Secondary characters and how they support the protagonist 😲(Updated)

Secondary or supporting characters should never be taken for granted. Without this intriguing group of friends, enemies, and acquaintances, we certainly wouldn't have as much fun with our protagonist. 

One of the most obvious reasons why we need secondary characters is to make the storyline more interesting. Can you imagine your favorite book or movie with ONLY the protagonist throughout the entire story? It would have to be one hell of a character, and all the weight would fall on their shoulders to keep things interesting. Supporting characters also add some extra dimension and overall flavor to the story with their own unique stories and problems. The protagonists often get caught up in the middle of their dramas. In my Hernandez series, Jorge often finds himself trying to help his friends and family through their dilemmas. Of course, these characters also work with and against the main character to contribute to his story.

Not to mention that secondary characters have a way of showing you who our protagonist really is; the good and the bad. In fact, it's usually other characters that best bring out everything from rage to love in our main character, and it's always interesting to see how the protagonist reacts to these emotions. Of course, some characters contain themselves much better than others but aren't the erratic, crazy people more likely to capture our attention? 

Sometimes we find ourselves falling for the secondary characters as much or more than our protagonist. That's fine too. Just because someone is the main character doesn't mean they also have to be our favorite. 

Will the Hernandez children be the future of the crime family? ☠️(Updated)

If you follow the Hernandez series, you already know that Jorge does everything he can to protect his children from his dangerous lifestyle. The last thing he wants is for Miguel and Maria to follow along in his footsteps, but is it inevitable? 

When Maria Hernandez made an appearance in the series, we immediately realized that she was very observant. Despite Jorge's efforts to hide the truth from her, she noticed things from a very early age, and much to his heartbreak learns about her crime boss father. Even then, Jorge continues to hide as much as possible from his daughter. It's when she gets caught up in a dangerous situation Maria quickly is brought up to speed. 

As for Miguel, he's still a baby. I'm currently working on a book where he's approaching his 3rd birthday, but like his sister, he's observing everything going on around him. Jorge often says and does things in front of the child, assuming the baby is too young to understand. However, readers will begin to see the Hernandez coming out in him in my next book. And yes, he's just a baby but don't we always exhibit clues to our future while still children? For example, as a child, I wrote stories and acted out dramatic events with my Barbie dolls. and well, here I am.

Of course, the Hernandez children could go either way. They could become completely legit and 'normal' in comparison to their parents, but there's also a strong possibility that they could go the dark side too. They could become the most dangerous members of the crime family. We have to wait and see. 

When really bad things happen to your characters 😭(Updated)

It can't always be smooth sailing for characters. There are times when the water is a little rougher than readers can handle. But does that mean writers should avoid uncomfortable topics?

If you're familiar with my writing, you already know that I hardly write about princesses and unicorns. It's not unusual for me to touch on some uncomfortable topics. Not to suggest there haven't been some that gave me a moment of pause, but in the end, I had to follow the story, and more importantly, follow the character and their journey.

Not to say that it's easy. 

It's also possible that your readers may complain about where the story sometimes goes, especially when things get dark. The truth is that for many people, reality gets pretty dark sometimes and for a group of characters to avoid this is simply unrealistic, especially when involved in a long-running series.

In the end, you have to follow the story wherever it takes you. I think a character that experiences some extreme highs and lows, creates compassion from the reader while giving characters more dimension. We connect more with people (in both reality and fiction) if we see they've been through some soul-searching moments in their lives because we relate to it ourselves. 

How did Jorge Hernandez join this series? ☠️ (Updated)

It might surprise people to learn that Jorge Hernandez wasn't always part of the Hernandez series. When I wrote the book We're All Animals (book 1), I hadn't planned a series, but merely a second book to finish the story of Chase Jacobs. However, when Jorge came along in Always be a Wolf (book 2), it was clear that I was only starting to tell his story. 

Before Chase met Jorge, Diego told him that the Mexican was a 'silent investor' in their company. Up until this point, Chase had some suspicions that something sinister was taking place behind the scenes. However, being so young and inexperienced, he hadn't pinpointed the clues that he was working for criminals. 

I introduced Jorge to my readers as charming, handsome (with 'movie star looks'), and very charismatic. The first impression was that he was likable, not the intimidating mob boss that we're used to seeing on television, in movies, and in books. I purposely demonstrated that he was very friendly to lure Chase in and make him feel comfortable. If this were in a fairy tale, Jorge would've been the big, bad wolf dressed up like grandma because this was how he played the game. He was a sophisticated businessman dressed in expensive suits and spoke in a polite, dignified manner. Therefore, few would think he was a bloodthirsty criminal.

There was just something about Jorge Hernandez that compelled me to continue writing. Now, ten books into the series, I can't seem to stop. 

The first paragraph of We're All Criminals ☠️(Updated)

The first paragraph of a book should be inviting and yet give the reader a sense of the theme ahead. It should be catchy and provoke thought. Most of all, it should invite the reader to keep reading. 

If I pick up a book and find myself confused, bored, or talked down to in the first paragraph, it is unlikely I will continuing reading. I find it very annoying when authors demonstrate themselves as writing elitists in the first paragraph, forgetting that they are trying to impress the average reader, not their university professor. Does that mean that everyday readers want books dumbed down? Of course not. However, they also want a comfortable read that is smooth and welcoming. 

As an example, this is the first paragraph of my book, We're All Criminals. 

Freedom is the trademark of humanity. To those in a prison cell, confined to a hospital bed, or trapped in their figurative coffin, there is nothing more beautiful than freedom. We’re all animals, and as such, it’s in our nature to claw our way out of any trap we feel locked in because the light of freedom shines much brighter after it has been lost. We will fight for it. We will beg for it, and if we have to, we will kill for it.

No one appreciated freedom more than Jorge Hernandez. As a former Mexican cartel leader, he had managed to escape both death and prison, something he recognized as a rarity for his kind. Now in his 40s, he was blessed with a beautiful family and lived in Canada. As the CEO of Our House of Pot, Jorge had the monopoly in the legalized marijuana industry. To the outside world, he was a charismatic Mexican-Canadian businessman who is relatable and brought jobs to communities throughout the country. But to those who knew him, Jorge Hernandez was one of the most dangerous men in the world and did whatever he needed to get what he wanted.

Why character traits matter 🧐(Updated)

Just like all of us, characters often have traits we associate with them. It could be a physical object like always holding a cup of coffee or a pack of cigarettes. It also could be a dialogue pattern or a commonly used expression. For example, in my series, one character is known for constantly stating that there's more than one way to skin a cat. It could also be a physical trait like someone who walks with a skip or is bowlegged. 

It doesn't matter if characters are major or minor or only around for a short time; there should be distinct traits because this makes them seem more 3-dimensional. The last thing you want is a flat character because this makes them more difficult for the reader to connect with them. And if a reader can't connect with the specific character then they are less likely to care. And if they don't care about the characters, they probably won't likely care about the book either.

If you want an example of character traits, I'd suggest you watch your favorite show and observe the actors and see what specific things you associate with them. Do they have unusual speech patterns? Do they dress uniquely? Do they have a hairstyle that stands out? Do they have lime trees throughout their house? Do they occasionally jump from English to Spanish? Do they carry a baseball bat in their trunk? You know, the usual stuff. 

Remember, most character traits come out as you're writing so don't overthink it. They'll show you as you develop them. 

Why I'm an author with a social conscience 🌎(Updated)

For the most part, I'm willing to bet that most fiction authors have a social conscience. I say that because I see it in their writing. We see it on television. When you consider a classic television episode still very much alive in people's memory, it's perhaps because it brought up a social issue that was a particular concern during that time. 

Even when I published my first book and had no idea what I was doing, I still needed to bring up social issues that were important to me. Of course, I was still getting my feet wet back then, so it's mild compared to the topics I bring up in my more recent books, especially the Hernandez series. These days my books feature issues like racism, indigenous issues, poverty, homelessness, Big Pharma, mental health issues, bullying, political corruption, police misconduct, white supremacy, environmental concerns...and that's just off the top of my head. I'm sure there are other social issues I have missed. 

Not to say that I have an entire book about any of these topics. It could be as simple as a subject touched on in a book like environmental issues, or it could be something like racism, which comes up in most of this series. 

I like to bring up these subjects within the storyline because it puts a face on a topic. Readers see through the character's eyes, getting a peek into their world, which helps create compassion or, at the very least, some understanding of their point of view. 

Our world is much smaller than we think, and as people, we have more in common than our egos sometimes want us to believe.