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Sunday, August 26, 2007

New occupations & New obsessions






Shadow Whispers, the final book in the Night Guardian series, is on the shelves at last! All the secrets of the Navajo Skinwalkers are revealed. Plus, it’s a fun story of two tough and lonely souls.

But when this book is put to bed, it’s really over. After writing six books in the series (and one connected online serial,) seeing those characters go is bittersweet. I lived with the wonderful Brotherhood heroes for the better part of three years, and not having to think, dream and write about them feels a lot like my best friend moved away.

At this point I can’t even remember how I came up with the men of the Brotherhood. One was an FBI agent. One both a medicine man and a western MD. Another one was a reservation cop, and his friend a college professor at the local college. I wrote one of the men as an artist—a silversmith and sand painter. Ah, but he was both a dream and a challenge. And the hero of the last book, Shadow Whispers, is a bounty hunter stranger who comes to the reservation for his own agenda and stays to help the Brotherhood.

Interesting. But how did I get there? I’m in the beginning stages of plotting a new series and I’m stuck. What interesting careers can I give to my new heroes and heroines? I googled new careers and found careers such as: a life coach, a professional organizer, a home stager and a pet behaviorist. Then I went to another site and found: a disease mapper (ewww- they do global maps of malaria) a Radiosurgeon (zaps organs with a Cyberknife) and a Second Life lawyer (who works mainly in the virtual world.)

All note worthy, and I’m sure fine and upstanding, career possibilities. But none of those really captured my imagination. I need help! Are there any particular jobs that you just love seeing in books? Do you pick up every cowboy/ranch-owner book you can find, for instance? Or maybe pilots really turn you on. Perhaps I should stick to undercover agents for real or imagined government agencies.

I’ll take all the suggestions I can get. Do you know of any careers few people have heard of yet? Do you have a job in mind that you’ve never seen used in a book but would love to see? Or would you rather read a new twist on the old cop story?

Any and all ideas will be gratefully accepted.
Linda


7 comments:

Michele L. said...

Hi Linda,

Ooo...good question! Well, how about a,
-sexy lawyer turned cop. He has drop dead model cover looks and he packs a lot of heat, guns I mean.
-undercover agent hiding out as a manny. He is a man that takes care of kids for a living.
-a naval officer with a penchant for crisp uniforms that makes him look sexy as sin! He has a secret side to him. He loves to cook in the nude!
-a bodyguard that has the body of adonis. Rippling muscles, beautiful chiseled face, wavy shoulder length sandy brown hair, amber colored eyes, olive skin, with clothes that fit him like a glove. He does this sexy thing that makes all the women want to hire him to protect them.

I guess I have a vivid imagination! I love to picture sexy men in my stories, can you tell? Men in uniform or handsome suits turn me on! Also, men with a good hair cut turn me on also!

Michele

Linda Conrad said...

Oh, perfect, Michele!

This is exactly the kind of thing I need to help get my creative juices flowing! Actually, my next series is about bodyguards and the heroes you thought up are just right!

Thanks sooo much!
Linda

Lois said...

Well, we could always use a couple of astronomers or astronauts in romances. . . :)

Lois

Nathalie said...

Actually it would be nice to have authors in novels - hum, other than in ChickLit where I can recall a name or two of books... they are very rare!

Linda Conrad said...

Astronauts, Lois? A few months ago I had already begun a book like that and would've agreed with you. But now with crazy Lisa Nowak and her lover in the news all the time, I think I'd better wait a few years to make them characters. What do you think?

Natalie, now there's an idea. Authors. I think we authors tend not to write about them because we are afraid people will think it's about us. I know in Nora Roberts Angels Fall, her hero is an author and I couldn't stop thinking of Nora when I read the book.
Still, it's a good idea and I might try.

Thanks!
Linda

Maureen said...

I always enjoy anything artistic from a musician to a chef to a sculptor.

Linda Conrad said...

A chef! Great idea, Maureen. I liked writing my one artist hero, but I can imagine lots of tension coming from a chef!

Thanks!

Linda