Welcome to My Guest Author: Valerie Parv

Today I welcome Author Valerie Parv to my blog!   So over to Valerie...

You’ve made your New Year resolutions, but what about your characters?

This is the time of year when we all…okay, I…should plan to get thinner, fitter and better organized. Instead of making resolutions, I imagine where I want to be by year’s end, then work out what steps will get me closer to my goal.

You can do the same in your writing. Just like the real world, your story needs high days and holidays. Not that I’ve ever forgotten to include a Christmas between November and January, and had to go back and write one in. *Valerie hides growing nose.* What holidays are in your story? How do they affect the characters’ hopes and dreams?

Making a timeline is a good idea. In what month does your book start? Roughly when does it end? What’s your setting? The answers will tell you what seasons the characters will deal with, the clothes they wear, and the holidays you need to allow for.

Holidays can help or hinder the characters with their goals. In Birthright, set in my fictional island kingdom of Carramer, a holiday called Journey Day adds depth to the story. The indigenous people see Journey Day differently from the descendants of the French colonists who are now in the majority. Writing about the day let me explore both sides’ attitudes and beliefs, and how they affect my alien characters who must come together to defeat a terrifying threat facing humanity.

What holidays work for you in a book? Have you made New Year resolutions this year? What about for your characters? Your comment could win a copy of Birthright for Kindle with a personalized “authorgraph” to start off your writing year.

Valerie Parv is one of Australia's most successful writers with more than 29 million books sold in 26 languages. She is the only Australian author honored with a Pioneer of Romance award from RT Book Reviews, New York. With a lifelong interest in space exploration, she counts meeting Neil Armstrong as a personal high point. So it's no wonder she's taking romance to the stars and beyond In Birthright, her most ambitious novel yet. She loves connecting with readers via her Website, Blog, Twitter and on Facebook.

About Birthright
Former police officer turned deputy governor, Shana Akers, is used to handling high-stakes situations. But after learning that a space shuttle mission about to be launched from her island home may have a shocking secret agenda, she must turn for answers to the man who has challenged her mind and emotions for years.

Scientific genius and space center director, Adam Desai, is a truly self-made man. Found adrift at sea as a baby, he knows nothing about his origins until two VIPs attending the launch force him to confront the truth about his past, changing everything Adam has ever believed about himself.

Faced with a danger that threatens the entire world, can Adam and Shana find the strength to trust not only each other, but the mysterious VIPs whose unusual abilities defy logical thinking? Especially when it becomes clear that they'll need all of their combined resources to reclaim humanity's BIRTHRIGHT. Published by Corvallis Press USA 2012.