My special guest today is N.J. Walters. N.J has two new releases this month, and today she’s talking about Jackson’s Jewel, which is out on 25 July from Ellora’s Cave. She’s also talking about secondary characters so pour a cup of tea and come to chat with us.
Jackson’s Jewel—Secondary Characters Who Demand Attention
Secondary characters—what is it about some of them that makes us want to read more?
Any good book has a cast of characters surrounding the hero and heroine, but every now and then, there is a special one that stands out and demands a book all their own. That’s what happened when I wrote Erin’s Fancy, book 2 of the Awakening Desires series. The heroine, Erin Connors, has two older brothers, Nathan and Jackson. I hinted at Nathan’s romance with Erin’s best friend, Carly Ames, in that book, and followed it up in book 3 of the series, Capturing Carly.
But it was her eldest brother Jackson, with his solid, caring presence that had readers emailing me and asking “What about Jackson?” There is something about Jackson that touched readers. He’s loyal, dependable, responsible,. But he’s also slightly chauvinistic and brooding. What’s not to love? He’s spent his life working hard, taking over the care of the family farm, and the raising of his younger siblings at an age when most his age were footloose and fancy free.
I knew he was special and that it would take a very unique woman to push past the wall surrounding his heart. It took me a while to find her, but Emerald Jewel with her funky fashion and city-girl style, was just the woman for the job. Because when you get past the window dressing, she’s all about loyalty and family just like he is.
But there’s one slight problem. There’s a stalker on her tail…
Jackson’s Jewel
© 2008 by N.J. Walters
Book 5 in the Awakening Desires series.
The last thing Jackson Connors needs or wants is a housekeeper. He likes his life just as it is—solitary and uncomplicated.
Emerald Jewel is a New York designer with a stalker on her trail. She needs a place to hide out and Jackson’s farm is the perfect solution to her problem. The last thing she wants or needs is to be attracted to her sexy new boss.
Neither of them is prepared for the explosion of passion that flares between them. They try to resist, but the desire burning between them will not be denied.
The stalker is getting closer to finding Emerald and will stop at nothing to possess her. As the threat around her escalates, she must face leaving Jackson and the farm to draw the danger away from them.
Jackson knows that Emerald’s life is New York and his is on the farm. But he’s not about to let her face this danger on her own. He’ll eventually have to let her go, but not until the stalker is caught and the threat is eliminated.
Jackson’s Jewel is releasing from Ellora’s Cave on July 25th. Hope you all enjoy it as much as I do. 
N.J. Walters
Emotional~Sensual~Satisfying Reads!
Website
Blog
Awakening Desires
Sounds great!
by JK Coi July 23rd, 2008 at 4:53 amThanks, JK!
by N.J. Walters July 23rd, 2008 at 7:21 amI love secondary characters in books. I think of them as spice or seasoning - something extra to give an exotic taste. It’s even better when they turn up as leads in their own books later on. Jackson’s Jewel sounds great, NJ.
by Shelley Munro July 23rd, 2008 at 12:51 pmThanks, Shelley. That’s a great analogy–secondary characters really are the spice and the seasoning of the book.
by N.J. Walters July 23rd, 2008 at 2:36 pmSecondary characters are always my favorites.
by Sandra July 23rd, 2008 at 3:23 pmWishing you many sales, N.J.
Have a great evening, Shel.
Thanks so much, Sandra.
It’s amazing how many secondary characters become our favorites. :-)
by N.J. Walters July 23rd, 2008 at 5:04 pmI love a good secondary character!!
by Amy Ruttan July 23rd, 2008 at 6:24 pmGreat interview.
One of my secondary characters, Brad Mueller, Ft. Lauderdale PD, went on to have his own book which wasa more popular than it’s prequel (American Beauty was Brad’s book and Purrfect Justice was the prequel - both from Ellora’s Cave). I love to have fun with secondary characters and I plan to give more their own books.
by Ashley Ladd July 23rd, 2008 at 8:38 pmNice interview, gals! I’m not good at the secondary character thing. Working on it, though
by Wylie Kinson July 23rd, 2008 at 10:34 pmOh I love books about secondary characters. that’s one of my biggest problems with books, there’s no follow up. I want to know what happened later in the story, down the road and about those other characters that weren’t the stars but were still written very well. I want to know!!! SO yes please, write more and more about those secondary characters, and don’t forget to put in the cameos from those former heros and heroines, we all want to know what they’re up to now.
by Amy W. July 23rd, 2008 at 10:35 pmThe series looks fabulous, will have to add it to my list.
Thanks,
-Amy
So do I, AmyR!
Isn’t it funny how that happens sometimes, Ashley. The secondary characters often become the stars of a series.
Hey, Wylie. I’m sure some of your readers would disagree with you. When a secondary character needs their own story, boy are they vocal about letting you know it. LOL
Thanks, Amy. I almost always try to include earlier characters in later books in the series. I’m a reader too and I know how much I love to find out about characters I’ve already read about.
by N.J. Walters July 24th, 2008 at 2:17 amThanks to everyone who stopped by to check out the blog today and to comment.
And thanks to Shelley for having me here. :-)
by N.J. Walters July 24th, 2008 at 2:18 amYou’re very welcome, NJ. Like Amy, I enjoy revisiting characters. It’s like returning home when I return to a series with all these familiar people.
by Shelley Munro July 24th, 2008 at 2:57 am