Origins (The Grimm Cases #1) By Lyla Oweds - Paranormal Mystery/Young Adult/ New Adult
This is my stop during the blog tour for The Grimm Cases series by Lyla Oweds. The Grimm Cases is a Young Adult/ New Adult Paranormal Mystery series with 5 books out so far.
This blog tour is organized by Lola's Blog Tours. The blog tour runs from 18 till 31 January. See the tour schedule here.
By Lyla Oweds
Genre: Paranormal Mystery
Age category: Young Adult/ New Adult
The things I see aren’t for the faint of heart.
And I am no longer willing to ignore them. Not even when my family, and my best friend, tell me to keep quiet about what’s happening. They say people will think I’m crazy.
Maybe I am.
But the spirit haunting my professor’s house is definitely trying to tell me something, and I’m the only one who can see it.
The one person who can help me is my best friend's brother. But I don’t know if I can trust him or his friends. Or if I can step outside the protective bubble I’ve built around myself.
At this point it’s a toss up: the ghosts will kill me or my panic attacks will.
Either way, I figure I’m going to die.
Guest Post by Author
Lyla Oweds
See how her characters were created and evolved
I
see my characters as my children—even my secondary characters. That’s why in The
Grimm Cases I’ve spent countless hours creating profiles for all of my
characters. This is especially important when writing a story in first
person—like I have—because it’s like life: everyone is the star in their own
story, but not everyone sees you in the same way as you see yourself.
When
creating your characters, remember that every character is the center of
their own world. So, before including them in the story, there are a few things
to establish for not only consistency, but also to make sure that the relationships
formed in their stories are realistic and profound.
1.)
The Main Character
Bianca—the
female lead in The Grimm Cases—has been a controversial character since
her creation. The main storyline follows her point of view, but, as you learn
when reading the series, her perception of the world around her is extremely
skewed. So we experience this series through a flawed narrator.
Another
aspect that makes Bianca unique is that she lies to herself constantly,
convincing herself of alternate realities instead of facing the world head on.
Even things that she knows, she won’t admit to herself—so it never makes
it into the narration. She’s damaged—psychologically—and her way of coping with
her trauma is by avoidance. On top of that, she also has abilities that she
doesn’t understand, nor knows how to differentiate from her own anxieties.
A
lot of readers are not going to relate to that—and as an author you need to
prepare yourself that not everyone is going to want to read from such a flawed
character.
However,
Grimm is a story about growth. About the main lead learning to move on
from her past and grow into a strong, confident woman. The only way to make a
character like Bianca work is to be consistent about her flaws, her core
personality, and show character development.
2.)
The Secondary Characters
There
are four male leads in The Grimm Cases series, and all are Bianca’s
romantic interests. The thing about creating leading characters is developing
their personalities. What are their likes and dislikes? What quirks do they
have? What people don’t they get along with? How do they interact as a group?
Create
characters who lives do not revolve around your main protagonist. In Grimm,
the four boys—Damen, Miles, Titus, and Julian—grew up together. They had a
routine long before Bianca entered their lives. Her sudden appearance might
throw their world off-kilter, but they still have dreams, personalities,
motivations, and interactions that will not involve the main lead.
One
part of core character development—especially in slow burn series—is to
naturally allow friendships and relationships to form. That includes the secondary
leads and their relationship to each other. Like in life, friendships will
change over time.
3.)
The Supporting Characters
Supporting
characters don’t exist simply as someone for the main characters to interact
with. Like the people you’ll interact with in your life, everyone has a story,
and everyone is a main character in their own mind. Give your supporting
characters their own histories, motivations, and personalities. Antagonists
too.
The
first antagonist in my story is Finn Abernathy—who is introduced as
being Bianca’s best friend. He’s standoffish and rude and brushes away Bianca’s
concerns that a ghost is haunting her. His actions ultimately push Bianca to
seek help from Finn’s brother, Damen.
And
yeah, Finn kind of seems like a not-very-nice guy.
However,
what are his motivations? Why is he acting the way he is?
In
this example, Finn is tired and stressed. He’s been overburdened with responsibility
of trying to protect Bianca from behind the scenes, while also not allowing her
to know about the supernatural world. He’s still a teenager and has a huge
weight on his shoulders. Maybe he’s snippy because Bianca—as we learn—can be
overdramatic, and he’s not paying very much attention.
But
does that make him a bad person?
People
make mistakes, and secondary characters who are rude once are not necessarily
rude people—just like people who are nice aren’t always your friend. When
creating your secondary characters and establishing their relationship to your
leads, keep these things in mind.
All books in the series:
- Home (The Grimm Cases prequel novella)
- Origins (The Grimm Cases #1)
- Ghost (The Grimm Cases #2)
- Blood (The Grimm Cases #3)
- Hidden(The Grimm Cases #4)
- Balance (The Grimm Cases #5)
Get the first 3 books and the novella Home as a box set!
Mu is the box set collection which combines books 1-3 as well as the novella Home in one handy box set.
About the Author
Lyla Oweds is a paranormal romance author who resides in the beautiful Pocono Mountains, Pennsylvania. She grew up near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania and is a native of Baltimore, Maryland, and has a deep appreciation for the paranormal, hauntings, and Edgar Allan Poe. As such, she loves all things fantasy, mystery, crime, and horror.
She is the author of the Paranormal Reverse Harem series, The Grimm Cases and related novellas. She has also published the first book of Gloria Protean’s story, The Red Trilogy. You can find out more about her current and upcoming works at her website, http://lylaoweds.com.
When not reading, writing, or working as a web programmer, Lyla can be found doing adult-y things such as being a mom, decorating the house, and baking. She also frequently enjoys makeup videos, massages, wine, and coffee.
There is a tour wide giveaway for the blog tour of The Grimm Cases. One winner win paperback copies of Origins, Ghost, Blood, and Home (US Only).
For a chance to win, enter the rafflecopter below:
a Rafflecopter giveaway
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