When characters are out of their element 😬 (updated)

When you consider that most of my characters are blatantly counterculture by nature, it's not hard to see why a relatively average experience might cause them to feel out of their element.

When you know that the protagonist for my current series spent most of his life breaking down massive walls, it's always interesting to see him dealing with his teenage daughter's anguish over being bullied or trying to comfort a crying baby. It's not the big problems that unsettle Jorge Hernandez, it's the average 'normal' situations that put him out of his element, especially those that require a certain amount of sensitivity. If you're a man that enters a room with both barrels blazing, how do you deal with the principal of his daughter's school? If he's used to threatening or killing his enemies, how does he deal with a pesky neighbor? 

The irony is, of course, that most of us would have the opposite problem. Although the situations I mentioned in the last paragraph might cause most of us to cringe, we would much rather deal with them than someone trying to kill or threaten us. For the characters in my books, the latter is more their comfort zone...you know, for lack of better words. 🤭

Why do characters need to get out of their element? Actually for the same reason why we have to get out of our element because it's necessary for growth. You don't want to be someone who's forever the pesky teenager they were at 15, nor do you want to read about a character who has the same MO book after book. While it might be nice to see your character be a womanizing, gun-slinging jerk in book or season one, you're going to get sick of it by season/book 4-5 unless you start seeing him questioning his beliefs and methods. 

When we met Jorge Hernandez at the end of (book 2 in the series) Always be a Wolf, he wouldn't win an award for sensitivity. While some may argue that this hasn't changed much, we do start to see him mellowing out as the series goes on, growing tired of his former lifestyle (to a point) while increasing his level of respect for women, something he didn't have much of early on. Meanwhile, some of the other key characters have also grown but not always in the most pleasant ways. 

Putting a character out of their element is a great way to shake things up, so you can see where everything falls.

Be your own media 📺🎙📻 (updated)

I wrote my first book in 2010, and at the time, the idea of getting media attention seemed essential. Having said that, when I finally did get an interview, I was a bumbling idiot when attempting to answer questions. I wanted to sound confident, but I wasn't. I wanted to say how great my book was, but I didn't want to sound arrogant. I quickly discovered that while I had a knack for throwing words together in writing, I wasn't so great at that whole talking thing.

What helped to improve my interviewing skills? My confidence grew after I started to record videos for my YouTube channel. When you record yourself speaking, you quickly catch some flaws upon playback, and this allows you to improve your weak areas while building confidence when speaking with a potential audience. I say potential audience because even though you record a video, it doesn't mean you're obligated to release it. The first few might be cringe-worthy, but that's ok because this is how you learn. How do you think all these well-spoken people in the media first learn how to talk on camera? No one is perfect the first time.

 Of course, the second problem is to get media attention at all. It's pretty easy when you're a best-seller with a big name and massive sales, but when you're new, unfamous, unrich, and untrendy, it's a whole other story. So, what do you do?

I'd recommend you take a stab at writing a press release. If you're not sure how to do so, find an example online and model yours off of it. Then send it to everyone; local, big and small newspapers, television and radio stations, free newspapers, and anyone else that might be interested. The key is to get as many sets of eyes on it as possible. You don't know who might be interested, and you never know who's paying attention.

Do press releases work? With some books I've published, they've resulted in radio and newspaper interviews and other times, one lone paper will contact me. It varies from book to book, the time of year, and other factors that sometimes you often can't predict. Newspapers are often downsizing, or have too many other things taking place at the time, competing for an editor's attention. Don't take it personally.

Whether or not the media contacts you, you have to take the bull by the horns. Write blogs, record videos for YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, or whatever social media you use. Find creative ways to capture people's attention. When you think about it, the media is essentially the loudspeaker that lets the world know what's going on, but we live in a time where we have outlets to do this for ourselves. Social media is powerful, but at the end of the day, so are you.

Let's talk about Maria Hernandez 🌸 (Updated)

She's feisty, strong-willed, and bold; some might even say, she's just like her father. Meet Maria Hernandez.

We first meet Jorge Hernandez's daughter in The Devil is Smooth Like Honey and, she continues to be one of the most popular secondary characters throughout the series. Unlike a lot of children in books, Maria isn't falling into the background. She has many storylines of her own, which form into intriguing subplots.

With a flair for the dramatic, Maria has often been involved in creative pursuits such as acting and music. Her goal to 'become famous' concerns her father, who believes the world of fame and fortune is a path to misery full of vultures and disappointment. As a strict disciplinarian, Jorge often is abrupt and harsh with his daughter in tone, causing his wife Paige to swoop in and remind him that this will not support his goal to be closer to his daughter.

It's an ironic twist when readers learn that Maria is a victim of bullying. While her father is a blood-thirsty and aggressive criminal, he feels powerless when his daughter is a casualty of other kids. Then again, where Maria starts as a victim, she often goes overboard when she retaliates, indicating that she is a chip off the old block. Needless to say, Jorge spends a lot of time in the principal's office, often yelling at school officials.

As much as she likes to see herself as a grown-up, Maria still carries the innocent eyes of a child that adds contrast to the books while bringing out the softer side of all other characters in the series. She often shines a light on the heart of Jorge Hernandez, showing that as much as he's a criminal without a conscience, he's also a father that loves his children more than anything. ❤️ ❤️