Please introduce your secondary characters.
Thanks, Emma Lai, for having us as your guests.
Please meet Sammy and Larry.
Within the Rhodes End Series are a number of secondary characters. I had a hard time deciding between villains, the other police officers, or these two. I think you’ll understand why I picked them.
I never planned for Sammy Tarp the town gravedigger to become an ongoing character, but he keeps returning. Sammy never answers a question clearly. Instead, his shiny black eyes disappear amid rolls of wrinkled flesh when he squints. He constantly puzzles me and I’m still getting acquainted with him. He’s one of those people who’s been around forever and never seems to change. With his bristly gray stubble, he strongly resembles a large groundhog with a bullet-shaped head set on a rounded body with no noticeable neck. He drives a rusty yellow pick-up and can make anything mechanical run.
A long time ago he dated the mother of my heroine in Ancient Awakening. We learned he knows several dead languages. And in Ancient Blood he warned of the danger to come.
Larry the garbage man is even more elusive. I like him. He chain-smokes. In Ancient Blood, the heroine finds him a dog to fight his loneliness. He works at the Town Dump. It’s a five minutes walk from the heroine’s house in Ancient Awakening and where he discovered the first dead body.
Larry works on the town crew plowing, patching potholes or whatever needed doing depending on the weather, or most Saturdays as the dump attendant. He sticks to one beer when he wants a drink. His long blonde hair tied back with a rawhide strip and pale blue eyes give him the appearance of a hippie or flower-child but, he’s a former military man who served in Desert Storm. He came back damaged and changed.
What do you like/hate most about your secondary characters?
Just like Steve and Mel from Ancient Awakening or Lily and Cole from Ancient Blood, Sammy and Larry have taken on a life of their own. I like that about them. They share conversations I never planned. Sammy will go off in an odd direction. Larry will expose a little more of himself. What I don’t like is not knowing what to expect next. I have a sneaking suspicion that Sammy might be a Warlock, but then Larry might be his apprentice and that is scary.
What do the secondary characters think about the hero and heroine?
We never discussed that. I know Sammy loves Mel and worries about Lily living so far out of town. And Larry dated Mel once. He trusts Lily enough to take a pup she picks for him. Both men are suspicious of Steve and wary of Cole. I wonder if that is a male thing?
Would you like to share a favorite scene involving the secondary character?
Gladly. This is from Ancient Awakening, Book One in the Rhodes End Series.
A loud backfire split the air. A rusty yellow pick-up truck rumbled into the spot behind the cruiser. Shrugging, Mel stepped around Steve and waved a greeting.
“Hey, Sammy, How’s it going?”
A dirt-encrusted Sammy Tarp tramped toward them, slapping at the muddy clods stuck to his pants. Sammy resembled nothing more than a large groundhog. His bristly gray hair and three-day-old beard stuck out at all angles, and his bullet-shaped head sat on a rounded body with no noticeable neck.
“Hi ya, Miz Mel. Larry said to tell ya hello. Ah knew ya’d be checkin’ the damage from those damn kids and decided to see ifn’ ya found anything. I called the station lookin’ fer you. Jan said you was out here. Still working doubles?”
He pulled a brown knit stocking cap from his rear pants pocket and stuck it on his head. The frayed material teetered like a squashed ice cream cone on his spiky hair.
“Not much longer. Hal’s due back. Says he can hardly wait. Since his wife delivered those twins, he’s been in shock, but he claims he’ll get more rest on patrol.” Mel gestured at Steve. “Have you met Dr. Zoriak?”
“I’ve seen him around.” To her surprise, Sammy took a quick step back, shoving his grimy hands in his pockets. “He ain’t no stranger to the graveyard.”
Mel glanced from one man to the other. She always heard every rumor and whispered innuendo, but didn’t recall any reason for Sammy’s rudeness. Steve nodded coolly.
Sammy’s glance skittered past Steve to the mausoleum. He spat into the poison ivy. “Glad I already got paid. Fella wanted his mouse-a-lean built to store old bodies, not stick ‘em in the ground in a proper manner. Fancy carved stone and ever’thin’ shipped in from foreign places. Had to hurry up ta finish the concrete footings before the frost.”
“But why? This section isn’t part of the cemetery. And no one’s been buried there for years.”
“Ayah. Father Brown finally sold this back plot to an out-of-towner. Guess he figured he’d make some money fer the church by finding someone willing to use this piece even though it ain’t sanctified. Sucker didn’t bother to find out about the ledge. Had to bring in a ton of backfill. Got hisself stuck, like the priest did, when he didn’t ask me about the land before he paid for it.”
Sammy spit to the side again and snickered quietly. His ongoing war with the Catholic priest was a juicy source of gossip around town.
“Sounds pretentious,” Steve commented.
“Ain’t no accountin’ for some people’s tastes. ‘Specially foreigners.” From under shaggy brows, Sammy looked directly at Steve for the first time. His shiny black eyes appeared amid rolls of wrinkled flesh when he squinted. “Some people like a small town, makes ‘em feel safe. ‘Cause people are standoffish, they think they don’t notice nothin’. Makes strangers feel they can hide their secrets.”
Mel concluded the old man was exhibiting typical Yankee distrust for a newcomer. Unless he’d been raised in a small town, poor Steve couldn’t know it would take at least a generation to be accepted by the old-timers.
“Did you say you talked to Larry?”
“Ayah. He’s still shook up. Takin’ it personal. Like he thinks it’s his fault when someone puts recyclables in the wrong bin.” Sammy spit into the dirt before he edged around to stand at Mel’s side. “I gotta be gettin’ back to work. Ya want me to walk ya back to your car first?”
“I’m going to be awhile, Sammy, but thanks.”
“Wal, I’ll be checking’ back later.”
He glared warningly at Steve before he slowly climbed into his truck and revved the noisy motor.
Used to his odd habits, she flipped him an absent-minded wave. The ancient truck jerked forward with an echoing metallic thud, followed by a vibrating thunk. A heavy silence settled over them with the thick dust.
Print ISBN: 1-60154-552-5
Print ISBN 13: 9781601545527
Check out my other books and excerpts at my website: http://www.barbaraedwards.net
Are the secondary characters going to get their own story?
Not yet. I can’t figure out Sammy’s past. He continually refuses to answer me directly.
Since they are both in Ancient Blood, here’s a taste of it.
Ancient Blood by Barbara Edwards
Paranormal, strong romantic elements, sensuous
Blurb:
Lily Alban escapes a murderous stalker, but his vicious attack leaves her with the ability to see auras. She finds safety in the tiny hamlet of Rhodes End where a stranger stands out like a red light. Try as she might to deny her growing desire for Cole, she seeks his help but soon discovers the man she loves is not a man at all.
Werewolf Cole Benedict resists his attraction to Lily. A botanist researching the healing herbs to find a cure for Lycanthropy, he’s determined to protect Lily from her stalker as well as himself even in human form, but instinct takes over when he changes to his inner beast.
Together they must use their extraordinary gifts to catch Lily’s stalker before he attacks again, but revealing their secrets to one another could destroy their growing love or save them both.
Excerpt:
Lily parked and exited next to the cinderblock building housing Rhodes End kennel where Sammy and Larry waited. She waved before turning to the two dogs in the locked cages. The brisk breeze tangled her curls into a wild mess she gave up trying to restrain. The kenneled animals barked, howled, and yipped wildly.
“Hey, Lily, I came for that puppy you promised me. And I brought you coffee.” Larry nodded a greeting.
Larry’s job with the town crew involved snowplowing, trash recycling, and road repairs. He and the older Sammy shared an interest in gossip and town events that satisfied both. Muffled barking came from several dogs housed inside the long, one-story cinderblock building.
“Thanks.” Lily accepted the paper cup with a nod. “Hello, Sammy. Have you seen the vet? I need to ask him about this report of howling wolves.”
Sammy adjusted his knit cap so it wasn’t teetering on top of his bullet-shaped head. Everyone in Rhodes End knew Sammy Miller. Gravedigger and all-around mechanic, he could fix any motor in town.
“Wolves?” Larry yelped, coughed, and choked. He cleared his throat noisily.
“Shit. Keep your voice down. Every nut in town will be calling the police if they hear you.” Sammy glanced around as though expecting eavesdroppers under every tree. He ignored the fact there were no close neighbors.
Upon moving in Lily had noticed how the forest pressed against the yard. It was one of the reasons she kept her dogs inside. The impound yard sat on the town’s outskirts for a reason.
“Besides, howling doesn’t mean anythin’. Might be a large dog gone feral. It’s happened before.” Larry shrugged. “Workin’ at the dump, I hear all the rumors. This wasn’t important.”
“So, how long have you known about this mysterious howling?” Lily gave Sammy a hard look. She sipped carefully at the cup’s steaming contents.
“Mighta’ been nothin’.” Sammy’s wide shoulders lifted almost to his ears.
“It wasn’t. Elijah Norton had a sheep killed this morning.”
“Hmmm.” Larry bent his face over his coffee and left Sammy to respond.
“Trouble’s on the wind,” Sammy mumbled and hunched his shoulders again.
“How’d you know?” Larry straightened like a pointer scenting a pheasant. His long blond hair quivered in a non-existent breeze. His blue-eyed gaze searched the gravel parking lot before he focused on his friend.
Sammy nodded at Lily. “Ya got the look of someone searching’ for answers. And I’m betting you won’t like what you find.” He switched gears so smoothly she didn’t have a chance to question him.
“Hear you been workin’ around the place. Thought I’d see if you need any help. Ol’ Bernie never was much of a housekeeper.” Sammy tweaked his teetering knit cap into place.
Lily blinked to refocus. Sammy’s habit of changing the subject without any rhyme or reason kept her off-balance. It never did any good to press him for answers.
“I’m done painting the rooms.” Satisfaction warmed her. “I thought I’d leave the outside repairs until it warms up.”
“You weeded the old gardens when you started last fall.” He nodded and smiled at her. “Nothin’ like fresh tomatoes right off the vine.”
Lily laughed. “There weren’t any left by the time I cleared the weeds. Most of the plot is an old herb garden with a copper sundial. Parsley, basil, chives, I recognized, but there’s a bunch I’m still learning.”
“Be careful. That garden was there before old Bernie got hired. The property itself is over two hundred years old. They tore the old barns down fer the kennel.”
“It’s a nice benefit, a free house. I’ve even had a few people ask if they could harvest herbs.”
“Might want to wait,” Larry interjected softly. “Some of those plants are dangerous.”
“I didn’t realize. Maybe I should get rid of those I don’t know.” Lily drummed her fingers on the truck fender.
“Leave that patch of Wolfsbane beside the kitchen door,” Sammy muttered. He frowned at the cup in his hands. “Pays to hold onto the old ways.”
“I don’t even know what that plant is.”
“If you’re interested in restoring that herb garden you could ask at the Benedict Mansion. Fancy schmancy place belongs to that family who owns the pharmaceutical company. They redid their Old English Cottage Gardens a f few years back. They went to a lot of trouble,” Sammy continued.
Lily fought to keep her expression mildly interested at the mention of the Benedicts despite the leap in her pulse. She cherished every tantalizing glimpse of Cole Benedict. His sleek, muscular allure drew her like a magnet even from a distance. Her mouth dried at the idea of having a private conversation with him.
“If you’re finished talking about plants, I want to see that puppy,” Larry interrupted. His pale blue eyes gleamed with barely concealed anticipation. She thankfully yanked her heated thoughts from Cole.
Larry had resisted the idea of getting a puppy at first, but Lily had recognized the dull sheen of loneliness hovering over him and searched for a pup that would fit his needs.
She mentally crossed her fingers and led the way into the kennel.
Thank you for having me as a guest.
I hope you enjoyed learning about my characters and find them as interesting as I do.
Barbara Edwards
Visit my website at http://www.barbaraedwards.net/ for more excerpts.
Contest: I’m giving away an e-book copy of Ancient Blood on June 30 to celebrate. It is available at the Wild Rose Press. Just go to one of my June blog appearances and leave a comment where I’m appearing from June 1- June 30, 2011 or at my blog. Enter often by leaving a comment. The winner will be randomly drawn on June 30, 2011 at midnight.
June 2 at Raine Delight http://authorrainedelight.wordpress.com/2011/06/02/guest-author-day-with-barbara-edwardscontest/
June 7, AJ Nuest is my guest at http://barbaraedwardscomments.wordpress.com/
June 9, AJ Nuest http://ajbooks.blogspot.com/
June 9 Sarah Grimm http://www.authorsarahgrimm.blogspot.com/
June 10 Emma Lai http://www.emmalaiwrites.com/
June 10 Stephani Burkhart http://sgcardin.blogspot.com
June 10 Stephani Burkhart http://sgcardin.blogspot.com
June 13 http://paranormalityuniverse.blogspot.com Lynda Hillburn
June 14 Rachel Brimble
June 9 Liz Arnold-www.lizarnoldbooks.wordpress.com
June 21 April Dawn lets talk romance
June 25 at The Black Rose blog http://twrpblackrose.blogspot.com/
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