How She Does It -L. E. Harvey

1. How do you create your characters? Do you have a specific process?

Not really. Sometimes I'm inspired by a picture or a face. Othertimes a personality trait or life experience will come to me. Sometimes a character in their intirety comes to me. There's no real process for me. I just let them come to me.

2. Do your characters come before the plot? Do you sketch out your plot or do you let the characters develop the route to the end?

My stories are charcter-driven, so when a character comes, so does the plot. As a write, things will happen that surprise me. The basic plot, however, arrives with the character. They are intertwined for me.

3. Do you know how the story will end before you begin? In a general way or a specific one?

Yes, I do have a general idea of how each of my stories will end. For me, you can't have a plot without an ending. I don't force it, I want the ending to flow and match the story. Just like the characters come with the plot, so does the ending. I'm very lucky in that my muse is rather thorough! :)


4. Do you choose settings you know or do you have books of settings and plans of houses sitting around?

I typically choose the settings. The settings are chosen for one reason or another. For example, Imperfect and Impeccable are set in St. Louis because of a reference to the St. Louis Cardinals. Unbreakable Hostage is set in Los Angeles because of my time on the West coast. Loving Her is set in my home town of Philadelphia because I wanted Katie to be a vet student at the University of Penn., where I used to work. So, the locations aren't chosen by chance. It's important for me to have the location fit the characters and the story, so I'm cautious as I choose the locations as well.

5. Where do you do your research? On line or from books?

Both. I typically start on-line, unless I happen to have a book that references the topic handy. Otherwise, I see what I can find on the internet, including book titles and I go from there. If nothing else, Imperfect and Impeccable taught me that you can never do enough research! :)


Stories of Love Without Boundaries
L. E. Harvey, Author
Author: Loving Her; Unbreakable Hostage; Imperfect; Impeccable