Ramblings From This Chick: Guest Post with Author Lisa Desrochers and Giveaway

Saturday, September 14, 2013

Guest Post with Author Lisa Desrochers and Giveaway

Meet Lisa Desrochers, author of A Little Too Far.

Lisa Desrochers lives in northern California with her husband, two very busy daughters, and Shini the tarantula. If you'd told her five years ago she'd write a book, she'd have laughed in your face. As it turns out, she'd owe you an apology. Writing has become an addiction for Lisa and A Little Too Far, courtesy of HarperCollins, is her first novel for adults. She is also the author of the young adult Personal Demons trilogy from Macmillan.

When she's not writing, she's reading, and she adores stories that take her to new places, and then take her by surprise.

Places to find Lisa:

I read a book that totally rocked my world a few years back. It left me an incoherent mess. I’m still not sure I’ve ever fully recovered. After over a week of not being able to function, I sat down and tried to dissect out what made the character, and therefore his story, so powerful that it totally broke me. Here’s what I came up with…

Dissection of a Great Character 101: A Lab Manual

The Skin: On inspection of the surface of a Great Character, notice the following:

1. Personality
On the surface, we should see the Great Character’s distinct personality. Run-of-the-mill doesn’t cut it. Some people may argue with me, but a Great Character doesn’t need to be super likable. However, if they’re not, they need some sort of redeeming characteristics so the reader is still pulling for them. There should be something in the personality that draws readers to the Great Character.

2. Relationships
Next, notice the Great Character’s relationships. They need to matter not only to him, but to the reader. These relationships should be layered and not stereotypical. Some should be strained, others new and exciting, others could be love/hate or competitive. These relationships may not all be healthy. Some (especially the new ones) may even be dangerous or threaten the character achieving his ultimate goal. Also notice how these relationships came about. Did the Great Character seek them out, or were they pursued? It’s the way a character interacts with others that show us all the facets of his personality and make him real to the reader.

3. External Challenges
What in the outside world is keeping the Great Character from getting what he wants/needs. This may be one big thing, or several little things—maybe of his own doing. Either way, it should be more than an obstacle of convenience.

As we cut through the skin, we see layers beneath. Pull back the skin to reveal:

4. History
Here, notice the significant events that have happened in the Great Character’s life, and how he reacted to them. These are the things that shaped him into who his is today.

5. Desires/Needs
Look for the things the Great Character needs in order to be happy/survive. What is missing and why?

6. Imperfections/Vulnerabilities
Notice the Great Character’s flaws. There should be things here that make the reader cringe. Some of what we find here may be unforgivable. These are the things that the Great Character will generally only reveal to himself (and the reader) through inner dialogue. The fact that he admits these things only to himself shows one more layer of vulnerability.

7. Internal Challenges
Within our Great Character, notice what it is that keeps him from going after his desires/needs. This needs to feel authentic and can’t be based on a simple misunderstanding.

And when you probe into deepest layers of a Great Character, you find:

8. Inner conflict
Notice how the desires/needs and the internal challenges manifest into conflict within the Great Character. What is the character still struggling with and what are the obstacles keeping him from overcoming this struggle? How does what he wants fly in the face of what he believes is best or right. This conflict usually stems from his imperfections and vulnerabilities colliding with his desires and needs.

9. Raw emotion
In the deepest layers, notice the things our Great Character keeps locked away. This, often, is the emotional response to the coming together of everything listed above. It may not be rational, and it may be infuriating to the reader, but it needs to be authentic to the character based on everything the reader knows about him.

So, there you have it. Hope the dissection wasn’t too gory for you!

Have you ever gone just a little too far?

Lexie Banks has.

Yep. She just had mind-blowing sex with her stepbrother. In her defense, she was on the rebound, and it’s more of a my-dad-happened-to-marry-a-woman-with-a-super-hot-son situation. But still, he’s been her best friend and confidant for the better part of the last few years … and is so off limits. It’s a good thing she’s leaving in two days for a year abroad in Rome.

But even thousands of miles away, Lexie can’t seem to escape trouble. Raised Catholic, she goes to confession in hopes of alleviating some of her guilt … and maybe not burning in hell. Instead, she stumbles out of the confessional and right into Alessandro Moretti, a young and very easy-on-the-eyes deacon … only eight months away from becoming a priest. Lexie and Alessandro grow closer, and when Alessandro’s signals start changing despite his vow of celibacy, she doesn’t know what to think. She’s torn between falling in love with the man she shouldn’t want and the man she can’t have. And she isn’t sure how she can live with herself either way.

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