#Giveaway & Guest Post: Malia Ann Haberman talks about her characters

My Characters by Malia Ann Haberman
When I first started submitting Chase Tinker and the House of Magic to agents, one wanted me to remove the first few paragraphs in chapter one. I thought about it, but then realized that deleting those idiotic and fearless actions of my main character from the beginning of the chapter would totally ruin the effect of the idiotic and fearless things he does later in the book. I felt I had to show this part of his personality right away.

These are things a writer has to think about when plotting and writing. I wanted it to be believable when it came time for Chase to face any frightening or dangerous situations. And, since he has a younger brother, I knew I had to show a softer side as well. He and Andy may argue a lot, but Chase is still very protective of his brother. 

Besides these important traits, Chase had to have adversity from the very start, but not so much that it made him weak or downtrodden. After all, at some point he has to have the strength and courage to help save his family and destroy the evil guys.

I wanted entertaining, adventurous characters that would help drive the plot along; characters who wouldn't just sit around talking about "storming the castle," but ones who would actually get up and do it. 

A writer also can't play it safe by having just good things happen to their characters, or even just a few bad events. It can add a whole lot of excitement and fun if characters go through some crazy, extremely unpleasant, ridiculous or downright embarrassing experiences. I have something particularly embarrassing happen to Chase that actually turned into one of the funniest moments in the book. It was so much fun! :)

So even if a book has a terrific plot, if the characters are blah, sucky or just plain unlikeable, a book can lose a lot of its appeal. The same can be said about excellent characters and a stagnant plot. A really good, readable book needs both in order to be well-rounded and engaging; something that will attract readers and keep them coming back for more.

Author Bio
Author of "Chase Tinker and the House of Magic (The Chase Tinker Series, Book 1)," Malia loves dancing, reading, writing, playing video games on her iPod, watching TV, and chocolate. She also has terrible motion sickness and hates onions. She's always wanted to have the ability to teleport and the power to move things with her mind. Then one night she dreamed she was living in a house filled with magical rooms and the very next day she started throwing ideas together for her Chase Tinker fantasy series, after consulting with her kids, of course. She lives in the Seattle area with her four wild and crazy ferrets. She's currently working on the 4th and last book of her series.
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Amazon

About the Book
In Chase Tinker's world, magic, lies and secrets can be a lethal combination...
Thirteen-year-old Chase Tinker can't understand why he has the power to move things with his mind. Besides that, his dad has been missing for over a year, causing his mom to be too upset to pay much attention to her sons, so now he's been busted for shoplifting. As if this isn't enough to worry about, his younger brother Andy suddenly has the ability to stop time. Can things get any crazier? Chase thinks.
Then, a grandfather they thought to be long dead arrives at their door. He wants Chase and Andy to come visit him for the summer so they can learn about their supernatural heritage and why they have magical powers in the first place.
The boys soon find out that Grandfather, along with their cousin Janie, lives on a remote island in the middle of Puget Sound in an out-of-this-world house where fantastic magic can be found in practically every room, stairway and corridor. Chase can't believe their dad has been keeping so much from them.
It's an even bigger shock when Chase learns that all their magic is controlled by a very powerful and mysterious Relic in the attic, and if anything happens to this relic, every bit of Tinker magic will be lost forever. He's even more disturbed when he learns his family has a dark and powerful enemy that is determined to steal all their magic, their house and their relic. 
Now Chase must find a way to stop these evil beings, while at the same time figuring out what has happened to his dad, unraveling even more Tinker lies and secrets and not letting on that he has a huge crush on the housekeeper's daughter.

a Rafflecopter giveaway