Tuesday Special: Fractured by Deceit

JAMI GRAY

www.jamigray.com

How does he keep her safe when she’s the threat?

Hunted by a faceless enemy, she turns to him for help…

Megan Rouser survived six months at the hands of a brutal telepath only to emerge with fractured memories and a terrifying premonition of impending danger. Determined to regain control of her life, she turns to the one man who held her together and brought her out of hell…Bishop.

But who’ll protect him from her…

Jacob Archer, aka Bishop, has spent his life protecting others, and as part of the off-the-books psychic ex-military team known as PSY-IV, it’s a skill he’s mastered. Rescuing the determined and intriguing Megan triggers all his white knight tendencies, despite lingering suspicions about her kidnapping. But what happens when the threat he should be watching for, is her?

As Megan and Bishop delve deeper into the twisted mind of a madman, will they find a way to survive unseen threats or be torn apart by the most intimate of betrayals?

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EXCERPT
     It was after midnight when I finally closed my bedroom door, leaving Bishop on the too-small couch in the living room with a blanket and pillow. Uncertain about the feelings spinning through me, I leaned against the door and stared at my feet as I dug my toes into the carpet. Despite my earlier comments in the Jeep, it wasn’t the size of the couch that left me struggling—it was Bishop. Or to be more precise, it was my reaction to the man. He made me feel safe. Until my rescue, I’d been nowhere on his radar. Maybe I’d spent too much time with my therapist, but I couldn’t help but wonder if the reason I felt safe with him was because his was the first face I saw when I was rescued.
     Maybe, or maybe it’s because you spent way too long daydreaming about him.
     An uncomfortable heat simmered in my cheeks. Although I’d never been introduced to the men and women on Delacourt’s teams, I’d managed to match some of the faces to names as they came through the office. The first time Bishop swept through with his dangerous, sexy, predatory grace, he left an impression—to the point where he showed up some of my artwork. That same impression might explain why, during the weeks of having my mind twisted, my shadowy protector shared an uncomfortable number of characteristics with Bishop.
     When it came to Bishop, I couldn’t shake the feeling that if I dared to reach out and touch the impossible, I might be in for the ride of my life. Despite the temptation to find out, I wasn’t sure my courage was up to the challenge—not when my mind was a hot mess and when no one, including me, knew if I was a threat or not. Bishop deserved someone he could trust.
     Ignoring the painful pinch of that truth, I shivered and pushed away from the door to shuffle into the bathroom. I went through my nightly routine, my thoughts whirling as I tried to grapple with the fact I was in no shape, mentally or emotionally, to follow through on the temptation to play with the built six-foot-two hottie in my living room—not that Bishop had done anything to encourage me other than being the perfect gentleman all night. His solid presence kept me company as I indulged in a Monty Python binge. Between enjoying in the dry English humor and fighting the urge to lay my head on Bishop’s broad shoulder and sink into the security he wore like a coat, I managed to combat the darker thoughts lurking just outside the light. Unfortunately, spending time with him left me wanting more. Even if I was mixing my imagination with reality, I couldn’t ignore that having him with me was both a blessing and a curse.
     I shook my head as I brushed my teeth. What the hell was I thinking? Wrong time, wrong place. Hell, with my luck, whatever draw I’d felt was probably one-sided. Especially considering his blunt assessment that I was the weakest link. Harsh though it was, the label wasn’t wrong. So I was not what a focused, determined man of action would find attractive.

Jami Gray is the coffee addicted, music junkie, Queen Nerd of her personal Geek Squad, Alpha Mom of the Fur Minxes, and award-winning author of the Urban Fantasy series, The Kyn Kronicles, the Paranormal Romantic Suspense series, PSY-IV Teams, and her latest Romantic Suspense series, Fate’s Vultures. She writes to soothe the voices in her head.

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Goodreads

Take Your Characters Deep... by Jami Gray

The Write Way Café welcomes Jami Gray, who offers an interesting take on character development.


For all those who have interacted with small humans in the kinder-to-third grade arena, you might be familiar with Flat Stanley (also known in some cases as Flat Lizzy). For those who haven’t had the joy of meeting this illustrious character, a quick introduction.

Flat Stanley or Lizzy is a one-dimensional paper doll who is forced to accompany adults into a variety of situations—from board meetings (oh yeah, we’ve done that one) to crashing exotic vacations. Photographic proof is required upon Flat Stanley or Lizzy’s return home, where they are presented for inspection, accompanied by ew’s and ah’s of their many exciting adventures.

You may wonder why I mention these childhood world travelers. Well, because did anyone consider that maybe Stanley and Lizzy didn’t want to attend that board meeting? Maybe traversing the US Postal Service world in an envelope is not something to envy. Did anyone take into account what Stanley and Lizzy really wanted? Maybe Stanley prefers to nestle between the pages of a good story. Maybe Lizzy has no desire to visiting the ocean where the salt water plays havoc on her paper skin. I’m pretty sure no one bothered to ask these two globetrotters what exactly they wanted from their crafted life.

Which brings me to my own creatures of craft—characters.

Do you know what your characters want? What or who they desire? What drives them? Or, are you trying to force them into what you, the almighty story crafter, wants because that is what the story needs?

Characters are virtual people, and people are never, ever one-dimensional. They are more like the twenty-sided die you use for various gaming adventures.

As a writer who happens to be an avid reader, I enjoy complex and well-developed characters. When I read some of my favorite authors, such as Ilona Andrews, Nalini Singh, Seanan McGuire, and Jennifer Estep, just to name a few, there is a nascent bit of the green-eyed monster for their twenty-sided character development. Each of their characters, whether primary or secondary, are uniquely individual and if we were lucky enough to run into them in the “real world” we’d recognize them in a heartbeat.

When I create characters, I strive to accomplish the same thing. Now, there are tons of character worksheets, psychological profiles, and various other tools you can use to give your character life, but I thought I’d share with you how my journey to discovering character depth started. Hang tight to your GPS, because the wandering path of my mind on this particular question tends not to follow any known map.

Starting point:  Holy crap! I want to be  (Insert preferred author name here) when I grow up. Maybe if I ask, they’ll adopt me, and then because I’m theirs, their creative magic will spill over to me. Like a magical writing potion.

Jumps to:  How much would such a potion cost? What if it requires a sacrifice of some sort? Maybe I’d have to give up chocolate or coffee or (gasp!) both. *shudders*

Sharp left to: Maybe my character should lose someone, it would explain why their personal line of ethics keeps moving. Hmmm, what if their special someone or someones were lost in a spectacularly memorable way? *ponders options*

Quick U-turn to: Oh, wait, what kind of emotional trauma can I inflict on my characters to dress them in such gorgeously realistic personality garments?

Break the speed limit, cover a few miles: How much therapy would most UF characters have to undergo before they were considered "normal"?

Scenic Outlook stop: Remember that workshop? You know the one where they talked about character arcs?  Okay, so we need...history, motivators, personality quirks, strengths, weaknesses, lions, tigers and bears...oh my!

Back on highway: Character depth equals making your characters into real people, which is far from easy because every individual personality is made up of a myriad of decisions, behaviors, attitudes, etc.  Their history shapes their decision-making process, their biases shape the way they approach a given situation, and their actions determine the reactions of those around them. So I guess that means to give your characters depth, you have to...

Big Exit Sign Ahead:  Give them a foundation from which they get a chance to grow into a person through your story.

My Knight in Slightly Muddy Armor claims I am directly challenged. After plotting out this little tangent, I think I have to agree.  However, I'm really curious, what would you use to create depth for your characters?


Jami Gray is the coffee addicted, music junkie, Queen Nerd of her personal Geek Squad, Alpha Mom of the Fur Minxes, and award-winning author of the Urban Fantasy series, The Kyn Kronicles, the Paranormal Romantic Suspense series, PSY-IV Teams, and her latest Romantic Suspense series, Fate’s Vultures. She writes to soothe the voices in her head.

If you want to hunt her down, she can be found lurking around the following cyber locations:

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