Today I'm sharing a character interview I did with one of the cast of Mara Tran's debut novel THE WARD.
Introducing Luc Montague, the Piper. Let's see what he has to say on the subject of the mysterious murders happening in Venisia and the Black Masquerade.
I've extended the Hardcover Preorder period until October 8th so there is now only ONE WEEK left to preorder the special edition hardcovers of The New Emperor's Concerto and Sweet Vendetta Blues (they will only be available through the preorder so if you want to get one, order before October 8th!)
The hardcovers have dust jackets + laminate covers underneath with the cover art on them. They both include exclusive full color character art and The New Emperor’s Concerto also has an additional prequel story in the back.
If you don’t want a hardcover, the ebook and paperbacks versions are available for both on Amazon!
Sweet Vendetta Blues
Don’t forget to get your swag packs if you order a copy! If you’ve ordered an ebook or paperback, fill out the claim form below and I will send out your swag packs including a signed bookplate or bookmark
I am also planning on doing a live book signing and Q&A on my author instagram (@modern_bard67) when I get the hardcover copies in. The date Is still TBD but I will let everyone who has bought a copy of the book know in time if you’d like me to sign your book or bookplate live, or just want to come hang out and ask questions about the book and writing :) If you bought an ebook and filled out the swag form, I will also be signing bookmarks.
Claim Your Swag Here! (US and International)
What goes into creating a character for a book? We can talk all day about characteristics, figuring out what kind of cast will serve a book best, and then still being surprised when your planned villain doesn’t want to be as evil as you expected, or the random side character you put into a scene as a throwaway becomes part of the major plot. Characters can definitely have a mind of their own, and we, as authors, in the same way as parents, really have little control over how they turn out.
But today, my main focus is more on the character’s physical design, which is actually a lot more important than you might think. There’s a lot of things that go into the visual design of your character that can affect the story itself. I’m approaching this topic as both a writer and an artist. I love drawing my own characters, and it can take just as many drafts as a story itself. My goal with this post today is to help writers think about their own character designs. For the artists among you, I hope this might help you streamline the process a little, and for the non-artists, this might also help you give a more detailed description in your stories or even when commissioning art from other people.
First, we start with the general appearance of the character. I usually use these blanks: Name (of course), Age, Eye Color, Hair Color, Ethnicity, Distinguishing Features (like if your character has a scar, always wears a certain necklace, or something else that is unique about them.) I’ll usually then follow this up with a short character description, and backstory which is also very important. Backstory can often determine how your character acts, dresses, even their features in some ways. Do they have a traumatic backstory? Were they born in a different country? Do they have a specific accent or mannerism? Why is that? This isn’t even all stuff that you ever have to use in the story itself, but it’s good to know. For example, it took me a while before I knew why Sebastian wore eyeliner, but I never wrote that into the book either because that wasn’t really important to the storyline.
Clothing is also very important to think about. Obviously, you’re probably not going to put your medieval fantasy hero in jeans (unless that’s part of the aesthetic you’re going for!) But say you want to write a steampunk novel. You can look up Victorian fashion to get ideas and then modify the outfits the way you want. Is your character an orphan, are they from the upper classes? Are they more nomadic? If you’re writing a historical novel, it’s a good idea to research the period’s clothing so that you can accurately imagine what your character’s clothes and hairstyles might be like. How well would they be able to move in it? A fantasy sword fighter? They can 100% have a cool coat, but maybe consider designing it so that the sleeves are detached at the armpits or there’s a slit in the back for better movement. Practical and aesthetically pleasing. Want something futuristic? Come up with your own materials. I had a fun time thinking about bulletproof materials for everyone’s coats in The New Emperor’s Concerto. Jack and Sebastian might want to ask the British about that at some point.
Do you ever have the issue with pinning down exactly what your character looks like? It can take a while. For me, I either have a solid idea via some pre-existing reference, or it takes me a little bit to actually come up with the character’s looks. This is why I love being able to draw my characters myself, because it helps me go through designs that just don’t work. My advice to artists who want to come up with a character design is just do stream of consciousness sketches until you find something you like. They don’t have to be detailed, in fact, vague shapes are often better, and eventually you’ll figure something out.
For example, here is the complete evolution of Jack and Sebastian’s character designs from my very first one, to the finalized character art:
So that’s a brief example of how I go about designing my characters. I really think having visuals, even if it’s just a Pinterest board makes for a richer experience and also helps ease the way for descriptions that will help the reader to better see what you do when you’re writing.
If you have any questions about character design, drop them below!
It's The official release day for Sweet Vendetta Blues! All versions of the book except the Hardcovers which are still only available as a preorder, are now available!
Jack and Sebastian have volunteered their time to answer your questions about the book, their lives, or whatever else you might be curious about. Leave your questions in the comments or submit your questions on Instagram
The post with their answers will be going up Friday!
