Supporting Cast, Centre Stage Please!

By N.R. Walker (Guest Blogger)

And a giveaway!!

I’d like to thank Lisabet for offering me some page time on her blog!

Every now and then, we write a book where the secondary characters, or supporting cast as it were, sometimes take centre stage.

They don’t run away with the story but play such an important role, they’re impossible to ignore. 

And sometimes, they steal every scene they’re in.

My latest story, Breaking Point, has several supporting characters who I fell in love with. Yes, they helped the main characters in some way, pushing the plot and character development, but they were also stars in their own right.

The most memorable are Sal and Yumi. Kira’s parents play such a pivotal role in the Turning Point series. They offer some comedic relief, but also deliver some very hard truths for Matt, the main character. They’re insightful, funny, honest and almost everyone who read the first book in the series loved them.

Other supporting characters in Breaking Point whom I just loved were Arizona and Boss. They offered a support network to Matt, which I don’t think he really appreciated until the very end of the book. Not only that, they had a presence on page, and they were a joy to write.

Does that mean they’ll get their own book? Um, no. It just means they were a joy to write. LOL I found the other guys at the gym had so much more presence than Matt’s police partners, I don’t know why. Maybe I related to them better. There was a genuineness to them, a down-to-earth, hard working ethic that I loved. They had next to nothing, no money, not much in the way of possessions, but they were all heart.

Not all secondary characters have such a pull. Some are disposable, forgettable. But some - well, some are just standouts.

For your chance to win a copy of Breaking Point, the much anticipated sequel to Point of No Return, leave a comment on the lovely Lisabet’s blog telling us who your favourite supporting character is, and why. Can be from a book, TV show or movie...

(Terms of the giveaway: A random winner will be drawn after the blog post has been live for 24 hours and notified by email.)

Blurb

A fight for what's right becomes a fight for his life.

As guilt plagues him, Matthew Elliott’s world begins to spiral out of control. The harder he holds on, the more it slips through his fingers, and he’s helpless to stop it.

Entering into the underground cage-fighting scene, he starts out fighting for what’s right. The deeper he gets, the more guilt consumes him—the more pain he takes for his penance—and he’s soon fighting for more than justice.

He’s fighting for love.

He’s fighting for his life.

Excerpt

“How ’bout you and Kira? Did ya tell him how good you went the other night?”

I sighed. “I, um… I told him I won my fight, but not that I didn’t fight here,” I said quietly. How could I explain this? “He…he doesn’t really understand…”

“But he’s a kick-boxer, yeah?”

I nodded. “Yeah, trained in karate as a kid, went on to kick-boxing as he got older. He’s a personal trainer, but teaches boxing as a type of fitness. So he understands the love of it, as a sport, he just…he just struggles with why I’m doing this, why I left the police…” I stopped talking before I said too much.

Arizona looked at me for a long second. “Why’s he struggle with it?”

And I said out loud what I’d only ever told myself. “I’m doing this for him. I’ve not told him that, but I think he knows. I mean, he’s not stupid…”

“You’ve not talked about it?”

I shook my head. “No. He’d feel guilty if I got hurt,” I said. “I don’t want him to worry.” Then I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “I don’t want him at risk because of what I did for a living. Doing what I did, being a cop and being in the public eye, put him at risk. I couldn’t put him through it again.”

“He’s okay though, isn’t he?” Arizona asked quietly. “And the girls he was kidnapped with? They’re all doing okay?”

I nodded and kind of shrugged. “They’re all still in counselling, but yeah, they talk openly about it.”

“And you?”

“Me, what?”

“Talk about it? With Kira, with anyone?”

I shook my head. “No.”

Arizona picked up the backpack at his feet and stashed the money I’d given him inside it. “Man, you need to talk about shit like that, or it will eat at you.”

I nodded, and pushed down the knot in my stomach. “I know.”

The big man beside me stood up. “I’m going home, man. Gonna take my girls out for ice cream.”

“Sounds good.”

“You need to go home and talk to Kira.”

I nodded. I knew I did. I wanted to. I needed to. But I couldn’t.

I couldn’t tell him. Not any of it. If I started to tell him one little thing, I’d end up telling him everything, and expose this whole case.

I wouldn’t put him at risk like that. Not again.

When I got home, Kira was on the sofa watching TV. I threw my gym bag on the floor, sat down next to him and curled up into his side with my head on his chest.

He slid his arm around me and kissed the top of my head. “You okay?”

No.

Not at all.

I miss you.

I’m sorry.

I’m dying inside.

“Yeah, babe. I’m fine.”

Get your copy of Breaking Point here: https://www.totallybound.com/breaking-point

About N.R. Walker

Who am I?

Good question…

I am many things; a mother, a wife, a sister, a writer.

I have pretty, pretty boys who live in my head, who don't let me sleep at night unless I give them life with words.

I like it when they do dirty, dirty things...but I like it even more when they fall in love.

I used to think having people in my head talking to me was weird, until one day I happened across other writers who told me it was normal.

I've been writing ever since…

Where to Find N.R. Walker

Facebook - N.r. Walker
Facebook fan page - N.R.WalkerAuthor
Twitter - @NR_Walker
Goodreads - N.R. Walker

Blog: http://nrwalker.wordpress.com/