I love writing secondary characters. My favorite characters are the platonic friends of the main character who are usually a little rough around the edges. They like to drink and swear and tell their friends exactly how it is. Some of the most fun dialog is between these girls and the main characters.
There seems to be a huge push to always take the secondary characters in a book and give them their own stories. I don’t know that I love this trend. Sometimes a character is just there to move the story along and be a sounding board for the MC’s. I guess it’s a compliment when the secondary characters connect with readers so much they want to read more about them. It must mean they were fleshed out properly. And I must admit I myself have fallen in love with other author’s side characters.
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About Starting New
Life hasn’t been good to Francis Murphy. He’s survived twenty-one years of homelessness by hooking and taking handouts where he can find them. When the local shelter is vandalized, he’s forced to seek food at the Grace and Light Church, where he runs into the pastor’s son, Randy.
Randy Wright believes the best in others. He’s immediately drawn to Francis, even though Francis is hardened and wary. When Francis is attacked by one of his johns, Randy and his family take him in and offer him temporary work. Randy always thought he was straight, but something about Francis has him yearning for more than just friendship, and realizing he might be bisexual.
Francis is attracted to Randy too, and Randy and his parents say they’ve always believed in gay rights. But talk is cheap. What are the odds that these Christian parents will remain open-minded when it’s their own son in a relationship with another man?
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About S.C. Wynne
S.C. Wynne started writing m/m in 2013 and did look back once. She wanted to say that because it seems everyone’s bio says they never looked back and, well, S.C. Wynne is all about the joke. She loves writing m/m, and her characters are usually a little jaded, funny, and ultimately redeemed through love.
S.C loves red wine, margaritas, and Seven and Sevens. Yes, apparently she is incredibly thirsty. She loves the rain and should really live in Seattle, but instead has landed in sunny, sunny, unbelievably sunny California. Writing is the best profession she could have chosen because she’s a little bit of a control freak. To sit in her pajamas all day and pound the keys of her laptop, controlling the every thought and emotion of the characters she invents, is a dream come true.
If you’d like to contact S.C. Wynne, she can be found amusing herself on Facebook at all hours of the day, or you can contact her at scwynne@dslextreme.com.
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Giveaway
To celebrate the release of Starting New, S.C. is giving away $30 in Riptide credit. Leave a comment with your contact info to enter the contest. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on August 13, 2016. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries. Thanks for following the tour, and don’t forget to leave your contact info!
Jen says
Thanks for the post! There are some books where I just adore the secondary characters (and some where they seem more like window dressing or caricatures). I will say that I do tend to enjoy stories that make a supporting character the MC, but not all supporting characters are “deserving” of that.
Jen says
Forget my contact info: jen(dot)f(at)mac(dot)com
Ami says
Oh yes, I have also experienced when loving secondary characters so much, I want them to have their own books!
amie_07(at)yahoo(dot)com
Trix says
I love great side characters, and often hope they get a book of their own!
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H.B. says
I enjoy a book with great secondary characters and the opposite is true too when the secondary character isn’t so great.
humhumbum AT yahoo DOT com
Serena S. says
Thanks for the post. I like secondary characters, maybe you can turn it into a series. 😉
serena91291@gmail.com
Lisa says
I’ve read a lot of books where I want to know more about the supporting characters & want them to have their own books & others where they’re completely forgettable once the book is over. Thanks for the post.
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