{"id":6428,"date":"2011-04-20T08:07:21","date_gmt":"2011-04-20T12:07:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theseasonforromance.com\/wordpress\/?p=6428"},"modified":"2011-04-20T08:07:21","modified_gmt":"2011-04-20T12:07:21","slug":"bringing-characters-to-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/2011\/04\/20\/bringing-characters-to-life\/","title":{"rendered":"Bringing Characters to Life"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/strong><\/span>by Kat Latham<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

One of the biggest reasons I\u2019m a romance fan is that the genre thrives on strong characters. A good romance novel will put human behavior under a microscope and expose all the nuance of our emotions.<\/p>\n

Reading a novel can make me feel like I\u2019ve met new friends, or become part of a new community or family. I don\u2019t mean that in a pathetic way. I love my family, friends and (sometimes) community. But I also love escaping into a new world, and well-written characters draw me in like nothing else.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t know about you, but I start getting sad when I\u2019m about 20 pages from the end of a book I love. I despise saying goodbye to people I\u2019ve come to admire. If they\u2019ve made me laugh or cry, I feel even worse (and let\u2019s not mention those rare characters who make me laugh AND cry).<\/p>\n

So today I\u2019m giving everyone a magic potion.\u00a0 This potion will let you bring one character to life for a week.<\/p>\n

\"\"Even though I usually write about contemporary romance here at The Season, the character I\u2019d choose comes from a Jane Austen novel, Persuasion. I\u2019d want to meet Captain Wentworth. Not just so I could swoon over him (though there would certainly be significant swooning involved).<\/p>\n

I\u2019d want to know about his naval experiences. He must\u2019ve seen some serious badass battles to have earned money and respectability as a sailor. And, let\u2019s face it, judging from the letter he writes his heroine Anne, the man has a stunning way with words. I\u2019d want to hear his beautiful, deep voice telling me stories about life in Regency England\u2014on land and sea.<\/p>\n

I can see two problems with my magic potion. First, real people can be disappointing.<\/p>\n

\"\"What if Captain Wentworth looked around my neighborhood\u2014the docklands of London\u2014and recognized that in his time it was known for cheap prostitutes and press gangs who knocked men out and sold them to ships\u2019 captains? I\u2019m sure he didn\u2019t act like a saint during those years in between being rejected by Anne and then meeting her again. Jane Austen was probably too much of a lady (and too good a writer) to include information like that. What if Captain Wentworth wanted to revisit his sleazy days and told me about all the doxies he\u2019d done?<\/p>\n

What if he got really excited about how penicillin could help him with his itchy medical issue?<\/p>\n

Second problem: sending him back to the pages of his novel after a week. If he really turned out as admirable as he is in Persuasion, I\u2019d hate to say goodbye. Of course, I know he\u2019d need to get back to Anne, and I\u2019d never try to take the place of his heroine. I love Anne too much for that. But I\u2019d miss spending time with my unusual new friend.<\/p>\n

Unless, of course, he refused to adopt the modern habits of daily showering and deodorant \u2013wearing. In which case, Anne can have him.<\/p>\n

If you could bring one fictional character to life for a week, who would it be and what would you do? Is there a heroine you\u2019d share a pitcher of margaritas with? A hero you\u2019d smooch? Or would you prefer to keep characters where they belong? Comment and enter to win Miranda Neville’s<\/a> THE DANGEROUS VISCOUNT<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\n<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

Kat Latham<\/strong> has been reading romance for a couple of decades. With degrees in English lit and human rights, she loves stories that reflect the depth, humor and emotion of real life. When she\u2019s not writing contemporary romance novels, she can usually be found blogging or tweeting overly personal information. She loves meeting other readers and writers online, so follow her on Twitter<\/a> or check out her blog<\/a> and say hello!<\/p>\n\n

\n <\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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