Welcome to my stop on the FMB Blog Tour for Reawakened! I have a special guest post and excerpt for you! So, here’s Carrie Pulkinen to talk about her character creation!

Character Creation

Carrie Pulkinen

Character creation is something that comes naturally to me. Whenever I start a new story, I always begin with the characters. Sometimes I may just have the heroine or the hero in my mind. Sometimes it’s both. I’ll have a general idea of the setting and how I want the story to go. But, really, it’s all about the characters.

When I close my eyes, I can see the players in my mind. Their hair color, height, build, and facial features—especially their eyes. I can feel if they are going to be outgoing or shy, daring or cautious. But, they don’t completely reveal themselves to me until I start writing the story. I put them into a scenario, and they tell me how it’s going to go. I learn more about the characters as they play out the scenes. I love it when I get to a certain point in a story and think, “Huh? I didn’t know that about him. Now the way he acts makes sense.”

Reawakened started with Jules. I kept playing out this scene in my head of a woman (Jules) having lunch with her adult daughter (Beth). Beth lets Jules in on the little secret that Ian, Jules’ boyfriend, is a vampire. I could feel Jules’ emotions from the initial incredulousness to reluctant acceptance. The character traits that enabled her to believe in the supernatural, when the rest of the world considered it fiction, began to form. The book took off from there.

Here’s some more information on Reawakened.

Blurb:

Her magic has been reawakened. But will her heart let her follow her destiny?

Jules Hume lives in a world where magic is a myth and supernatural creatures are fiction. Or so she thinks. Her boyfriend Ian would have to disagree. When Jules discovers the man of her dreams is not only a vampire, but a vampire king who’s tasked with saving the world from a demon attack, life as she knows it ends. Can she accept her fate and take her place by Ian’s side as ruler of the paranormal world? Or will she close her mind and her heart to the chance at love and adventure?

Excerpt:

He kissed me passionately, parting my lips with his tongue, tasting me, exploring me until my head was spinning and I had to come up for air. He leaned his forehead against mine and traced my lips with his finger. “I love you, Juliann…Now, let me help you dress.”

Before I could say any more, my shirt was on the floor, and he was working on my pants. He easily slipped them down over my legs, and I stepped out, heading to my suitcase to get a strapless bra. Good thing I’d packed one. Ian put his hands on my shoulders and examined the back of my bra.

“This is not so difficult. He undid the hooks and slid the straps over my shoulders. “I’m a fast learner.” He grinned and held out his hand for the strapless one, so I gave it to him. He wrapped it around me, hooking it in the back.

“I really do know how to dress myself,” I said. He turned me around to face him.

“But, I enjoy helping you so much.” He ran his finger along the top edge of my bra. “I like to pamper you.”

“Okay then. Pamper away.” That made him smile. He had such a striking smile. Actually, everything about him was beautiful. And he made me feel beautiful.

He carefully took the dress from the bed and held it out for me to step into. Then he laced up the back and tied it.

“Well, what do you think?” I spun around.

“It’s perfect. You are perfect.”

I looked in the mirror, and it was a stunning dress. I was supposed to be a queen, but in that dress, I felt like a princess.

“It’s missing something, though.” He grinned and held out a little burgundy box. I opened it and found a spectacular diamond encrusted hair comb. It looked very old, but it was exquisite and strangely familiar at the same time.

“Oh, Ian this must have cost a fortune.”

“It did.” He shrugged. “A very long time ago. It is yours.”

I took it out of the box to get a better look. “I love it; it’s so beautiful. I feel like I’ve seen it before, though. Why is it so familiar?”

He took the comb and carefully put it in my hair. I turned to look in the mirror, and it was perfect. The diamonds caught the light just right and sparkled in a million colors.

“It was my gift to you,” he said as he held me from behind, and we admired it in the mirror. “You wore it on our wedding day.”

“I…you…kept it? For this long? Oh, Ian!” I turned to him, buried my face in his chest, and cried. I wasn’t usually an overly emotional person. Really. But, Ian tended to have that effect on me. And, he kept my hair comb for a thousand years. My heart filled with joy.

“Did I do something to upset you, my Jewel?”

“No.” I sobbed. “I’m just so happy. You just…you’re amazing, Ian. I love you so much.”

He held me close and whispered softly in my ear. “Shh…Come, my love. Do not cry. We will never be apart again. I am nothing without you.”

We stood there in each other’s arms as I got my emotions under control. So much love filled me, it felt like my heart was going to burst. It almost hurt. I looked at him, tracing my finger along his jaw line and across his lips. Then he playfully bit my finger and sucked on the tip as I pulled it out of his mouth. I smiled and kissed him.

“Just let me go freshen up a little bit; then we can leave. Okay?” The sun had set, so I wasn’t worried about him getting sick any more. I supposed my blood did energize him. I briefly considered telling him about my new ability, but I got distracted with my makeup and forgot about it.

I freshened up my lipstick and added some extra eye shadow and blush to go with the dress. Ian waited patiently for me in the bedroom, finally allowing me to do something for myself. Not that I minded all the pampering. That was definitely something I could’ve gotten used to. Makeup application just wasn’t his thing.

When I came out of the bathroom, he held out his arm to me in an elegant gesture. “Shall we? We must get to the Summit early to ensure your safety.”

I took his arm, but paused when he mentioned my safety. “What’s going to happen tonight? I’m scared.”

He turned to face me and kissed my forehead. “I will keep you safe. Do not worry about that. As for what will happen tonight…I’m sure everyone will be as enamored of you as I am.”

“Right,” I mumbled as he escorted me out the door.

Buy Links:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009AMY2TE

Breathless Press: http://www.breathlesspress.com/index.php?main_page=product_free_shipping_info&cPath=13&products_id=341

All Romance Ebooks: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-reawakened-939491-139.html

About the Author:

Carrie Pulkinen has always been fascinated with the paranormal. Of course, when you grow up next door to a cemetery, the dead (and the undead) are hard to ignore. Pair that with her passion for writing and her father’s insatiable love for monster movies, and you’ve got the perfect recipe for an exciting storyteller.

Carrie spent the first part of her professional life as a high school journalism and yearbook teacher. Now she’s able to channel her love of the English language into stories of amazing sex with devilishly handsome men. In her free time, Carrie likes to read, take pictures, and play with her kids. She invites you to contact her at carrie.pulkinen@hotmail.com, or visit her on Facebook at www.facebook.com/CarriePulkinen.

Author Links:

Blog: http://www.carrie-pulkinen.blogspot.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Carrie.Pulkinen

Twitter: http://twitter.com/CarriePulkinen

Amazon: http://amazon.com/author/carriepulkinen

This tour was put together by FMB Blog Tours