When you spend a lot of time with someone, you get attached to that person, don’t you? Well, as an author, I spend a lot of time with my characters. I get to know them, I sympathize with their hurts and rejoice when they find their happily-ever-after. Even after I type “The End,” it’s difficult to say goodbye. However, the story of the main characters is already told. The solution?
You guessed it. Give a chance at love and happiness to secondary characters. While I do love series, I noticed that even when the books are not supposed to be connected and belong to different series, my secondary characters decide to star in new books and don’t take no for an answer.
Season of Hope was supposed to be the last book in the trilogy Rios Azules Christmas. (That might change). But… Poor Miriam Lizarraga! She was in love with the hero, but her feelings weren’t returned. While beautiful, famous, and happy on the outside, she had a painful childhood trauma and needed healing. Really, how could I leave Miriam in such a terrible situation?
Now, this wounded beauty needed a hero who’d risk his life to keep her alive, but who’d also require his own healing. When I was writing Rapsodia in A Tuscan Legacy series, the main hero Marco had best friend, Philip. Once outgoing and sociable, Philip changed after an accident that had scarred him. There were also much deeper scars on his soul left by the person who was supposed to love and protect him… Well, it would be unfair to just forget about Philip and have him suffer, wouldn’t it? And I’d never want to be unfair! So, Heart Healed was born.
Can a scarred man running from his past and a beautiful star running from her future survive a murderous attack and find healing in God’s loving arms?
Do you like seeing secondary characters appearing in new books and getting their own stories? Do you ever feel sad to say goodbye when you finish reading the book?
Giveaway! One randomly chosen commenter to this post will receive 1 ecopy of my books (winner’s choice) to be gifted via BookFunnel. The giveaway is open until 6 p.m. CST September 19th. I look forward to reading your comments!
Prizes galore in our Back-to-School Bash now on!
Alexa Verde writes uplifting, diverse books about faith, love, and hope. She has had 200 short stories, articles, and poems published in the five languages that she speaks. After traveling the world and living in both hemispheres, she calls a small town in south Texas home. The latter is an inspiration for the fictional setting of her series Rios Azules Christmas and Secrets of Rios Azules. Alexa has a bachelor's degree in Spanish and a master's in Russian. She's worn the hats of reporter, teacher, translator, model (even one day counts!), caretaker, and secretary, but thinks that the writer's hat suits her the best.
Yes, I miss secondary characters and yes, I love when they get their own books! It usually means we get to visit characters again that we got to know well in previous books!
Hi Alexa, yes, I love it when secondary characters are given their own story. Means we get to catch up with ‘old/original’ characters which is always fun:)
Blessings:)
I get attached too! And when I start reading a book and realize I know these people I get so excited, it’s like getting to visit an old friend!
Thank you for sharing!
Yes! I love when a secondary character gets their own story and I am sad at the end of almost every book I read to say goodbye.
There are so many times when I wondered what happened to ___________? It would be great for them to have their own story!
Hi Alexa! Interesting question. Depends on how I connect with the characters. How many books I have read in-between. Best wishes.
Yes to the both :) I love seeing secondary characters appearing in new books and getting their own stories and I do feel sad to say goodbye when I finish reading the book.
I love bringing characters back, and giving secondary characters their own stories. It’s like playing connect the dots :)
I love having secondary characters in a new book. I’m always sad to see a series end.
I get sad frequently when saying goodbye to characters. There are even some books I haven’t finished so I wouldn’t have to say goodbye to the characters (how crazy is that?). I’m always happy to see them again in another book though. And I do like to see secondary characters in a new book, specially when I get to see what happened to their friends from the former books.
I didn’t know Miriam and Philip had appeared in previous books! Now I have to go read them, too! Great job of creating a standalone with familiar-to-you characters. Not an easy thing to do!
I do love reading (and writing) books that re-introduce familiar faces. I’ve done the same thing with my Potter’s House Books. It’s like visiting with friends you haven’t seen for a while, and catching up on their lives.
So glad to hear it, Katie Andersen! I’m happy to give secondary characters their own stories. Thank you for stopping by!
Blessings to you, to, Wemble! Thank you for sharing and thank you for always commenting on posts!
Yes , I often wonder what a secondary character is up to after I finish a book.
You get invested in the story and characters and just want to know what happens next! Thanks for the insight.
Yes, I love when secondary characters get their own stories. Sometimes I don’t even know I care about the secondary characters until I really get to know them through their own book. We’ve all got our stories.
Thank you for sharing, Ellie! That’s the way I feel. And I want to “see” them again.
Yay! Thank you, Jan Tomalis. I’m grateful for all this feedback. Lol, sometimes I wonder what happened to characters, too, and as I write the story, I find out.
Hi Renate! Happy to see you here, as always. And yes, I agree. A lot depends on how well we connect to the characters.
Thank you for sharing, Irma! Happy to hear it. :)
Thank you, Marion! I haven’t thought about it as connecting the dots. It’s a great way to look at it.
Thank you, Diana! I’m sad to see a series end, too.
I appreciate you commenting, Laura! And yes, it’s an awesome way to see what happened to other characters, too. :)
Awww, you’re so nice, Brenda! Thank you for reading them. And it’s wonderful to catch up on lives of our characters.
Paula Shreckhise, it’s so great for the author when readers get invested in a story so much they want to know what happened to characters! Thank you for commenting!
Thank you, Sherri! Glad to hear it. And so true, we all have our stories!
I love reading about secondary characters’ stories because I hate seeing them without a happy ending… and of course that usually gives us a glimpse towards our “friends” from the previous books. How’s that not to like?
I almost always love when secondary characters get their own stories!
Yes and yes. :) Sometimes I can’t start reading a new book right away because I need time to let go of the characters from the story I just finished reading.
Happy to hear it, Priscila. And glad to give secondary characters their stories. Thank you for commenting!
Thank you for stopping by, Melynda. It made me think. In some books, if I don’t particularly like secondary characters, I might not want to read their stories. But I have to admit I’m partial to my own characters!
Thank you, Kimberly Rose Johnson! Glad you can relate! Like I said, I love this feedback.
Great way to put it, like visiting an old friend! Thank you for sharing, Paula!
I very much enjoy reading series books. I know that all good things must come to an end but I really don’t like it when that happens.
That’s a great way to put it, Janet! And happy to see you here. Thank you very much for commenting!
I LOVE seeing secondary characters pop up in stories of their own. Seems like every book I write has the seeds for one or two more in it!
I know, right? Lol. And so many characters deserving their stories. Thank you, Autumn!
yes I love to see secondary characters having their own story. Thanks
Yes, I am sad when I get to the end of a book that I really enjoyed and have to say to goodbye to the characters. One of my favorite things about reading books that are part of a series is that I don’t have to say farewell as soon.
Thank you for your input, Sarah Taylor!
That’s what I love about the series, too, Jessica! Thank you so much for sharing!
I love when side characters get their own book.
Happy to hear it, and thank you very much for commenting!
I love seeing secondary characters get their own stories!
I love seeing secondary characters get their own stories! It’s fun to follow them on their own adventures.
Yes! I love a good secondary charter book, sometimes when reading a story you just wonder what thw secondary characters story is.
Yes, I love seeing secondary characters get their own story!
I’m all for secondary characters, both in books and movies and series. I think it’s a lot of fun to see them brought to the forefront of a story. Every onece in a while, they seem to be even more intriguing than the main characters. ;)
Hello my friend!
I get attached to characters while reading too…especially men LOL
It’s nice when they get their own story! Blessings!!!
Love reading about these characters thank you for the chance!