Update:  My IOU winner is commenter #4, Marnie Colette! Congrats, Marnie!  And thanks for all the comments!

Today, we’re not talking about the literal demons that can burn up the pages of a novel; instead, the focus is on the inner demons that drive characters.

For my upcoming romantic suspense series with Grand Central Publishing (due out in 2010), I deal with characters who carry a lot of inner demons.  My heroine (in the first RS book) is a woman with a particularly dark past–the darkest I’ve ever written.  She has fears that she keeps locked deep inside, fears that whisper to her late at night.  But my heroine has to face her fears–face her demons–in order to do her job as an FBI agent and to get her happy ending.

When I read a book, I don’t expect to open the pages and find a perfect hero or perfect heroine. I want someone with flaws, and, yes, even demons. Because real people carry secrets, fears, worries–that’s what makes us human.  If I see a character without these traits, I find that I have a hard time relating to her (or him!).

For the prize today, well, it’s an IOU.  🙂   Tell me your thoughts about the inner demons that plague characters, and I’ll pick one commenter to win an ARC of the first book in my romantic suspense series.  Now, this ARC isn’t available now, and it won’t be available for quite some time. (I think we’re looking at tentative release dates for next summer.)  But, as soon as I do get an ARC, I will send it to the commenter.  So the prize is an IOU–one that will give you a sneak peek at the agents in my Serial Services Division–a division of the FBI that tracks and apprehends serials (killers, rapists, arsonists, kidnappers…)

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