Have you ever fallen in love with a character in a story? How often is it a member of the supporting cast?
It happens to me all the time. When I read “Breathers” by S.G. Browne my favorite character wasn’t the main character Andy, but his best friend Jerry. In Neil Gaiman’s “The Graveyard Book” Silas was my favorite, and if I may pick another Gaiman title, in “Neverwhere” I thought the Marquis de Carabas was made of win.
Even with all that being true, I was still shocked when people fell in love with one of my secondary characters.
Shocked in a good way, of course.
“Sister Margaret” is narrated by Michael, a vampire hunter with a fair bit of baggage, especially about how he treated his friend Charmaine when they were kids. He’s a pretty interesting guy and I had a lot of fun writing from his point of view and giving him a voice.
I could never have guessed at the wonderful reception my story would have, reactions have been more positive than I ever could have anticipated. However, if I could have guessed and were asked to pick which character people would like best, I would have picked Michael. He’s a vampire hunter for goodness sake, that’s pretty cool. Plus, it’s his story.
I would have been wrong. Dead wrong.
Bayne is a swordsman with ghostly blue eyes, long bone-white hair, a giant sword and incredible combat skills. He’s pretty awesome, in my opinion, and in many others as well. Bayne’s job in the story is to help Michael by taking care of some vampire minions. He’s a supporting character. And he is also the one everyone asks for more of.
People love Bayne, there is no question.
I’m not sure why everyone adores him exactly, but he’s a pretty popular guy just the same.
I’ve been asked over and over to write more about Bayne, to give him his own story. I’ve written several in response, none of which are published yet…but soon, I hope. Soon.
For a chance to win a copy of “Sister Margaret” and check Bayne out for yourself, please leave a comment. I’ll be making a draw to give away a free copy. If you’re stuck for something to comment on, why not tell me who your favorite literary supporting character is?
Thank you so much for having me here Amber, it’s been a pleasure.
Rhonda Parrish
http://www.rhondaparrish.com
Not so much “fallen in love with” a supporting character …… but I can tell you of one such who HIJACKS the tale and takes over as a Main Character!!
In my first published work, a childrens’ book “Johnny Dupl’eau”, the central character is a young “apprentice pirate” called Jake.
At one point, he meets a young Welsh (female) Druid called Meadh …. who takes such an important role that she is very nearly the Central Character in the sequel book (which I am still writing!)
More info about young Jake (and his pet cat!) to be found at:
http://madjockpublishers.com/Johnny-Dupl-eau
second attempt (not sure what happened to the first but it seems to be missing!)
Not “fallen in love with” a secondary character – but frequently find that a secondary character “hijacks” the plot and forces me into an undignified ‘chase’ to regain control!
In my first published, a childrens’ book “Johnny Dupl’eau” the Central Character is an “apprentice pirate” named Jake (and his pet cat).
At one point he lands on Anglesey and meets a (female) Druid named Meadh (pronounced “meeve”). She becomes such a strong character that she has almost become the Main Character in the Sequel (which I’m still writing!)
You can discover more about Jake at:
http://madjockpublishers.com/Johnny-Dupl-eau
I’ve also had many people fall in love with my secondary characters, (one reviewer told me she still thought of him weeks after she finished the book!), but I had a worse dilemma happen to me when I fell in love with the antagonist in my first book and didn’t want to kill him when the time came. And it was crucial to the plot! How embarrassing is it to walk around mourning a fictional character that you killed yourself?
That sounds very cool Paul
Joyce, I don’t think that’s silly at all. I’ve mourned the deaths of plenty of fictional characters and I expect it would be even worse if I’d been the one to kill them
Bayne sounds like someone I could fall for as well. I’d love to read this book.
As far as falling for secondary characters, I’ve done that in my book, Murder By Mistake, and I’m the one who did the falling, along with a few others.
Joan
A dead artist, a gang of thieves… oh my! Murder By Mistake sounds interesting, Joan.
I don’t think it’s embarrassing at all to mourn someone you killed off, even if it is fiction. As an author, it means you believed your character existed or felt a connection. Did you write any prequel short stories about him?
Thanks for stopping by, Paul! I recall reading recently about a trilogy where the main character took a back seat to the secondary character in the second book and in the third they are co-main characters. It was a few months ago and I can’t recall the names of any of the books!
Joan, it must be great that you fell in love with your secondary character too
Do you plan to write something taking that secondary character and making them a primary one?
I don’t know why I love Bayne. After reading Sister Margaret he’s the guy that sort of stood out for me. Glad to hear I’m not the only one