Characters

Starting a New Project

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There is something exciting and a bit daunting about starting a new writing project. There are new characters to shape and flesh out, a setting to be explored, and a pile of historical research to dig into to help inspire the plot and breathe authenticity into the story.

On New Year’s Day, I turned in the completed manuscript for Book 3 in my Texas Ever After series. It felt so good to finish that one up over the holidays and get it sent to my publisher. But there was no time to rest. I have a contracted novella that I need to start on. One that is bringing out my nerdy side.

This story is to be a fun, quirky holiday read that will be part of a Christmas novella collection. Since Christmas is fresh on my mind, and a bit of holiday spirit still lingers in the air (since I haven’t gotten around to putting up my Christmas decorations yet), it seemed like the right time to start developing this story.

The first sentence of the story is a newspaper headline:

THREE WISE MEN FROM THE EAST TO ARRIVE TOMORROW

No, this isn’t a Bethleham tale. Our three wise men are mathematics professors from Harvard who are coming to Waco, Texas for an academic symposium sponsored by Baylor University. And one of those “wise men” just happens to be our Christmas hero.

Meet Frank Stentz (middle initial N, if you were wondering 😉 ). Age thirty and one of the most promising young mathematicians Harvard has ever produced. Over the Christmas break, I happened to watch bits and pieces of the Fantastic Beasts series, so Frank bears a striking ressemblance to Newt Scamander.

Our heroine is Stella Barrington, named for the Sirius B star that was discovered in the year of her birth 1862. Her father is a professor of mathematics and astronomy at Baylor. I’d already planned to name her after a star since that fit well with my three wise men, but when I learned about the discovery that just happened to have taken place in the same year she would have been born–well, it was just too good not to use. Research rabbit trails can turn up some great ideas!

Stella is a plain woman with a large nose and oversized feet and has never turned the head of any marriagable mister. She’s content to tend house for her widowed father until a certain scientific gentleman shows up in town.

During my research, I uncovered some fascinating history about Baylor as well. Baylor University is the oldest institution of higher learning in Texas, chartered by the Texas Baptist Education Society in 1844 while Texas was still a Republic. Baylor was also a strong proponent of educating women and boasted the highest female graduation rates west of the Mississippi. They offered literary societies, and my heroine serves as a volunteer sponsor for one of them.

I look forward to weaving the lives of these two intellectual characters together beneath a Texas sky. And who knows? Maybe I’ll run down another research rabbit trail that will inspire more plot ideas.

Frank is a math expert. Stella prefers literature. What was your favorite subject in school?

Meet Luke and Damaris

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In Honor’s Defense has officially released, and I’m so excited to introduce you to Luke Davenport and Damaris Baxter. If you’ve read the previous books in the Hanger’s Horsemen series, you will be familiar with Luke “Preach” Davenport. He’s the largest of the four, good with his fists, and deadly with a sword. He can quote scripture at the drop of hat, which is what earned him his nickname, yet there is a wildness inside him that drives him to seek danger. So when the rest of the Horsemen become domesticated family men, he’s left feeling on the outside.

When the brother of an old army buddy writes to ask for the Horsemen’s aid, Luke answers the call on his own, eager for a distraction and for the opportunity to feel useful again. He arrives in Madisonville, TX ready to curtail a gang of rustlers and ends up embroiled in a murder plot. His loyalties are tested when he meets an angry young boy with all the trouble-making tendencies he’d had himself at that age. Yet it’s the boy’s aunt who poses the most danger. Quiet and stealthy, she just might find a way to steal his heart.

Luke is a warrior, so when I first started looking for inspiration photos, I didn’t turn to Hollywood, I turned to the NFL. I based Preach’s appearance on a pair of football players–one from my generation (Howie Long) and one who is playing today (J.J. Watt).

I love strong, feisty heroines, yet I believe there are different types of strength. Damaris Baxter has a quieter strength. She’s introverted and shy, content to be invisible in most situations, yet she has a steel core when it comes to family. She will never give up on them and will do whatever it takes to keep them safe and heal their emotional wounds. When her brother dies unexpectedly, she travels to Texas to care for her nephew and does things for which she never thought herself capable.

Of all the heroines I have written, Damaris Baxter most mirrors my true self. She likes nothing more than to hide herself away with a book or a bit of needlework, my two favorite hobbies. Yet she is a nurturer at heart, and is just the woman our hero needs. Luke looks like a mountain of a man from the outside—tall, muscular, good in a fight—yet deep down he carries hidden vulnerabilities that convince him he is not worthy of being loved or having a family. Damaris is timid on the outside, but she is an emotional lioness. The two fit together perfectly, each having what the other needs to be whole.

Luke and Damaris seem to be stark opposites—he an adventure-seeking soldier used to solving problems with guns and fists; she a quiet, proper lady used to escaping problems with books and needlework—nevertheless, they share several core commonalities. They both seek belonging and family, they’re both grounded in faith, and they both have a strong, protective instinct toward those they care about. This core common ground is what serves as the foundation for their relationship.

Do you enjoy stories where opposites attract?

Do you relate more to:
Luke (a little wild, take charge, tough on the outside, soft on the inside, protective)
or
Damaris (quiet, bookish, nurturing, with an emotional strength others lean on)

Grab your copy of In Honor’s Defense today!

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