Friday, January 13, 2023

Friday Eileen Troemel is Visiting and Talking About Characters #MFRWAuthor #Heroes #Heroines #Villains

 

Heroes, Heroines, Villains. Which are your favorite to write?

I prefer to write a strong sassy female lead. Though I do enjoy a wicked villain, I still prefer to show the story from the heroine’s point of view. I also like to show the conflict between two strong leads and how they learn to work together and accept each other and the risks they take.

 

Heroes. How do you find them? Do pictures, real life or plain imagination create the man you want every reader to love? Do they come before the plot or after you have the idea for the story?

Yes. My characters come from all of those situations. Sometimes, it’s what the female lead needs. Sometimes it’s a stereotype male. It just depends on the story and my female lead.

 

 

Heroines. How do you find them? Do pictures, real life or imagination create the woman you want the reader to root for? Do they appear before the plot or after you have the idea for the story?

It depends on the story. I think the female lead usually comes to me first but there are times she reveals herself slowly to me.

 

Your favorite book?

I don’t have a favorite book – or I should say I couldn’t pick a favorite book until you threatened bodily harm.  I love books which surprise me or which keep me so engaged, I’m grumpy when I’m interrupted or can’t finish it in one sitting.

 

 

5. Villains or villainesses or an antagonist, since they don’t always have to be the bad guy or girl. They can be a person opposed to the hero’s or heroine’s obtaining their goal. How do you choose one? How do you make them human?

I’m not a planner so I don’t regularly plan my stories or my characters. I develop them as I go. I let the characters tell me their stories. Now in some cases a bad guy / girl will appear. Sometimes, it’s someone specific and sometimes they will surprise you.

 

What is your latest release? Who is the hero, heroine and or the villain?

My latest release is Ariana. It’s the third book in the Dragon Descendant series. In the first two books we had reluctant mates. They didn’t want to be together. In this one, she knows her mate but he left her ten years ago.  She’s mourned for him and missed him. She didn’t understand why he left. When he returns, they have to hash it out. It’s not a pretty story. Don’t worry – they get their HEA but they have to work through some things.

 

Ariana has grown up and become a woman. She’s stronger for him having left her though it took her a long time to get there. She’s kind and loving but she’s also got a backbone. 

 

Winnod wanders their world climbing different mountains. He’s always listening for the dragons but he’s mourning. He grew up but isn’t in a good place.

 

The villain in this book is radical and ineffective. But there’s a bigger bad which you won’t find out about until the final book Bryony.

 

When I wrote this book I intended it to be all from her point of view with Winnod being the bad guy for abandoning her but Winnod stepped up and said – hey now, I’ve got my side of things. I think it made the book better.

 

 

7. What are you working on now?

I almost never work on one project at a time – at least in the beginning stages. I’m writing the second book in the sacrificed series (Ava M Taylor pen name) Surrendered to the Sea Demon.  It’s bouncing around in my head and I need to get it down on paper.

 

I’m also working on a new series – Alien Alliance (also and Ava M Taylor series).  These books will be closely tied to each other and I plan to release them in a shorter time frame.  The first book is done but I have a couple more scenes to add to it. The more I think on this series, the more I feel the first one needs a tweak here and there.  The first book is about her wanting a mate and him not wanting her – until he realizes how much he’s messed up. By the time he realizes, she’s reached a point where she doesn’t trust her own emotions or his. The second book will be about him proving himself and her learning to trust herself and him.  The third in the trilogy will be about them learning to work together and combine their strength to… well I can’t tell you the ultimate goal – it gives away too much.

 

 

How can people find you?

https://linktr.ee/eileentroemel

 

 

 

9. Who are your favorite authors?

Anne McCaffery, Patricia Wrede, Piers Anthony, Alistair McLean, Louis L’Amour, JD Robb, Suzanne Brockmann, Thea Harrison.

1 comment:

Eileen Troemel said...

Thank you for posting this interview. The questions were so thought provoking for me. You really made me think about my writing!