With: Jody Holford
I am so excited to be doing a guest post on
Just Contemporary Romance to chat about book three of my Kendrick Place Series.
Brady and Mia’s story was, by far, the most challenging with the most
satisfying result. Brady has had the longest time to develop over the course of
the series and while I was thinking of that and wondering what I should chat
with readers about, I started thinking about the power of developing a story
that moves beyond book one.
I just finished reading Jennifer Probst’s
book, Write Naked, which was a beautiful book about the craft of writing and
she talked about having an idea of who your secondary characters are so that
you can build on them. She mentioned that it’s a lot harder to go back and
change a character than it is to plan for them.
For me, the characters kind of waltz onto
the page as they please. But with this series, I definitely started to
understand what Ms. Probst said about having an idea of who the characters are
and who they’re going to be. From the beginning, Brady Davis has been the
happy-go-lucky, big-brother, good-guy neighbor that everyone loves. Mia
Kendrick is one of the only people who has every really pushed all of his
buttons—even ones he didn’t know he had.
Holy hell. The woman had saved her brass-knuckled uppercut
for when he’d looked away. But her words hit him dead center, stopping his
heart for two full beats. In that time, he was back in all the situations where
he’d never measured up. Not for his mom, his dad, his brother, or Bethany. So
why did her putting him so firmly in his blue-collar place—a spot he was
perfectly comfortable with—feel like spikes driving through his chest?
Watching Mia affect Brady in a
way no one else has was…interesting. I had to go back to books one (More than
Friends) and two (The Bad Boy Next Door) to remind myself of how he was always
able to be the sounding board or go-to-guy for the people in the building, but
Mia leaves him floundering. And not always in a bad way.
“Did you just make a joke?”
She huffed out a breath that sounded almost like a laugh.
“Maybe I hit my head after all.”
This time Brady chuckled. “I should take advantage of your
mood and drive the long way home.”
Her dark eyes met his, an unfamiliar sparkle making them
seem brighter. “Probably shouldn’t push it.”
The almost teasing tone shocked Brady speechless and sent
a snap of fire through his blood
The
thing is, even though I’m a pantser (meaning I dive into the story until I hit
a road block), I know secondary
characters are important. Just like in our real lives, the people we surround
ourselves with impact who we are…who we might become. This is true for our
characters, too. For Brady and Mia, they push each other to be more than the
preconceived notions they each started with and I think that Brady, in
particular, has really grown and developed over the course of the series.
I
love writing a series almost as much as I love reading one. When we fall in
love with characters, we don’t want to say goodbye and secondary characters are
the way to pull us back into the story that changed us in some small way. Some
of my favorite trilogies and series are:
The
first three books in the Lucky Harbor
Series by Jill Shalvis. (This is actually a huge series but I bought the
first three as a bundle and fell in love).
Men Who Walk the Edge of Honor
Series
by Lori Foster (Again, more than three but I bought the original three
together).
The Bride Quartet by Nora
Roberts.
I can’t even explain how much I love these four books. The connection between
the characters pulls you all the way through the stories and makes you need the
next one to see where the characters end up.
And
even though romance is my favorite genre, regardless of what book I’m immersed
in, the more the merrier. I never want to let go of the characters when I love
a book. Feeling this as a reader impacts my writing for two reasons: one, I
don’t want to let go of the characters I’ve created any more than I want to let
go of someone else’s. And two: if I want more as a reader, chances are good
that so do other readers.
The
worry, I think, with a series is that the follow up books will make the reader
just as happy as the first one. I hope (and am almost pretty sure) Brady &
Mia’s story provides a wrap up to this series that will make readers smile.
Do
you have a favorite series? Or a favorite stand alone? Have you ever read a
stand alone that you wished (hard) was going to be a series?
Hate to Love Him
By Jody Holford
Release date: July 17, 2017
Series: Kendrick Place #3 (Can be
read as a standalone)
Brady
Davis is as happy as he is charming. Usually. Unless he’s in the same room with
the frustratingly gorgeous antidote to his cheer. Mia Kendrick is headstrong
and determined. She’s done with men who stand in her way—even if he has arms
like Thor and a smile that makes her dizzy. Whenever they’re together, sparks
fly—both the bad and good kind.
When
Mia returns home to take over management of Kendrick Place, Brady is worried
her focus on big business could be the end of his tight-knit home and the
family he’s created there. Mia may have the power to change everything, but
Brady could have the power to change her mind…if he can get inside her heart.
About
the author
Jody Holford is a multi-published author
who has a soft spot for happily ever after. So much so, she tattooed the words
on her arm. She’s a mom and a wife, a friend, sister, daughter, teacher, and
book-lover. Her stories have a little heat and a lot of heart. And maybe, some
swoon-worthy moments that will make you smile.
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