Character interviews are a great way for authors to introduce their books to potential readers. They give the reader a chance to get a sense of a particular character in a quick, but in-depth way. Character interviews can also provide added material for readers not spelled out in a novel’s narrative. Plus, the author gets to revisit a character from a fresh perspective for something they completed sometime ago. These interviews can reach people in a different way from standard author interviews.
One thing I like about character interviews is that they allow the author to focus on the nuances of their work for an interview rather than talk about oneself so much. While I understand current wisdom suggests authors should focus on themselves and author platform building, current wisdom is basically how the publishing industry has arrived at the status quo. In current times, debut authors have big concerns about discoverability in a crowded communications environment. that’s where the current wisdom’s brought us. Personally, I’m much more concerned that Tangled Ties to a Manatee is discoverable and memorable than I am about my name as the author. I also hope that my characters are more interesting than my personal idiosyncrasies.
That’s why I’m glad to announce that the character, Jerry, from Tangled Ties to a Manatee has his first interview posted in Pat Bertram’s blog. You can read the interview here.
Jerry is a primary character that quickly gobbled up more and more of the storyline as I worked on early drafts and continued revising the entire manuscript. He soon relegated other characters, such as Mitch, to more supportive roles than initially planned. I believe as readers discover Jerry, they’ll soon understand why he became such a favorite character by those who’ve read and critiqued earlier drafts of the novel.