of the kids...either way I think it's good for them to do something..."

I also feel, in fiction as in life, our characters can use their jobs to not only gain monetary fulfillment, but they can use those occupations and past experiences to speak for them and their beliefs. This happens in my current WIP, work in progress, CODE OF CONSCIENCE, Book Two in the Texas Code Series.

Nicasio Miguel Antonio aka Mike Anthony has been undercover in Juarez, Mexico for over two years. He's worked hard to infiltrate the Camarone Cartel to stop the flow of drugs and illegals into the United States at El Paso, Texas. Six months ago his partner, Reina Torrez, was found murdered outside Juarez. Nic went dark, so deep undercover he cut off all communication to find her murderer.


Like his foster brother, Graeme McAlister, Nic was Special Forces and works for INTERCEPT. As a small child in Juarez, he learned street survival skills which he now employs as an undercover agent.


Luz Miranda Camarone is a well known TV anchor, Andi Cameron, in El Paso, Texas. She aspires to work in a larger market and feels she may be on her way when a story comes across her desk concerning the murder of an acquaintance, Reina Torrez.  Luz starts her own investigation into the murder in spite of the TV station's dissatisfaction and warnings from her brother-in-law, Enrique Santiago.

Luz uses her investigative skills as a reporter to help her country and ultimately save her family.


My debut book, CODE OF HONOR, The Texas Code Series, Book One, has hero, Graeme McAlister, using his Special Forces skills to save and restore his family's honor.

We don't see Maggie use her skills in depth as a nurse, but her training helps her to think quickly, assess situations, and react calmly in the extreme situations in which she finds herself.













In a future WIP, Book Three of The Texas Code Series, CODE OF JUSTICE, Assistant District Attorney, Elliott Benning and political analyst, Amanda Hartford will use their occupations in their chosen careers to join forces to fight for Truth, Justice, and the American Way. Oops! Sorry, I got carried away. <G>




But you see what I mean about how our characters occupations and chosen professions, from the low end of the scale to the high, can tell much about them and the story.

Well, this is what I have to say on this particular subject. I would love it if you left a comment as to whether you agree or disagree. I love a lively discussion!

Thanks for visiting,
Carra


Find NINE WAYS TO FALL IN LOVE at, http://www.amazon.com/Ways-To-Fall-Love-ebook/dp/B00ERAREBW/ref=sr_1_2?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1377890000&sr=1-2&keywords=carra+copelin

CODE OF HONOR buy links Amazon for Kindle ebook and print:  http://tinyurl.com/muln4r9

and, Smashwords for nook, kobo and iTunes:  http://tinyurl.com/llshmbg
 
Find me on my website: http://carracopelin.com
Facebook: http://facebook/carracopelin
Twitter: http://twitter/CarraCopelin

Goodreads: http://tinyurl.com/mfynmj2  

     







 

KATHY IVAN SHARES LOSING CASSIE AND A TIP

By Guest Kathy Ivan

Well, hello again.  The lovely ladies here at Smart Girls Read Romance asked me to come back and talk a little about my latest release, Losing Cassie.  It is available for individual sale but it's also included in a new box set, 9 Ways To Fall In Love, which releases on September 1^st for the awesome price of $0.99. 

LOSING CASSIE is book #2 in the Destiny's Desire series.   When I finished the first story, a novella called SECOND CHANCES, I knew Jake would be the hero of book #2.  He grabbed me by the heartstrings and wouldn't let go.  (In book #1 Jake gets a letter and it mentions a woman named Cassandra.  That's all we know about her, her name in a letter and how just seeing her name makes Jake feel.)

Now my brain immediately says . . . Okay, who is Cassandra?  What's her connection with Jake?  From that moment the idea for Jake and Cassie's story started coming to life. 

My writing method is a bit of a what if or why process.  I'll usually start with a character or an incident that evokes a question.  What if Jake goes to Destiny's Desire? Another question, why aren't Jake and Cassie together?   What problem is strong enough to tear them apart and keep them apart years later? 

Want to know the answers.  Well, you'll have to read LOSING CASSIE to find out.  J 

EXCERPT FROM LOSING CASSIE by Kathy Ivan

Why had Chase sent that letter?  

Jake could go for days at a time now without thinking about Cassandra and everything he'd lost when she disappeared.  Seven years and everything still felt the same.  The same loneliness, the overwhelming knowledge some important piece of his soul was missing.  Why did the mention of her name bring everything pouring back, pulling the scab off a never healing wound?

         Glancing around, he surveyed the destruction he'd wrought throughout the master bathroom suite.  Bathtub smashed.  Walls ripped completely back to the studs.  The double sinks and vanity lay in pieces amidst the carnage.  The only thing unbroken was the huge mirror that used to hang above the sinks.  Still whole and unscratched, Jake's image stared back at him, mocking the calm façade reflected back at him.

         Disgusted, he moved the mirror outside the bathroom door, leaned it against an intact wall, went back and packed away all his tools, shut off the lights, and locked the house up tight. 

         Anxious to get home, he drove the short distance back to his condo in Denver, grabbed a shower and made a couple of calls.  He knew Ryan would cover his shifts, his buddy still owed him from Christmas. 

         Jake couldn't think of one good reason, at least a valid one, but his decision was made. 

Watch out Quinton Chase.  I'm tired of being your frigging puppet.  Think you can pull my strings, mention Cassie's name and I'll come running?  You better have a hell of a good explanation for resurrecting her memory after all these years. 

Destiny's Desire Lodge, here I come. 

Thanks for letting me visit with you again. 

Readers can find LOSING CASSIE at

http://www.amazon.com/Losing-Cassie-Destinys-Desire-ebook/dp/B00EMMQXOE/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1377874812&sr=1-1&keywords=kathy+Ivan

and in the NINE WAYS TO FALL IN LOVE BOX SET on Amazon at

http://www.amazon.com/Ways-To-Fall-Love-ebook/dp/B00ERAREBW/ref=sr_1_11?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1377740637&sr=1-11&keywords=caroline+clemmons

PARANORMAL IS MY NORMAL

By Kathy Ivan

Thanks so much for letting me spend the day with you.  I'm thrilled to be a part of Smart Girls Read Romance. 

Let me be honest.  I love the paranormal worlds in romance fiction.  Vampires, werewolves, ghosts, psychics and zombies, I love 'em.  When “The Walking Dead” is on, I'm glued to the screen.  Give me a paranormal romance and I'll devour it faster than you can blink.  It's definitely one of my favorite genres to read.  Throw in some steamy romance and I'm a goner. 

"The Walking Dead" TV Show

Never thought I'd write it, though!

Romantic suspense—that's what I write.  The mystery, developing the plot.  Having the heroine and the hero race against the bad guy, overcome all the obstacles thrown in their way, follow the clues, have lots of sexy times along the way, figure out the who/when/why/how, defeat the villain, profess their love and live happily ever after.   Whew, it can be a roller-coaster of a ride! 

Story after story, this was my premise, my formula.  The problem—something was always missing.  I didn't get the satisfaction, the extra oomph I'd get from reading all those paranormal romances with their otherworldly specialness.  So I decided to go for it and combine the two genres I loved, romantic suspense and paranormal romance. 

Voila!  DESPERATE CHOICES was born.  Theresa, my heroine, is a psychic living and working in the French Quarter of New Orleans.  Max, her ex-beau, is a private investigator who comes asking for her help.  His godson is missing.  And the story was off and running.  It unfolded with just enough of a paranormal element added into the suspense that it was believable and the readers loved it as much as I did. 

New Orleans French Quarter evening photo

DESPERATE CHOICES became my first published book (from Carina Press) and it won the 2012 OKRWA International Digital Award for long suspense. 

SECOND CHANCES is a paranormal romance, introducing you to the world of Destiny's Desire Lodge in the Colorado Mountains.  It's the first in a series, uniting soul mates destined to be together, separated—usually due to outside influences.  Sometimes the couples have already met and need to be reunited.  Other times, they need a little "extraordinary and magical" assistance.  They're brought together with a little help from Quinton Chase, the Fate-Keeper, who runs this special resort, Destiny's Desire.  The first novella is available now and book two is finished and will be out soon. 

For some people normal is normal and that's perfectly okay.  I've learned the hard way when it comes to me and my writing world, paranormal is my normal. 

DESPERATE CHOICES:  http://www.amazon.com/Desperate-Choices-ebook/dp/B0041KLBG2/ref=sr_1_2?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1374938095&sr=1-2&keywords=kathy+ivan

SECOND CHANCES:  http://www.amazon.com/Second-Chances-Destinys-Desire-ebook/dp/B00A4FNA0S 

About the Author

An avid reader of all types of romance, Kathy writes romantic suspense and paranormal romance.  She makes her home in the heart of North Texas doing her best to deal with the Texas heat.   She's a member of Romance Writers of America (RWA) and the Dallas Area Romance Authors (DARA). 

New Orleans Photo, Wikipedia commons