October, 2009

Congrats to winner Amber Dutko! She’ll be receiving all four books in my witch series: The Wedding Spell, Magical Moments, Magical Memories and Remember the Magic.

A reminder about the Halloween Contest. You have until Friday to enter. So come on and take a chance to win all four books in my magic series: The Wedding Spell, Magical Moments, Magical Memories and Remember The Magic.

To learn more about the books just click on the tab Magic Quadrilogy at the top of the page. It’s easy to enter just tell me in the comment box that you want to enter the Halloween Contest or e-mail me at donna@donnafletcher.com.  I will announce the winner on Halloween!

It’s impossible for me to get to know my characters unless I chat with them. It’s similar to talking with someone you’ve just met. You exchange basic info and as the friendship evolves your chats grow longer, subject matter turns more intimate and you begin to trust.

When I reach trust with my characters they begin to reveal the unexpected to me. Issues, concerns and doubts surface and are discussed, making them all the more real.

Ronan Sinclare surprised me. When I first met him, he was young and trying hard to compete with his older brothers. He hadn’t the battle experience they had or had he earned the scars of a warrior. Suddenly he found himself a captive of his enemy and worse he feared it had been his fault that he and his brother Cavan had been captured. He felt a coward.

How could he ever redeem himself? How could he ever go home again and face his family? At every turn Ronan faced more obstacles and with each one, he matured slowly and steadily, gaining not only experience as a seasoned warrior, but earning the battle scars to prove it.

It took three books and many chats with Ronan to see him through his ordeal and watch him emerge a courageous warrior. But it’s in the unexpected love he finds that he became a true hero in my eyes and heart.

I’m eager for Ronan’s story to be known, for I know he will steal hearts as he stole mine!

The Old Man and the Beach Umbrella

Over the weekend I watched the movie Inkheart starring Brendan Fraser and Helen Mirren. ( I just love her and she was great in this movie.) It’s about a silver-tongue, a person who can read characters out of a book and into reality.

Okay, so that got me to thinking about the Sinclare brothers. Can you imagine having them step out of the pages of their books? Of course I’d have to decide who I wanted to meet first and that might prove difficult, since I love the four of them for different reasons, or perhaps I could have all four of them appear at once, though that might prove too overpowering. To be able to see my characters come to life would be amazing, thrilling and a little chilling. Though Ronan might be upset with me being I put him through so much and the same would go for Cavan. Would they want me to write their stories differently or believe their future their own as one character in Inkheart did? And what would I say to them?

It’s such a fascinating concept, though there was a catch to the idea. When a character came out of the book, someone went into the book. If I could return whenever I wanted to then I  might want to visit 1500 Scotland, though it’s a big might. Writing about it is one thing. Living there is another.

The author in Inkheart whose characters had been brought to life had a different thought. He found being a writer a lonely life and would gladly go live in the world he had created. While writing can be a lonely profession and at times you feel as if your characters are your only friends (after all authors spend a good many hours a day with them), I don’t find it lonely and I love the time I spend writing.

I related to the author in the book as he gazed upon his characters with wonder and smiles. I think I would be beaming with joy if the Sinclare brothers stood in front of me in the flesh, decked out in their Highlander gear. And then I thought about The Buccaneer and meeting him in the flesh. I tell you my mind took flight.

So do tell me, if you could have your favorite character in a book come to life right in front of you, who would it be?