Welcome, Gemini Judson

A weak character? Or just a really nice person?

I know I know. When we create a character, we need to give them a backbone. We make the heroes delicious and heroine’s booby. Right? The men have to be bad-asses with a weird soft spot for the heroine. The women are strong-willed and well—snippy.

Not for me. Sorry. I’ve said it before – I write characters that I’d like to hang out with. I want a hero that I know how to approach and I know will receive me with a grin and a cold beer in his hand. I want a heroine that answers the phone with a sympathetic ear when I call and she cries when she’s hurt.

Honestly, when I am reading a book and female lead is a bitch, I put the book down. I deal with too many of those people in the real world, why do I want to spend my make-believe time with them too?

But we’re supposed to make them feisty! That’s a thin line.

I’m thinking of Adrian Culpepper in my new release, Green Grass. Golly gee, she’s a sweet heart. Where I chose to put her metal is not in an abrasive personality, but in her strength to tough it out at all costs. Her life has been a series of tragedies, and yet she manages to stay optimistic and hopeful. She’s nobody’s fool. She’s not embarrassed by her poverty and certainly not too proud to go to the Laundromat and take free showers, even if it means the creepy owner gets to watch. Small price to pay for clean hair and a pulsating shower head.

Adrian might drive me crazy with her quirky comments and non sequiturs, but I love her to bits. And so does my hero, Kevin Shepherd. He’s a softy and a smart-ass, and delicious in his own right. And tough in all the right ways.

My other leading ladies? Jessy Tanner in Animals is a little lost in terms of her life’s direction. But when the chips are down and her back is against the wall (literally, in this case) she fights like a tiger. Jasmine Bly in Night Blooming Jasmine appears to be a character full of flaws. Until we begin to understand her strength to rise above a consuming heroin addiction and start a new life.

Yes, when I look at my character files, I see wonderfully flawed characters, and very few grumps and sourpusses. If you’d like to meet some really cool people, check out my books at www.gemjudson.com/My_Books.html

Thank you Ginger for having me! It’s a nice place ya got here! Comfy…I took my shoes off. Hope that’s ok.

Gemini Judson