Rhymes With Foreplay: Romance Writers Weekly ~ Supporting Character Sketch ~ #LoveChatWrite

This week, on the Romance Writers Weekly blog hop, we're asked to "Talk about the supporting characters in one of your stories. What inspired their name, personality, characteristics, etc."

I LOVE talking about my characters. In fact, on my Oberon Blog I have a weekly(ish) feature called "The People You'll Meet in Oberon" in which I discuss some of the characters. Usually I talk about the main characters, however, and why I think they're at the heart of the series. Or why some of the other characters might think that they are...looking at you, Gregg and Cara!

But one of the nice things about long series with large casts is that everyone eventually gets a chance to shine. A lot of my supporting characters turn into main characters, at some point, and vice versa! That also explains why the Oberon series starts out as a seasoned romance type of series and ends with several books focused on teenagers!

The most amusing supporting characters from the Oberon series who don't yet have (and probably won't ever get--sorry, guys) their own book are Marsha's twin sons from her first marriage, Frank and Jesse James. Yep. She went there. The in-laws (and her own mother, as well) were not amused.

What inspired their names? I would guess whatever drugs Marsha was given during labor were at least partially to blame, but honestly I think faced with twin boys with the last name James (and whose father couldn't be bothered to BE THERE while she'd been giving birth to them) she just couldn't resist.

The boys are twelve or thirteen when we first meet them. Frank is the more serious and reserved of the two, but they're both "Wild Irish" at heart. They're very protective of their mom and older half-sister. And fairly dismissive of their father (he deserves it, believe me). Frank's into computers, Jesse is into cars, and they're both into sneaking around and eavesdropping. Which I figure is a reaction to the fact that their mom's a psychic. She tends to know what they're up to even when they don't tell her. However, there's also a lot she'd rather not tell them. So I think they're looking for a way to level the playing field, so to speak.

There are other kids in the series whose actions end up impacting and/or involving the general population of Oberon. Frank and Jesse's influence is confined to their immediate family. They're particularly interested in their mother's relationship with Sam.

Here's a brief snippet from A Sight to Dream Of. This is from the night Sam first came to dinner at their house.

Sam watched as Marsha hurried out of the room. He had no idea what she was planning. What was she going to fix him up with? A can of pepper spray, perhaps? A spare pit bull? Maybe she’d just gone to call him a cab. They had to have cabs here, didn’t they? That at least would make sense.

“Now you’ve done it.” Jesse shook his head at him sadly, looking up from his homework. Sam gazed at him questioningly. “She’s gone for the magic potions,” his informant continued. “You might want to get out of here while you still can. You know, while you’re still human.”

Sam chuckled. “Magic potions, huh? Is that a common occurrence?”

“No.” Frank, buried behind the computer answered; his voice even colder than it had been when he’d answered the door. “Of course, it’s not. Don’t listen to him.”

Jesse rolled his eyes. “All the time. Potions, spells, seances. We’re the West Coast supplier of all sorts of voodoo.”

Sam smiled at them both. “Well, that’s okay. I guess I can handle a few spells. What is it you think she’s fixing for me, anyway?”

Frank studied him for a moment, and then shrugged. “Protection amulet, is my guess.”

For once, Jesse agreed with his brother. “Oh, yeah. Definitely an amulet. Probably something to do with garlic.”

“Garlic?”

“Sure.” Jesse’s smile held more than a hint of mischief. “It’s not just for vampires, anymore, you know. In fact—” he broke off as Frank let out a yelp.

“You lousy piece of crap!” Frank slammed his fist down on the computer in frustration.

“Problems?” Sam inquired.

“Computer virus,” Jesse said. He shook his head at his brother. “I told you that’s why they got rid of it. What’d you expect, anyway?”

“I’d expect them to fix something like that before they go and sell this piece of shit to anyone, that’s what.”

“Sell?” Jesse shook his head again. “You thought Dad gave us something he paid actual money for? Get real. You oughta know better’n that.”

Now, hop on over to Leslie Hachtel's page to learn about some of her supporting characters. And don't forget to check out her NEW book, Come Back to Me.

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