Saturday, June 25, 2011

The Truth About Peter Strauss

When I first set out to write Filter I had no clue that a tall, tanned young man would walk in to stir up trouble. This was something I actually fought against. It was another struggle with an unruly character. The introduction of Peter Strauss seemed trivial and a bit shallow and I railed against the idea. As the story unfolded, I fought even harder because it was going in a direction that had not been mapped out. Peter Strauss brought not only his sexy bod into the story, he also brought an underlying current of suspense and, some may say, malice. In the end, no spoilers here, I tried to think around every possibility other than the one that presented itself, but the story won out. 
Unlike a certain shapeshifter, Peter Strauss fills a much bigger and more pivotal role than just being one angle of a love triangle. But I can't tell you all that. Not yet. And part of the reason behind that is, the characters haven't clued me in yet. I've pretty much given up on the idea of having a detailed plot outline because I always wind up tossing it out and then trying to figure out a reasonable way to make the characters' stories fit in with everything else. I am often overheard exclaiming, "No! That's not how it's supposed to be!" My husband has learned to ignore these tirades and I am glad he isn't one to take videos. 
Today at my book signing, a couple people asked, "Do you begin with the end in mind?"
Actually no. 
That's so far out, I have no clue as to what's going to happen!
(And for that reason, these books are NOT stand-alones. In order to get the answers you seek, you will have to keep reading.)
I began with the beginning. Everything has to fit in with that. The characters can mess around with the story all they want, but they MUST stay true to the beginning. This includes Peter Strauss, whom no one invited to begin with.

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