I’ve heard that a
lot since the debut of my of the Finley Anderson Tanner series. I can’t attest to how much she and I are
alike. Yes, Finley and I share the same
sense of humor and I suppose her moral code mirrors my own. That’s pretty much where the similarities
end. Well, excluding the fact that she’s
blonde and short. That’s a function of
practicality. Being blonde and short
myself, I know how to dress Finley (fairly high heels are important) and the
physicality of the character’s actions reflect the fact that unless she started
dating Michael J. Fox, she’d never know what it felt like to dance with her
head resting on a guy’s shoulder.
In all other aspects, Finley and I couldn’t be less
alike.
She’s a shopper, something I personally loathe. I’d rather remove a kidney than go to a
mall. The whole idea of window-shopping
makes me want to stick pencils in my eyes.
Finley’s also heavily in debt, another personal taboo of mine. But the biggest difference is that she’s an
underachiever by choice. I’m so much of
an overachiever that I probably could benefit from lengthy therapy.
Crafting a character is never easy – nor should it be –
and there will always be a sprinkling of the author’s personality and/or
personal experiences in his or her characters.
Figuring out where to draw the line can be tough, especially when doing
an on-going series.
Knowing Finley needed room to grow, so I gave her some
hefty flaws. In KNOCK OFF, she takes her
first foray into the realm of solving a crime.
She isn’t all that adept in the beginning, but by the end of the book,
she’s learned a few things, although she’s a long way from attaining the
moniker of amateur sleuth. At best,
she’s an accidental sleuth.
In the second book, KNOCK ‘EM DEAD, she builds on what
she learned in the first book, though she’s still a long way from a
crime-solving whiz. By FAT CHANCE and SLIGHTLY IRREGULAR she’s hit her
crime-solving stride.
Finley marked a detour in my career. After writing more than 25 romantic suspense
novels under my pseudonym Kelsey
Roberts, I wondered how books penned
by Rhonda Pollero would be
received. Different name, and different
flavor. Was there enough mystery to satisfy mystery fans?
Was the sizzle between Finley and Liam enough of a subplot to draw fans of my romantic
suspense? I honestly didn’t have a clue
and after a lot of angst filled soul-searching, I decided I had to put those
concerns on the back burner and just tell the story.
I’m glad I took the chance. People seem to love Finley as
much as I do.
And that’s the bottom line, isn’t it? A writer is a storyteller; everything else is
just window dressing.
Happy Writing . . .
Rhonda