When authors write a story, they have to build the world in which the characters live. For most of my stories, I create a fictional, small town near a real, large city. Besides making a town where my characters live, I have to decide where they call home. Will it be an apartment, a bungalow, […]
Loving the Unlikable Character
A few years back, there was a certain novel people couldn’t stop talking about (I won’t name the book, but it was secular, not Christian and not romance). The reviews were fantastic and everyone seemed to love it—so I decided to give it a read. I have never been so disappointed in a book in […]
Shoulders, Jawlines, and Pecs, Oh My! Beneath the Hero’s Surface & Giveaway
Poor, poor men. They’re always being judged on their appearance, shape, and size instead of their personality. The pretty ones have it the worst because people assume they are all beauty and no brains. Just imagine how unappreciated romance heroes feel with their broad shoulders, thick hair perfect for a good hand rake, and ideal […]
Makings of Beloved Supporting Characters
I love my main characters. Most of the heroines and heroes I’ve written feel like dear friends. I’ve cheered them on, celebrated their happily ever afters, and even prayed for them (yes, really!). But something dawned on me recently. While I love my leading men and women, it’s some of the supporting characters I’ve penned […]
What’s Your Name? What’s Your Story?
Characters are the most important element in the story for me as a writer and a reader. So getting to know my characters tops the list. Often the actually writing helps me know my characters. I know some writers interview the characters to learn about them, but that doesn’t work for me because I am […]
Quiz: Could You be a Heroine in a Romance Novel?
It’s wedding season! I love hearing all the stories of how couples got together. It inspires me to write better because, really, there are a lot of overused tropes out there. I’ve overused them myself. Though I’m happily married, and I feel like my love story would make good fodder, do I really have what […]
Revisiting Characters
A Texas Bond, book three in my Texas Hill Country series, officially released last week. It was inspired partly by my husband and I dabbling in flea marketing after shopping them for years. The picture I included is the booth we had full of items we created or repurposed. It was fun fitting our […]
Bring in the Sidekick + Giveaway
It may surprise some of you to know that the character I consider my most important to date is not one of my main characters. It’s Sheba Burris from Love’s Redemption. She’s a former alcoholic who works in a mid-grade restaurant. At first glance, she seems low key, but Sheba supports the lead female character […]
It’s Complicated… (interesting characters usually are) + cover reveal
If you’ve been on social media at any point in the last decade, you’ve probably noticed at least one of your “friends” with the relationship status It’s Complicated. The phrase has filtered its way into our culture in all sorts of ways—movie titles, song lyrics, book themes, mindsets. It’s complicated isn’t always a response we’d […]
Character Interviews by Merrillee Whren
Today we have Brittany Gorman and Parker Watson from A MATCH TO CALL OURS, the newly crowned book #1 in my Front Porch Promises series, as our guests on the blog. Interviewer: Hi, Brittany, I’m so glad you could join us. Brittany: Thanks for having me. It’s not every day that I’m featured on a […]