The characters in my books come from various walks of life. I’ve written about all sorts of professions, including a people walker. Most of the time, though, my characters have more traditional jobs. For example, Amy Untermeter is a destination wedding photographer in Wish You Joy (Savannah Sweethearts Book 10). She’s never been interviewed on this blog before, so I thought it would be interesting to step into this story book and talk to Amy in Savannah, Georgia, one a hot summer’s day, all huffing and puffing about an injustice…
You haven’t been home in years. So why now?
Amy: Firstly, I’ll have to admit that my mother and I have a strained relationship. That makes it hard for me to come home. Once my brothers and I left home after college, we rarely ever make it back. Isaac does more than I do, even though his job as a cruise ship chef takes him all around the world and everywhere but home. Among all my brothers, Isaac spends more time checking on Mom. As such, he tells me things, such as this big development that made me drop everything and fly home.
Family drama? Ooh. Tell me more.
Amy: You see, my mother has decided to sell fifty one percent of our Christmas decorating family business to a total stranger (to me). I have no idea where she found this guy, but he can’t possibly be the CEO of Christmastown. This holiday business has been in my family for decades. So I came home to see if Mom has been swindled or scammed or something because all of a sudden, I’m a minority shareholder. I won’t be able to call the shots. The good news is that I still own Amy’s Christmas Tree Farm, so there’s that.
Have you met your business partner and how did it go?
Amy: At first the meeting didn’t go well, so I’m not sure what to tell you about my first impression of Cyrus Theroux. I suppose I looked hotheaded to begin with, barging into the Christmastown warehouse like I owned the place. He tried to be nice, but I didn’t buy it. I had no idea what he’d done to get on Mom’s good side, but he is. Mom likes him, apparently, and that’s the end of it.
Did your impression of Cyrus change?
Amy: Once I met Cyrus, I began to realize that he knew more about my own mother than I did. For example, I was overseas busy with packed wedding schedules and had no idea that Mom fell last year and ended up getting her knee replaced. Cyrus was there to help her recover, along with Mom’s church friends at Riverside Chapel. But you know who were missing? My two brothers and me. We were out there in the world doing our things and didn’t care what happened to Mom. That made me feel like a prodigal daughter, you know? Cyrus, whom I had called a total stranger, was there for my mother. I wasn’t. Suddenly I saw why Cyrus has been more of a son to Mom than I was her daughter.
What did that teach you about yourself as a Christian?
Amy: I hate to admit that this family is full of secrets. After Dad passed away, our family fell apart. There are things that Mom never told me. Perhaps she was too ashamed to. Perhaps she thought I would reject her if she had. At the end of the day, I have to trust that God would carry us through, no matter what surprises roll out of the family closet. I am also thankful to God that Cyrus is there for me regardless of the heartbreaking things that had gone on in this family. God has indeed brought him into my life to walk alongside me. Someone whom I thought was a random stranger became my best friend and partner in business as well as in life.
Wish You Joy (Savannah Sweethearts Book 10) is in Kindle Unlimited for my voracious readers. This story begins in the hot month of July, when the Christmastown holiday decorating company gets busy preparing its inventory for the Christmas season. It’s August now, and we’re truly only four months away from Christmas…
Question for you!
Do you like character interviews? Do they give you insight into the book that you read? If you haven’t read the book, do character interviews make you want to read the book or at least check out the book description?
USA Today bestselling novelist Jan Thompson writes clean and wholesome multiethnic contemporary Christian romance with elements of women’s fiction, Christian romantic suspense with an air of mystery, and inspirational international thrillers with threads of sweet Christian romance. Join Jan's mailing list for her latest book news: JanThompson.com/newsletter
I’ll be honest, I have never read character interviews. I like to just read the book and find out who the characters are that way.
I do like character interviews, and if I haven’t read the book, they usually make me want to check the book out!! If I have read the book, it sometimes makes me want to read it again. I have 7 of the books in this series of yours in my TBR stack!
This made me curious to find out more about the drama and secrets in Amy’s family.
Hi Jan! If I have a connection with the topic then I enjoy character interviews. I do enjoy the insight into the book. This interview made me explore the series. I enjoy taking pictures of family, friends and the world around me. I have 44,000 + on my computer. Added the book to my Kindle wish list. Family drama and Christmas makes for an inspiring read. Enjoy your weekend.
I like character interviews because they help me decide if I would like to read the book or series.
I always read author’s bios and interviews. I don’t speak to a sister for stealing for my parents’ homes and things when they died. I never thought she would do this, but she took legal steps when they were alive. I just assumed that everyone would be fair.
I enjoy reading character interviews. They can provide a fun insight and give hints of the book.
I do enjoy character interviews because it gives me insight into whether I like the main character or not. An unlikeable main character can make a story unpleasant for me.
I enjoy reading character interviews if the interview sounds interesting sometimes I look on Amazon to see if it’s a book I would enjoy.i have read a few of the books that they put character interviews on inspy romance but it was before theY put the interview on.
I like reading character interviews. I feel like the author is able to to be more casual when writing them & it allows you to see a different side of the character(s). If it’s a book I haven’t read, it almost always makes me want to read the book! 😂
I like them, and yes, if I haven’t read the book yet, they make me add it to my TBR list. Thanks for this one! It was fun!
I enjoy character interviews, I find they really draw me in to the world of the book and make me want to find out more. I’ve definitely gone on to read a few books because of character interviews.
I enjoy reading character interviews and gaining a “personal” look into their lives and thoughts. :D
yes, are fun
I hear you! This is why I do character interviews infrequently, and when I do, I try not to reveal too much story. Hopefully I didn’t put any spoilers in my interview today, with the knowledge that since I write romance, all my books have a happy ending :-)
Thank you for your comment. Have a wonderful weekend in the Lord!
Ooh nice! Wow. Thank you very much. I hear you about TBR. Mine is now about seven years long. So many books, so little time. HAHA!
Thank you for your comment. Have a wonderful weekend in the Lord!
Thank you. I didn’t want to ruin the story by giving spoilers. I did my best not to reveal much.
That’s the thing about authors — we know what our book endings are. :-)
You can find this ebook in Kindle Unlimited also.
Thanks again for your comment. Have a wonderful weekend in the Lord!
Wow, that’s a lot of photos! Yes, I like taking photos too, but these days I just use my phone. Gone are the days of bulky cameras. IDK whether I am missing resolution or not using the best cameras, but oh well. Phones fit in my purse :-)
Thank you for checking out my books, and I hope you’ll enjoy the Savannah Sweethearts series. They are all in Kindle Unlimited. There is a 12th and final novel coming soon (potentially 2024).
Thanks again for your comment. You have a wonderful weekend too!
That’s great! I think that’s one of the fun purposes of it.
Thank you for your comment. Have a wonderful weekend in the Lord!
Fun. I do like the hints, if they are not spoilers, hopefully.
Thank you for your comment. Have a wonderful weekend in the Lord!
Thank you for your comment. Have a wonderful weekend in the Lord!
I hear you. Speaking for myself, it’s very hard for me to write unlikeable main characters. Firstly, I have to put up with him/her LOL for the entire duration of my writing process, which could take months or even years. So I have to like my main characters. Having said that, there are story arcs and journeys that my characters do go through so there’s that balance as well.
Thank you for your comment. Have a wonderful weekend in the Lord!
Nice! Yes, good idea there. Sometimes a character does make or break the reading fun.
I didn’t think about doing any character interview based on this book, WISH YOU JOY, until I saw that today was World Photography Day.
I also didn’t add in an interview with Cyrus, the other half of Christmastown, but if I did, this blog post would be very long. Maybe I’ll do his interview in another blog post at another time.
Thank you for your comment. Have a wonderful weekend in the Lord!
Good points about these blogs being more relaxed. Hopefully after reading Amy’s interview, you’d want to check out the story. :-)
IMHO it’s fun to write character interviews, even though I try not to do it too often because I’m afraid I’d accidentally spill spoilers from my own books LOL.
Thank you for your comment. Have a wonderful weekend in the Lord!
Nice! Thank you very much. I hope you’ll enjoy reading the book as well. It has happy moments and sad moments and of course, a happily ever after as all my romantic stories do!
Thanks again for your comment. Have a wonderful weekend in the Lord!
Good points! I do agree that if the character interview does its jobs, it draws the reader into the story world. Hopefully Amy’s interview did a little bit of that. I tried my best not to spill any spoilers LOL.
Thank you for your comment. Have a wonderful weekend in the Lord!
Thank you for your comment. Have a wonderful weekend in the Lord!
Yes, indeed. I like that too.
Thank you for your comment. Have a wonderful weekend in the Lord!
Yes, I did enjoy this interview. I have not read any of your books. I am very intrigued to learn more. Thank you so much for sharing. God bless you.
Hi, yes, I love character interviews! And I really enjoyed this interview ! I have not read any of your books, but they sound like great reads. Have a great weekend.
Sounds like a fun book!
Character interviews-very intriguing way of presenting the novel!!
I am late. I like some character interviews. (recently a dog was interviewed and it was so funny). I do like different occupations.
I like character interviews! It makes it more intriguing to dive into the story!
I don’t think it matters. Good question.
Character interviews are always interesting to read and it is fun to lean more about books in different ways.
Yes, I do like character interviews! When it is a character in a book I’ve already read, it is a fun way to re-connect with the character & book and maybe gain additional insight into the character. When it is with a book I haven’t read, it often makes me want to read the book–case in point, the interview with Amy above!
Thank you. Glad you enjoyed the interview.
If you haven’t read my books, I do have a free book you can download into your Kindle reader:
Time for Me (A Vacation Sweethearts Prequel)
JanThompson.com/time-free
Happy reading!
Thank you, Alicia! Sorry I literally just saw all these new comments for my blog post last Saturday. I guess better late in replying than never. :-)
I mentioned to Debra in reply to her comment that I do have a free ebook for you to download if you’re new to my writing.
Time for Me (A Vacation Sweethearts Prequel)
JanThompson.com/time-free
Happy reading!
Thank you!
Yes, I agree. Thank you!
Hi – I am late too. Sorry. I didn’t see all these comments after I finished replying last Saturday to what I thought was the last comment.
Oooh that’s fun to interview the dog. Somehow I imagine it’s like interviewing Scooby Doo :-)
Thank you for your comment. Have a wonderful weekend in the Lord!
Thank you. It is indeed!
Thank you!
Yes, they are interesting. I do try my best not to give away spoilers. It’s very hard to write character interviews, speaking for myself. Hehe.
Thank you for your comment.
Hello Betty! Sorry I just now saw your comment.
Oh that’s a good point about character interviews after you have read the book.
Thank you for wanting to read this book, Wish You Joy. I hope you’ll have fun reading it. I had a wonderful time writing this story.
I am now writing Cyrus’s cousin’s story…
I usually skip character interviews. Much like I skip documentaries. I prefer reading the story.