7/31/2019 Book-Hopping Characters[a Note From Lisa Kleypas]

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Book-Hopping Characters

Sometimes when Im creating a minor character, he or she just seems extra vivid tome. I always feel the greatest freedom in writing about my supporting players, be

cause I'm not bound by rules or preconceptions. I dont have to worry about makingthem likeable or attractive, or educated . . . they just are what they are. Andevery so often, they show a surprising potential to be a hero or heroine. This

happened to me with one of my past novels, Then Came You, when I created a minorcharacter named Derek Craven. Unlike the typical hero of a romance novel, he wa

s a cockney-born gambling club owner . . . the son of a prostitute . . . minimally educated . . . and although he was handsome in an offbeat sort of way, he hadslightly snaggly teeth, and a scar on his forehead. But something about him wasso interesting to me that I eventually made him into the hero of my next book,

Dreaming Of You. And he arguably became my most popular character ever.

I have other minor characters who visit various books, and on occasion they do gettheir very own love stories. Here are the ones Im asked about the most often:

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Derek Craven was a minor character in Then Came You and then became the heroof Dreaming Of You. He has visited a few other stories, but he is more or less

in retirement now. The problem with Derek is that he seems to overpower every story that hes in. He cant help it! Derek has made a brief appearance in an old short story of mine called Promises, in the anthology Three Weddings and a Kiss, and h

e is the father of the bride in another novella, Against The Odds in the anthologyWheres My Hero. There are the briefest of mentions of Dereks gaming club in Someone To Watch Over Me (dont blink, youll miss it) and in my recent The Devil In Winter.

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Dr. Jacob Linley certainly gets around in my novels. He first appeared as aminor character in one of my Bow Street Runner novels, Someone To Watch Over Me.During the next few years, as I wrote novels set in the early Victorian period,whenever I needed a doctor I just brought in Jake Linley. I joke that it was la

ziness on my part, as I didnt want to have to do the work of creating a brand newcharacter . . . but the truth was that I was getting rather fond of Jake. He ma

de some fairly strong appearances in Where Dreams Begin, Lady Sophias Lover and Worth Any Price, before I finally made him the hero in "Against The Odds from Wheres My Hero. Becoming Derek Cravens son-in-law is a daunting proposition, but I think Jake handles it pretty well.

*******************************************Grant Morgan was the hero of my first Bow Street Runner novel, Someone To Wa

tch Over Me, and afterward he played significant parts in Lady Sophias Lover andWorth Any Price. His growth over these books, from a rough-around-the-edges Runner to a powerful magistrate in his own right, was really fun for me.

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Sir Ross Cannon, the reserved, lonely and secretly passionate Bow Street Magistrate, was a minor character in Someone To Watch Over Me, the hero of Lady Sophias Lover, and he visited Worth Any Price.

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Nick Gentry, the dashing villain of Lady Sophias Lover, reformed just enoughto become the hero of Worth Any Price, changing from a crime lord into a Bow Street Runner, and then into a very reluctant viscount.

7/31/2019 Book-Hopping Characters[a Note From Lisa Kleypas]

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Gemma Bradshaw, the tall red-haired madam, will probably never become a heroine . . . her past is just too shady. But I liked her so much as a minor character in Suddenly You that I had her play a much larger role in Worth Any Price. Her job was to turn Nick Gentry into a world-class lover . . . and I think she didwell at it!

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Marcus, Lord Westcliff is my favorite hero after Derek Craven. He is an aristocrat, unlike my usual common-born professional men, and he is principled, reserved, powerful and inwardly longing for love. He made a minor appearance as theheroines employer in Worth Any Price, another turn as the meddling older brotherof the heroine in Again The Magic, and as the heros bossy best friend in SecretsOf A Summer Night. He will finally get his own love story in It Happened One Autumn , when I pair him with a free-spirited, headstrong American heiress who drives him crazy.

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Simon Hunt is easily defined as a classic "Kleypas hero"--tall, dark-haired,self-made and more than a little sarcastic. Underneath his self-assured exterio

r, however, he is consumed with love for the heroine. I thought Simon would be t

he perfect hero to launch the Wallflower Series, with Secrets Of A Summer Night.Simon is the best friend of Marcus, Lord Westcliff, and he makes a strong supporting appearance in Marcus's story, Autumn Affair. He also appears in the subsequent book Devil In Winter.

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Sebastian, Lord St. Vincent, is one of my rare blond heroes. He is a first-rate ladykiller, not only gorgeous but amoral. He is mentioned briefly in SecretsOf A Summer Night, and does a villainous turn in Autumn Affair. After that I ha

d no plans to make him into a hero, because he was sufficiently dastardly that Icouldn't see how any woman, least of all a wallflower, could reform him. Howeve

r, I eventually couldn't resist the challenge, and I gave him his own book, Devi

l In Winter. It was quite a trick to make his transformation from bad guy to hero believable--I had to put him through the wringer!

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Andrew, Lord Drake, is another villain-turned-hero . . . he is the heros alcoholic half-brother in Because Youre Mine, and then a sexy reformed rake in my novella I Will from the anthology Wish List.*******************************************

I have a lot more character-sharing I could mention, but Ill have to keep addingto this page as I find the time. Many readers have asked me if I will someday write stories about Nicole or Henry from Then Came You . . . Vardon, Lord Ravenhil

l from Where Dreams Begin . . . or any of Derek Cravens children, who are mentioned in Against The Odds. At this time, none of these are likely except perhaps forVardon. I just have to find the right story for him . . .Ill let you know when Ido.