2014 #character , #free , #readers , authors , fans , message , review , trilogy 0 Comments

The other day I received a message from a reader who is reading Beyond the Eyes. Here’s what she said:

I’m halfway through your book. I am loving it. I am in love with Nathan. I do have a question, though. Why is Paige so wimpy? She cries way too much. Is there a particular reason or is that just her personality?

I wanna tell you guys that I absolutely love it when my readers reach out to me, especially when they have a question about a character.

The reader is right. Paige does cry a lot, but there is a reason for it and here’s what I told the reader:

Paige is 17 and teenagers are emotional. But the main reason why she's like that is because ever since she was 4 and had the premonition before her father died, she felt like he didn't love her. In her mind, if he did, he would have stayed and not chose to die. She also thinks her mom doesn't love her, because her mom basically avoids her. Then, there's Brayden, who Paige loves. He left her and went to California with his mom. So she has these unresolved feelings of abandonment and on top of it all, she thinks she's a freak, because she gets premonitions from a ghostly voice. And even though she has awesome friends, she's very lonely and sad. That's why she cries a lot in this first book. But Nathan helps her through it and eventually Paige overcomes those feelings she's been harboring since her father died.

I wrote her character that way, because so many people have those same issues, and also to show her growth throughout the trilogy. In the next book, Dark Spirits, Paige is a much stronger person and becomes a kick ass fighter against malevolent beings, and in the third book, her character grows even more. So to answer your question: being wimpy is not her personality. She just has unresolved issues she needs to face. I mean, how can she deal with demons, when she hasn't dealt with her own? Does that make sense?

Thanks for asking me about Paige. Sometimes I wonder if I should rewrite parts of the book to make her less of a crybaby, but then I'm concerned with upsetting my fans. Plus, it would mess with the whole character growth thing. Ya know what I mean?

I know there are readers and future readers of Beyond the Eyes who have and will hate Paige because she’s so weak in a good portion of this book, and they might go as so far as to trash it. It has happened btw. Or they’ll understand why she’s that way at the beginning of her paranormal journey and will appreciate how much her character grows throughout the trilogy. Honestly, most people who have read Beyond the Eyes loves or likes it. However, there are a handful who don’t because of Paige. It is what it is, and it's a cool story.

Anyway, Beyond the Eyes is #FREE at the following links below. I would love for you to read and review it. Like I said, most readers either loves or likes it. The story is an unusual paranormal tale. One of the loglines I use is: Vampires and werewolves are cool, but what about a new mythology? Another one I use for Dark Spirits (book #2) is: Forget about zombies. What about dark spirits dwelling inside soulless humans?

Thanks, :)