Guest Blogger ~ Belinda McBride

Today our guest blogger is Belinda McBride. Her book, Imperative: Saving You, released last week... but I'm blonde. We'll leave it at that. Let's all give Belinda a warm welcome!

A CHARACTER IN SEARCH OF A STORY

“Rumor has it you’re my replacement.”

Those were Jason Anders’ first words to Marilyn in Imperative: Always You. He was the villain, the source of the conflict between our hero and heroine. Jason was the scorned lover, the temptation that pulled Neil from the arms of his Imperative lover. Jase was a manipulative bastard. He was a masochist more than willing to hurt his partner in order to receive the pain he needed to in order to function. Jason was not a very likable character at all.

Well, to my surprise, Jase was not happy with being the bad guy in the book. He wrenched the plot from my hands and threatened to take the story in the direction he saw fit. He certainly had a strong effect on the story, to the point that Always You wound up being an emotional roller-coaster, both for the author and for the reader.

Jason Anders had something to say, and he forced me to listen.

Normally, I build my characters carefully, but for some reason, Jase simply evolved on his own terms. His words came spontaneously, and it was very clear that at the end of Always You, he was waiting for his story to be told. Jase needed to explain the grief that drove him to such terrible extremes.

I started writing Saving You in early September, confident that it wouldn’t take long at all. By October, I was struggling, re-writing, and searching for the balance to his story. Dove was there from the start, she made her first appearance at the end of the previous book. But for some reason, Dove wasn’t enough to save Jason. Someone else was there. Someone who insisted that his story be told. It was a bit character who appeared in the very beginning of the book. An anonymous masked man who was obsessed with saving Jase. He was a hero with enough heart to save the story.

Weeks passed with little progress on the book. I was two weeks behind…three weeks…
I searched name books and online databases trying to figure out who this John Doe really was. When I found the Hindu word for peaceful, Arav Jain stepped off the page and right onto the cover.

Am I a plotter or a pantster? That’s a question that comes up often, and I usually say that I’m both. I plot, but when a character steps up in search of his or her story, I listen. Saving You wasn’t easy to write. The pivotal hero is an emotional cripple. He’s so deeply entrenched in depression that he seeks to end his own life. In spite of this, I didn’t want his story to be dark.

There was one more unusual thing about Jason’s story. The Imperative wasn’t there to save him. He wasn’t going to get the golden ticket to Paradise. There was no biological compulsion to force him into the perfect relationship.

In his story, Jason Anders has to save himself.

Imperative: Saving You by Belinda McBride is currently available at Changeling Press

In the future, we don’t choose our mates; Nature chooses for us. Nature doesn’t make mistakes. And if you don’t pay attention to Nature’s Imperative, you suffer.

All he wanted was peace. Eternal peace.

After the death of his Imperative mate, Jason Anders threw himself into a lifestyle of sexual excess and self-punishment. Just when he thought he’d hit rock bottom, Jase was nearly killed in a brutal attack.

Nature listened to Jason’s plea for peace, and gave him what he asked for. But Nature’s version of peace wasn’t exactly what Jase expected.

When Dr. Dove Sinclair stumbled into his life, Jase began to suspect that within her arms, he might find the will to live. And when he looked into the haunting eyes of a mysterious masked man, Jason realized that Nature wasn’t finished screwing with his life.

Sometimes Nature doesn’t play fair. But at least she’s willing to give Jason a second chance.

You can visit Belinda at her site: www.belindamcbride.com