We are pleased to welcome author Stephanie Julian to Fiction Vixen today.
I’ve said this before but… I love writing recurring secondary characters.
They’re like good friends you only get to see every few months who you get to spend time with.
In WHAT A GODDESS WANTS, Tessa, formerly known as Thesan the Etruscan Goddess of the Dawn, and Cal, a fierce Cimmerian warrior with bad habit of falling for the damsel in distress, are the lead players, the romantic couple and two of the most fun characters I’ve written.
I totally fell for Cal from the moment he popped into my head, a wry twist to his gorgeous lips and a sarcastic comeback for everything. But I knew, underneath, he was a great guy.
And Tessa is the freaking goddess of the sun. Of course she’s going to be sweet and sunny and generally too nice to hate because she’s oh so beautiful.
The entire story lies on the shoulders of these two but they never would’ve met if it hadn’t been for Salvatorus.
If you’ve read some of my other stories, like SEDUCED BY MAGIC, SEDUCED BY DANGER or EDGE OF MOONLIGHT, you’ve met Sal before. He’s a salbinelli, with the lower body of a goat, the upper body of a man and tiny black horns almost hidden by his black curly hair. He’s got the face of a Roman god and he swears like a sailor.
I love Sal. When he first popped up in SEDUCED BY MAGIC, I fell totally in love with this guy. I hear his voice in my head when I write him and I honestly can’t say he looks like anyone in particular because I have such a clear image of him in my head. Think very hot Italian guy with dark curls, a Roman nose and the upper body of a god and you’re on the right track.
Sal has his own secrets, which you’ll get to know eventually, but if you read SEDUCED BY DANGER, then you know who the love of Sal’s life is. If you didn’t… Well, I guess you should go read SEDUCED BY DANGER.
In WHAT A GODDESS WANTS, Sal points Tessa in Cal’s direction, knowing she needs a protector and Cal is the perfect man for the job.
Excerpt:
Salvatorus didn’t have any great ideas. He had one fucking awful idea. He wanted to have a party. With goddesses.
Okay, Salvatorus hadn’t called it a party. He’d called it a strategy session, and before Cal had been able to open his mouth to protest, Nortia had appeared in Salvatorus’s living room. And that didn’t mean she walked through the door. One second she wasn’t there, and the next, she was holding court with Salvatorus fawning all over her.
The Etruscan Goddess of Fate wore bright red, stiletto-heeled pumps and a fuck-me black leather dress that molded to each of her generous curves like a second skin. Like Tessa, she was a blonde, but Nortia’s hair was silver and gold and she looked like a goddamn Barbie doll.
Tessa left Cal’s side to hug the woman who could have been her sister. Hell, she probably was her sister.
And his brain really was not going to go there. No way. No how.
“Ooh, Tess honey, where’d you get the eye candy? Are you willing to share, or can you get me one of my own?”
Nortia had let her bright blue gaze travel all the hell over him like he was a piece of meat, and like a geek at his first school dance, he’d made a beeline for the kitchen where he’d been holed up with a beer ever since.
“Jesus Christ, Goat-Legs. This is my worst fucking nightmare. And you know it, don’t you, you sick bastard?”
Salvatorus’s laugh had a maniacal sound to it. “Suck it up, Conan. This isn’t about you.”
Cal bared his teeth and actually growled at the salbinelli. The bastard knew just how to needle him… and how he felt about deities. That was probably why Salvatorus hadn’t told him the house was going to be infested with goddesses.
So what are you doing with Tessa?
Not going there, either. “Yeah, well, you think this is a smart idea, having them all in one place at one time? If Charun finds them, it’ll be like an all-you-can-eat buffet, for fuck’s sake.”
“Vaffanculo, son. He’s not going to know they’re here. This place is untouchable and they’re all awake. You need to chill the fuck out. Nervousness does not become you.”
Salvatorus put the lid on the blender and hit the button, ruining perfectly good tequila by making it pink and prissy.
Cal picked up his glass of whiskey and took a healthy swallow. “I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.”
Salvatorus snorted and stomped one hoof on the floor. “Yeah, you’re full of shit, Caligo. How long have we known each other? Forty years? Fifty, since I brought you up here?”
More like sixty, and Cal owed the guy his life, but he wasn’t going to give the salbinelli any more ammunition than he already had. In all that time, Salvatorus had never mentioned the circumstances that had brought them together. It still shamed Cal to even think about it.
To be chained, shackled like an animal, and forced to beat weaker men into bloody masses of broken flesh for rich men’s entertainment. His own stupidity had led to his imprisonment. And he owed a huge debt of gratitude to Salvatorus for getting him out.
To his credit, the salbinelli had never played that card to get Cal to help him. He didn’t need to.
Cal knew all too well what he owed Salvatorus. So he kept his mouth shut, knowing the guy would get around to saying what he had to say on his own schedule.
“Look, kid. I sent her to you for a reason. You know that, right?”
“Because you like to bust my balls.”
Salvatorus snorted. “Yeah, that was a benefit. But you’re a sucker for the damsel in distress. You can’t help yourself. I knew you’d protect her.”
****Giveaway****
We have two copies of What A Goddess Wants to giveaway. To enter leave a comment and let us know how you feel about recurring secondary characters. Do you like it when they make appearances and connect different series together? Do you have a favorite recurring secondary character that steals the show?
Giveaway is open to those with a US or Canadian mailing address only please. You have until July 12 to enter, winner announced soon after. Good luck!!
Read my review of What A Goddess Wants.
About Sophia (FV)
I personally like reappearing secondary characters. IMO I think secondary character(s) reappearing in the series, makes it more of a series, meaning it continues to connect to characters we like (or sometimes don’t like and wonder why they are still around). Sometimes they steal the show, and make us anticipate when they will get their own series book. I don’t have one favorite character from a series, but whenever I read BDB books, I love seeing all the brothers appear.
I like reappearing characters. They add depth to the story. Stephanie’s book sounds great. Thank you for the giveaway.
One of my favorite recurring characters is the bi-sexual magic mirror in Allyson James’ Storm Walker series. He is awesome.
I read tons of series books and love secondary characters who eventually get their own stories. Especially like it when previous characters pop in for a visit. I have lots of favorite secondary characters, and one that steals the show for me is Jenks from the Rachel Morgan series.
caity_mack at yahoo dot com
I love secondary characters… and I am always hoping that someday we will get their story…
Love the cover of this book and would love a chance to win it..
Thank you
Kelly M
crazybookfairy(AT)gmail(DOT)com
I really like the secondary characters who are repeated. I like getting to know them, because they are often quirky, and add humor to the story.
twoofakind12@yahoo.com
I love repeats of secondary characters. I think they help move story along well, and since you get to know them, too, they definitely add a lot to the story. My favorite secondary character is Lulu from the Stephanie Plum books. She is hilarious!
Thanks for a great giveaway
Oh, I adore sedondary characters! I agree that they are like good friends. It always makes me smile when, in a series, a couple pops up who have had their own book and we get to see how there life is going
Thanks for having me here today and thanks so much for reading my blog. Most of my supporting characters will get their own stories because I believe everyone deserves a happily ever after.
I love series with reappearing secondary characters. They help to tie the stories together and I love it when they finally get their own story told. I think series allow the readers to become more attached to the characters. There are series that I read that have any where from 10 to 15 or more books in them and I love that the characters reappear, either before or after their story is told.
I love secondary characters. They make the story lines interesting and also make you look forward to another book in the series. Please enter me in contest. I would love to read this book. Tore923@aol.com
I love it when secondary characters make appearances and connect different series together. My favorite recurring secondary character that stole the show is Eloisa James’ Duke of Villiers in her Desperate Duchesses series. He started out a very unsympathetic character, and by the time he got his own book at the end of the series (A Duke of Her Own), I was rooting for him to have his HEA.
Barbed1951 at aol dot com
I love seeing secondary characters in thier own books!! Don’t really have a favorite tho.
mlawson17 at hotmail dot com
Secondary characters always influence the main characters in some way. I like that we learn more about secondary characters in others books or their own stories. I always want to know what happens next with characters who have not had their stories told yet.
smccar1 at hotmail dot com
I loved secondary characters reappearing throughout a series. It helps keep a series connected us and often reminds us of previous events that have occurred outside of the current story but within the same fictional time line. I actually love Melissa Mayhue’s Daughter of the Glen Series for all of it’s connecting stories and characters. It gives you that follow up to the happily ever after that we all crave.
Gosh, everything good has been said in the previous posts! Ya’ll have put it so well. I think reoccurring characters are what really makes a series … a series! Serial secondaries, I guess. Without them, all the worldbuilding is wasted and the next books are almost simply stand alones. Nothing wrong with that except then don’t call it a series! Having past fav characters reappear gives us a chance to see what happens next for them, as books usually end soon after their HEA. Fun secondary personalities make us want to get the next book. Gotta have it all!
P.S. Thanks for the giveaway!
Really interesting blurb. Enjoyed the excerpt! Also ty for sharing your review.
I do like it when secondary characters popup (or previous main characters take on secondary character roles) in continuing books in the series. I can’t say right now I have a fav although I am looking forward to the latest release Lorraine Heath’s series that involve 3 brothers. Also can’t wait for Carolyn Jewel’s latest Assassin book.
pams00 @ aol.com
I like secondary characters and when they appear throughout and connect a series..Sometimes they ad the comic relief.I also like it when they get their own books.
Great excerpt too.I can’t wait to read this book
elaing8(at)netscape(dot)net
Would love to win this book. Thanks for the giveaway and the chance to win. I have not read anything by this author and this book looks great.
I love secondary characters that have a lot of substance to them. One it makes the story so much more real and like others here, it makes me hope they get their own story.
OMFG! I love the concept of this book. It’s so hard to find a good romance revolving around goddesses of Greek/Roman origin. Sign me up for the giveaway please. Shab_farhadi(at)yahoo(dot)com.
Hmmm recurring secondary characters…hate iiiiiiiiiit! Sorry, but if I’m going to get into a book, the book has to have revolve around a focal character with no distractions. If a character reappears from another book with a different story I’m reminded of the other story. I want to put all my energy and love into one person in a series. If there’s recurring secondary characters I’m forced to chose who I love more, the heroine from the previous book or this one. Secondary characters are a distraction from the plot. I lose some of my original passion when a recurring character refers to past events that I read with a different character. I especially hate it when/if the heroine of the previous book becomes a secondary character of the new one. Urgh! Drives me CRRRRRRRRAZY! I want to love a character and put her/him in the spotlight. Having them step down from the podium ruins the perception I had a what I originally though of as a great book. K’ that’s enough melodrama from me. Hope this helps!
I love recurring secondary characters. One of my favorites is Nix from Cole’s IAD series.
marlenebreakfield(at)yahoo(dot)com
Great giveaway! The cover is gorgeous!
I’m apathetic about secondary characters in general. There are a few I enjoy (Vlad in “Night Huntress/World”) but I mostly focus on the hero & heroine. If I know that the secondary character is getting an HEA of his/her own, I do pay extra attention in case it helps me understand them more in their book.